Happy unofficial start to the weekend DFSers.  Richardo has started his weekend extra early (Wednesday) so I’m filling in this week.  I love playing the Friday night slates on FanDuel, they are usually jam packed with games and the more games, the more advantage I think I have on the field.  We’re getting a little short-changed tonight with only 12 games instead of the usual 15, but we’ll make due. For our cash game lineups tonight, you can’t help but build around Lance Lynn ($10,500).  If you had told me I’d be typing that sentence back in March, I’d have called you crumby with crackers.  There’s no denying Lynn has been phenomenal though, his 10 K/9 and 2 BB/9 is ace-like and his 2.94 FIP suggests his 3.83 ERA could even come down lower.  The Tigers on the other hand have been the opposite of phenomenal, they’ve been un-phenomenal. They rank ahead of only the Marlins in team OPS as well as team OPS vs. righties.  It’s ugly folks and Lynn is far and away your safest bet tonight.

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 Tue 8/5
ARI | ATH | ATL | BAL | BOS | CHC | CHW | CIN | CLE | COL | DET | HOU | KC | LAA | LAD | MIA | MIL | MIN | NYM | NYY | PHI | PIT | SD | SEA | SF | STL | TB | TEX | TOR | WSH | OAK

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Yesterday, Zack Wheeler went 7 IP, 0 ER, 4 baserunners, 7 Ks, ERA at 4.45.  Can you please be “2nd Half Wheeler?” Can you be anything but “1st Half Wheeler?” Who do I have to pay for that to happen? Because I made $1.67 from yesterday’s ads and I am willing to give a percentage of that to ensure Wheeler is right for another two months. It’s all I ask and I one day have to say, “Damn, I can’t believe I crashed my 1st yacht into my 2nd yacht. Stupid yacht problems!” Okay, now to go on a rant you never asked for, but I have some legitimate first world problems that need addressing:  the Starbucks menu is too complicated.  What is all this crap and no Unicorn Frappuchino?! Dubya tee eff!  Oh and Netflix has a 15-second rewind but no 15-second fast forward? Are you people stupid?! Also, Amazon Prime two-day shipping begins when the seller ships your item but not when you order? Is this a joke?  Seriously? Do I look like a chump to you!  Any hoo!  Wheeler was phenomenal last 2nd half, and I keep saying I was buying him for his 2nd half. All his peripherals point to him being much better: 9.9 K/9, 2.3 BB/9, 3.64 FIP, velocity up to 97 MPH on average. Drop the R from boring, because that’s BOING! Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Roto-Wan is back monkey chuckers, and on less sleep than ever! I actually threw up last night out of sheer exhaustion after feeding the little-wan. I did not know that was possible. Thank to B_Don for being an adequate at best fill in for me. Yesterday was the trade deadline and bullpens were heavily reworked for many contenders. Tiers are of course baby themed. Time for some notes!

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Welcome to August people. It’s hard to believe that July is already over, but here we are. The trade deadline has passed and we saw some surprising action (looking at you Mets and Reds) It certainly made things interesting as we watched our teams decide whether to buy or sell. I was happy to see the Giants make some moves without selling the farm. I’ve got a thing for prospects, it must be the allure of the shiny new kid on the block. They give hope to their fanbase that the future is bright.

The future is certainly bright in the North now that top prospect  Bo Bichette (SS: $2,700) is in the show.  Its an extremely small sample size but the early results are very promising. Fortunately, the small sample can actually help us in DFS before pitchers have time to adapt to him. If he’s batting leadoff, all the better for his value. That spot should provide him ample opportunity to run. He just crushed his first bomb and there should be plenty more where that came from. This ride is just getting started.

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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MLB teams were whistling 50 Ways To Leave Your Lover yesterday:

Just slip out the back, Zac, make a new plan, Tanner,
Don’t need to be coy, Greek God of Hard Contact, just listen to me,
Hop on the bus, Jesus, don’t need to discuss much,
Just drop off the key, Greinke, and get yourself free.

The deadline seemed to be lulling people to sleep, then the Diamondbacks stepped up and decided they were contenders, be-bopping Jazz Chisholm to the Marlins for Zac Gallen. But it turned out they were Indiana Jones, when he would replace an ancient artifact with a sand bag by switching one Zack with another Zac, so the booby trap wouldn’t expose them to trouble. See, and I always thought the idea of the outfield hot tub was to expose booby traps.  Incredibly, the Cardinals announced the Zack Greinke to Astros deal hours before the Diamondbacks. The Astros rotation is now, as they would’ve said in the 20’s, bona fide. In good spirits, Justin Verlander tweeted out, “As long as we don’t get Bauer, we good.” I hear that, JV.  I don’t trust home/away splits much at all, unless it’s Coors vs. non-Coors, but, if you must know 2.96 home ERA vs. 2.80 away. Usually it’s the inverse, but Greinke is a 15-year vet; you really think he’s going to pitch that differently in Houston? The answer you’re looking for is no.  He’s a control artist whiz like you’d want from your child when they’re doing the pee-pee dance. Speaking of which, did every team relieve themselves of their relievers? Let’s find out!  Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Brewers prospect Trent Grisham hit for the cycle last night, going 5-for-5 with two homers (25, 26). That’s now a six-game hit streak for the slugger and multi-hit games in each of his last four. Grisham is batting a ridiculous .381 with 13 homers and six steals in just 34 games for AAA San Antonio. He was a first-round draft pick back in 2015, but struggled prior to this year – hitting just .229 since he left the rookie leagues. He’s always had some patience and some power potential, but this year the breakout is on. He hit 13 homers in 63 games at Double-A earlier this year with the “no-juice” version of a baseball. To put that in perspective, he hit 17 total homers in 299 games across the previous three seasons. To boot, das boot, he’s joined the select “walking more than I strike out” club in 2019. To give you an idea of how big this breakout has been, Grisham went from a guy not even being considered in my Brewers Top 10, to a guy I strongly considered putting in my Midseason Top 50 overall. Here’s what else is happening around the minor leagues…

