All teams are back from the all-star break today with a day game in Wrigley Field (the way it should be) and then a small turbo slate, followed by our 11 game MAIN slate tonight Couple series highlights to call out for this weekend to get the noggin spining: NYY at ATL:  So, wait a minute here.  I was told that Aaron Judge wasn’t an option in the All-Star game to do the swing off because of travel plans leaving the game early?  I guess, yeah, he had a two day vacation but he didn’t want to spend it in Atlanta?  Fair enough.  So, ATH at CLE:  Love the Athletics all weekend. SF at TOR: Big park shift series for the Giants & they have a handful of hitters who have fared VERY well in Toronto Coors is back:  Yep, Coors is here and the Twins are your team to piss you off all weekend long WEATHER I don’t anticipate any PPD games today.  Could see some storms down in Atlanta. You will have a good number of pitchers who haven’t thrown in well over a week going the next few days.  I don’t really put too much emphasis on this, but you could see it swing either way with some guys being rusty and others being very fresh. SETH LUGO (DK: $9300 / FD: $9700) … Lugo has been rumored in trade talks and if the Royals come out of the ASB and implode then I wouldn’t be shocked to see them shop him around.  But hopefully (for me) they don’t do that and he remains their most important arm down the stretch as a guy who is going to not allow more than 2 ER, throw 6 IP and hopefully strikeout 1+ batters per inning. NICK LODOLO (DK: $8400 / FD: $9200) … And this one is trusting a little bit that the Mets come out “off” to start the weekend as a team with heavy veteran presence.  Lodolo is pitching great for the Reds & the park is favorable for him to keep the ball in the stadium.  With his K% being in the top 20% on this slate I would be shocked if he isn’t a great PT/$ play at 8400 on DK. JP SEARS (DK: $6200 / FD: $8100) … The best of the “cheap” options tonight.  Definitely a couple tiers below everyone else but he […]

WEATHER Braves at Cardinals:  Heavy rain.  They could wait until late tonight but I don’t think either team is going to be interested in that.  But it is possible I guess. Couple studs who are facing off today.  Gilbert vs Flaherty and Eovaldi vs Brown.  All four are viable options but not as comfortable as Freddy Peralta (below) TOP OPTIONS Freddy Peralta (DK: $10k, FD: $9700) … An alternate option off paying up for Gilbert, Brown or Eovaldi and thus my favorite one.  The Brewers could use some length from Peralta and he is always good for 6 IP and 8+ strikeouts. Simeon Woods-Richardson (DK: $6400, FD: $8000) … Very questionable pricing here from DraftKings as SWR is pitching well of late and the Pirates are … well, they’re still the Pirates.   Weather is good for hitting today, but not enough to drive off him. THE SUNDAY SLEEPER None LOGIC SAYS YES.  GUT SAYS NO Eury Perez (DK: $6500, FD: $8500) … Look up a team who is ready to get the hell out of the first half and go on vacation and you will see a picture of the Orioles.  Perez brings quality pitches & recently has been pitching under control.  I do worry about some fly balls possibly leaving the yard but hope they’re using the same balls they had yesterday in Camden which seemed really dead.  I am bumping Perez down though just because my gut says this game has a million runs in it. Clay Holmes (DK: $7200, FD: $8600) … Gives up a homer to Jac and that’s it, but not sure the strikeouts are there.   MARLINS vs ORIOLES RAYS REDS CUBS   CATCHER Agustin Ramirez Danny Jansen William Contreras   FIRST BASE Spencer Steer Michael Busch Jonathan Aranda   SECOND BASE Jackson Holliday Matt McLain Xavier Edwards   THIRD BASE Alex Bregman Nolan Gorman Jose Ramirez   SHORTSTOP Gunnar Henderson Francisco Lindor Elly De La Cruz   OUTFIELD – Mt. Rushmore Jac Caglianone Austin F’n Hays Jesus Sanchez Masataka Yoshida   OUTFIELD – Tier II Josh Lowe Steven Kwan Brendan Donovan   Spencer Steer – 1B – Cincinnati Reds – Chairman of The Dongers Club Jackson Holliday – 2B – Orioles Jac Caglianone – OF – Royals Josh Lowe – OF – Rays Jesus Sanchez – OF – Marlins Agustin Ramirez – C- Marlins Jose Ramirez – 3B – Guardians Francisco Lindor – […]

