My fantasy baseball advice is kinda like a banana. Three-quarters of it are sweet, sweet deliciousness, while the end bit is the devil’s asshole. We’ve had a strong season together, but since this is our final week of DFS, what better way to go out with a whimper than by recommending Clayton Richard! You point and I’ll laugh at the idiot (me). Actually, y’know what, this may not be such a noodle scratcher after all. Did you know Richard has created a ground ball rate of 70% or more four times this season? That’s more than Corey Kluber and Chris Sale combined! Anyways, Richard faces Rich Hill in a lefty-lefty free-for-all in LA tonight. He’s a cheap option ($7,400) on a night where either Justin Verlander or Luis Severino will cost you the blood of your first born son. Here’s who else I like on our final fine Wednesday together:
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Marco Estrada, SP: $8,300 – Okay so for a 34 year old, not bad. You can focus on Estrada’s unhealthy obsession with HR’s, or the fact that he’s pitched six innings or more in 19 of his 32 starts this season. The Red Sox rank dead last in hits this week, and rank in the bottom five in HR’s. That’s not where you wanna be entering the playoffs.
Mike Zunino, C: $3,200 – Did you get a load of Big Mike’s homer to deep right centre field on Monday? That was a real dish-licker. Kendall Graveman is up for the A’s today, and guess what, he’s only sporting a lazy .387 AVG against the Mariners this season. That’s only a few points lower than Mike’s AVG for the month of September (.328) and gee-golly-wee, I think it’s safe to say we might have a Top 10 Catcher candidate on our hands!
Justin Bour, 1B: $4,000 – Not a bad end to the season for Jon Gray. Granted he put up 15 strikeouts against the Padres in his last two starts, he’s actually been pretty okay at Coors field – just 3 HR’s allowed. Then again, Bour has hit 4 HR’s/10 RBI’s over the last week alone, and since Gray gave up 3 ER’s in 5.2 IP last time he saw the Marlins back in August, you have to take this gamble.
Jose Altuve, 2B: $3,800 – Watching this Rangers team is like waiting for your toaster to cool down before you put it away in the cupboard. Nick Martinez is on the mound for Texas, not that you care. He’s stranded less than 50% of his runners in his last three games, and Altuve, well, he has 7 hits, 1 HR and 6 runs scored over the last seven days.
Jake Lamb, 3B: $4,000 – I hate to jump the shark, but Jeff Samardzija’s 1.15 WHIP is blood in the water for the DBacks power-puff boys. Lamb has been as streaky as Bartolo Colon’s jockstrap after Taco Tuesday, but he’s one of only three Arizona hitters to hold a HR and 6 RBI’s against Samardzija this season.
Trea Turner, SS: $4,000 – Mark Leiter might want to call in sick or get his mom to write him a note for this one. He’s allowed 7 HR’s over his last four games, and Turner is coming in red hot right before we do re-evaluate our 2018 rankings. Nice how he does that, huh?
Tommy Pham, OF: $3,900 – Speaking of rankings, who’s looking forward to Pham spam all offseason long? You can make the case he’s a Top 10 OF next year, so use this one last chance to play him in your lineup against a woefully bad John Lackey.
Mitch Haniger, OF: $3,500 – Ride the Mariners all the way to the Grave… Man! Haniger since the All Star Break: .282 AVG, 9 HR’s, 23 RBI’s. Can anyone say underrated?
Justin Upton, OF: $4,000 – Two Justin’s in one day! Gotta be some kinda record. Seriously, though, the Upton variety is really, really interesting. I mean, is it any wonder why he’s decided to be a good hitter again? Moving from Detroit to Los Angeles would probably talk anyone off the ledge.
I’m Only Happy When It Rains
Overcast in Texas and Colorado tonight. Probably a welcome sign for Nick Martinez and Jon Gray. Other than that, the rain gods have blessed us with clear skies.
Doing Lines In Vegas
Your big standouts tonight are the Yankees (-270) and the Astros (-190). No arguments here with Luis Severino and Justin Verlander on the mound, but a nice sleeper bet could be Jordan Zimmermann and the Tigers (+150) at the Royals. Jason Hammel is on the mound for Kansas City, and since the Royals have his 5 HR’s all week, this could be easy cash monies.
