Sometimes the FanDuel slate is a packed casino of similar players seemingly priced too high to make a difference in your lineup. Then one of them saunters up to the craps table in a white Tuxedo, stands out, and says “I’m Cron, C.J. Cron.” He is at the absurdly low price of $3,300 today, probably because he has just been reinstated from the IL by the Minnesota Twins. It’s absurdly low because he’s the 19th ranked first baseman today in price on FanDuel, and the 5th place hitter for the Twins, one of the best offenses in the league. Today he faces the lowly lefty Jason Vargas. Cron happens to destroy lefties to a .358 average this year, along with a 1.084 OPS and 182 OPS+. Now on to the rest of the picks.
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Mike Clevinger, SP: $9,400: Clevinger is facing the horrible Detroit Tigers today, and is $2,000 cheaper than Gerrit Cole, who is on the road in LA against an Angels team that’s on the rise. Clevinger is 5-2 against the Tigers in his career with a 2.18 ERA, and he’s getting his pitch counts up since coming off the IL a month ago.
Garrett Cooper, 1B: $2,900: This three hitter for the Marlins is obviously under the radar, but he’s got a .448 ISO the past two weeks (Yelich leads the league with a .379 ISO on the year, for comparison). He’s a great cheaper option to help fill out your roster for pricier picks.
Robel Garcia, 2B: $2,900: This guy is one of the top hitters in baseball over the past two weeks, believe it or not. His .591 ISO in that time frame is #2 to someone who will be mentioned later. In fact, choosing this guy will help get that guy in your lineup.
Brandon Crawford, SS: $3,500: Crawford sees the ball much better against right handers, like his opponent today Jon Gray of the Rockies. Against righties he walks 12% of the time, instead of 2% against lefties. He’s also hot as a pistol, .452 ISO the past two weeks, which includes four homers in the past week. Did we mentioned the Giants are in Coors? Just make sure he’s starting, since they just played a doubleheader yesterday and he’s an older player.
Rafael Devers, 3B: $4,200: 2019 is Devers’ coming out party. Today he’s facing the artist formally known as Aaron Sanchez top prospect, but is now Aaron Sanchez sad Blue Jay pitcher. Devers has a .997 OPS against righties, including a lot of pitchers much better than Aaron Sanchez.
Charlie Blackmon, OF: $4,700: Blackmon is at home, where he has a mind-numbing 1.340 OPS. He’s facing a lefty (Shaun Alexander of the Giants). He has a 1.028 OPS against lefties.
Mike Trout, OF: $4,900: Trout sat out the past two games, so why mention him? For one, he could be in the lineup today, double check before game time. For another, his ISO the past two weeks is .883. When the best player on the planet is playing like part of an all Universe starter, it’s worth doing whatever is necessary to get him in your lineup. We may never see a stretch like this again. That’s eight home runs in his last seven games. For those counting at home that’s a 185 home run season pace. He should cost the same as the best starting pitcher each day. So yeah, if he’s starting, get him in your lineup.
Alex Dickerson, OF: $3,800: FanDuel is starting to pick up that he’s hit four home runs recently. All of those are against righties, like Jon Gray, and he’s in Coors field.
Mike Yastrzemski, OF: $3,100: Another Giant in Coors field, he’s finally starting to make a name for himself instead of only being known as a HOFer’s grandson. He likes Coors field, he went 3-5 there yesterday with a homer and a double. The Giants are somehow the hottest team in the NL right now, and he’s a big part of it.
I’m Only Happy When It Rains
There’s rain in the forecast in Baltimore for the Nationals and Orioles. The same in Boston for the Blue Jays and Red Sox, and New York for the Rays and Yankees. So keep an eye on these, as the Northeast could be a problem tonight.
Doing Lines In Vegas
Stack ’em, pack ’em and rack ’em: The highest projected runs scored today are the Rockies (7.5) vs the Giants, the Twins (6.66) vs the Mets, and the Red Sox (6.28) vs the Blue Jays.
The best and the brightest: The biggest favorites today are the Indians (-239) vs the Tigers, the Astros (-213) at the Angels, and the Red Sox (-192) vs the Blue Jays.
