Another happy FanDuel Friday you filthy animals! We have a lot of good pitchers out there tonight as this is a full 15-game slate and the weather isn’t going to be much of a concern. Rejoice! Picks and more to follow.

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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

Visual Metaphor Alert!  When a boat sinks, you can avoid sinking longer if you scramble to the stern of the boat.  As the boat sinks, you will be out of the water longer.  The Orioles have started playing baseball on that stern of the Titanic.  Of course, then the whole thing snaps in half and drowns you anyway.  “Hey, there’s Machado floating by with six life vests on, and there’s a different team insignia on each life vest!  Hey, Machado, can I get the Yankees’ life vest?  Machado?  Hey, Adam Jones!  Do you need that Nationals’ life vest?  Adam?   Aw geez.”  That’s Dylan Bundy wearing the Orioles’ life vest, as Mancini sinks holding onto Bundy’s ankle.  Yesterday, Bundy went 9 IP, 3 ER, 3 baserunners, 14 Ks, ERA at 4.45, throwing 121 pitches.  *uck Showalter really wanted to get Bundy the complete game, huh?  It’s not like he had a no-hitter going, he surrendered a homer in the 4th inning.  The Orioles also had a six-run lead and were going for win number 16.  Showalter prolly just had a senior moment.  “How do you get this motorized scooter up the dugout steps and to the mound?”  That’s Showalter.  Bundy’s peripherals are actually gorge — 11.1 K/9, 2.9 BB/9, 3.85 xFIP.  Thus far, he’s been unlucky, which goes without saying because he’s on the Orioles.  Hard for me to get excited for that reason, too.  Of course, his numbers say he should be owned everywhere.  Good luck with that!  Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

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It’s amazing the difference a year makes. Just 12 months ago the Angels had one of the most wretched farms in all of the land. A couple of intriguing talents, a lot of system depth, and tons of minor league fodder. Then came last June’s draft, where the Angels were lucky enough to land a handful of really nice talents, players like Griffin Canning, Jacob Perason, and John Swanda, but none more talented than Jo Adell. Last year’s 10th overall pick out of Ballard High in Kentucky, hit rookie ball like a ton of bricks in 2017 slashing .325/.376/.532, with 5 homers and 8 steals. So it came as no surprise that Adell was assigned to low-A Burlington of the Midwest League out of camp. Through 25 games at the low-A level Adell was once again putting up elite production to the tune of .326/.398/.611 with 6 homers, and 4 steals, while placing amongst the leaders in RBI at 29. That’s more than a steak a game! The Angels brass, having functioning eyes, saw this, and promoted the talented Adell to high A Inland of the California League. If you know anything about the Cal League, it should be this, {power + Cal League parks = Kieboom!} BTW, that’s how we say Kaboom in prospector. Going forward Adell should be viewed as a top tier prospect, a player capable of pushing his way to the Top 10 by season’s end. In my most recent update of my top 25, Adell leapfrogged up to 21. He should be owned in all dynasty formats, and is a player worth targeting in trades for rebuilding teams.

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The value of Pi is unknowable, which makes it an “irrational number.”  3.1415926535897…..Computer scientists have calculated billions of digits of Pi without discerning a recognizable pattern. To infinity and beyond! This concept of irrationality has made many of men mad. On the flip side, Vetta is a Sanskrit term that means “knower” in Hindu philosophy, as in someone who has a deeper or higher spiritual knowledge. The dichotomy and duality of life. It is presented to us everyday. So, it would only make sense that Nick Pivetta (54.8% owned – increase of 24.3%) would be the literal poster boy. Against righties, 30.3% K-BB rate and 2.39 xFIP. Against lefties, 14.3% K-BB rate and 4.29 xFIP. At home, 2.80 xFIP and 26.4% K-BB rate. On the road, 4.33 xFIP and 14.9% K-BB rate. The overall snapshot, though, looks amazing. 10.19 strikeout rate with a 2.04 walk rate. 3.29 xFIP and 0.85 HR/9. The hard contact rate is only 27.1% and the swinging strike rate is 11.3%. Granted, the sample size is small and last season Pivetta was worse against righties. I like Pivetta, as he throws mid-90s, has good control, and can miss bats. Just be aware that there is more under the hood than what the overall numbers are showing. With that said: TREASURE

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We’re going to get right to it this week, kids, and I apologize if today’s post doesn’t have as many exciting, last-minute updates as usual. Since I’m sure you’re wondering why it won’t have said exciting updates, I will tell you: it is because I will be attending the live taping of the Survivor finale, and will be going off the grid completely starting mid-day Wednesday. Yes, I’ll be in the same room with TV’s Jeff Probst, one of the few celebrities (along with Neil deGrasse Tyson and Doris Kearns Goodwin, FYI) that I am interested in being in close proximity to, but don’t you worry:  I’ve actually been in the same room as Mr. Probst before and I barely even did anything embarrassing, so I’m pretty sure I’ll be able to keep from humiliating myself. That’s actually more than I can say about the time I had a brief conversation with Ms. Kearns Goodwin, where I was as tongue-tied as I’ve ever been in my life. I have yet to cross paths with Mr. deGrasse Tyson, which is probably just as well for all concerned.

