A quiet seven game Monday night slate tonight with nothing before 7:05 pm. WEATHER [spacer height=”10px”] I try to identify the pitchers I am going to want to consider using before I look at the model to allow it to influence me that much.  But tonight it was pretty straight forward as I had these three guys listed in this order and all pretty close to each other. Which as of this morning, is how their ratings were aligned as well.  So it’s a don’t get too cute night on pitching, but obviously one which will give you some leverage if you decide to fade these pitchers by using hitters on the other side. BLAKE SNELL A season ago we liked the Giants vs LHP but not now.  After getting swept in Los Angeles, I expect the Padres to come home and do the same to the Giants who are really bad and with Snell being at home he is much more trust worthy.  He should finish as the top scoring pitcher tonight and I have no problem using him everywhere. CHRIS BASSITT I love the talent pitcher on the other side in this game, but Justin Dunn making his first start isn’t going to warrant any consideration in Queens.  Bassitt in Citi Field has been our cheat code all season long and his form is back after a little bumpy stretch around the all-star break. ZAC GALLEN Gallen grades slightly below Bassitt.  There’s a couple Pirates who should be able to put solid contact vs him but he’ll strand them and finish around 16-20 points most likely tonight.  The alternative for a third option is Keegan Thompson who just doesn’t have any upside vs Nationals. [spacer height=”10px”] BLUE JAYS Death.  Taxes.  Jays in Camden even though the wall is moved back.  Our good pal Cavan Biggio should have himself a nice start to the week hitting it out to right field and Hernandez/Bichette form nice middle of the lineup plays too. DIAMONDBACKS Got to watch Tyler Beede pitch against the Brewers a week ago and the Pirates think they can roll him out again?  Sign me up for some Diamondbacks as he doesn’t miss any bats and should give up lots of gap hits tonight in this big park. METS Very warm again in Citi Field and the Mets are a team not to ignore every single night while they […]

Grab your coffee and finish making your Bacon and Eggs, it’s time for the Sunday Edition of The Dongers Club.  I am writing up today’s article while listening to Free Bird, so take that for whatever it’s worth. Either we’re hitting the full nuts today with an EPIC Dongers Club where everyone in the Dongers Club section homers or we are like Jenny in Forrest Gump … Today’s Sunday slate has a curve ball in it, we don’t have Coors Field to worry about but there is a juicy 4:05 PM game on the Tilt Slate between the Braves and Mets.  The great part here is that it features Spencer Strider against Jacob deGrom, so don’t take too long of an afternoon nap because that one is must see. Two games begin at 1:35 PM, one at 1:40 and then the rest are all at 2:10/2:15/2:20 PM EST. White Sox at Rangers:   This is only on FanDuel today, which is great news for everyone on DraftKings because you won’t be tempted to play the White Sox, but also bad news for everyone on DraftKings, because you won’t be able to play the White Sox against Spencer Howard The Suck.  He’s back. [spacer height=”10px”] WEATHER We have some high Dew Point ratings today, so the ball might have a little extra carry on it in Baltimore, Detroit, Philadelphia, Kansas City & St. Louis although KC/STL have always been the top Dew Point stadiums all season long and it hasn’t boosted them too much but each are higher than normal.  That said, Philly/Balt/Det are the ones with the highest DP increase today but Detroit has a cross wind which doesn’t help hitters much. [spacer height=”10px”] Spots to monitor include … Marlins at Cubs – Could see rain showers, but I expect them to get the game in.  It’s low 80’s with the wind blowing out but not excessively and these teams suck. Reds at Brewers – Likely will see the roof get closed in Milwaukee, which could help the hitters slightly but not much reason to over think this. Nationals at Phillies – Wind 12MPH out. [spacer height=”10px”] Today’s random fun fact on the pitchers is as follows. Nationals SP Cory Abbott (no relation to one handed Jim) made his major league debut in June of 2021 and in that game he got his first strikeout.  That strikeout?  Kevin Gausman, who is […]

