Welcome to your DFS post for Saturday, the second day of the rest of your lives! (Because I don’t know about you, but I feel like I died during the All-Star Break and was miraculously revived with the return of MLB games, yesterday.) Clayton Kershaw ($23,300) is your Captain Obvious play on FantasyDraft today. You could roll with that. You could stack your Cleveland hitters versus Bartolo Colon. Or, you know, you could get a little sneakier, go a little cheaper, try to outwit your opponents, and there are enough interesting options on the slate today to pull it off. After the jump, let’s start with the…King?, Felix Hernandez.
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Programming note: I’ve concentrated mostly on the main slate today, with some early-slate options (NYM-NYY, BAL-TOR, STL-CHC) thrown in. BOS-DET doesn’t seem to be counted at all on FantasyDraft today.
Felix Hernandez, SP: $13,600 – Sure, this is risky. He’s coming off the DL. He’s been hard to trust. But I’m proposing him for the price and because Streamonator likes this start – it puts him fifth on the day for the match-up versus the 3rd-last White Sox and their team K% of 25.5%, and I agree. You might even be able to afford him alongside Clayton Kershaw, or JV, below.
Justin Verlander, SP: $26,800 – This would be your throwing-cash-around-with-abandon option; i.e., expensive. Streamonator slots him in 2 below Kershaw, at no. 3 on the day. I think JV is worth the price. At least, he has been for much of the season — last outing versus Detroit, when he coughed up 5 ERs, notwithstanding. But today should go better. This season, he’s held the Angels to a 1.13 ERA (and he’s even suppressed the mighty Mike Trout: 2 for 27). Perhaps pair him up with Vince Velasquez ($15,000), who somewhere between time of writing and time of editing managed to catapult himself to no. 2 on Streamonator for the day, with a nice match-up against the Padres.
Marcus Stroman, SP: $16,300 – It feels like a long time since I wrote a blurb on my Jays boo, Marcus Stroman. He’s been injured, or pretending he wasn’t injured and not at his best (stop doing that, baseballers! Just go on the damn DL!), but he is now…back? Note I did not leap on Oprah’s sofa and scream “He’s BACK, baby!”, because this is kind of risky. He hasn’t been terrifically consistent, but his last two outings — versus 2 pretty tough teams in the guise of Atlanta and Boston — have gone fairly well, to the tune of 3 and 1 ERs, respectively. And today he squares up against the 2nd-last-place Baltimore Orioles, whose season could be described as Machadone? Adam Jones and Mark Trumbo may give him some trouble, but on the whole I think he’ll keep Baltimore down. [Sidebar: Man, the baseball gods really have it in for the Orioles.]
Freddie Freeman, IF: $9,100 – He’s been such a good all-rounder this season, and let’s look for it to continue today in Nationals Park versus Gio Gonzalez. In 48 at-bats, Sir Frederick of Freeman has a 1.039 OPS against Gio, and in general he loves him some LHP: he’s .350 on the season with lefties.
Didi Gregorius, IF: $8,900 – Before the All-Star Break, he was hitting .364. Let’s hope that the saddest week in the calendar hasn’t slowed his roll, because he’s seen the Mets’ Matz for a 1.145 OPS in their last 10 meetings at the plate. Well, Didi was at the plate, Matz was on the mound. You know what I mean.
Jose Altuve, IF: $8,000 – This price seems weirdly low for one of the most consistent hitters this season. I would not hesitate to pay this, for his .345 AVG in Angel Stadium and the match-up versus Nick Tropeano, fresh off the DL with a 4.83 ERA and 1.35 WHIP.
Elvis Andrus, IF: $7,400 – Here’s a low-ish-priced grab to pad your lineup, for his 1.132 OPS versus Carlos Carrasco…who is otherwise a good pitcher, do not get me wrong. This one’s a bit of a risk, I’m not gonna lie, Elvis is probably not going to leave the building with a home run, but he does do something most days.
Johan Camargo, IF: $6,800 – He’s slowed down a little recently (Camarwent), which probably explains the price. But $6,800 makes him worth a pickup in Nationals Park today versus Gio Gonzalez, and their 1.357 OPS history in 14 at-bats.
Michael Brantley, OF: $10,000 – Whoo, this is a hefty price tag. He may be worth it, though; he’d be one of those Cleveland stacks I mentioned, for the lefty-righty match-up versus the Rangers’ Bartolo Colon: Brantley has hit him for .444.
Giancarlo Stanton, OF: $9,600 – Giancarlo, Giancarlo! We came for the lefty-righty match-up thing (.386 versus LHP this season) versus Steven Matz (1.262 OPS in 12 at-bats); we stayed for the chiseled jaw and the torso. (At least, this girl did.) Get him in. Your lineup, I mean.
Eddie Rosario, OF: $8,800 – Not too overpriced, hopefully underrated, this is a Hittertron call, because the horny robot likes the match-up of lefty Rosario versus KC’s righty Jake Junis.
Marcell Ozuna, OF: $7,600 – Yeah, maybe he has not been at his most Ozunest for the season overall. But in DFS, we take it day by day, and today could be a day to try him. He’s been hitting again lately, and this is a nice lefty-righty match-up against Mike Montgomery at a decent price.
Ronald Acuna, OF: $7,500 – On Friday night, he went 3 for 4 with 1 home run. He hit leadoff. Today he has a righty-lefty match-up versus Gio Gonzalez. At $7,500. Am I intrigued? I am intrigued as hell, friends.
I’m Only Happy When It Rains
Ugh, it’s a yucky one, so check your lineups carefully, kids. There’s a chance of a thunderstorm in Detroit, for Red Sox-Tigers, and in Cincinnati, for Pirates-Reds. The Braves-Nationals and Padres-Phillies games may be flat-out rained out…
Doing Lines In Vegas
Quelle shocker: The money line on Clayton Kershaw’s Los Angeles Dodgers is a pretty staggering -282 over Chase Anderson and the Brewers. Things are looking like they’ll go Carlos Carrasco and Cleveland’s way, too, at -199 over Bartolo Colon and the Rangers. A few high-scoring games projected today: Mets-Yankees: 10.02; Indians-Rangers: 9.89; Cards-Cubs: 9.88; Tigers-Red Sox: 9.73.
