Happy Friday everybody! I hope the fantasy gods were with you this week (and also with you). Today, FanDuel has us set up with a 13 game slate. This slate really runs the gamut, from high-priced aces to mid-priced sneaky starters and finally to the bottom barrel (cough, cough Straily) that we want to pick on. Naturally, on a slate that includes Chris Sale ($9,900), Clayton Kershaw ($11,300), and Tyler Glasnow ($10,500), I’m going to take a look at Matt Boyd ($10,400). It’s been a long road that’s led us to the Boyd we see today. Michael Ajeto wrote the ultimate deep dive into Boyd’s transformation here. The short/super dumbed down version is he’s tweaked his slider both in 2017 (hard slider phase) and 2018 (slower slider phase), which has brought us to 2019, where Boyd has a 31.8% K% (right behind Max Scherzer). Matt Boyd faces the Royals, who have the 25th best (worst?) wOBA versus left-handed pitching at .286 and a 24.8% K%. Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t my cash game play of the day, but I love Matt Boyd……………..as a GPP play.

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 Wed 8/6
ARI | ATH | ATL | BAL | BOS | CHC | CHW | CIN | CLE | COL | HOU | KC | LAA | LAD | MIA | MIL | MIN | NYM | NYY | PHI | PIT | SD | SEA | SF | STL | TB | TEX | TOR | WSH | DET | OAK

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I’m not going to say the Reds lineup is bad.  I won’t mention how Jose Iglesias is the only everyday hitter with an average above .224.  I won’t mention how their three-hole hitter is Derek Dietrich, a hitter who couldn’t even start for the Marlins.  I won’t say how Yaisel Puig is hitting .178.  Or Eugenio Suarez is hitting .224.  Or how Joey Votto didn’t even start, because he sucks too.  I won’t mention how Jose Peraza and his .200 average hit fifth yesterday like he’s a power hitter.  Nah, why mention any of that?  This is about Noah Syndergaard (9 IP, 0 ER, 5 baserunners, 10 Ks, and he pitchslapped Del Taco’s T. Mahle) and how he’s back, supposedly.  It’s just the third shutout in the majors this year with Mike Minor and German Marquez, and we all know Mike Minor’s an ace, so that’s great company.  Let’s just say Noah Syndergaard’s 5.02 ERA is better today than yesterday, but am I predicting he’s fully back to the top 10 pitcher everyone was drafting him as?  Yeah, uh, no.  Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

I go to a particular diner at least a handful of times a month, as they make the most unbelievable corn beef hash. If I want to try anything else on the menu, it’s only if I have room for more. The only way I wouldn’t order the corn beef hash is if it’s not available for whatever reason. That stubborness is applicable to my fantasy baseball mentality as well. There are certain guys that I’m loyal to, and would only replace if an injury or demotion took place. Well, for some reason, I always love the stench of Rougned Odor, and fortunately/unfortunately, he succumbed to injury on April 10th, which forced me pick up Danny Santana (owned in 21.5% of leagues, an increase of 18.7%). Since the Rangers called him up from Triple-A, all he’s done is slash .339/.355/.542 with 2 home runs and 5 stolen bases. Oh Danny Boy! Is it sustainable?

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A strain is a tear and a tear is a strain. The arms that are hurting have torn stuff somewhere in there. Don’t let doctors dress thing up with fancy words. Discomfort, swelling, strain all mean something is not in its original state. If one of your pitcher’s arms is hurting you have trouble. Buy some insurance with a well-placed bullpen add.

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B_Don and Donkey Teeth are back at it, discussing various forms of sausage along with a little fantasy baseball. Journeyman Chris Bassitt is the object of Donkey’s affection this week while B_Don sifts through hours of Caleb Smith film and Coach Ditka highlights. Find out whether you should be buying or selling both of these arms in your respective league.

In the rapid fire pickups segment, the guys chat up youngsters Carter Kieboom and Nate Lowe. Other potential pickups discussed include Griffin Canning, Jesus Aguilar, Jose Peraza, Luis Rengifo, Harrison Bader, and Jorge Mateo. It’s time to get your sausage into mid-season form, tune in now!
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With the promotion of first baseman Nate Lowe ($2,300) the Rays have made life difficult for fantasy players who are looking for Brandon Lowe ($3,700) and pick the wrong one. Fortunately, they both make good plays today. Jorge Lopez does not present a great challenge. Brandon has been doing quite well in April, rocking a solid average with lovely counting stats. As for Nate, he could be a monster as he has the tools to provide power and a high average. Either way, going “Lowe” could take you high.

