Searching for value in starting pitchers can be a fool’s errand sometimes, but going contra the Verlanders and Darvishes are the only ways to win in DFS, especially when many teams are prepping for the playoffs and resting starters.  One big time team that needs to stretch starters out is the LA Dodgers.  Rich Hill isn’t exactly the paragon of health, and that means the Dodgers are looking to stretch out Ross Stripling.  He’s been coming back from the IL this month, and doing so to the tune of a tidy 1.13 ERA.  It doesn’t take too much imagination to see him getting through six when he’s pitching in the cavernous confines of Dodger Stadium.  Tampa Bay is one hot hitter (more on him later) or two and timely hitting it’s way to an AL Wild Card spot, by no means a Juggernaut offensively.  Stripling’s low $5,500 price tag means you can load up on offense without the risk of Verlander being pulled quickly or Darvish blowing up and making Cubs fans worry even more.  Now let’s spend all that extra salary.

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!

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See all of today’s starting lineups

# MLB Starting Lineups For Mon 8/4
ARI | ATL | BAL | BOS | CHC | CIN | CLE | COL | DET | HOU | KC | LAA | LAD | MIA | MIL | MIN | NYM | NYY | PHI | PIT | SD | SF | STL | TB | TEX | TOR | ATH | CHW | OAK | SEA | WSH

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Yesterday, Eloy Jimenez went 1-for-4 and his 28th homer, hitting .259, as he marches to the finish line on a mediocre year…Or was it?!  Damn, reversal question, you always scare me. It’s worth noting, Jimenez struggled with injuries a bit this year and he only has 430 ABs. He’ll get roughly forty more at-bats this year, so figure 32 HRs in 470 at-bats (this math totally tracks; don’t come for me, nerds!). Give him the standard 570 ABs and he would’ve hit roughly 38 HRs in his rookie season. Geez, it doesn’t sound so bad when I put it like that. Wait, I can do more, he was playing injured a bit so 50 more healthy at-bats and Eloy Jimenez hit 40 homers in his rookie year. Want me to keep going, because I can get him to 73 homers? No? Suit yourself. Think people are looking at Eloy as having a poor rookie year, and the shine’s off him for 2020. However, I see a guy who almost hit 73 homers in his rookie year. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

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Look beyond the Bogeyman of a left handed visiting starter in Coors field and start your team with the underrated and overlooked Steven Matz ($6,900).  Yes, the Rockies can be ferocious at home, but Matz has managed to string together some of his best road starts lately.  Also, the Rockies may score 6.1 runs per game at home, tops in the league, but beneath those numbers is a secret: The Rockies are only 25th in the league in wRC+ (88) against left-handed pitchers.  With a little extra cash in the back pocket lets look at the rest of the nighttime slate.

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?

So we are at that time in the season when we start to look back. Look back at the disappointments and the triumphs, the status quo and the surprises. The tale of Eugenio Suarez has been a fascinating one to tell. At the All-Star break this year he had 20 HR and a .248 AVG, and since then he’s hit 25 HR with a .300 AVG. Right now he’s sitting on 45 HRs and making a run at the homerun title, behind only Pete Alonso. Suarez, we all know, was acquired from the Tigers for the low low price of only one Alfredo Simon, veteran reliever. That’s right. Since joining the Reds, he has bested his season HR total every season. On top of that, he’s increased his wRC+ and oWAR every year except this one shockingly, 2019 (including fewer RBIs). What does that mean? Well, on the whole, it means he’s not quite as efficient as he was at the dish the year prior. He’s evolved each season, but for some reason, despite the HR surge he’s produced less with it this year. So sports fans, lets dive in and see what we learn.

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The 2019 fantasy season is almost in the books. Your body of work is recorded for better or worse. Here’s hoping you’re in the hunt or protecting a lead. With so little time remaining don’t be afraid to drop a bigger name who doesn’t help where you need it. Especially if they are nursing an injury like Justin Turner or Anthony Rizzo. Playing the waiting game on bum ankles is a killer right now. Good luck, and may the sports be with you.

