Hello everyone, I’m happy to be back for another stupendous slate on FanDuel today! Today is interesting with no real pitchers sticking out to me. I first want to tackle the staple for all my lineups today: that’s going to be the one, the only Eric Thames at 1B for $3,000. I know what your going to say… “but he’s going up against a LHP.” I know he is, but I expect him to break out and what better time than against a bad pitcher. I’m not the only one that likes him either, Hitter-Tron has him as the 6th highest hitter for today and the 10th best bat on the FanDuel DFSBot. I think he’s too good of a hitter to struggle this bad; the guy is just due. Play him, watch him go deep twice, and then get “randomly tested.”
Now on to the picks…
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Zack Greinke, SP: $10,700 – I tried really hard to not use a high priced arm today but once the Rays went with a guy who isn’t even in the player pool, you really have no choice. Greinke is a really good play, obviously; he’s been pitching great this year and he’s a big favorite at home. I still worry about him from time to time in that ball park but sometimes you just have to risk it.
Mike Foltynewicz, SP: $7,700 – Very hard decision here; I could’ve gone super cheap with Gallardo or go medium priced with Folty. I chose Folty (you’re welcome). The reason I do: I like the team around him. I don’t think he’s all that good, but he’s a decent favorite on the day going against a team that gives up a bunch of runs.
Gary Sanchez, C: $3.600 – Once again Sanchez finds himself on my short list of catchers I’ll use today. He gets to face off with the one guy I thought for sure would fall off the map this year and that’s Porcello. No, he hasn’t slipped but he hasn’t been very good either. I think he’s a very hittable pitcher and in Yankee Stadium I fully expect Sanchez to knock him around.
Evan Gattis, C: $3,100 – Not since Jim Thome have I seen someone more “country strong.” I have no idea if he actually grew up on a farm or not, but he looks the part. Today he will be facing off with a junk throwing pitcher in Vargas. I’ll probably pick against Vargas until the bottom drops out because I know its coming, just a matter of when. Today should be the day with a really good team who crushes LHP. Gattis is a part of that formula and I expect him to get a piece of the action today for a pretty fair price.
Jose Altuve, 2B: $3,800 – As I stated in my Gattis blurb, I generally like a lot of Houston’s hitters today against Vargas. Altuve is probably the one I like the most with his unique skill set. He’s one of the best contact hitters I’ve ever seen and he has great speed with solid pop in his bat. Can’t really ask for more from a guy who’s priced very affordable today.
Dee Gordon, 2B: $3,100 – I was torn between Dee Gordon and Rougned Odor. I like them both, they’re similar in price and have pretty solid options. What makes me lean towards Gordon is I think his match up is better because Lackey is a jerk face and he sucks. I also think Gordon having a multi-steal game is more likely then a home run game from Odor. Lackey has been getting rocked this year as well so I really think Gordon has a monster game today. I want to use Altuve everywhere, but I’ll have to get Gordon somewhere.
Jake Lamb, 3B: $3,900 – Anyone worth a damn at 3B today is priced over $3,500 so don’t worry about price. Just play who you like and try and save somewhere…like pitcher! Personally for me, the guy I like most today is Lamb; Perdomo is an awful pitcher and I expect Lamb to take him deep. Lamb has a whopping 12 home runs against RHP on the season with a .327 average. Perdomo has actually been better against LHB this season but over his career he’s terrible against both.
Manny Machado, 3B: $3,800 – I’m not sure what’s happening to Machado this year. He has solid power numbers and he’s attempting to steal more as well. The problem is he can’t seem to hit over .220 on the year. It’s been a struggle for most of the season so you have to think sooner or later he’ll break out of this in a big way. I’m hoping that starts today. He’s the kind of player that can go on massive surges for 2+ weeks at a time. You want to be ahead of the surge and catch it from the beginning to the end. I think the beginning starts really soon and goes until the All-Star break.
Carlos Correa, SS: $4,200 – Has there been a hotter hitter over the last two weeks then Correa? He’s hitting over .400 with 5 home runs and 15 RBIs during that time. He also gets to face off against Vargas who I’ve already said I’ll pick on any chance I can until he blows up. Correa seems like a easy play to me, only problem is attempting to afford it. The price has become rather steep and I don’t know if I’ll be able to use him. Ill probably have to go cheaper and use…
Taylor Motter, SS $2,800 – The Segura injury was devastating to me; I have him everywhere in my seasonal leagues. It does open up some nice value for us today, though. Motter won’t hit .300 or even .250, honestly. He does have some nice pop at a middle infield position, however. Going up against a bad LHP today, he should be in line for some success if he can run into one like he did the other night. I know this isn’t a flashy play, but if your trying to get Sanchez, Altuve, and Lamb in, you need to go cheap somewhere.
Giancarlo Stanton, OF: $4,200 – FINALLY we’re into June and Stanton looks healthy and is hitting very well. He’s always been an amazing talent and sooner or later he was going to have a healthy season. So far looks like this might be that season, I really think he goes deep twice today. It’s just matching up in the perfect way for him playing in Wrigley, where it looks like the wind maybe blowing in a bit, but still going to be a beautiful day. Lackey’s been giving up more HR/FBs then he ever has in his entire career. Do whatever you can to fit Stanton in today.
Corey Dickerson, OF: $4,200 – What we have here is one of those slates where I don’t have enough time to write up everyone I like. I’d have you guys here all day and that’s not cool! You can really play anyone over $3,600 in the outfield and I’d be just fine with it today. I also like more Rays then just Dickerson but he’s the main one. Dickerson has been destroying RHP and gets maybe the worst one in the entire league. That pitcher is Mike Pelfrey, I’m not even sure why he’s still in the major leagues but he is. Play Dickerson at least but if you’re doing multi-lineups for GPP, having some other Rays isn’t a bad idea.
Hernan Perez, OF: $2,900/Keon Broxton, OF: $2,800 – To me both of these guys are essentially the same today. Both have good match ups against a weak LHP, they should hit around the middle of the lineup, and both have been hitting pretty well as of late. I also like the price of both of them, making them good cheaper options on a slate that doesn’t have many.
I’m Only Happy When It Rains
I don’t know what were going to do today, I can’t comprehend all this terrible weather. There’s some really scary cloud cover in a few places that we need to look out for…Oh wait never mind it’s going to be beautiful everywhere. Free your hearts and just worry about who’s playing because this is the first time (I think I said this last week to) where you don’t need to worry at all. I’d talk about some windy areas, but looks like nothing is going to blow over 8 to 9 mph anywhere.
Doing Lines In Vegas
The Cubs, Diamondbacks, and Astros are the big favorites on today’s slate. I still don’t mind picking on Lackey because big favorite or not he still sucks. On today’s slate, 9+ totals reign supreme as on a 12 game slate, 7 games have a game total of 9 or higher. I expect that to grow a little because the line isn’t up for the Rays vs the White Sox or for the Cubs vs Marlins as of this typing. Those both should be 9 or more totals as well. What this tells me is to make sure you get your pitcher right and spread the offense around over a few lineups.
