What is up ladies and gentlemen! Hoping the return of sports is treating everyone well. I’m going to be your bartender for this 13 game FanDuel slate. We have a ton of information that we’re digging into so I have reduced it to a hand full of my favorite plays that will hopefully give you everything you need to line your pockets with a little spending money for your favorite tasty adult beverage. Enough of me wasting your time, let’s get into it!
New to FanDuel? Scared of feeling like a small fish in a big pond? Well, be sure to read our content and subscribe to the DFSBot for your daily baseball plays. Just remember to sign up through us before jumping into the fray. It’s how we know you care!
PITCHING:
Cash Game Picks:
Zack Greinke, SP: $9,600 – We do not have a ton of history when it comes to Greinke vs. the Mariners. He went into the ninth inning late last season with a no-hitter intact and that is it. What I do have, however, is several years watching him pitch every fifth and an understanding of how his slider is nearly impossible for left-handed bats to handle, which happens to be what Seattle is loaded with. He is not the same K/9 guy that he used to be, but he has plenty left in the tank to handle this Mariner lineup.
Zac Gallen, SP: $8,300 – I have been eagerly awaiting seeing what Gallen is going to do this season. He didn’t give up more than three earned runs at any point during the 2019 season including a seven-inning, eight strikeout shutout against the Padres. Not a ton in terms of BVP but he has a 97 tOPS+ against right-handed bats and he gets the benefit of pitching in San Diego today. He and Greinke are going to make up 80 percent of my cash pitching today.
Trevor Bauer, SP: $9,700 – Tigers led the MLP with a K rate of 26.4 percent last season, Trevor strikes out a ton of people. Not much else to explain on this one. It is going to be a bad day for Detroit.
GPP Picks:
Shohei Ohtani, SP: $8,000 – I am hoping people wait for a game to see if Shohei is back to form and we can get him at a deep ownership discount. West coast bias is real in DFS and I am hoping enough people are just a bit nervous about using him on his first start back since tommy john. Not much needs to be said about his stuff. He has ended up living up to every bit of his hype in a way that I have never seen, and it has already been stated that he will not be on a pitch count so load up and enjoy the ride.
Ryan Weber, SP: $6,100 – This is not a great day for pitching today so I am trying to find some potential upside near the bottom so you can load up with bats. Weber is a high-risk proposition, but his skillset matches up very well against the Orioles. Weber is a sinker pitcher with around 7.2 K/9 and the O’s sit at around a 23 percent K rate with slightly worse splits against finesse pitchers. No, it is not pretty, but his price combined with the batting woes in Baltimore leads me to put him in a few of my lineups today.
Others to consider: Blake Snell ($10,200), Dakota Hudson ($7,700), Kenta Maeda ($7,400)
Stacks and Bats:
Red Sox
Yes, I am going back to the well, yes, I am a little nervous about it. But you cannot be scared as a DFS player and expect to win. The data still says this is an elite matchup. And I am hoping we get a little ownership decrease from yesterday’s poor performance. Do not freak out folks, it is still Baltimore.
Cash: J.D. Martinez ($4,000), Xander Bogaerts ($3,600), Christian Vazquez ($2,800) GPP: Rafael Devers ($3,700)
Yankees:
I think people are going to be scared off by Corbin on the hill a little bit. I truly hope so. There are a few guys on the Yankees who demolish Corbin. Giancarlo Stanton ($3,700) has a 1.319 OPS with 2 HR’s in 18 AB’s, DJ LeMahieu ($3,600) has a 1.127 OPS with four homers in 52 AB’s, Gleyber Torres ($3,300) has a .900 OBS against LHP, and Aaron Judge ($4,100) was slugging .657 in 99 at-bats against lefties. Everything points to a long day for Corbin.
Cash: Stanton, Judge, LeMahieu, Torres GPP: Gary Sanchez ($3,100), Gio Urshela ($2,700)
Reds:
Eugenio Suarez ($3,200) Nick Castellanos ($3,100) and Joey Votto ($3,100) are all playing fantastic ball right now and I have no reason to think that Spencer Turnbull is going to anything to slow that down. Votto specifically looks like his former self when he was competing for MVP’s and batting titles year in and year out. Implied total is 5.5 for the Reds today and I am expecting that number to go up before the first pitch
Cash: Suarez, Castellanos Votto GPP: Shogo Akiyama ($2,600)
Rangers:
Rangers are my sneaky game that I am hoping goes overlooked for tournaments. Freeland was giving up 2.2 HR/9 last season and 22 of the 25 he gave up were to right-handed hitters. Nick Solak ($2,700) and Todd Frazier ($2,600) both hit lefties hard and Elvis Andrus ($2,700), Joey Gallo ($3,400), Shin-Soo Choo ($2,700), and Danny Santana ($2,900) are a threat at any point.
Cash: Solak, Frazier GPP: Gallo, Rougned Odor ($2,900), Choo
Favorite Pitcher:
Cash: Zack Greinke
GPP: Shohei Ohtani
Favorite Stack:
Chalk: Yankees
Low Owned: Rangers
Favorite Chalk Player: Giancarlo Stanton
Favorite Low Owned Player: Todd Frazier
Salary Saver: Nick Solak
Home Run Call: Aaron Judge (x2)
I’m Only Happy When It Rains
We’re looking hot and humid today, but no real threat of rain in the forecast
Doing Lines In Vegas
Greinke and the ‘Stros are the biggest favorites today at -250. The Brewers and the Cubs have an enormous over/under at 11 runs with a steady Wrigley wind blowing straight out to center.
