Welcome to a Friday edition of The Dongers Club as new series start up and we have 13 main slate games today. The Pirates and Cubs are playing at night due to rain in the afternoon and will not be on our DFS slate today, neither will the Cardinals and Reds who are playing an early game in Cincinnati for a stupid reason that only the people of Cincinnati would know.
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WEATHER
All games play tonight. It’s getting warmer, but nothing really stands out as a must own spot.
- Roof Open in Arizona
- Roof Maybe open in Houston unless Verlander throws a fit.
- Roof ugly in Tampa
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RANGER SUAREZ
So long as Ryan Braun does not unretire to come out and hit 5 HR in Citizens Bank Park this weekend I will feel very confident locking in on Ranger Suarez’s entrance into the 2022 pitching campaign. His last outing he turned the corner with a 13.85 DK result facing 22 batters, striking out 4 and having a 28.3 CSW%.
The Brewers offense has been suspect at best all season long and the main offensive threats are lefties which Suarez dominates. He should face 25+ Brewers, which will get him through 6 innings, striking out 8+ and wind up carrying us on this fine Friday evening. He is my top arm on both sites.
MICHAEL KOPECH
You will notice that a certain top SP, Justin Verlander, is not on my list tonight. Kopech is in a MUCH better match-up against the Twins and while they are somewhat cautious with him, he isn’t a 3 IP and done guy. The Talent is not questioned as Kopech is one of the best Whiff pitchers out there and continues to build up his strength to go deeper into games. I feel better about him today than JV coming off an 8 inning performance and having to deal with a Toronto lineup which isn’t striking out as much this year.
CHRIS FLEXEN
Until the Royals begin to turn it on offensively I will not shy away from using a SP, specifically a RHP against them. Flexen doesn’t have enough movement on his pitches to come out and go 7 strong with a high upside against Kansas City, but he also has an extremely low risk score vs this lineup.
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Guys that I expect to have potentially good outings but did not make the top 3…
Freddy Peralta, Kyle Wright, Julio Urias, Tarik Skubal
GIANTS
Darin Ruf, Austin Slater
Giants on the road on the east coast is something we should have rode harder at times in New York the other night but we can make amends here tonight vs Patrick Corbin. Expect the platoon RHB for the Giants and hope that they get the damage done early.
METS
Brandon Nimmo, Francisco Lindor, Pete Alonso, Eduardo Escobar, Jeff McNeil
Chase Field, roof open, Pete Alonso getting women to jump naked into the pool. Yeah we are riding the Mets against Gallen and the Diamondbacks pen back in Chase Field. This game features the return of Starling Marte and Eduardo Escobar who both had a brief cup of coffee in Arizona. I know I listed a bunch of options here and no I don’t think this is a 5 man stack spot but the Mets are hitting well and all these guys are extremely good plays.
Don’t sleep on Jeff McNeil and Brandon Nimmo though.
RAYS
Wander Franco, Brandon Lowe, Ji-Man Choi, Mike Zunino
Nobody will touch the Rays tonight and there will probably be a lot of “This team isnt that good offensively” thrown around about many teams right now. Newsflash, every team not named the Blue Jays sucks on offense currently. Guess who else sucks? Former Ray Michael Wacha and his lack of ability to get a swinging strike vs a LHH and Wander Franco’s incredible vision will probably result in the ball magically dropping into the gaps without Franco even swinging tonight. Kind of like a jedi-mind trick which reminds me of this GIF because it kind of reminds me of Tropicana Costco Field.
BRAVES
I have to mention Atlanta because Austin Riley is back after the birth of his child Jack-Jack, who is just so cute, look at his picture:
Mom and Baby are doing just well and the Braves because they have been so bad offensively are very much bargains on DraftKings against Trevor Rodgers who is a good pitcher that has struggled so far in 2022. If the stars can align then the chalk Braves will do well back in their comfortable home stadium. It’s not that hot down in Atlanta yet though for Atlanta conditions, so temper your expectations here slightly beyond Riley and Ozuna.
It’s a who’s who among guys who are either facing their former team in some fashion or in some cases facing a SP that they once caught (Zunino, Bemboom*). Literally if you wanted to build a lineup of nothing but former team narrative guys you could do it tonight.
CATCHERS
- Mike Zunino
- Anthony Bemboom – Back in LAA vs his former team. If he sits then it means Robinson Chirinos on a Friday is back so both are the same.
- Keibert Ruiz
FIRST BASE
You won’t find me playing anyone else here today.
- Darin Ruf
- Pete Alonso … All Pete does is homer on the road
SECOND BASE
- Brandon Lowe
- Trea Turner
- Jeff McNeil
THIRD BASE
Everyone at 3B is colder than tits on a monkey right now, so lets take Mr. Riley or guys who can bust out in a big way.
- Austin Riley
- Alex Bregman
- Eduardo Escobar
SHORTSTOP
- Wander Franco
- Francisco Lindor
- Jazz… Jazz… Jazz.. Jazz.z. Jazzz. Jazzz. Jazz, Jazzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…
OUTFIELD – Mt. Rushmore
- This space is left open in honor of Ryan Braun in Citizens Bank Park …
- Kyle Schwarber
- Austin Meadows
- Yordan Alvarez
OUTFIELD – Tier 2
- Juan Soto
- Ketel Marte
- Jorge Soler
OUTFIELD – Value
- Austin SLAAAAAAAAAATTTTER
- Marcell Ozuna
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- Darin Ruf – 1B – Giants – Chairman of the Dongers Club
- Mike Zunino – C – Rays
- Jorge Soler – OF – Marlins
- Trea Turner – SS – Dodgers
- Marcus Semien – 2B – Rangers
- Kyle Schwarber – OF – Phillies
- Yordan Alvarez – OF – Astros
- Austin Riley – 3B – Braves
- BONUS ……………………. Pete Alonso – 1B – Mets
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CORE PLAYS
My top exposure tonight would be on Ranger Suarez, Darin Ruf, Mets and Wander Franco.
SP Builds … I don’t love Verlander, but there is logic in just taking 1 of 3 entry max lineups and locking him in for a nice floor.
- Suarez/Kopech
- Suarez/Flexen
- Suarez/Verlander
Expected Chalk
Yankees – Not touching
Angels – Also not excited by this
Mets / Giants / Braves
Best Low Owned Offense(s)
Guardians – All they do is put the ball in play
White Sox – Once the flip the switch they’ll put up 14 runs. Just waiting for the switch to flip.
Blue Jays – Leverage as well
Best Leverage / Pivots
Blue Jays – Whenever the Blue Jays are not chalk, they are leveage, ok?
Bruce Zimmerman (SP2)
Favorite Bets
- Giants ML
- Red Sox / Rays OVER 8
- Rockies/Tigers OVER 7.5
- Blue Jays ML
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