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(NOTE: THIS POST WAS RELEASED EARLY THIS WEEK ON OUR PATREON. IT’S $10/MONTH OR $13/MONTH WITH AN EXTRA WEEKLY PODCAST.)

“Your mascara isn’t as thick as I’d expect from someone named Billie Eyelash.” At a podium, Billie Eilish laughs at Billy Crystal, and the banter fades away as they get serious to announce Best New Artist. Hoping to join previous winners like Evanescence, Bruce Hornsby and the Range and Paula Cole, Nicky Lopez sits in the audience with his fingers crossed. His head bowed in pray. This is his first day off in weeks from the basepaths, where he’s put out such hits as:  “A 2-for-4 with three steals,” the top 40 hit “1-for-4 with two steals,” and “Can’t Keep My SAGNOF To Myself,” the Grammy nominated song in another category. A song Nicky co-wrote with the 71-year-old George Thorogood. Nicky Lopez is also the Least Likely Player To Get A Buy Lede. He’s got less power than Nick Madrigal, who has the power of a June bug in July when it’s just exhausted. By the by, they should have a Home Run Derby of guys like Lopez and Madrigal. Alonso can hit 30 homers in four minutes, whoop-dee-doo. Let’s see someone who can’t hit it out of the infield try to hit two homers in four minutes! Any hoo! Lopez might have no power like Madrigal, but he’s hitting like Nick Madrigal in every other way too. His contact rates are amongst the most improved, and he should hit ~.280. The real clincher here is obviously how he’s stealing multiple bags per game, and the Royals have no reason to stop him. I know in most of my leagues that ten random steals in September might be the difference in multiple standings points. Okay, back to the show…The envelope is ripped, as Billie and Billy lean in to announce together, “Best New Artist is…Nicky Lopez!” As Lopez heads up to the stage, past winners Hootie and the Blowfish cheer him on, and George Thorogood doffs his cowboy hat. In the audience, Lorde mutters, “Freakin’ Royals.” Anyway, here’s some more players to Buy or Sell this week in fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

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See all of today’s starting lineups

# MLB Starting Lineups For Thu 8/7
ATH | ATL | CHW | CIN | MIA | PIT | SEA | WSH | ARI | BAL | BOS | CHC | CLE | COL | DET | HOU | KC | LAA | LAD | MIL | MIN | NYM | NYY | OAK | PHI | SD | SF | STL | TB | TEX | TOR

This is it, the fantasy baseball playoffs are almost upon us, if you’re still in the running for a championship you deserve a pat on the back. But the season isn’t over yet and you’ve got one more week to lock up your spot. With that in mind lets take a look at some guys who are primed for a big final week. You don’t need me to tell you to start your studs so I’ll to focus on guys who may be out there for you to pick up and put right into your lineup so consider this a wavier column. For all your start/sit decisions don’t forget to check out Hittertron.

And without further ado, on to the targets.

 

Please, blog, may I have some more?

For a player looking to break out of a slump, there are few things more attractive than a game in Camden Yards against Matt Harvey. Rays outfielder Austin Meadows ($3,300) is in the perfect spot to buy low on, as he’s still got a 147 wRC+ against righties on the year and is in a great spot batting cleanup for Tampa Bay. Meadows can be used as a standalone or as part of a Rays stack against a pitcher in Harvey who has a 6.27 ERA with a 1.43 HR/9. Other Rays bats to target include Nelson Cruz ($3,800) and Brett Phillips ($2,500).

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!

Please, blog, may I have some more?

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Hello, welcome to my Red Sox blog. We are the Nephews of Sam Horn. His “Sons” were taken by less bandwagony Red Sox fans that were cheering for them for a long time. I started this week, when I wrote a whole thing about Hunter Renfroe. Now ermahgerd it’s Bobby Dalbec‘s time in the spotlight. If you spell it Dlabec, it sounds like an Eastern European dictator with the same level of power. If I could do one of those C’s where there’s a hook on it, I so would. I have a soupçon of an idea what that C’s called. Wait a seçond! Autoçorrect did it–Hold on, now it’s too muçh. Okay, çut it out! So, yesterday, Bobby Dalbec (3-for-4, 3 runs, 7 RBIs) hit his 15th and 16th homers, and, boy, the ball is flying out in Boston recently. This is Dalbec’s 2nd two-homer game of August, and, well, not much else. Dalbec won’t be in this afternoon’s Buy column, but if he’s available and you need power, I could see it. This guy gets it done; I’m gonna call him, Bobby Do’er. Hey, that’s not confusing with any Red Sox greats, right? Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

It’s the final countdown!

Razzball friends and family, we are in the final week of most H2H leagues.  What a long strange trip it’s been?  Nate? What’s up with all the music references?  Some would say it’s because some are hearing the fat lady singing, but not us!  Not you!  If you have been following all year, we have had some really nice wins on the season.  Cedric Mullins, Robbie Grossman, Raimel Tapia, Robbie Ray, and countless others.  I am not trying to pat myself on the back, but it’s nice to have some W’s to go along with the L’s.

