It’s days like Thursdays where we are thankful that FanDuel only requires us to pick one starting pitcher. The pickings are slim in this five game slate and the pitchers are mediocre at best. There is only one starter today that I have a high degree of confidence in and that is Nate Pearson ($7,500). As a Braves fan, I hate going against this offense, but facts are facts and the fact is, the Braves are striking out…a lot. As of this writing they have an 18 strikeout lead over the next closest team, the Mets. So, while the offense might be a little scary to face, the DFS bills are paid by way of the K and Pearson should end up with plenty. Ozzie Albies is out of the lineup now too, which gives me even more reason to like Pearson. Not to mention, when you see the other options, you may have to keep from laughing out loud.
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Wade LeBlanc, SP: $6,600 – HAHAHA! I told you! Honestly, LeBlanc is nothing special, but with the Marlins coming off the longest in-season layoff of all time, I’m banking on some rust. Plus, we’re in Crayola Canyon, so even a couple LeBlanc mistakes should stay in the yard.
Touki Toussaint, SP: $6,300 – I imagine Nate Person is likely to be the chalk play today, so if you’d like to use a little game theory and play contrarian, Touki should be able to put up some points and who knows, maybe could sneak away with a win.
Brandon Bielak, SP: $5,500 – Bielak is starting in place of Josh James and goes today after a reshuffle of the rotation. The Diamondbacks are dead last in team OPS (.539) and I was all set to recommend Zack Greinke for that reason. Bielak is a lot of unknowns, we don’t know how long he will go coming from the ‘pen and we don’t know what we can expect from him starting. What we do know is he’s looked good in two and three innings of work and the DBacks have looked like hot garbage left out in the Arizona sun, so there’s some upside here.
Anthony Rizzo, C/1B: $3,700 – Rizzo is the priciest option at the C/1B position, but with all the money we saved on pitching, we can splurge a little. Rizzo faces Brad Keller tonight and with the platoon advantage is the clear top choice.
Yasmani Grandal, C/1B: $2,700 – If you still want to cheap out here for some reason, Grandal is your guy. I’m passing on Vlad Jr here ad picking on Josh Lindblom, who does nothing for me. I can see a lot of Chicago love tonight.
Keston Hiura, 2B: $3,300 – We are pretty far from Gio Gonzalez being any good. Meanwhile, Keston Hiura is very good. Chicago and Milwaukee for the win!
Alex Bregman, 3B: $3,900 – I looked and looked, but I don’t see any cheap options at 3B tonight. Bregman is the top option, but I won’t argue with going with Bryant or Moncada here either. You could try Maikel Franco if you like, but I do not.
Javier Baez, SS: $3,500 – More Cubbie love, however, I think I’d prefer saving some money here.
Adalberto Mondesi, SS: $2,500 – Mondesi isn’t going to stay this cheap forever, you know? He’s a slam and legs away from jumping back into the $3,000+ range, so get in now while the gettin’s good!
Luis Robert, OF: $3,200 – How is Robert priced less than Yordan Alvarez? Not for you to answer, for you to simply click the big green plus sign and add Robert to your roster.
Kyle Schwarber, OF: $2,800 – Schwarbs is always primed to help you win a tournament by launching a couple. I’ve expressed my opinion on Brad Keller already.
Kyle Tucker, OF: $2,700 – Despite having no homers yet, Tucker has put up several double digit point performances including a 38.4 pointer the other night. Being in the middle of the Astros potent lineup is worth the price alone and those jacks are coming, fear not!
Jon Berti, OF: $2,100 – Dirt cheap and should have a spot atop the Marlins lineup. Hitting at the top of any lineup is worth two grand, even if it is the Marlins. It’ll only take a hit and steal to make him payoff this price tag.
I’m Only Happy When It Rains
We are all clear on all fronts, play ball!
Doing Lines In Vegas
It seems Vegas has no idea what to do about this season, as of this morning there are still multiple games without lines. Honestly, I have no idea how you handicap anything this season without knowing who will play when or who might have a positive test come back overnight. However, with what information we do have, Vegas has the Cubs as the biggest favorites (-170) tonight. The Braves are also favorites tonight (-140) but I think I’d lean Blue Jays there. Nine is the magic number for over/unders today as every game so far has a nine run line. Houston @ Arizona is the one exception here with a 9.5 over/under.
