When life gives you lemons, you don’t make lemonade. Instead, you throw those fothermuckers back at life, because lemons by themselves suck.
That’s kind of how the DraftKings slate has been on Thursdays so far this season. The last two weeks aside, there weren’t many lineups that I made on a Thursday where I was actually happy with it. That trend continues today, as it’s not a who’s who of pitchers, but more like a who… the hell am I going to play today?
Let’s get straight to the (hopeful) cash, homie.
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Garrett Richards, SP: $8,900 – The last time we saw Richards, he was doing as well as you or I would in a professional game. Needless to say, he hasn’t been the guy that broke out last year. A leaguemate of mind asked me about Richards, and I said that I don’t think that he’s as bad as he’s been this year, but I also think last year is the best he’ll ever be. Luckily for him, he faces a Tampa Bay lineup that hits left-handed pitching well, but can’t hit right-handers (27th in the league). It’s an away game, but the park is favorable, and despite being the top-priced pitcher, he’ll cost just $8,900.
Tanner Roark, SP: $5,400 – He was cruising in his last start until the sixth inning, which can’t be held against him, really. Roark wasn’t sent to the minors to be stretched out in his return to the rotation. At $5,400, I’m trusting that Roark can get through six innings. While he may not have the strikeout potential of other pitchers, he faces a Brewers’ offense that is 21st in the league against right-handers.
Buster Posey, C/1B: $4,100 – There are certain catcher splits that you want to take advantage of in daily fantasy. The one with the most value has been Stephen Vogt against righties. The others are Willin Rosario and Buster Posey against lefties. As good as Rosario is against them, there’s no reason why he should be priced higher than Posey — especially in Miami. Posey faces Jonathon Niese in New York, and he is 7-19 lifetime off the southpaw.
Anthony Rizzo, 1B: $5,500 – Rizzo at home against a rookie — who has shown some signs of potential, to be fair — is a must for me. It’s a night game at Wrigley, which doesn’t excite me too much, but he’s worth spending for.
Ryan Flaherty, 2B/SS: $3,100 – Out of Orioles players with at least 20 at-bats (sorry Matt Wieters) Flaherty has the highest OBP on the team (.349 in 74 at-bats as of print). He’s 6-13 this year against left-handed pitching and luckily for him, Wade Miley is the furthest thing from Clayton Kershaw. The price is cheap, and the match-up is right.
Manny Machado, 3B: $4,300 – Machado is hitting just .250 against lefties this year, but the match-up is right for him at the price.
Hanley Ramirez, SS/OF: $4,600 – Unless he gets hurt before the game — not exactly out of the question — Ramirez is actually a decent play despite being the second-highest price player at his position. There’s going to be a lot of players loading up on offense today given the pitching options, so why not pay up for the highest potential? Ramirez brings that at a horrible position.
Denard Span, OF: $4,200 – He’s criminally underrated in daily and seasonal leagues. The injuries this year have made me nervous, but you are playing him day by day here. He’s the table setter for the Nationals, and anytime Matt Garza is the opposing pitcher, I’ll take my chance.
Bryce Harper, OF: $5,700 – He’s the reason you are playing Tanner Roark. Load up on the bats, people. They are normally less predictable for DFS, but would you prefer Roark and Harper or Lincecum and Nolan Reimold? That’s what I thought.
Kole Calhoun, OF: $4,300 – The ballpark is meh, but given the other options in the price range (the injured Jayson Werth and Jorge Soler) Calhoun is a solid play against Alex Colome in Tampa.
I’m Only Happy When It Rains
Wrigley Field has a 54 percent chance of rain at first pitch. Watch closely and fade if necessary. If it’s in danger, I’m going Adam Lind against Roark in place of Rizzo. With the leftover cash, I’m upgrading from Calhoun to Mike Trout.
Doing Lines In Vegas
Washington and Milwaukee comes in as the high game for the night slate at 8.5. I like Roark, so I expect that to be more around 6.5.