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Was thinking how much I like Harrison Bader and how he feels tailor-made for a 2020 sleeper post, then I had a deep thought. No, not my deep thought about oat milk, but if you wanna hear that one, it goes like this. The dairy industry invented oat milk because when you order, “Coffee with oat milk,” you invariably get a coffee without milk, and it makes you appreciate dairy much more. I’m onto you, industrial dairy complex! But my deep thought about fantasy baseball sleepers was:  If every hitter is great, doesn’t it make more sense to only look at pitchers who are sleepers?  Anyone can tell you so-and-so hitter is a sleeper, because they will likely hit 30+ homers, but every hitter hits 30+ homers, so bleh! More discussion for the offseason, I guess. Yesterday, Harrison Bader went 2-for-4 with two homers (9, 10) as he hits .213. He’ll be 26 years old in 2020, and way past the point when he should have an everyday job, and we care because he has 20/15/.250 potential. Reminds me a bit of all the Bradley Zimmer/Clint Frazier sleeper posts over the years, and now I want nothing to do with him. Obviously, with three homers in last four games, he’s hot, but, as the eight-hole hitter, I’m once again wondering about pitcher sleepers.  Anyway, here’s what else I saw this weekend in fantasy baseball:

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No Doubt

Player Team Opp. 1 Opp. 2 Player Rater ERA 2nd Half FIP 2nd Half
Justin Verlander HOU TEX LAA 39.3 1.93 1.94
Stephen Strasburg WSH @STL @MIA 23.9 3.25 3.27
Yu Darvish CHC CIN STL 8.3 2.44 3.06

Raise your hand if you passed up a Darvish trade, or even waiver wire pickup, earlier in the season. *Raises hand and puts head down in shame.*  K rate is over 36% in the 2nd half and the walk rate down at 2.4%; it’s like I don’t even know who Yu are Darvish.

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Trying to predict what’s going to happen at this time of the year is similar to fouling off a pitch straight into your man parts. You try to do everything possible to do the right thing and sometimes you just Mitch Haniger yourself out of the season. While the streamers last week were all mixed up […]

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Good Sunday to you. We have a relatively small 8-game FanDuel Main Slate, providing us only some 250 billion possible lineup combinations, without salary cap considerations, compared to our usual 1-10 trillion. It’s quite the lack of options we’re facing.

But, there are actual limitations we face today, not just exaggerated ones, as the majority of games provide us with far better hitting conditions than pitching, leaving us little in the way of potential starting pitcher value, and an abundance of potential value for hitters. More than usual today, we’d like to reach for cheaper starting pitching in order to pay up for hitting.

Our preferred reach is Asher Wojciechowski, SP: $6,700, who has flashed high upside over the past couple months and has a favorable matchup today against Detroit. While he can struggle with control, which results in his higher than average hard contact and walk rates, the Tigers are near the bottom of the league in both measures. Pair that with this game being played on the road, virtually guaranteeing a more favorable pitching environment than the bandbox of Oriole Park at Camden Yards, and it’s reason enough to confidently deploy him. We do not need to rely on a world-beating performance here, above average will do us perfectly well, as the scoring fireworks today are likely to be predominantly hitter-driven.

Keep on keeping on, and read below for additional Razzball picks.

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!

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It’s crunch time kids, only two weeks to go.  Many of you probably gave up on your fantasy baseball teams weeks or months ago (as I have with a couple of mine), and are now concentrating your free time on fantasy football, enjoying what is technically the last week of summer, or, craziest of all, focusing on real-life work or family issues.  But if you’re in a deep fantasy league and still fighting for a championship, let’s get right to what we came for:  a few names that may be of interest to those in NL-only, AL-only, and other deep leagues.

Please, blog, may I have some more?