Hello fellow DFSers and WELCOME to (Re)Opening Day 2020! Wooo! We made it! I have a sneaky suspicion that DFS usage will be up across the board this season as it seems like the ideal way to handle a season with so many question marks. To celebrate the occasion, FanDuel is kicking things off by giving everyone with an existing account ten free dollars. $10…FREE! How great is that!? Go enjoy some free DFS and try to turn that $10 in something more! Drafting season long teams in July seemed like just going through the motions. You had no idea if the player you drafted was even going to be around in two weeks, was even in the country yet, had COVID, had symptoms or just tweaked their back. Mike Trout could miss some weeks when his baby is born, or could be done for the season at that point. Who knows!? What we do know is we can make these decisions daily based on who is actually at the park. Paying attention to lineups this season will be vital as a player could show up with a fever and not be allowed to play, so follow those beat writers closely and check lineups often. Along with that, we have a DH in the NL now, which opens up more hitting options for us and could allow NL pitchers to go deeper into games. Speaking of pitchers, I feel as though I’ll be paying up for pitchers more this season than in year’s past. I have a feeling there will be more “openers” and bullpen games this year with only 60 games, making those starters who can go 7+ even more valuable. I won’t be messing with many cheap starters this year unless the match-up is choice. I just don’t think there will be many long leashes. It could be the year of the long reliever. With only two games on the Opening Day slate, picks will be in short supply so I thought I’d muse a bit on the upcoming season and it’s strategy.
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Clayton Kershaw, SP: $10,300 – With only 2 games on the slate, picking your pitcher comes down to a couple of simple decisions. Number one, which team do you think has the best chance of winning and number two, what team(s) hitters are you alright with leaving out of your roster. Regarding the first issue, unless you’re a hardcore Yankees fan I think you can see the easiest path to a “W” tonight is with the Dodgers. As I mentioned in the open, with the NL DH, Kershaw should have no problem going just as deep in the game as Cole and Scherzer. Regarding issue number two, the Giants barely have any hitters I want to roster anyway, so leaving them off to not interfere with my pitching numbers is fine by me. No Belt, No Longoria, No Posey, this match-up should be a cake walk for Clayton.
Max Muncy, C/1B: $3,900 – Dodger lefties will be a key component of the roster tonight and Muncy will be the first of several. Muncy can bop, but I’m not sure this is the spot I want to spend up on.
Luke Voit, C/1B: $2,900 – Despite the match-up with Mad Max, I still think I would rather save the $1,000 and go with Voit over Muncy.
Mauricio Dubon, 2B: $2,300 – I don’t want to include an entire post of Dodgers players, so if you want to get frisky and play Cole or you need money for Muncy/Bellinger, I would suggest a nice, cheap second base pick of Dubon, one of the very few Giants I’d consider tonight.
Justin Turner, 3B: $3,100 – Sure, he’s a righty in this sea of Dodger blue lefties, but he’s also got a .355 average off Cueto in 34 plate appearances, so he’ll do the job.
Asdrubal Cabrera, 3B: $2,500 – I have no idea who the Nats are going to throw out there at 3B for Opening Day. I was banking on Kieboom but they seem to be flip-flopping on that idea. If they go with Carter, go with him for $2,200, if not, Asdrubal will do.
Corey Seager, SS: $x,xxx – Please sir, can I have another (Dodger lefty). Seager is also our BvP play of the day having launched three homers off Cueto with a .353 batting average in 36 plate appearances.
Cody Bellinger, OF: $4,500 – Yet another Dodger lefty but Bellinger is the biggest and best of them all. Rudy and the robots have a huge crush on Cody this season as noted by his 4th overall ranking in the preseason player rater. He gets a wonderful match-up to start the year against Cueto.
Giancarlo Stanton, OF: $3,500 – Maybe I’m just fan-boying here and itching to get Giancarlo back into a lineup, but he does have two dingers of Scherzer in 18 tries.
Brett Gardner, OF: $2,700 – I guess I’m going with a Dodgers/Yankees stack tonight, that will probably be the most popular, but I’m sticking with it. Gardner should be near the top of the lineup and in a position to score as long as the Yanks can touch Scherzer.
Aaron Hicks, OF: $2,600 – I’m also excited to see Hicks back on the field and as his price point, I think he’s the most valuable of the Yankees OFs I’ve selected to highlight tonight.
I’m Only Happy When It Rains
The game in Washington could have some storms, it’s going to be hot and humid at the very least.
Doing Lines In Vegas
No surprise, the Dodgers are the big favorites tonight at -300. Interestingly though, both games have an Over/Under under 8. I’m thinking we hammer the over in that LAD/SF game.
