As I look over my rosters for the year on DraftKings, the team I’ve won the most cash with is the Oakland A’s. The combination of Brandon Moss (who had two homers last night), John Jaso, Derek Norris, Yoenis Cespedes and even Josh Reddick have made bank for me all season. However, the player I’ve targeted most often is Josh Donaldson – especially against left-handers. Dongaldson has 15 jacks on the year and six of those have come off lefties in just 24 games. Guess who King Dong is facing today? The southpaw of suckitude known as Vidal Nuno. Stack them A’s and make sure the Bringer of Rain (as he calls himself on Twitter) is on your team – he’s your Guru’s dong of the day. *note to self: Buy Dong of the Day domain name, sell it to Brazzers, make millions, spend it all on DraftKings and expensive scotch, get liver transplant*
If you’re a DraftKing shark feel free to skip this section and get right to the lineup. If you’re a newbie to DFS play, here are your humble-but-nonetheless-handsome Guru’s top 5 tips for building your bankroll. 1) Don’t wing it. Only play if you have time to do the research. Your friends here at Razzball make that pretty easy with the DFSBot and the Razzball Hotsheet. And, if you follow me on the tweet machine, I do tweet out roster 411’s and weather updates – give me a follow. 2) Don’t blow all your bankroll in a day. Ha! I know it looks enticing to stick your “optimal lineup” into 45 contests hoping to win billions. However, as a rule, most sharks will tell you never wager more than 10% of your bankroll. 3) If you’re really new to the game, experiment with lineups and enter them into all the free contests that the fine folks at DraftKings has to offer. You won’t win cash, but bragging rights and experience go a long way towards future riches. 4) Ok, here’s one I learned the hard way: Trust your instincts. Sure, it’s not very scientific, but gut instincts are usually based in some sort of knowledge (if you’ve done your research). I can’t tell you how many times I’ve bailed on a guy at the last minute just to have him go off. I did it last night when I faded Brandon Moss for Justin Morneau when the rain in NYC scared me off. Moss hit two homers. 5) Don’t get stressed by a cold streak – Sky, get your head out of the oven! We all go through cold streaks. If you hit one, play cheaper games or free rolls and remember DFS is for “entertainment” purposes only. Ha!
With all the said, let’s get to the plays of the day. I’ll offer up some big names and some values plays. Let’s make it rain.
Cream of the Crop
Stephen Strasburg, P: $11,400 – Adam Wainwright is just too rich for my blood. If it’s an ace you want, look to Stras against the Phillies tonight. Strasburg has always pitched better at home (2.48 career ERA) and owns a 2.28 ERA vs the Phils in seven career starts. Philly is near the bottom in all offensive categories and 12th in strikeouts.
Chris Davis, 1B: $4,500 – This seems a little cheap, but I’ll take it with Edwin Encarnacion and Paul Goldschmidt the pricey baubles tonight. I’m expecting big things from the Donkey vs. an inferior righty in that Arlington jet-stream.
Josh Donaldson, 3B: $5,600 – Think you know about my man-crush on Donaldson by now. He’s hitting nearly .300 against lefties with an OPS 1.110 of I’ll have him on every team tonight.
Troy Tulowitzki, SS: $5,700 – Tulo is at home where he’s hitting .521, went deep last night and, this just in, Tulo is pretty good at baseball.
Nelson Cruz, OF: $5,600 – Cruz has more home runs than the entire Rangers outfield combined. Love an O’s stack tonight – but it’ll cost you.
Bargain Bin
Tony Cingrani, P: $7,600 – Tony C has not put up the kind of FPTS we need in his last four stats averaging about eight points a game. Ouch. Although Great American Ballpark is not exactly pitcher friendly, Cingrani has pitched well at home and should rack up some Ks and a W today. Just keep an eye on the weather and be prepared to pivot to another cheapie like Marco Estrada.
Scooter Gennent, 2B/SS: $3,700 – Scooter is a great value play, hits near the top of the order and has seven hits, four runs, a homer and two RBI over his last four games.
Adam Jones, OF: $4,200 – Can’t afford Cruz? Look to AJ who went 4/5 with a home run last night.
Corey Dickerson, OF: $4,000 – Have to like any Rockies when they are playing at home. In his last four starts, Dickerson is averaging 12+ FPTS.
I’m Only Happy When It Rains
According to Razzball meteorologist Golden Sprinkles, we can expect rain for BOS/CLE, TOR/DET and strong storms are expected for SF/CIN.
Doing Lines in Vegas
The high scoring game of the night will be AR/COL. The sharks in Vegas have the over/under at 10 ½. I say it goes over.
