Hello DK’ers, I’m glad to be back after my Brazilian excursion to get as hairless as possible. I’m trying to break into dancing like our boss Grey, or was that break dancing? Either way, the man has moves like Sam Rockwell. If there was a competition between us, it would look something like this. To this day, that still cracks me up. Sorry reader, I really need to get back to this drivel thing and in case you were wondering I am Barney in the video. I can’t help myself today, with Matt Shoemaker taking the hill, I get transported back to my favorite movie ever, Goodfellas! That’s right, I said that; Goodfellas is my all time favorite movie. You got a problem with that? In case you didn’t know, The Departed was the “I’m sorry we screwed up so we’ll give you one for an inferior movie Oscar” for Martin Scorcese. Why do I keep getting sidetracked? Dah!!! This scene (NSFW) is one of my favorites among many brilliant moments in that 1990 classic. I remember being in high school and sneaking into see this R rated flick because our local theater was unwavering on the 17 and over policy. I could go on and on about Goodfellas but I need to write about Matt Shoemaker and his low low price tag of $6,800 today. He’s been solid as a starter since moving out of the bullpen and has even posted a 10K game. Getting to face the team with the worst K-rate in the game, 23.3%, isn’t too shabby either. But here is the takeaway for him – he has a 2.54 ERA at home compared to a 6.66 on the road, devil arm! That’s good enough for me. You can choose to pay the high price tags of Yu Darvish, Masahiro Tanaka, or Max Scherzer and then compliment one of them with Shoemaker to leave you some extra dollars for bats.
Yesterday, the Guru talked strategy and I agree with him that you got to look at all the nerdy numbers but sometimes I think you need to go with your gut. Whether it’s the hot hand like Steve Pearce or someone due like Jay Bruce you need to take chances when you have limited dollars on the table. Like Guru, I have been on both ends of the batter vs. pitcher stats and all I can say is it’s just the numbers, the numbers ala Jimmy Two Times. Don’t lose your mind! But before I continue on I want to give a little B vs P advice that has worked well for me. Look at the K’s vs. the pitcher, when I have a guy that K’s a lot or doesn’t walk vs. a pitcher I generally stay away. That’s just me and my way to go about it. Sometimes you will see a batter who is 0 for 4 against someone but has 4 walks. I get interested when I see that and like the chance that a hit is coming soon. And now on to my DraftKings picks for today.
Yasiel Puig, OF: $5,300 – I always look for value but I can’t help myself with this one. It’s the Puig. He’s hit .345 against the Rockies this year and gets to face a lefty in the thin air of the mile high city. A great place to put your money down with the stack because it’s going to be a launch party at Coors.
Scott Van Slyke. OF: $3,300 – He gets to play against lefties and gets one today, a value piece to your stack that should produce. He get’s limited AB’s in that crowded outfield. To put him in perspective he’s hit a homerun every 16.9 AB and an extra base hit every 7.6 AB…Brrrrrritsky!!!
Jose Bautista, OF: $5,000 – Joey Bats has been dongtastic lately blasting two over the last two days. He gets the roadie in the O.co which might keep other owners away but I say forget about it! He’s faced Gray once and went 3 for 3 with a homer, which only helps me feel better about spending my money on him.
Garrett Jones, 1B: $3,700 – GarJo has been heating up again putting together 3 multi hit games over his last seven. I like the value gamble on this one. He can drop a dong at anytime and has already done it against Kyle Kendrick before. The stack in Colorado will cost you so why not save here.
Logan Forsythe, 2B/3B: $3,400 – Going the Hot Schmotato route here and few have been hotter than LoFo. Eleven hits over his last five games with 2 of those going over the fence works for me. The price tag is spot on whether you want him at 2nd or 3rd base.
Nick Castellanos, 3B/OF: $3,300 – It’s attack of the multi-position eligibility today. Another Hot Schmotato that has a few things going his way. Facing a left hander (.293 against) at home (.310) in my column. What could be better?
Vance Worley, SP: $7,000 – He’s been pretty good in his first three outings and gets the blahstipating D-Backs at home. The K-rate (5.23 K/9) leaves something to be desired but he can go 7 innings, keep his walks down (1.31 BB/9), and grab a win. In the words of the Guru “Me Likey!”
I’m Only Happy When It Rains
It’s summer so the weather shouldn’t suck unless you live in the Baltimore area where it’s calling for thunderstorms all day. How crappy is that when it’s raining the day before the 4th of July? Maybe it’s my SoCal life, but how do you people tolerate this kind of weather?
Doing Lines In Vegas
The LAD@COL game is the big winner at 10 1/2. Not a stretch to imagine lots of runs being scored in Coors with two good offenses. I’m stacking wisely for this one and you should too. PHI@MIA and HOU@LAA are both at 8 1/2 which is decent. They must not have gotten my memo about the Shoemaker. Sorry for the short one today, I have been working, cooking and shredding 30 LBS of pork today in preparation for the 4th. Don’t go blow your fingers off. Have a great holiday!