Please, blog, may I have some more?

At this stage of the game, there are not too many consistent fantasy relevant pitchers sitting out there on the wire. There are plenty of guys to stream based on matchups, but then again that can be like playing with fire. Streaming is a huge part of H2H leagues since your ERA essentially resets after every week. So I’ve always been a fan of streaming pitchers with my last one or two roster spots. Sometimes you’ll get the occasional guy that impresses and sticks as a member of your rotation. Below are some guys I’ve added over the past week or two that can stick and be a viable option to finish the year. Based off ESPN and Yahoo ownership percentages I’ve labeled one as “Should Be Owned” already in your league, one as “Could Be Owned” in your league, and one that likely “Will Be Owned” in your league.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

It’s trade deadline day and we’ve got a FanDuel slate that is beyond boring. It’s not even that it’s a garbage slate or a frustrating slate or whatnot – it’s just boring (with the question as of now of who the Mariners are throwing). The only real question is do you pay for deGrom or go grab the savings of Berrios. There’s an offense that if the Mariners don’t throw Wade LeBlanc as the bulk guy, is clearly the chalk (and deservedly so) play. It’s supposed to be moose nuts hot in Texas today, so if you’re not playing four Rangers today in cash (provided they aren’t facing a lefty) you’re doing something wrong. The only other offense to target is expensive, meaning that the cash formula is basically solved – pick deGrom, pick four Rangers (again, provided it’s not a lefty throwing the bulk of the innings) who make the most sense, fill with the values you like, and if that opens up a spot or two for an expensive Astros bat, all the better. That’s it. When you get a slate like this, there is a lot of GPP value. I’m not a GPP player and this isn’t a GPP-focused article, so any GPP advice I give comes with that caveat. Here’s a pretty big note I’ll put up front if the Mariners go lefty in the bulk role: the Rangers become a bit rougher play than normal, and you’re going to play more Giants than you want and trying to jam in Astros, which might necessitate a move to Berrios or Urquidy if you’re feeling a bit frisky in cash.

On to the 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!

Please, blog, may I have some more?

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Had our 1st mega trade. Or as far as Trevor Bauer is concerned, might be our first MAGA trade too.  Take it easy, it’s a joke.  An everyday occurrence and tempers flaring might be hard to distinguish for Trevor Bauer since he will now see red all the time. Interestingly, Bauer wasn’t throwing his last pitch for the Indians the other day, he was throwing his 1st pitch towards Cincy. The Indians should be embarrassed of themselves for selling off their big frontline pitcher as they hold their Wild Card chances in their hands.  Notice I didn’t say the Indians should be red-faced.  Hey, they’re the ones still with the name. Bauer has been down a tad this year compared to last. Not just obviously in ERA, but his Ks are down, walks are up, homers are way up, which won’t play well in Cincy, but I will say he was way over his head last year with a 2.21 ERA, so he’s likely still a 3.50-ish ERA pitcher with great Ks in Cincy and the NL.  He should be able to chuck balls over Great American’s fence with greater ease too. So win-win.  Going the other way and the rest of the news, well…Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Sample size is an important thing in all walks of life. You could have the most wonderful day with someone, but that one day is not indicative of what it’s like to be with that person every day. That alternate route you discovered with no traffic on the morning commute? Was it due to your keen intellect, or maybe it was a result of the armored car hemorrhaging dollar bills from the open door in the back? Really, the only times a false positive doesn’t exist is when you don’t want to be a baby momma or daddy and when a player searches for a second opinion. With that said, Josh VanMeter of the Cincinnati Reds has been added in 41.4% of ESPN leagues. What? I thought those leagues were all ghost. Anyways, VanMeter’s ownership is 0% in Razzball leagues. The Razzballers are a sharp group. I could give you a million reasons why, but I was going to write up Jorge Soler this week, as he was added in 8.1% of ESPN leagues to bring his ownership up to 58.4%, but his ownership in Razzball leagues is 100%. Let’s see if VanMeter is registering a false positive.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Grey is alone in the desert, well that’s not true. He’s there with Ted his faithful, yet hateful pooch, and a few thousand virtual friends. To give the Fantasy Master Lothario some reprieve from his isolation, we hopped onto a podcast and talked about some of the last week in fantasy baseball. Granted that happens every week, but it means a little more now. This man needs us, he needs to talk about Marcus Stroman, the desert heat, Bo Bichette, and going to the movies just for the A/C. Show the man some love and lend your listening ears. Or you can just listen and laugh at him, that works too.

Please, blog, may I have some more?