There are two double headers today between the Braves/Mets and Angels/Mariners.  Both game 2’s for those are on DraftKings Main slate tonight and not FanDuel. WEATHER Blue Jays at Twins – Light storm/shower chances Red Sox at Royals – 90+ Degree Temps and winds 13+ MPH out to left field. [spacer height=”10px”] NATE EOVALDI Kansas City’s best bats (Salvy/Witt) are not plays I am liking against Eovaldi, who is pitching pretty well for Boston in the second half and even though he might give up a solo shot here or there he’s got an insanely high K% upside today.  I like Nate to have a 10+ swinging strike game, which means he is going over 20 DK fantasy points like he has each time he does that. MAX SCHERZER I’m writing this up before Game 1 but I don’t see any reason why Game 1 would deter us from using Max tonight.  The primary SP decision in terms of ownership tonight will be between Max and Rodon with Rodon expected higher against the Oakland PAthetics.  Max in a big spot though with the home crowd behind him is not an automatic fade and this honestly is what I expect to be a pitchers duel with Max Fried.  Give me Scherzer going his longest outing of the season so far in a statement game. MICHAEL KOPECH Kopech has had his best games when he gets to face a heavier lefty lineup and a lot of the middle/bottom of the order Rangers also do not walk very much.  He is coming off a 100 pitch outing, but seems to be more than built up to be reliable at this price in a 6 inning, 7+ strikeout spot in what is a homecoming game for him to return near where he grew up. [spacer height=”10px”] BLUE JAYS Springer, Vladdy Jr, Bichette, Jansen/Kirk Pending weather getting this game in (which I believe it will), the Jays are our first pit stop today for lots of homers off Dylan Bundy who has been better than many thought he would be in Minnesota, but he doesn’t miss bats and has almost a .200 ISO vs RHB.  It’s a bad mix and with humidity in the air, the ball should carry a little more. YANKEES Judge, Torres, Donaldson Tonight we will find out why the Yankees traded Jordan Montgomery.  His first start as a Cardinal is against […]

WEATHER Couple spots to keep an eye on with even some heavy rain/PPD risk Washington at Philadelphia – The Nationals have told the Phillies they should call this game at 7:07pm.  In fact, last night when the game was suspended and then called afterwards the Nationals supposedly filed a claim with the league offices asking if this was allowed.  Word is that the Nats are PISSED about it, they were under the impression that you are only to call games AFTER the start time and they would be entirely PPD at that point — thus they do not accept last nights Loss and will be playing the rest of the season under protest by fielding a Beer League Softball lineup with Luke Voit as the team Captain. I’m joking of course….  About the Luke Voit Captain Part.  Everyone knows Maikel Franco is the captain. Pittsburgh at Baltimore – The Pirates have brought their ships to the inner harbor and given how much that has declined in Baltimore over the years even they aren’t too thrilled about docking there.  But here they come and lets enjoy a 1979 World Series Re-match.  Oh wait, this is the weather section.  Yeah, it could rain. [spacer height=”10px”] [spacer height=”10px”] DYLAN CEASE Simply put the AL Cy Young front runner is out pitching the field of late and 8 of the 9 projected hitters for Texas grade out extremely poorly against him and his stache.  You bring a stache like that down into the heart of Texas and you better damn well pitch your brains out like he should tonight.  Carrying a low .072 ISO and 29.7K% on the road Cease is easily the best SP going today. ERIC LAUER I would trust Matt Lauer with my Daughter more than I trust Eric Lauer most of the time, but lucky for me, I don’t have a daughter.  I hope one day that I will have a Granddaughter who comes and listens to me tell stories about how Kevin Appier was robbed of the 1994 Cy Young when I am 93 years old and sitting in three day old urine but for now, I don’t have a daughter and I don’t have to sweat out those 12-18 teenage years nor do I have a problem using Lauer against the Cincinnati Reds tonight. ROBBIE RAY Give me Ray for upside over the other options like Valdez, Walker and […]

I heard more Vin Scully tributes on the radio today and I heard a quote which I have said before and always loved.  It was “Don’t be sad that it’s over, Smile [Be Happy] that it happened”.  I’m sure Vin wasn’t the one who coined this phrase, but I am now sure that is where I first heard it. We move on to Thursday, which brings us a lack of A+ level pitching match-ups and an 8 game slate on DK with the STL/CHC second game of double-header being included there. WEATHER Well there is one weather spot we will monitor tonight as I am more cautious after missing the T-Storms in yesterdays article on the Cardinal game. Houston at Cleveland – Doesn’t look that bad at game time so they can get this one started and make the game official most likely. Tampa at Detroit – Similar deal here. [spacer height=”10px”] Justin Verlander and Alek Manoah are the two biggest names on this slate.  Verlander faces a Cleveland team who has only struck out 7+ times at home vs a RHP once this entire season and that was Dylan Cease in a day game where they eventually got to him as well.  JV is good yes, but JV isn’t 12 strikeout good here. Manoah had some arm issues in his last start and the Twins have too many LHB, I’ll pass big time on him. Carlos Carrasco could see some ownership since the game is in New York and the Braves strike out a ton, but I have a couple Braves hitters I like as one offs which is why I am not touching him. [spacer height=”10px”] JEFFREY SPRINGS This might be the first time I have not only wrote up Springs but also wrote him up as the top optoin.  Yes, the price on him is coming into play a little bit as he is a comfortable 7.1k on DK and 7.4k on FD and he isn’t the type of pitcher I normally run towards because of limited depth (not going over 6 IP) and just average swing and miss stuff. The Tigers though aren’t exactly a team I would encourage stacking today and his heavery slider usage should get him a shot at 6 strikeouts today.  I like Springs and the Rays to go into Detroit and take this one comfortably. KYLE WRIGHT Wright is our wild […]

