I can’t think of any good reasons to not stack the heck out of Corbin Burnes ($11,200) tonight. The only thing against him is that price tag, but we’re almost at deGrom level of must-pay with Burnes right now. 12.4 K/9 and a 1.7 BB/9 is pretty silly. Burnes is at home and facing the Cubs, who lead the majors in strikeouts. Could we see back-to-back double-digit strikeout games? I think so. No one is hotter right now than Burnes. Now isn’t the time to get cute and fading Burnes is just that, getting too cute. Eat the chalk and let’s find some other spots to get cute.
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!
Lance McCullers Jr., SP: $9,900 – Alright, I hear you, no chalk for you, so let’s look at Burnes alternatives. Arizona is bottom five in team OPS and top ten in team strikeouts, that will work. McCullers is also at home and cheaper than all the other top options.
Lance Lynn, SP: $10,300 – It’s a Lance party! This Lance is on the road, but Texas owns the league’s second-worst team OPS, so we’re good. The Rangers don’t strike out a ton, but they do stink, so we’ve got that going for us, which is nice.
Yusei Kikuchi, SP: $8,700 – We’ve got nothing if not options. I also kinda like Kikuchi’s opponent in this battle of attrition, Kris Bubic ($7,200). Both teams are brutal and I prefer Kikuchi who seems like one of those guys who could give up 6 in three innings, or strikeout out 12 in 6 innings. Let’s toll the dice.
Aaron Nola, SP: $8,300 – One more pure dice roll. This is a total price play, I know Nola has seemed broken of late, but this cheap for this talent is really hard to pass up. I’d mix a GPP lineup in with Nola and some stacked bats and hope he gets right.
Yuli Gurriel, C/1B: $3,300 – We’re going to be targeting a couple of terrible pitchers tonight and Tyler Gilbert is our number one target. The Astros are going to smash tonight.
Jared Walsh, C/1B: $3,000 – I’m old enough to remember when Walsh was good. Daulton Jefferies isn’t much to shake a stick at, and I could see Walsh reminding us of the first half stud.
Josh Harrison, 2B/3B: $2,900 – Harrison has been hot and at the top of the A’s lineup, a great combo for scoring points.
Abraham Toro, 2B/3B: $2,600 – Toro is able to pop at any time, making him a great boom or bust GPP play on the cheap. Bubic could blow up and Toro should be a part of that action.
Alex Bregman, 3B: $4,300 – Right in the middle of all that Astros scoring, Bregman is possibly the top option overall tonight.
Tim Anderson, SS: $3,700 – Timmy is still on the cheap side, coming off the DL. I like stacking against Howard and the White Sox are such a fun team to stack.
Luis Urias, 2B/3B/SS: $2,600 – I’m not sure why Urias is so cheap, but this seems like a major bargain against Justin Steele, who is prone to some walks and runs.
Jorge Soler, OF: $3,200 – We’ve got a Sammy Long on the docket tonight, and I’ll be honest, I didn’t know Sammy was a major league pitcher. Jokes on him though, I don’t think he actually is.
Tommy Edman, 2B/OF: $2,900 – If you, like me, believe Darvish is going to give up another 30 runs, Tommy Edman, near the top of the Cardinals lineup would make a fine choice tonight.
Jose Siri, OF: $2,700 – One more Astro to fill out the stack. I’m hoping for some Grey “Buy” mojo this weekend and also hoping the Astros scoot Siri up the lineup so he’s not batting eighth.
Brandon Marsh, OF: $2,400 – We’ll cap things off with some cheap upside. A little Ohtani/Walsh/Marsh mini stack sounds pretty good against Jefferies tonight.
I’m Only Happy When It Rains
I think the weather deities are shining on us tonight and we’re free and clear for baseball activities; chewing gum and spitting sunflower seeds.
Doing Lines In Vegas
In a sea of nine run totals, we have one game with a seven run total, SD@STL, Darvish vs. Wainwright. I’m not touching this game. It’s recency bias, but I’m not letting Darvish steal my kidney tonight and I’m not trusting Wainwright vs. the Padres, but you do you. Our biggest favorites on the night are Burnes (-275) and McCullers (-265).
