I ate a ton of asparagus yesterday and my pee stinks. I also spent most of the day drinking tall boys in a kiddie pool. I spent about 3 hours trying to make a YouTube video of me blowing up chipmunks with bottle rockets. Didn’t work out, and I still found time to checkout the DFS happenings for today. If you’ve looked at the pitching roster then you know it’s arms on arms today. Cole, Archer, deGrom, Greinke, Cueto, Carrasco, Zimmermann, and there’s still more. The long and the short there’s a ton of options. So let’s just get something out of the way I’m not going to suggest you play Cole, Archer, or deGrom. I assume you’re well aware of how good they are. You should also recognize that starting one of those three as your SP1 is a necessity in all cash games. The question then becomes do you go double aces or do you pair one with the second level of starters. Today’s a great day for the second tier. Lets talk about a few of the options I like.
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Carlos Carrasco, SP: $9,500 – This is my favorite start of the day and it just so happens that the Streamonator agrees with me. I’m really a sucker for agreement. You agree with me and we’ll always get along. Hey keep your opinions out of this! On the serious tip Baltimore has sucked of late, and Carrasco has started to get it together. Carlos brings huge K upside each time out and the Baltimore name might keep the ownership numbers low.
Johnny Cueto, SP: $9,600 – Am I the only one a little shocked by Cueto’s price? He’s at home against a Padres team that’s in the bottom of the league when it comes to hitting RHP. In his return to the rotation last time out he went 6 innings against the Phillies allowing 1 earned and striking out 4. This afternoon I would expect 6-7 low scoring innings and 6 k’s as a baseline. The thing with Cueto is he’s as capable as anyone on today’s pitching ledger of throwing a 3 hit shutout and ringing up 9. Let the other schmucks waste their knot on Cole, Archer, and deGrom. We have a better cheaper player right here. I know I said these pitchers were to pair with one of those players but a Cueto – Carrasco rotation sounds pretty choice. No? I’m going to ignore Kemp, Upton, and Will Venable’s numbers against him.
Mike Fiers, SP: $8,100 – One of the best values on the board today. Fiers has started to put it together of late, and he draws a nice matchup on paper. The Twins, though surprisingly good, have struggled to hit RHP all season. They have the the second worst wOBA in the league vs. righties, and strikeout at a 21.7% clip against them. The worry with Fiers is always the same though, will he make it out of the 5th? DraftKings awards you points for innings pitched, so this limits Fiers upside.
Clay Buchholz, SP $7,800 – Well this looks too good to be true. Clay is pitching well and the A’s aren’t that scary. WRONG! The Athletics not only have a top 5 wOBA vs RHP, they also boast one of the lowest k% against them too. Clay has been pitching well but there’s an epic blow up lurking in that wiry frame.
Giancarlo Stanton, OF $5,700 – It’s Giancarlo Stanton at Coors field vs. Kyle Kendrick. Are you out of your mind how could you not play him? He could break Mark Whiten’s record. This could be the greatest day in the history of fantasy and you could miss it for being cheap. All batters in this game are in play. I like the Colorado options just as much as Stanton and company.
Dustin Pedroia, 2B: $4,400 – He’s been scorching hot the last few weeks and he sees inexperienced righty Kendall Graveman at the fens. I like all batters involved in today’s A’s and Sox game. Peddy’s just probably my favorite of the bunch. When he gets hot he tends to hit in everything he sees. Then again who doesn’t when they’re hot, that is after all the very definition of the term.
Joey Butler, 1B/OF: $4,000 – I have a simple rule when I see the Rays are facing a lefty, play Joey Butler. He’s hittting .359 with 3 knocks in 39 plate appearances vs. LHP. He’s usually priced under $3,600 but DK is hip to the game. He’s a cheap first base option if you decide to invest in power in your outfield.
Joey Gallo, 3B: $3,500 – What. A. Steal!!! Gallo for $3,500 against Jeremy Guthire. Are you serious? Gallo’s greatest strength is hitting home runs and Jeremy Guthrie excels at one thing: throwing gopher balls. I’d bet my life Gallo hits the cheap seats against Long Gone Guthrie. I’d also endorse all Rangers hitters tomorrow, Guthrie’s on the mound and there’s a 14 mph wind blowing out to right. Prince Fielder’s and Shin-Soo Choo’s ownership levels should be through the roof and the same goes for the rookie.
Blake Swihart, C $3,200 / Sandy Leon, C $2,200 – I’m hedging my catcher bet on the Red Sox tandem. I probably would have gone with Stephen Vogt had he not jammed his thumb yesterday. He’s pretty beat up at the moment so I’d save the monies and spend it elsewhere.
Jose Iglesias, 3B/SS: $3,100 – I’d call this a punt play but he’s hitting .329! Zero power upside but he can get you 8-11 points pretty regularly. He got me 15 last night, so I’ll roll the dice again today.
I’m Only Happy When It Rains
The Tigers and White Sox look to be the only game with any real potential chance of rain. Another weather related topic to check is wind. There’s a nice breeze to right in KC, and out to left at U.S Cellular and Target field. I’m really hoping for some fireworks in KC. The weather, the pitchers, everything seems to line up.
Doing Line In Vegas
With all these aces on the mound, it’s no surprise to see some low totals across the board, with LADvsSTL being the lowest at 6.5. Interesting to note that, despite all these good arms on the mound, Vegas doesn’t really have many heavy favorites with Cueto (-175) and Carrasco (-165) the leaders of the pack with Buchholz (-155) and Greinke (-150) getting some recognition as well. They’ve dropped the line in the SEAvsTB game from 7.5 to 7, making both pitchers intriguing options despite the lefty mashing Rays in town. Montgomery could be a nice tourney option if you’re trying to get all things Colorado into your LU.
