Growing up, I, like many of my friends, held the All-Star Game to be a true collection of the best baseball players in the game. We’d watch Pete Rose, Mike Schmidt, Johnny Bench and the National League beat up on Reggie Jackson, Vida Blue and the American League year after year. But even then, and as time has moved on, there have been some head scratching choices as All-Stars along the way. Some of it can be pinned on the rule that each team has to have an All-Star, lending to some interesting choices. But some, like Alfredo Griffin, who was named to the 1984 American League squad simply because he came with actual All-Star Damaso Garcia and the AL needed some when Alan Trammell got hurt, didn’t belong and years later, it still looks odd. There has been Chris Brown, Mike Sharperson, Jay Howell, Ron Coomer, Cesar Izturis and a host of so-so relievers since the age of the relief pitcher in the All-Star game has taken full bloom.
Even with all that mediocrity in the AS game, it still surprises me to see names I am fairly sure will stand out years from now that have now been minted All-Star. One of those is D.J. Lemahieu. Lemahieu is nothing special as an offensive player. He has a decent contact rate, average walk rate, good speed. He’s a good fielder at second base this season, too. But nothing about Lemahieu says All-Star, except the offense in which he plays.
But little of that matters in daily fantasy. LeMahieu can be as basic as a game of tic-tac-toe, but if he’s batting second, which he has often this season, and the game is at Coors Field, Mr. Average can be rostered with confidence that he’ll be putting that decent contact rate and speed to good use. For you.
So enjoy the All-Star game, D.J., what do I care? As long as you keep on delivering in DFS.
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Clayton Kershaw, SP: $13,300 – You may be freshly burnt from Max Scherzer last night, but the Phillies, good as they have been the last two weeks, aren’t even the Reds. Kershaw, meanwhile, has been way more on top of his game than the Phillies have been on theirs. Over his last six starts, Kershaw has registered a 2.22 SIERA, 18% Swinging Strike rate, 12.3 K/9 and registered a 52.8% ground ball rate. He may not be X-Men immortal this season, but he’s more than enough in this game.
Michael Wacha, SP: $9,400 – Wacha has more of a tougher matchup with the Cubs, but they are still very strikey-outey, so Wacha and his 9.6 K/9 in his last six starts should have some exercise here. Wacha has also been dominant against lefties, stopping them for a 491 OPS over that same span. You could talk me into Charlie Morton for 3K less at home, but if I’m playing it safer, since the win on DraftKings is less relevant, I’ll take Wacha.
Yasmani Grandal, C: $3,600 – This price is insane for maybe the best hitting catcher going over the last month. Grandal has a tasty RHP matchup and has been power crazy, so giddy-up for me with Grandal.
Josh Phegley, C: $3,100 – However, if you are less happy with the mainstream pop music choice of Grandal, then Phegley will be a nice pivot for you. C.C. Sabathia has a known problem with righty sticks and Phegley, while not as crush as Grandal, has been driving the ball with hard contact for a month now in the righty bat catcher role for Oakland.
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B: $4,100 – Gonzalez took a bit of a holiday from big time power numbers but he’s back and mauling like he did to start the season. With the nice home matchup against Adam Morgan, Gonzalez is discount price for a 1B of his premium power abilities.
Mitch Moreland, 1B: $3,900 – Less known but every bit as productive as Gonzalez, Moreland has a good matchup against Jeremy Helllickson with great hitting weather and a high game and team total. If you want to skip the more obvious bats at first base, Moreland can beat the heck out of RHP.
Derek Dietrich, 2B: $3,100 – Speaking of hitting RHP, Dietrich has returned to the Marlins and has been smoking, popping those pitchers for a 1089 OPS over the last 30 days. Rick Porcello has been terrible against righties this season, but really has been awful with both sides of the plate.
Danny Valencia, 3B/OF: $3,200 – Next to J.D. Martinez, Valencia has exhibited the most hard contact and line drive/fly ball power over the last 30 days. He typically plays against lefties, but has beaten up righties too this season, meaning he won’t get an auto-PH when the arms change.
David Freese, 3B: $4,100 – Freese feasts on LHP. Freese is in Coors Field. Chris Rusin is a LHP. Rusin has yielded a 1293 OPS against righties. All righty Angels are in play, but Freese is reasonably priced, so he gets the mention here.
Todd Frazier, 3B: $4,300 – Again, if you don’t want to sail the common waters of Coors Field, Frazier gets a lefty, too, Gio Gonzalez and few hitters have been a consistently dangerous as Frazier. His lower price tag indicates that Gonzalez might be a problem, but nobody has been a problem for the ToddFather this season.
Marcus Semien, SS/3B: $3,800 – Semien has bounced back to his early hitting form, ranking the tops among SS with qualifying at-bats in underlying power metrics. The A’s have moved him down the stack so watch where he is listed against Sabathia who, as we mentioned earlier, has great difficulty getting righties out.
Andre Ethier, OF: $3,100 – Ethier has continued to remain power relevant this season and has done a nice job in the sixth-seventh slot of that Dodgers lineup against RHP. The matchup is nice and his price point allows some cheap entry into that game if you are spending elsewhere.
Clint Robinson, OF: $2,900 – A straight RHP play against Michael Lorenzen, who is terrible. Bryce Harper is obviously a good play, but don’t discount Robinson, who has some pop of his own, to take Lorenzen, who has been hit for a 1114 OPS the last 30 days against lefties, out of the yard.
Mark Canha, OF: $3,200 – Like Semien, watch where Canha sits in the lineup, if he plays. He’s a good LHP hitter and his power metrics are rock solid. A sly play against Sabathia.
Tommy Pham, OF: $2,500 – The Tommy Pham Experience continues to lead off and Jason Hammel has staggered recently. A lead off hitter at 2.5K on DraftKings and one that has had some recent success is worth a look for sure.
I’m Only Happy When It Rains
Oakland at New York Yankees and Los Angeles Angels at Colorado look to be the two early trouble spots in the forecast when it comes to thunderstorms. There are no outrageous wind conditions to speak of, either.
Doing Lines In Vegas
There is no line as I write this, but would be surprised if the aforementioned Angels/Rockies game wasn’t at least a 10.5 run number. Other nice totals include Blue Jays/White Sox (9), Diamondbacks/Rangers (9.5) and Marlins/Red Sox (9). Clayton Kershaw is a massive -380 favorite in his tilt against the Phillies.
