Ugh! Not another silly Grateful Dead reference and about their one commercial hit from 1987 at that. Seriously that song is the least Dead song in the history of Dead songs. It’s not my fault that Sonny Gray’s last name is Gray and not Sonny Darkstar or Sonny “Sugar” Magnolia. I wasn’t in charge of giving out sir names whenever that happened, so give me a break. Anythewho back to baseball! Today I get to advocate you drafting one of my favorite young arms in the game in Sonny Gray ($8,400). It’s crazy to think the 2011 first rounder hasn’t yet had a full season of major league ball. Since being called up to the bigs last July, Gray has gone 12-6 with ERA/FIP/xFIP of 2.82/3.03/3.22 with K/9 and BB/9’s of 8.45 and 2.98. 25 starts into his young career and Gray looks like an ace, or at least the best pitching arm produced by the A’s since the days of Barry Zito and Tim Hudson.
Gray is a nice mix of a groundball pitcher that also has the ability to punch guys out. This combination allows him to get deep into games while also being a model of consistency. He’s been so consistent that he’s only given up more than 3 runs in a start 4 times in his 25 turns. His ability to give our fake team’s quality innings with little worry of a meltdown is invaluable in all formats. I fully expect another high ceiling/ high floor start from Sonny today against the Marlins in Miami. Though the Marlins have certainly been far better than expected thus far in 2014, they aren’t without their flaws. For example, the fish have the second highest K% of any team in baseball with a 23.2%. This should setup nicely for Gray to put up 7 IP and 7-8 K’s. When looking at pitching in DraftKings format, my focus tends to be K’s and IP because that’s where your big points come from. The price on Gray is very nice today as well only costing a measly $8,400 compared to a half dozen other options in the 5 figure range. The Stream-o-Nator doesn’t love the start, but doesn’t hate it either, ranking Gray at 9 overall today and 5th best of the afternoon slate. The streamer is slightly coo-coo ranking Matt Cain and Gerrit Cole in the two spots ahead of Gray. I wouldn’t advocate you drafting either of those options today.
Over the last two weeks I’ve been organizing daily Razzball leagues on DraftKings and they’ve been a blast. We went from having trouble filling 10 teamers two weeks ago to consistently filling 20 team leagues every day for the last week. This is thanks in large part to Razzball’s great community of readers and writers. I’m making another jump today and organizing two 20 teamers, one for the early set that will kick off at 1:05 pm (EST) and another that will cover the night games kicking off at 7:05. The early league is $1 buy in with the top 3 taking home prizes and the late set is a $2 buy in with the top 3 once again taking home the cash. If you haven’t yet signed up for DraftKings you can do so here by clicking this link. The best part about signing up with us today is that DraftKings will give you a ticket for a free game just for joining. It’s a total win-win. If you’re interested in getting on the invite list for our Daily Leagues simply leave your DK username in the comments and I’ll add you to my ever growing friends list. Ohhh internet friendship!
BTW if you think I’m a dope of the highest caliber, you can always make your own informed decisions by consulting with our suite of tools here on Razzball. Check the Stream-o-Nator, DFSBot, and Hitter-Tron for all the info you need to make that money!
Without further ado, Razzball’s DraftKings picks for June 28th
Max Scherzer, SP: $7,700 – After a rough stretch of starts between May 21st to June 17th, Mad Max seemed to get his mismatched eyes refocused on the prize on Sunday going 6 and punching out 8 against a strong Indians lineup. He gets the Astros today who have been horrific of late even making Justin Verlander look good last night. The Stros have a MLB worst K% of 23.3% this season just edging out the aforementioned Marlins. Over the last two weeks the Astros have been even worse putting up an outrageous K% of 27.8%, to go along with a wOBA of .266 and a wRC+ of 65. Their K% is the highest in baseball over that period by a significant number, while their wOBA and wRC+ is only bested (worsted?) by the putrid Padres and Red Sox lineups.