We will always glorify the players, teams and even coaches in Sports but if you are near my age (42) then there is nobody more crucial to us loving Sports and games than those who are broadcasting them. Vin Scully was an icon larger than any player, team or manager in Sports.  He spanned so many decades and I was sad when he had to retire and with his passing it only brings back many great memories of listening to him as a kid falling asleep in my room or as an adult falling asleep watching Kershaw push me up the DFS leaderboard. Whether Vin was telling his famous stories like the Bumgarner snake, talking about Socrates Brito, Baseball players Beards, or obviously his dozens of iconic calls, he made you feel joy and love for the game and he could make anything sound like it was the greatest thing you ever heard. I can only imagine how he would have explained The Dongers Club Chairman on National TV. WEATHER All games play. [spacer height=”10px”] Nobody is going to touch Ohtani tonight, so we take him at 10k right?  I cannot forsee a scenario where Oakland pulls a Seattle off him and don’t think he is going to have a bad outing. So this slate is entirely about finding a second pitcher and the juice which has come into San Diego should propell Blake Snell at $7,900 to beat up a Rockies lineup which is quiet and not very problematic for the Padres sometimes problematic lefty. James Kaprielian is going to bring back the SP vs Angels memories tonight as well, so he is worthy of game stacking with Ohtani. Ohtani Snell Kaprielian [spacer height=”10px”] The Cardinals should continue to beat up on Cubs pitching they will see lefty Justin Steele today and are head and shoulders the top team to target. Milwaukee is very close to them and if they can get their hits with men on base tonight I would imagine we see them put up a 7 or 8 spot on the Pirates. Cardinals (Goldy, Nado, Carlson, O’Neill) … Pivot Goldy to Pujols to save $$ Brewers (Wong, Tellez, McCutchen) Pirates (Newman, Cruz, Reynolds) [spacer height=”10px”] CATCHER Willson Contreras Jorge Alfaro Yadi Molina [spacer height=”10px”] FIRST BASE Paul Goldschmidt Albert Pujols Rowdy Tellez [spacer height=”10px”] SECOND BASE Kolten Wong Tommy Edman [spacer height=”10px”] THIRD BASE Nolan Arenado […]

The trade deadline was fun and all but I am extremely excited that monkey is off our backs and behind us now.  We are in the dead heat of the Dog days of Summer with underdogs winning, Burnes walking Pirates and all. RIP to the legend Vin Scully. We have a short 5 game slate on the MAIN slate later tonight and so you can check back in for my full tribute to the most legendary person in Sports in my lifetime and I cannot help but write today without hearing Scully’s voice read my entire article as if he was broadcasting a game. For now we look at the Afternoon/Day game slate(s) today and look at this, we have FanDuel taking the lead with the better slate including the two Hangover games in Tampa & Atlanta in the 12pm EST window. DraftKings then follows with the other 6 games as their early afternoon slate. So that is 8 games early for the Blue DFS players on FanDuel and 6 games early for the Orange DFS players on DraftKings. Of course, scholars know that if you mix Blue and Orange together, you get brown.  Which is hopefully not the color that we will be thinking of when we check our lineups this afternoon. [spacer height=”10px”] WEATHER All games play. [spacer height=”10px”] The four pitchers who are FD only include Yusei Kikuchi — who I wish Vin Scully had been broadcasting his games, there would have been gold in those broadcasts — Jalen Beeks, Zach Wheeler and yes, Charlie Morton. Arizona will be starting rookie Tommy Henry, who makes his debut in Cleveland.  Henry is a former college pitcher who is a big lefty.  His best could be Jordan Montgomery and his worst would be just another guy out of the bullpen for the Diamondbacks.  I would expect he walks a good amount of hitters today and does not make it through the 4th inning. Luis Castillo will make his Mariners and American League debut in Yankee Stadium.  There’s a little bit of Felix Hernandez in Luis Castillo and if you know, you know.  Okay fine, I’ll share.  King Felix was the master of dominating the Yankees in New York, he loved pitching there and with the Yankees passing on trading for Castillo I could see him having a couple dominant innings.  But no, I am not gonna trust him just […]