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Today is a 3-game slate. Playing cash is going to be fairly ridiculous – it’s going to be lineups that are almost entirely the same except for 2 or 3 players. Your entire lineup will feature 6 guys who are so chalky that it doesn’t even matter if they play well as everyone else will have them – the entire day will come down to who you picked for the final 2 or 3 spots. FanDuel could have mitigated the absurdity of this slate by moving it up an hour (thus allowing the Houston-Cleveland game to be added to the slate). This would have added some interesting plays – you would have had Morton as a pitcher, plus both teams have plenty of interesting bats. But apparently FanDuel thinks it’s more important to start at 7pm regardless. So that’s what we’ve got. Maybe you like the idea of having the entire contest come down to whether you picked Jay Bruce and Xander Bogaerts instead of J.D. Martinez and Orlando Arcia (because both lineups share the exact same other players across the board). Everyone knows I’m a professional at these DFS Picks articles, so I’ll continue to show up regardless of the absurdity of the slate and give you a professional performance.

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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Yesterday’s Yankee/Rangers game started with a 1st-inning blast from Didi Gregorius (1-for-5, 2 RBIs, hitting .246) and his 11th homer.  The return of The Gregorius D.I.D. giving fantasy owners one more chance to tell trade partners gimme the loot, gimme the loot!  Also, in this game, Aaron Judge (2-for-5, 2 runs, 2 RBIs, hitting .284) went bye-bye now with his 13th; Neil Walker (2-for-5, 2 runs, hitting .220) said get those tennis balls off my feet and hit his 2nd (this week); Nomar Mazara (2-for-5, 3 BRIs, hitting .274) said two teams can play that game and hit his 11th, and Ronald Guzman (2-for-4, 2 runs, 3 RBIs) hit his 5th homer, and his third game in a row, and the two time in a row I said to pick him up.  Rinse, repeat.  Also, in this game, Aaron Judge–Sorry, got carried away with the repeat gag.  Speaking of gags:  Fister, I hardly know ya!  And I wish you BCC’d me on Sabathia.  But the real news, Gleyber Torres (1-for-5, 3 RBIs, hitting .323) hit his 8th homer, and his 5th homer in five games) had his star mitzvah this week.  Were you invited?  Lou Bega performed.  They had dreidel piñatas.  The pot roast was cut-your-mouth dry.  All the fixins!  I know someone who wasn’t invited, Aaron Boone.  Has to explain how Gleyber’s still hitting 9th.  Can someone mansplain to me what’s going on?  Did Neil Walker win a Boone family egg toss so he has to bat so high?  Maybe if Boone’s entire coaching experience wasn’t hitting a walk-off homer, we’d have some idea how this should play out.  Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

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This is Rich Hill’s second DL stint of the year already. What were you expecting? Now he’s asking the MLB to allow him to pitch with tape on his finger. He’s also asking around the Dodgers locker room if anyone will pee on his hands. I’d be surprised if either side said yes. Stash or Trash: Sure go ahead stash him — just don’t set up a Google alert for his name or your phone will literally explode with weekly injury updates. He’s going to miss a month this time. Trash in shallow leagues. Fill In: Vince Velasquez (22.8%.) VV is someone who we’ve all been tempted by due to his 10+ K/9 potential. However, that came with a BB/9 over 4 and a HR/9 close to 2 most of his career. He’s been limiting his walks so far this year though — he’s only allowed more than two walks once. He’ll always be prone to getting blown up like his 4 IP/6 ER start against the Braves or his 4.2 IP/4 ER start against the Diamondbacks at the end of April, but if he can limit the walks and keep the ball in the yard slightly less against lesser opponents — he could be a solid matchups play.

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It’s late may and another minor league phenom has made it to the majors. Juan Soto made a grand entrance in his second major league at bat and went opposite field for a 422 foot 3-run home run in the second inning in front of the National’s home crowd. What a moment. One day before that, big name prospect in the Pirate’s organization, Austin Meadows, hit his first career home run in front of his home crowd. Although Austin Meadows isn’t a power hitter, he can provide big league value in other ways. Just short of a month ago, Ronald Acuna Jr., made his debut for the Braves with a furious first week. Despite all of the young excitement around the league, there are savvy vets all over the majors that will help you win fantasy baseball championships. Also there is an under-performing potential superstar that I have been wanting to write about for weeks. It’s that time of week again to take a look at the player rater and find some value.

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Batters that are consistent week after week are much more enjoyable to have on your roster than those with frequent hot and cold spells. Sure a player putting up 50 points in a week can almost single handedly earn you a win, but the three weeks prior where he didn’t break single digits can be extremely frustrating. Especially when such a cold spell leads you to bench said player on the week he finally breaks out for 50 points. As Grey would say “sonofabench”. Byron Buxton punched me in the nuts with one of those last year. In years past Jay Bruce is a hitter that often fell into this category.

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There’s been plenty of talk this year around guys like Gerrit Cole and Justin Verlander (and rightfully so) but it feels like Jacob deGrom hasn’t gotten the same kind of hype despite his absurd numbers. deGrom has a 34.3% K-rate with just a 7.0% walk-rate and isn’t giving up any homers, giving him a 1.82 FIP and a 1.89 Deserved Run Average. He’s coming off of a dominant start against the DBacks where he struck out 13 batters, and now gets another easy matchup in the Marlins. Miami has the second-worst lineup in the league against righties with just a .279 wOBA. deGrom is worth spending your first pick on today.

New to Draft? 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?