Evan Gattis, C: $4,200 – Baseball’s Jack Kerouac is On the Road in Philly today and his matchup against the man formerly known as Fausto Carmona has me foaming at the mouth. In 6 at bats against Roberto Hernandez (if that’s your real name), Gattis has 2 homers. Evan has got that country strong power and he’s my pick for Long Dong Silver of the day.
Jose Abreu, 1B: $4,500 – There are three things you can set expect in life Death, taxes, and me suggesting Abreu in my Saturday write-up. I’m pretty sure it’s been 3 maybe 4 weeks in a row now. $4,800 is a great price especially if you’re jumping into some of the designer options at SP this afternoon. Papa Large brings his show on the road to Toronto today to face Marcus Stroman and the Jays. I like his chances of pissing off Geddy Lee. Look at me making two classic rock references in one blog!
Ben Zobrist, 2B/OF: $3,700 – This is almost entirely based on BvP numbers. Zobrist has simply raked against Wei-Yin Chen in his 30 PA’s against him, putting up 10 hits, 2 walks, a home run, and a double. I don’t love the early options at 2nd so Zobrist fits in nicely.
Josh Harrison, 3B/OF: $3,500 – Harrison has been a model of consistency of late only putting up one zero point day on DraftKings in his last 12 games. He’s also put up 8 points or more in 8 of those 12 contests. He gets the Mets and lefty Jonathan Niese this afternoon. Harrison has hit lefties well this season to the tune of a .316 average with a wOBA of .323, and a wRC+ of 107.
Alexei Ramirez, SS: $3,700 – I’ve talked about how valuable a player with a speed/power combo is on DraftKings and I will again now. It’s important! Look at it this way you get a total of 14 total points for a homer, 5 points for a steal and depending how said player got on base for that steal at least another 2 for a BB or 3 for a single. So let’s say Alexei goes all slam and legs today at Rogers Centre. We’re looking at a minimum of 21 points. I like the potential reward with this one, especially at that price point.
Corey Dickerson, OF: $4,600 – The Rockies produce fantasy relevant outfielders like the Queensbridge Projects produced classic hip hop artists in the 80’s and 90’s, just a machine churning out greatness left and right. The most recent product of the Rockies Outfield machine to touch our game is Corey Dickerson. Over the last month Corey D has put up a line of 18/5/18/3/.344/1.037, a top 20 performance over that time. He faces Matt Garza today who’s been consistently hit by left handed batters all season. Garza has surrendered a wOBA of .319 to go along with an OPS of .782. Garza has been slightly better against lefties at home in Miller Missile Park than on the road, but I still fully expect him to struggle against the Rockies today.
Jarrod Dyson, OF: $2,700 – I have the need for speed today and Dyson is my choice of outfield punt plays. He’s been a top 50 hitter over the last few weeks slashing at 4/1/5/2/.333/.768. I’m a little worried he may not be in the lineup against a lefty in Hector Santiago today, but with a June Batting Average of .320 I’m hoping they keep his wheels in the lineup.
Kole Calhoun, OF: $3,700 – The K stands for Kool Breeze who’s known as the champ straight Calhoun the coolest cutter at camp/ My one and my twos got your whole town shook better better listen to your corner and watch for the hook! If you can tell me what forgotten Dungeon Family Classic that line is from you’ll win a free over the internet pat on the back. Simple and plain Calhoun can hit, here’s his numbers from the last month 20/3/11/1/.338/.925. Good right?!?
I’m Only Happy When It Rains
40% chances of showers in KC this afternoon for the game against the Angels. It’s on the edge of being risky because the chances go up later in the afternoon, but I’m not overly worried. There’s also a 30% chance for both games of the double header at Wrigley but as I’ve said many times let me see a 50% before I get nervous.
As always check before game time to watch for developments.
Doing Lines in Vegas
We’ll keep this short and sweet, over on 7.5 in CHW/TOR, under on the MIN/TEX, and under on 8 in the DET/HOU game.
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