Greetings all as I wrap up this month of June DraftKings coverage. Be sure to drive the right speed today as it’s a little known – ok well known – fact that the popo need to meet their minimums and they’re out to get you. Don’t laugh! The closest I ever came to getting a ticket was at the end of the month. Don’t get me wrong, I speed all the time. I don’t have a lead foot, per se. I more like to think of it as a permanent slab of immovable iron and that sits on the gas pedal whenever I drive. As the great poet laureate Samuel Roy Hagar once stated, ‘I Can’t Drive 55’ and it’s true for me. Unless of course the speed limit is 25 then I can prolly swing it. But enough about my illegal driving habits, we came here to talk some DK strategy and I think there’s an ace in the making taking the mound today that’s way too cheap to pass up given the matchup. I’m of course talking of Taijuan Walker, the illegitimate son of famed Sergeant Cordell Walker of the Dallas-Fort Worth-based Texas Rangers (not true). This son of Sgt. Walker (still not true) is adept at catching the bad guys in Texas and as luck would have it, he’ll be in Houston today where he’ll get to face the Astros. Now these aren’t your typical gang of bad guys unless you’re talking plate discipline and if you are, well, they’re the baddest guys in town. The Astros lead the MLB in K% on the year at 23.6% and I have recently been struck out 8 times by Verlander and 13 times by Scherzer. Since Walker’s going rate is $7K, he’s worth the risk as your SP2 based on pricing alone and given the upside of the matchup, I think he helps you seek cash money by the end of the day. Even the DFSBot sees the silver-lining of this play as even though he’s only the 9th best arm on the list, he’s also underpriced by about $1500 DK doubloons. So now that we’ve established a solid number 2 (not that kind; you’re gross), let’s move on to see what other bargains we can find. Here are your Razzball picks for June 30th on DraftKings for 2014 Fantasy Baseball…
Mat Latos, SP: $9,400 – He’s had one hiccup since returning from the DL but has given 20.3 and 24.8 DK points in his other two games and gets to face a Padres team that only a rubbernecker can love at this point. They’re a complete trainwreck! In my book, if I’m paying 9K or above, it’s Latos or bust…no not Dallas Latos’ bust. That’s probably a lot more expensive.
Jordan Zimmermann, SP: $11,100 – Not really a strikeout pitcher and not really facing a strikeout prone team…hrm, why is he priced this high? That’s not rhetorical, I’m looking for answers. I get it, the Rockies aren’t that fearsome away from Coors but really? Yeah, JZ may not get slapped around like he did from Solange but he won’t be worth the pricetag either.
Alex Wood, SP: $8,800 – So if I love Latos today, I absolutely emoji heart Alex. Mets have been in the bottom ten in K% all year and *goes and checks* yup, they still are. Alex could give you a clean 7 with 6-8 K’s. As I say when I make my annual call for a couple of cords, give me Wood at a reasonable price! Oh and his opposing arm, Zack Wheeler? Braves have the 5th worst K-rate in all of MLB. There’s a reason that Alex is priced $1K+ over him but it doesn’t mean Zack isn’t a K’ing maniac himself.
Hector Noesi, SP: $5,900 – No, I’m not suggesting he’s a good play for today. I can’t think of a day where that would ever be the case, really. Maybe against a low A squad? Maybe…and since I’m digressing I might as well point out some fun facts. He has some odd reverse splits: RHB have a .386 wOBA, LHB a .319. But the even odder part – is odder a word? WordPress seems to think so – is that 7 of the 9 HRs he’s allowed has been to lefties. Basically what I’m saying is you want to stack some Angels, I’m coo wit dat.
David Phelps, SP: $6,100 – There isn’t much of a need for a cheap arm for today’s slate but we’re talking tourney play, Phelps could be the arm that no one wanted. At home for the year, David has a 2.42 ERA and a K/9 rate near 9. I don’t care how many runs the Rays scored yesterday, they’re still the lowest run-scoring teams on the year.
Anthony Rizzo, 1B: $5,200 – I really hate picking on Jake Peavy. Dude is a gamer but he’s also looking like one finishing blow away from being done and I never let emotion get in the way of winning a buck. I’m considering Rizzo and even a mini-Cubs stack given that Peavy now has the 5th worst HR/9 in all of major league baseball. You smell blood in DK, you gotta go after it. R.IP. Jake.
Adam Jones, OF: $5,100 – I feel like a broken record at this point but Jones is like, REALLY good against LHP and Joe Saunders is TOTES the worst lefty in the league right now. AJ and Nelson Cruz both have wOBAs above or near .500 against LHP on the year so Nelson is also in play.
Lonnie Chisenhall, 3B: $3,800 – So maybe you do and maybe you don’t know this but…Dan Haren ain’t been so good this year. The fact that Vegas not only has a low run total to go for this game at o/u 7.5 but also has Haren the favorite just baffles me considering Kluber is opposing him. Of course, you don’t care about that, you care about this: Lonnie baseball has a .423 wOBA on the year vs RHP and a .225 ISO to go with it. Yes, I’m considering a CLE stack. I’m also considering a double stack from Wendy’s cuz I’m hungry so maybe my stack-fu is a little off today. TBD.
Anthony Rendon, 2B/3B: $4,600 – Not cheap but I have a hard time turning down a .421 wOBA against LHP when it’s at home and said southpaw is Yohan Flande or as I like to call him ‘Yogonebe Flambe’d’. Both Jayson Werth and Espinosa – if he’s still with the team – are in play here as well. Of course, if Bryce Harper is in the lineup today, I’ll be all on a Natty stack as it seems every team gets a little jolt when a key player returns from the DL.
Eugenio Suarez, SS: $3,600 – You think I’d talk about a guy as the Creeper Of The Week and then turn around and not at least mention him here? Though he does get a tough arm in Kazmir, Scott is at least a lefty and Eugenio handles them well. How well you ask? Well read the bleeping article! Sheesh, I don’t link to things just to repeat myself.
I’m Only Happy When It Rains
CHWvsLAA looks like it might get rained out so you’ll want to keep an eyeball out on it if you’re playing guys from there. No, I didn’t mean to eyeball it, I meant to watch for it. That shizz could cause permanent damage, yo!
Doing Lines In Vegas
Much like eating all day at the fair and chasing it with a night of binge drinking and jalapeno eating contests, expect an explosion of runs from BALvsTEX today…not that I’m familiar with doing such a thing. They have the o/u at 9.5 and I can see an over here coming early. While we’re at it, put me down for the under on the HOUvsSEA game today at 7.5 and the under for the ATLvsNYM game at 7.