Are you fighting for that final playoff spot? Have you already punched your ticket into the playoffs?  Regardless, now is the time to fine-tune that fantasy team.  Take a look at your upcoming schedule and see if your opponent has been wiping the floor with offense or with pitching, and align your team to match their strengths or weaknesses.  If you happen to have a bye, look ahead two weeks and try to see which pitchers may have 2-starts, or if there are any matchups at Coors, etc.  

While it’s nice to look ahead, let’s not get carried away!  Here are the key players who will help you get ahead in H2H for Week 21!   

Please, blog, may I have some more?

We’ve got some great bargain pitching options today. Take advantage and use the savings to lock up the big bats. A great option on the mound is Yusei Kikuchi (SP: $7,700)  Good news, he’s not facing the Astros today. On tap is a Royals team that checks near the bottom in everything but average. While they are capable of getting on base they struggle to do anything with those runners and are 24th in runs scored. Unfortunately, they don’t strike out a ton but that won’t be enough to save them from Kikuchi. I love the potential return on investment that he offers.

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!

Please, blog, may I have some more?

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Okay, let me get this straight so I can fully understand. Robbie Ray puts on some gotchies that are three sizes too small so you can see homeboy’s birth marks on his asscheeks and then he becomes elite? Fine, then I’m gonna try and write wearing jeans shorts, jorts if you will, that are too small. Ready? Here we go! Robbie…The button is digging into my FUPA! The pockets are chafing my upper thighs! Ugh, I can’t get them off! Oh my God, I’m calling 911! I can’t feel my knees! Help me! “Hello, can you spare Chris Sale? I need him to cut something off me. Hello?! Help!” So, Robbie Ray went 7 IP, 1 ER, 6 baserunners, 14 Ks, ERA at 2.72. On the Player Rater, he’s around a top ten starter. Can Robbie Ray do that in 2022 fantasy? In short, yes. In long, yeeeeeeeeeeees. He has a 11.3 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9. That’s an ace. Can he repeat the command? That’s the real trick, but as soon as someone shows a skill, I’m not going to take it from them. It’s not like this is a 20 IP sample. He’s done this for 150+ IP. Yes, Robbie Ray appears to be legit. As long as he never lets out his inseam. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Miami RHP Edward Cabrera makes his debut today against fellow rookie Josiah Gray and the World Series Champion Washington Nationals. Remember them?

Here’s what I said about Cabrera in the latest Redraft Stash List: Top Ten Fantasy Prospects for the Final Lap.

“Cabrera is striking out a lot of guys in AAA, and while his command hasn’t been sharp, a 22.5 K-BB rate ain’t bad. He’s here in part because the Marlins seem like wildcards to me, looking in from the outside, and I wouldn’t put anything past them. Not wildcards in the playoff-making sense, but you know, marching to their own drummer and whatnot.”

Pa rum pa pum pum. 

Please, blog, may I have some more?

I can’t tell you how many times I sit down to create this list and go, “Jesus, how bad are you at this?” Predicting the future has been tough and each week I kick myself for having to make big swings in the rankings. This week, Ty France pops onto the list, but he’s batting .292 with 16 homers on the year. That places him 14th among first basemen on the year according to ESPN’s player rater. Three spots below France is Jesus Aguilar, who has been a big bright spot for a young Marlins team that has shown a lot of promise in their young bats. And yet, the projection systems (and me) missed on Aguilar. Here I am, putting out yet another list lacking the Marlins slugger. While the power has been there over the last two weeks, the batting average has slipped some. In addition, the projection systems, even those that factor in opponents have Aguilar ranked outside of the top 25 first basemen. So, here I am, stubborn and sticking to my guns for the final countdown. I’ve mentioned how first base has been an embarrassment of riches for a while. That remains the same now. That’s not meant to be a knock on Aguilar at all, it’s just an explanation of how a player can still be useful in fantasy even if he’s not on a silly list. Let’s get to said list and then we’ll talk about some of the movers.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

The Supreme Leader, Grey, has blurbed about the candy sweetness of Lars Nootbaar in the past:

“Have you checked by the candied almonds?” That’s the sweet woman at Sprouts after I asked her if they had a Lars NootbaarLars Nootbaar is from Cadbury, Eggland. I could go on all day, should I? Yes? Great. The only way to get Nootbaar out is with stain remover. His granny’s full name is Granola. Keep going? Okay, okay! One more! In Nootbaar’s Twitter bio, it lists his pronouns as chewy/nougaty, and his wife’s are her/shey.

Just another example of why Grey and GOAT go hand in hand, and it’s not because both are four-lettered words that start with G. Jay “Who is Never” Wrong wrote up Nootbaar back in June, so it’s not like he was just created on the Sony Studios server and inserted into the Matrix. I didn’t pay much heed to Nootbaar until recently, as he’s been a fixture in many of my DFS lineups because of his price in the $2,000 range on Draftkings. Let’s dig in and see if he’s worthy for your season-long lineups.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Happy Ohtani day to all those who observe. The playoff picture is rounding into form as we near the end of August. There’s a big series in Milwaukee as the Reds try to keep their division hopes alive against the Brewers. The Padres play host to the Dodgers as they try to keep their playoff bid alive. We’ll also get a MLB pitching debut along with a handful of aces, both past and present.

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!

Please, blog, may I have some more?