SLATE INTRO
11 games today, both sites lock at 7:05. I have been really bad on DK lately. I am focusing to clean up the pitching plays there for everyone. They sometimes have been good but not in the right range given the bats I like and honestly trying to like a play one site versus another is very challenging with the way pricing is. It will clean up going forward.
WEATHER
No issues except for the fact that supposedly California is on fire and the smoke/air quality is bad. Awesome.
Gerrit Cole
I really thought his last start was the one where he would come out and reach over 60 points on FanDuel and quite honestly he almost got there. Today’s a far better strikeout spot so with him being at home and getting very comfortable this season he’ll likely dominate the Rays today and be a lock FD SP1 even though there are some affordable second tier options. Cole wont burn you and you can find some cheap bats on FD to go with him. He’ll beat deGrom — again! (I’m cheating because last time deGrom got scratched). I am locking in Cole on both sites today once again because there’s value in the bats.
Casey Mize / Jesus Luzardo – DK Combination
I don’t roster rookie pitchers making their debuts, and I am really stretching it here to allow myself to break that rule as there’s only one other current young pitcher I’ll consider it for. Mize to me has as much upside today as someone like Paddack who is coming off a bad start and is in my mind not going to break the slate. Mize says he is ramped up to go a full outing and he is one of those special arms who has the ability to deliver a Strasburg like debut performance in his first start. Chicago will strikeout against RHP at a good clip and even though he’s on the road, he doesn’t exactly have road fans to deal with or anything. Luzardo does not have a great K% upside against the Diamondbacks, but he has good ballpark on his side and he’ll not have to be forced into a rush start like he was over the weekend. His price point is appropriate considering Oakland pitchers (and young guys like him) don’t go deep. But if we’re gonna go young, lets do it with both these guys on DK. If Luzardo is out because of air quality then on DK consider
- Pablo Lopez …
Outside of the Box
Lance Lynn
Lynn is your pivot away from Paddack in a game that Texas will sneak up and win today. Lynn struggles with LH bats and the Padres bats are Cronenworth, Girsham and Hosmer. So yeah, Hosmer might be a problem but otherwise, Lynn will have a very solid performance and makes a nice low owned DK play today.
Guys I am not on.
- Chris Paddack
- Tyler Glasnow – What? No.
- deGrom – Prefer Cole given deGroms injury challenges and I KNOW the Yankees will win tonight, cant say that about the Mets.
Washington Nationals
Trea Turner, Carter Kieboom, Juan Soto, Luis Garcia
Happy Trea Turner day. They will win running away tonight.
Milwaukee Brewers
Ryan Braun, Justin Smoak, Keston Hiura, Christian Yelich, Manny Pina
Sometimes you gotta write up a bad offense in a great spot and Milwaukee/Minnesota tonight is one of my favorite landing spot games. Coming off 8 innings of not hitting anything Maeda threw they get Rich Hill making his 2020 debut in Target Field tonight. If you want to roll with Cole on DK, the Brewers are in play.
Good ole Jedd Gyorko batting cleanup at $2200 on FanDuel today.
Teams to keep on your radar
- LA Dodgers: The only thing that could make me consider these punks is if they got to face a RHP who throws nothing but fastballs. And son of a gun that’s exactly what they have today in Taijuan Walker. Loaded bonus is the Mariners bullpen. The only downside here is that they’re heavy in prices but worth it when they rake.
- Minnesota Twins: This is better spot for Sano than Cruz or Garver IMO. Sano and Buxton are the plays.
- Oakland Athletics: Canha, Olson, Chapman
- Atlanta Braves: Ozuna/Duvall
CATCHER
- Yan Gomes
- Austin Barnes
FIRST BASE
- Ryan Braun
- Miguel Sano
- Eric Thames
- Matt Olson – Oakland if they play will get to Kelly, just dont know that you need them today with some value spots elsewhere.
SECOND BASE
- Rougned Odor
- Luis Garcia
- Garrett Hampson
THIRD BASE
- Nolan Arenado
- Carter Kieboom
- Justin Turner
- Jedd Gyorko – Ugh… But yeah, he’s got a good spot today
SHORTSTOP
Gimme all the Trea day.
- Trea Turner
- Corey Seager
OUTFIELD – Mt. Rushmore
Outfield isnt great today, get yourself one stud, two values and load up on Cole.
- Juan Soto
- Roadie Bellinger
- Christian Yelich
- Avisail Garcia
Outfield – Tier 2
- Mark Canha
- George Springer
- Kyle Tucker
Outfield – Value
- Adam Duvall
- Adam Eaton
BEST CONTEST REFRESHER
These are the things I look for the most and encourage you to do it as well. We are all going to chase big $ contests w/ multiple lineups and that is fine, but you need balance in your MLB portfolio, so add the Dongers Club Growth Funds:
- 10x to first: This one is going to be hard for many of you but it’s the #1 golden rule to staying profitable during the MLB grind. You need these contests mixed in more than you realize. What is 10x to first? It means that the prize for 1st Place which everyone obsesses with is 10x the entry fee. So yeah, that means a $10 contest pays out $100 to first. Or my favorite $100 pays out $1000. You are thinking what’s the point? These type of contests usually aren’t as common and they’re a waste of time, I want my 50x to first!! Well, guess what. You will find that you win these 10x to first contests far often and that type of boost is way better than any other you will find. They’re smaller and usually have folks who are late registering their contests in them. Find these. Play these.
- Less than 1,000 Users: Very simple rule. Avoid contests that have too many users. A big misconception is that MME is hard to beat and you cant beat someone with a single lineup if they have maxed out the limits on a contest. Not true. The more lineups they are putting in the chances are more bad lineups as well. It comes down to the TOTAL number of users you have to beat. Fewer is better.
- Get out of the $1 and $3 and $5 contests: If you are living here, you aren’t about making money. Sorry.
- Play a 3-man to bust a slump: Yes, they are full of what folks call Sharks. No, they are not invincible. When you’re in a slump, play one of these.
- Trea Turner – SS – Nationals – Chairman of the Dongers Club
- Ryan Braun – 1B – Brewers
- Avisail Garcia – OF – Brewers
- Nolan Arenado – 3B – Rockies
- Roadie Bellinger – OF – Dodgers
- Yan Gomes – C – Nationals
- Rougned Odor – 2B – Rangers
- Mark Canha – OF – Athletics
- BONUS ………………….. Adam Duvall – OF – Braves