It’s truly a somber day here at Razzball Headquarters. Today marks the final day of the baseball season, so of course that means the final DraftKings write-up as well. I’m in shambles as I pen this. I’m sitting here with an almost-empty box of tissues just staring at my screen and crying my eyes out. In years past this might signal that my PornHub Gold subscription had come to an end. But that’s in the past. I’m much older now. Plus, my Mom cut my allowance in half so I don’t have the funds for that type of luxury any longer. What a jerk! Whatever though. Right? I mean, we’re here for baseball talk and that’s exactly what Honcho intends to give you. So we’ve reached game 162 on the schedule and hopefully, with the help of all the fantastic writers here, you’re a much better player than you were in April. Don’t fret, we’ll be back next season to lead you to the land of DFS riches. It kind of boils down to what Dr. Seuss and my ex-girlfriend’s are famous for saying: Don’t smile because it’s over. Cry because it happened. Wait. What!? Anyway, Here’s the deal for today. Pedro Alvarez smashes right-handers and guess what? The Yankees are sending Luis Cessa to the hill today. It’s almost like the DFS Gods are teeing one up for us. Alvarez has been fairly hot over his last 7 games – reaching base at a .385 clip, blasting a home run and producing a 1.021 OPS. On the road vs RHP this season, Alvarez has racked up a .390 wOBA, 145 wRC+ and .266 ISO. Is that any good? He’s also blasted 21 of his 22 home runs against righties. So there’s that. Wanna know what else is cool about Alvarez today? He’s priced at $3,700. That’s more than decent value for a lefty battling the short porch. In fact, this is so exciting that the neighbor kids would tell me that “It’s Lit!” Now GET OFF MY LAWN and go win some money!
Here’s a look at the rest of my picks for today’s slate:
New to DraftKings? Scared of feeling like a small fish in a big pond? Well reserve your spot in the 25 Team Razzball Exclusive League set to run Monday October 3rd to wet your DK whistle. Just remember to sign up through us before you do. Wanna know what the best part is about signing up with us? The free subscription for the rest of the season to our DFSBot, that’s what! For details on the how to, please visit our Razzball Subscriptions page.
Chris Sale, SP $13,100 – He’s tossed quality starts in 8 of his last 9 outings and his 9.22 K/9 should play well with Minnesota’s 26% strikeout rate over the last 7 games. They’ve also managed to reach base at a .316 clip and post a below average 85 wRC+ over that same period.
Kevin Gausman, SP $8,500 – The Yankees just can’t figure out Baltimore’s 25 year-old righty. Over 172 career at-bats, New York has managed a .221/.250/.293 slash line with just 9 extra base hits. Over their last 7 games the Yankees have produced an unimpressive .156 ISO ans .413 slugging percentage. Both of those numbers happen to fall below the league average.
Evan Gattis, C $3,900 – He’s hitting .320 over his last 7 games and launched 10 HR in September. Right-hander Jhoulys Chacin will take the ball for the Angels, which is great news considering 22 of Gattis’ 32 HRs have come against RHP.
Jose Abreu, 1B $3,900 – If you’re not comfortable with the Pedro Avarez suggestion, Jose Abreu is here to hold you close. He’ll face Jose Berrios today and that’s music to any right-handed batters ears. Berrios’ has allowed a .330 average and 7 HR to righties over 128 at-bats this season.
Matt Carpenter, 2B/3B $4,700 – Ryan Vogelsong has given up 6 HRs and a .292 batting average to lefties this season. Carpenter has a .922 OPS and 16 HRs against right-handers this season. One other item worth noting: Carpenter owns a 1.022 career OPS vs Vogelsong.
Manny Machado, 3B/SS $2,900 – There’s no arguing that he’s been cold as of late, but at this price he has to be in your lineup. Luis Cessa has allowed a .360 wOBA and .544 SLG% to right-handers at home this year.
Chris Owings, SS/OF $3,600 – Hitting .333 with a home run over his last 7 games.
Melky Cabrera, OF $4,400 – We discussed Jose Berrios and his struggles above, but I forgot to add that he’s surrendering a .386 wOBA to lefties this year. Cabrera batted .317 with 5 HR and a .890 OPS during the month of September.
Jose Bautista, OF $4,600 – His career numbers vs David Price are too good to ignore. Bautista has launched 6 HR and owns a 1.151 OPS over 58 career at-bats vs Price.
Ryan Braun, OF $5,300 – Let’s go to Coors Field one last time this year. Braun has 3 HR and a .302/.295/.581 line over his last 14 games.
I’m Only Happy When It Rains
We have clear skies all around for today’s games. Sit back and enjoy the end of the regular season.
Doing Lines In Vegas
Chris Sale (-240) and Kyle Hendricks ( -230) are the biggest favorites for today’s slate. If you’re looking for offense, well the odds makers are making it tough this morning. The TB/TEX & SD/ARI games both have an O/U of 10, while the CHC/CIN game carries an 8.5. Every other game is off the board as of this being published.
