Come one come all to your favorite stop on the road to potentially hitting that jackpot we all yearn for. Some simple clicks of some names and good fortune await, right? Well, I wish it was that easy but as we all know by now it is certainly not that right. I hope you had a productive week and had some fun along the way. I had a pretty good week and even got a ticket to a FanDuel tournament and did pretty well so I’m still playing on that so I’m feeling pretty snazzy. We have a pretty light slate today as Mondays and Thursdays are travel days for a lot of teams going forward so we will have to make sure we are choosing wisely. I will keep a close eye on road teams traveling on Sundays after their game and playing on Monday as well as pitchers pitching on Monday who get a full night’s rest in their own bed. I mean how nice is it to sleep in your own bed right. We have a top echelon of starters today ( Cole, Darvish, Buehler and even Kikuchi will get lots of ownership against the Tigers today).
I’m targeting Mr. Yu Darvish here who brings quite an extensive toolbox to today’s matchup. Yu has a 6 pitch arsenal in which he fires away at will and commands all six pitches well. His slider to right-handed hitters is downright nasty and is his best pitch. He is throwing his cutter less which is a good thing and throws a rising 95 mph fastball mixing in a curveball as well. Hitters are constantly having to guess which pitch is coming and often are wrong. Darvish goes deep into games and seems to have found a comfy home in San Diego after a disappointing stay in Chicago after he had some injury woes during his time there and was ineffective at times. The mood in San Diego is an upbeat one even with the loss of some key players due to COVID concerns but hopefully for them, it will pass and they will get back on track. I think Darvish will go deep into this game against the Rockies going at least 7+ innings with 8 k’s and 1 ER.
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SP- Gerrit Cole ($12,300 ) Like I said before on a smaller slate like this with top-heavy pitchers, no reason to get different. Cole has been dominant this year throwing double-digit K’s in 5 out of 8 starts (8 k’s in two other starts) so the K’s will be there. Like Darvish, he has only allowed 2 ER max in a single start this season and is worth paying up today against the Rangers. I lean Darvish because I think he gets the added bump for playing for the Padres with even a watered-down lineup I still think they take care of the Rockies and Darvish gets to face the pitcher at least once if not twice. Can’t go wrong with either one.
C/1B- Willson Contreras ( $3,400) Not too many DFS players play a C on a FanDuel slate and I even saw a winning lineup take down a contest with Kevin Plawecki (0.6%) owned this past week so it could be a way to be slightly different from the field. Contreras is facing a lefty in Jon Lester who is making a return to Chicago today. Willson brings a mediocre sampling so far to today’s game among the bottom tier in K% and whiff % but when he does make contact he hits the ball hard and a long way. Contreras hit 7 HR in April and has not hit any in May so far and I think he is overdue and a good spot to hit one here against Lester his former battery mate. Contreras has hit at the top of the batting order more frequently this year so you have max opportunities to get that HR you covet and has a nice 4 game hitting streak he’s got to keep upright.
2B- Dylan Moore ($2,400) I’m still a believer in Dylan despite his slow start and Kelenic’s arrival. He still has good power and when he makes contact he hits the ball hard and barrels it up as his barrel % is very good. He had a nice series in Cleveland this past weekend hitting 2 HR and stealing two bases in the series and has gotten a hit in 7 out of the last 9 games. I had him in that tournament and it was a difference-maker and I think he will still be overlooked and you need to get that edge on some low-priced players that will pop. I think he’s on the upward trajectory and faces Casey Mize and the Tiger bullpen who are below average on a good day.
3B- Anthony Rendon ($3,700) Rendon came off the injury list (knee) this past weekend and smacked a single off the wall and appeared to be favoring his knee slightly and probably didn’t want to risk sliding into 2nd for a double. He looks fine though and still has that elite power stroke. The Angels face a rookie prospect in lefty Sam Hentges who worked as a reliever earlier in the year with middling results. Rendon in his career has had a lot more success against lefties and you got to think he will be waiting for a nice juicy fastball to take out today.
SS- Tim Anderson ($3,800 ) Anderson has been so good lately carrying an 11 game hitting streak into today’s game and multiple hits in 6 of those games. Anderson faces JA Happ who he famously liked a tweet declaring that the Twins had signed him earlier this year. Anderson had good reason to like the tweet because he basically has owned Happ hitting .563 avg 1.063 slugging % and a 1.625 OBP in 16 plate appearances. (9 Hits, 2 HRs) That’s a good enough sample size for me to get behind and play him today.
OF- Mookie Betts ($4,200 ) Betts is batting at the top of a watered-down Dodger lineup which just lost Corey Seager as well this weekend. Betts has been a slight disappointment for season-long fantasy owners so far but still wields a powerful bat capable of hitting one out every time he steps to the plate. He offers some speed as well as he has 5 stolen bases so far. Betts has elite plate discipline and so far in May, he has walked more than he has struck out (8-7). Betts faces Madison Bumgarner today whom he has faced a handful of times and has gotten 2 hits out of 5 at-bats against him. I think Betts gets the better of MadBum today.
OF- Aaron Judge ($3,600 ) The court is now in session as Judge has been hitting the cover of the ball lately. He is at an elite level on his statcast page in just about everything. Judge faces Jordan Lyles who is not a great pitcher whatsoever.
OF- Mitch Haniger ($3,600 ) Haniger had a very good series against the Indians this past weekend getting multiple hits in the weekend series and hitting a HR in two of them. Mitch has an elite xSLG and barrel % and has 12 HR over the season so far. Haniger faces Mize and the Tigers today. Advantage Haniger.
UT- Franmil Reyes ($3,800) Reyes faces Patrick Sandoval and the Angels today. Reyes brings a great Max Exit Velo, Hard Hit%, and xSLG into today’s game and faces a sub-par pitcher in Sandoval who throws left and Reyes has to be licking his chops to get in the box against Sandoval today.
I’m Only Happy When It Rains
Rain in Cincy today will likely be a factor if the game between the Giants and Reds is played or not.
Doing Lines in Vegas
Take the Indians as the dog today at +120 against the Angels. Sandoval has never impressed me especially as a starter and the Indians have plenty of right handed bats that love to crush lefties. I think the Indians have a way better bullpen as well as this will be a classic bullpen game on both sides.
