I do believe in this exact spot yesterday I referenced scoring going up for various reasons and we saw that especially out with the west coast games last night. And to every jackass who didn’t play Rhys Hoskins last night, I simply ask.
There are 12 MAIN slate games tonight as the Tigers/Athletics are playing a double-header early and Dodgers, Pirates, Brewers, Reds are all playing games for the Senior Citizens starting at 6:30 and not included on the main slates.
There are two inter-league series going on as the Braves/Red Sox have their little “hey, we had the Braves first!” battle and the Orioles-Cardinals …. well, I can’t think of any relevance these teams have together. In fact, this is the first time since 2003 that the Orioles have played at St. Louis. I don’t know how that is actually possible, but supposedly I read that on the internet – so it must be true!
Notable pitchers going on this slate include Carlos Cookies Carrasco, Patrick Corbin, Kate Upton’s Husband, Joelan Ryan vs the Astros, two Kyle’s, a Garrett and Maddy’s Son Jesus.
We have a Corey, a Wade, a Reid and a Lucas. There’s Antonio and Luis and then there is Alex, Mike and Aaron. Robbie Ray after dark is closing things out long after Yusei Kikuchi and I say, hey let’s go watch The Mexican Brad Keller vs the Venezuelan Lefty Martin Perez.
Oh, and today is Salvador Perez’s birthday
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WEATHER
All. Games. Play.
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JUSTIN VERLANDER
There is something about Verlander against a young lineup that always seems to make him thrive. We are back to peak JV and the Twins have a good amount of youth they are asking to play right now and Gary Sanchez. Combinations which should benefit Verlander to reaching 7+ strikeouts tonight over 6+ innings and even with warmer conditions finally in Minnesota, he should be safe from heavy damage.
MIKE CLEVINGER
There will be other pitchers who probably have more total points tonight than Sunshine. Guys like Nola, Wright, Ray, maybe Giolito, maybe even Luzardo, definitely not Kikuchi. But the big difference is Clevinger’s price as an SP2 on DraftKings and the limited ceiling that I see all the others having. Clevinger has the best opponent matchup w/ the Cubs and in his second start should go 80+ pitches to get through 5 innings with a K per inning.
Will his performance blow the doors off? No, will it be suitable compared to the field? Yes. Even with his ugly hair flowing.
LUIS SEVERINO
I don’t love that Severino has not pitched in 9 days now, but prior to that he was getting ramped up to 90+ pitches and this is a Blue Jays team which he has been very good historically against and one who can be picked on for strikeouts when they are being overly aggressive.
Wild Cards??
Today is a good day to take a wild card shot on your SP2. Again, I don’t see a massive amount of ceiling games but it doesn’t mean there won’t be a few.
If you were to take a shot on anyone of the ‘other’ guys I mentioned in Clevingers write up it would be Robbie Ray or Kyle Wright. Both might appears to have opponents that will give them problems but this is a show up spot for Ray to finally stop being cute and get back to his 2021 self and Kyle Wright is just on a roll while the Red Sox are … well, they’re not.
I don’t like this spot for Aaron Nola. He’s not as great away from Philly and the Mariners will K less against RHP, especially one who leaves the ball down in the zone. Don’t be shocked if Madison Bumgarner pulls a rabbit out of his hat after getting tossed last start.
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CARDINALS
Two good things for the Cardinals tonight. They’re getting a rookie on the road and the weather in St. Louis is EXTREMELY good for the new Baseball. This is the highest dew point we have seen all season in any stadium.
- Paul Goldschmidt
- Tyler O’Neill
- Nolan Arenado
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ROYALS
So I must admit that I went to my local bar yesterday and watched the Royals play the Orioles. And honestly the sad part isn’t that I did that as much as I am not writing up the Royals as a recommended way to spend your hard earned dollars in DFS tonight.
Well…
You see…
It’s mostly a gut instinct thing but for the narrative crowd, Bobby Witt Jr gets to play his first game where he grew up and his last 50 PA in the bigs have been a complete 180 from his slow start. With him now leading off I think we’re going to see him go on a heater run. It’s also Salvador Perez’s birthday and Salvy Splashing on his birthday definitely feels like a thing he would do. Throw in a little Hunter Dozier in TX (another homecoming for someone who always does well back at home) and we’re riding a Royals stack tonight for good value.
- Bobby Witt Jr
- Salvador Perez
- Hunter Dozier
- Whit Merrifield
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WHITE SOX
The time bomb that is the White Sox is ticking loudly. With finally getting some warmer temps and them starting to increase their line drive rates, the Chi Sox lineup is once again a premium stack in our lives. Moncada being back and hitting 2nd is a must if going Anderson-Abreu. Specifically in this build though I want Anderson and someone at the bottom of the order (Sheets/Pollock)
- Tim Anderson
- Yoan Moncada
- Luis Robert
- AJ Pollock
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CATCHER
You could let me build 2,803 lineups tonight and they would have one of these guys.
- Salvador Perez
- Jacob Stallings
- Yadier Molina
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FIRST BASE
- Paul Goldschmidt
- Jose Abreu
- Pete Alonso
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SECOND BASE
- Ketel Marte … His heater. It’s here. Welcome to 2022 Ketel Marte.
- Marcus Semien
- Gleyber Torres
- Brandon Lowe
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THIRD BASE
- Bobby Witt Jr
- Nolan Arenado
- Manny Machado – FD
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SHORTSTOP
Very thin position but Seager is a STRONG play. He should really hammer the ball off Keller, so hopefully he does us all a courtesy tonight for paying up for him.
- Corey Seager
- Jorge Mateo
- Tim Anderson
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OUTFIELD – Mt. Rushmore
Outfield like most big slates has the most value on it today.
- Tyler O’Neill
- Hunter Dozier
- Luis Robert
- Randy Arozarena
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OUTFIELD – Tier 2
- Aaron Hicks – If I were the Yankees, and thank goodness I am not, I would have Aaron Hicks never lead off unless of course he is facing Yusei Kikuchi who he should most definitely be leading off against tonight. If Hicks gets to lead off the 2nd or 3rd or any Inning when Yusei is still pitching he will do so with a homer.
- Jesse Winker
- AJ Pollock
- Juan Soto
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OUTFIELD – Value
- Jorge Soler
- Juan Yepez
- Julio Rodriguez
- Avilsail Garcia
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- Bobby Witt Jr – 3B – Kansas City Royals – Chairman of The Dongers Club
- Salvador Perez – C – Royals
- Paul Goldschmidt – 1B – Cardinals
- Tyler O’Neill – OF – Cardinals
- Corey Seager – SS – Rangers
- Aaron Hicks – OF – Yankees
- Jesse Winker – OF – Mariners
- Ketel Marte – 2B – Diamondbacks
- BONUS ……………………… Brandon Lowe – 2B – Rays – 9th inning off bullpen
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Core Plays
- Justin Verlander
- Mike Clevinger – Saving $ on SP2
- Bobby Witt Jr
- Corey Seager
- Tyler O’Neill
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Expected Chalk
- Mets, White Sox, Cardinals
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Best Low Owned Offense(s) / Pitchers
- Royals
- Astros
- Rays
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Favorite Bets
- Orioles/Cardinals OVER 8
- Royals/Rangers OVER 8
- Tampa + Seattle + San Diego ML Parlay
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