So, I’m biased. If you’ve been reading me for a while you know I’m a Brewers homer, but that doesn’t make me a sucker in fantasy. I dumped Yovani Gallardo years ago, rode the Mike Fiers train and exited quickly, and own Carlos Gomez everywhere I could. Then again, I had John Axford last year in a lot of leagues. Yikes!
The point I’m trying to get at here, is I think knowing a lot about a particular team can give you great insight, especially in daily leagues like our friends over at DraftKings. There will be days I choose no Brewers, and days like Friday in our RAZZBALL EXCLUSIVE CAN YOU BEAT RUDY GAMBLE contest where I go homer heavy. When Bernie Brewer slides down the yellow slide, I’m going to be pretending I see the green face of Benjamin Franklin and not the Brewers logo on the waving flag!
Entry is still $10, up to two entries per player, with the winner getting a ticket into DraftKings’ huge $500,000 Midsummer Classic where the top spot nabs $125 large. Not only that, but 600 spots will get paid – and paid big – and you can win entry from our $10 contest. And also another new promo from DraftKings – every first time depositor will also automatically receive a $2 Qualifier ticket (on top of the other $5 Qualifier offer that depositors get) – so if you’re new and deposit for the first time, you’re getting three contests for the price of one! A fantasy threesome! Like a homer, steal, and save from the same player. Ok, so that wouldn’t happen, but don’t tell Skip Schumaker! Spots have been filling quicker and quicker lately, DraftKings has given us a few more spots, but it’s still capped and exclusive through the link above. Good luck this week and bring Razzball Nation some DraftKings glory!
Running backwards to last week’s picks:
SP – Dillon Gee (0 Pts)
CI – Edwin Encarnacion 2-3 1 HR 2 RBI 1 R 1 BB (21 Pts)
MI – J.J. Hardy 0-4 (0 Pts)
OF1 – Ichiro Suzuki 0-4 (0 Pts)
OF2 – Adam Jones 1-3 1 RBI (5 Pts)
UTIL – Zoilo Almonte 1-4 1 SB (8 Pts)
TOTAL – 34 (Previous weeks’ finishes – 40.15, 47.65, 54.3, 93.85, 76.9, 68.8, 47.7, 67.3, 92.4, 75, 83, 96)
Well, it was certainly a weird week. A lot of shuffling of starting rotations, as Dillon Gee got moved back a day and subsequently pitched great and got the win. Then the Yankees moved back David Phelps and threw out CC Sabathia which kept the Orioles/Yankees game lower scoring than I thought. If Gee had indeed pitched like he was originally scheduled and gotten the 18.1 points he scored on Saturday, it would’ve been a solid week. Luckily for DraftKings, you can change your line-up at the last minute unlike my article! Here’s who I like on Friday night:
SP – Madison Bumgarner ($10,000) – Pitching is going to come at a premium this week, with no real under the radar matchups sticking out to me. As I mentioned on today’s podcast, Cliff Lee is the only real ace out there, so I’ll save a few bucks and go Bumgarner who I like a tad more. Throwing at home against the Dodgers who he has a career 2.54 ERA and 0.98 WHIP against has me seeing a quality game.
CI – Juan Francisco ($3,500) – Swinging a hot bat right now with 4 homers in the past 6 at the time of this writing (Tuesday afternoon), I love Francisco as a spot play vs. the very inconsistent rook Zack Wheeler. Just watch LaRoche’s home run off him from Sunday afternoon. Lefty bats can tee off on Wheeler’s heater when he’s scuffling, and in a hitters’ park like Miller, love Francisco.
MI – Daniel Murphy ($4,000) – Another guy I like hitting in Miller, Murphy has been on a stolen base binge with 5 in his last 9 games. The Brewers are throwing out question mark prospect John Hellweg who has an ERA almost as high as my age at 20.25. Ok so I’m 25 and older than that, but the fact it’s close is horrifying. As we’ve seen from a lot of pitching prospects, holding runners has been an issue plus Murphy has some pop in a hitter friendly away park. Hitting second always helps as well, giving him a possible extra at-bat than some other options.
OF1 – Carlos Gomez ($3,900) – Look for his price to inflate a bit, but if it stays in the $4,000 range, the league’s second CarGo (but first in my heart!) is going to be a huge value. As I alluded to with Hellweg, Wheeler has already given up 6 steals along with being very shaky since his debut. A great shot at power and the speed.
OF2 – Zoilo Almonte ($2,700) – Since I’m spending heavy on pitching, Almonte is a fantastic value if he stays under $3,000 to round out your outfield. The switch-hitter will almost certainly be out there against Orioles lefty Zack Britton who still hasn’t put it together in the Majors yet. Almonte is still swinging a hot bat, has a touch of power especially in hitter friendly Yankee Stadium, and speed on the bases. Great value play.
UTIL – Norichika Aoki ($3,800) – Sticking with the Brewers theme against Wheeler, Aoki is another guy with a little bit of power, great plate discipline against an erratic pitcher and the speed to possibly steal a base. Plus he hits leadoff which could land him an extra at-bat, a strategy to be mindful of picking your DraftKings lineup.
I’m out of town one last week, this time in DC watching my Brewers take on the Nats today and on the 4th. I have front row seats in left field for tonight’s game, so look for a ridiculously tall guy in a Brewers jersey, glasses, and a yellow hat if anyone hits a homer over there. And if you’re going to be at the game, come buy me a beer and talk fantasy! Good luck this week, shoot your questions below or tweet me @jbgilpin. Good luck this week!
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