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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The Royals swept the Rays yesterday in a doubleheader, taking down Blake Snell (3 IP, 7 ER, ERA at 4.31).  Snell can’t handle the Royals, they can Snell what he’s cooking.  As Razzball commenter, tigersharkz said, “Yep, Snell’s fine. Recovering from a broken toe in 10 days happens all the time in real life.” From Young MC’s Bust A Move, “Blake is getting shot down because he’s over-Snellous. …so hey, Reigning Cy, don’t bust a toe.”  No foolsies, but pitchers need their toes to push off, and anything can get them out of whack.  I’m officially concerned.  Of course, the Royals were led by Adalberto Mondesi (3-for-7, 2 runs, 3 RBIs and a slam (4) and double legs (9, 10) on opposite sides of a doubleheader, hitting .295).  Adalberto is my daddy — excuse me, Addadytogrey Mondesi. He’s now on pace for 20/50/.290. Yeah, terrible 2nd round pick. Also, chipping in for the Royals was Kelvin Gutierrez (2-for-7, 4 RBIs and his 1st homer). How big is this guy? Have you seen him? He’s like $54 T-bone vending machine steak. (Gonna keep using this until it catches on.) Is he related to The Big FraGu (throwback)?  KelGu, take me away.  He looks like he should be able to hit 20 homers and steal 10+ bags, but I don’t know if he’ll have the playing time, so best for deeper leagues for now. Terrance Gore keeps hitting (1-for-4, 1 run, hitting .400).  I’d like to see Terrance Gore on the Big floor piano. It would be like Jerry Lee Lewis on coke. …Whole Lotta Stealin’ Going On!  Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Ah yes, May. The month of mothers and flowers and regretting the guy you dropped in your fantasy league in the first week of April. I, for one, was born at the Central London Hatchery and Conditioning Center, so every year I just send a Mother’s Day card there and hope it gets to the right lab technician. My ninety-five identical twins and I have been tirelessly combing the minor leagues for the prospects that could potentially receive a call to the majors this month. Cling to your chicken-wire and terrycloth milk dispenser and enjoy the fruits of our labor.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

“Little Chris Archer sat under an arch–er watching a high pop fly. He stuck out his thumb until it went numb and said, “Onto the IL go I!” Early reports are that he won’t miss more than 1 or 2 starts with this thumb injury. Replacement: Spencer Turnbull (3.6%) is someone you should be keeping an eye on right now. He’s made 5 starts so far and hasn’t allowed more than 3 ERs in any of them. Included in that is a recent 11 inning scoreless streak. I don’t know about you, but I like to give the fringey starting pitchers on my roster audition days to see if they’ll stick around or find themselves back in the waiver heap. Turnbull’s most recent start was an audition day and I think he passed. Last night he threw 6 innings with 5 baserunners, only 1 ER and 5 K’s. I’d say he passed his audition and needs to be on your rotation especially since he’s facing the Royals next — a team he struck out 10 times and held to 2 ERs back in early April.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Death, taxes, and A.J. Pollock headed to the Disabled List Injured List. Different name, same game for Pollock this season unfortunately. He will be getting an exploratory procedure on his right elbow to determine the severity of an infection. This is the same elbow he had surgeries on in 2010 and then again in 2016, where he missed nearly the entire year. So certainly not an ideal situation for him and the Dodgers to be dealing with.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

It’s a 4 ace slate today on FanDuel and we have to figure out which one we want to play in cash. Let’s see how the numbers compare:

Aaron Nola – 26.3% K, 7.2% BB 3.34 xFIP

Max Scherzer – 34.5% K, 5.5% BB, 2.96 xFIP

Corey Kluber – 25.6% K, 5% BB, 3.4 xFIP

Jacob deGrom – 32.9% K, 5.9% BB, 2.68 xFIP

Obviously Scherzer and deGrom are the best pitchers of the group, but how do their matchups compare?

Tigers (vs Nola) – 26.6% K, 8.6% BB, .138 ISO

Cardinals (vs Scherzer) – 21.3% K, 9.2% BB, .191 ISO

Marlins (vs Kluber) – 27.5% K, 7.1% BB, .110 ISO

Reds (vs deGrom) – 23.9% K, 8.2% BB, .164 ISO

The best pitcher of the group gets the worst matchup, and the worst pitcher gets the best matchup (for the purposes of this exercise, because this is DFS and we care about strikeouts). Power is way up this year, and Scherzer has a propensity to give up bombs. He also has the worst matchup, and costs the most, so he’s not my cash game pitcher. Jacob deGrom is the next best pitcher, but the Reds have some pop and they don’t strike out as much as the Marlins or Tigers. Especially this year, we want to target teams that have trouble hitting the ball out, and the two teams that really struggle with hitting for any kind of power are the Tigers and Marlins. The Tigers lose the DH from a team that already strikes out a lot and don’t hit for power, and the Marlins are the worst offensive team in the league and will swing at any pitch remotely near the plate. I would play the matchup and go with Kluber, since the Marlins are really bad. But, if you need the money to get to the studs you want to get to, I don’t have a problem with playing Nola at the $1,000 discount.

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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We gonna talk about Lil’ Wayne’s favorite baseball player, “Franmil mil mil mil mil…mil mil, a mil.”  Much to chagrin of the former Padres’ outfielder and Missy Elliott’s favorite player, “Matt Sczrczrczr,” or as she would say, “nac uoy eveileb eh saw reve a gniht Sczrczrczr my skizzard.”  Franmil Reyes looks like a cross between Kyle Blanks and a vending machine that dispenses steaks.  “Damn, I thought this was the crappy hot chocolate vending machine and now I just got charged $54 for a T-bone.”  That’s someone getting a vending machine steak.  Yesterday, Franmil Reyes did what he’s been known/capable of — blasting two, loud $54 vending machine T-bones into orbit, ending the night 3-for-4 with his 7th and 8th homer.  He’s now on pace for 40 homers.  Greek chorus, “Who isn’t?!”  Okay, GC, but Franmil can get to 40 homers, unlike, say, Tommy La Stella.   Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?