WYNDHAM CHAMPIONSHIP Well, I ran my mouth to Renner last week about how I thought my picks had been pretty good and, BAM, I miss completely on Finau.  Honestly, I can’t beat myself up too much because a lot of the guys were still there on the weekend.  It was just that the scoring was […]

One more day of trades to get through and then things hopefully will stabilize with regards to lineup changes and pitching swaps, etc. The Rockies and Padres are playing a DH today so Game 2 is on DraftKings, but not on FanDuel. [spacer height=”10px”] WEATHER All games play. [spacer height=”10px”] Today marks the return of Jacob deGrom to a big league mound.   He is priced like he should be and thus with him likely having a very short leash we will skip over the Mets Ace today even against the AAA Nationals Lineup. A key thing to do this time of year is make sure you rule guys out to narrow down the pitching choices.  A good number of guys might stand out as options, but we only pick 2 max per lineup so narrow your pool when you have depth like tonight. CORBIN BURNES The Pirates have been striking out more lately with their top two hitters (Reynolds/Hayes) being two guys that Burnes should be able to handle.  Assuming Reynolds is still on the team by the time the game will play. Eight of the Nine projected hitters for the Pirates (yeah, they only get nine too) have below AVG xSLG projections against Burnes too and there just aren’t many more consistent DFS plays than Burnes these days. ADAM WAINWRIGHT We stay in the NL Central with the Cardinals veteran RHP on the mound against the Cubs — who I am expecting to not have Contreras on the roster by the time this game starts.  But even if he does we are in Waino time now, coming off one of his best starts of the season and getting a Cubs lineup which isn’t hitting much at the moment. NOAH SYNDERGAARD I kinda like the Angels to win tonight, yeah, them Angels.  The thing with Thor is that assuming he stays with the Angels past the deadline today he is someone we like pitching at home and the Athletics are a pretty low walk team so I don’t see why he wouldn’t give us 6 innings against a lineup with 6 RHB, [spacer height=”10px”] The following ‘Good’ Pitchers were given some consideration today but ultimately they did not make the A-B-C list… Kevin Gausman – Gausman is a very streaky pitcher and I can’t say I endorse his current mediocrity. Spencer Strider – VERY warm obviously in Atlanta, his price […]

Nine games to start things off this week with some new series that we haven’t seen recently (or all season) which is very nice. [spacer height=”10px”] WEATHER ARI at CLE – Rainy and Humid with chance of Lefties in Cleveland Unusually humid in San Diego [spacer height=”10px”] Jon Gray With Five out of Six recent starts resulting in 7+ strikeouts there’s no reason Jon Gray isn’t being hyped up more around the American League as one of the bright spot FA signings.  Now long out of Coors and seemingly with all injury issues behind him, Gray is someone we love down in the Graveyard in Texas — or Costco West as we call it — where he has a 34% strike out rate on the season. Max Scherzer Max is back in DC vs the Nationals tonight who certainly do not strike out vs most pitchers but against Max they should still give him the floor even he needs at over 10.6k. I have no problems with chalk and high $ when its a pitcher vs a team he should carve up. Mike Clevinger Sunshine at night out in PETCO.  Yes, I mentioned higher humidity but we also have the Rockies on the road and off a long homestand.  They should go quietly into the night and for those who want to skate around Max for a cheaper option with Gray, Clevinger out shines a few other options who aren’t as “safe” tonight [spacer height=”10px”] Those other “just ok” guys are … Domingo German … His ceiling is limited here but he should profile well vs the Mariners.  Not a ton of K’s, but a solid start for German. Logan Webb (not Andrew Heaney like the model says) [spacer height=”10px”] The two New York teams are both facing bad lefties today.  The Mets are expensive and facing the gas can which is Patrick Corbin while the Yankees draw crafty Marco Gonzalez at tiny Yankee Stadium. Both are expensive.  Both are great spots for some solo dingers. [spacer height=”10px”] Diamondbacks vs Guardians ARI – Rojas, Marte, Varsho CLE – Ramirez, Naylor, Gimenez, Jones Great weather and two RHP who should not be pitching come 2024 in the Big Leagues, certainly not as starters.  While Arizona went quiet over the weekend in Atlanta I still am riding this train expecting to catch some lightning in a bottle and with the lefty heavy […]