Short four game night slate WEATHER No issues A ton of high named pitchers tonight and a bunch are in great form right now.  Specifically Mr. Wheeler who isn’t in a bad spot but might be the one you consider fading as he has thrown a ton of pitches in recent starts (normal for him granted) & I think we see some offense from both sides in this game. Jacob deGrom (DK: $9800, FD: $10.1k) Framber Valdez (DK: $9600, FD: $10k)     DIAMONDBACKS PHILLIES BLUE JAYS / ATHLETICS   CATCHER Alejandro Kirk James McCann   FIRST BASE Bryce Hraper Vlad Guerrero   SECOND BASE Bryson Stott Ketel Marte Jake Cronenworth   THIRD BASE Alec Bohm Eugenio Suarez   SHORTSTOP Bo Bichette Jacob Wilson   OUTFIELD – Mt. Rushmore Lourdes Gurriel Jr. Mike Trout Kyle Schwarber George Springer   Alec Bohm – 3B – Philadelphia Phillies – Chairman of The Dongers Club George Springer – OF – Blue Jays Mike Trout – OF – Angels Bryce Harper – 1B – Phillies   Phillies/Padres OVER 7.5 Jays/Athletics OVER 10.5

WEATHER Rockies at Reds:  Round of storms coming around first pitch, first three innings, or not at all…  See, I can be a weatherman too. Mariners at Tigers:  Late storms, should be ok. Brady Singer (DK: $7800, FD: $8300) … Every pitcher smashes against hte Rockies away from Coors.  Enter Brady Singer.  What can go wrong here. Max Fried (DK: $9800) … Back to back southpaws against hte Cubs.  Rodon was dominant last night – Fried is a better pitcher. Garrett Crochet (DK: $10.9k, FD: $10.7k)   REDS … This is an offense that is just so up and down right now.  Mostly down. Austin Hays could not have had a worse night last night because the Rockies literally walked Elly every time — which is kinda sad and pathetic that a terrible team like the Rockies is resorting to that, but when Hays comes up and strikes out literally every time after him, how can you blame them? BREWERS … Vaughn, Chouriou, Yelich, Contreras ORIOLES … Henderson and Holliday   CATCHER William Contreras Ryan Jeffers Tyler Stephenson   FIRST BASE Andrew Vaughn Spencer Steer Kyle Manzardo   SECOND BASE Jackson Holliday Matt McLain Kody Clemens   THIRD BASE Matt Chapman Jose Ramirez Royce Lewis   SHORTSTOP Francisco Lindor Gunnar Henderson Colson Montgomery   OUTFIELD – Mt. Rushmore Gavin Lux Oneil Cruz Lars Nootbar Byron Buxton   OUTFIELD – Tier II Jackson Chourio Bryan Reynolds Christian Yelich Colton Cowser     Oneil Cruz – OF – Pittsburgh Pirates – Chairman of The Dongers Club Byron Buxton – OF – Twins Gavin Lux – OF – Reds Kyle Manzardo – 1B – Guardians Gunnar Henderson – SS – Orioles Jackson Holliday – 2B – Orioles Matt Chapman – 3B – Giants William Contreras – C – Brewers BONUS …. Christian Yelich – OF – Brewers   Cubs/Yankees UNDER 8.5 Detroit ML  

We have ourselves a 15 gamer tonight and there are a total of 16 games as the Guardians/White Sox opted to skip last night and play two today giving us an afternoon game as well. WEATHER Should be clear of PPD tonight. CHASE BURNS (DK: $7500, FD: $8800) We have a gift from DraftKings if you do not care about ownership.  If you do care about ownership then this stinks because Burns had his little blow up game in Boston – where he likely was tipping his pitches – and then came back against a good Phillies team to work around a few walks and still have 7 K over 4 2/3 IP with a 50%+ ground ball rate as well. The Rockies now come into GABP and while it’s a good hitters park too, it’s still the Rockies on the road where they just put up a total of 7 runs in 3 games in Fenway with good hitting conditions.  Expect a Burns 7+ strikeout performance today and the books have adjusted his K prop back accordingly. TARIK SKUBAL (DK: $12k, FD: $11.5k) I wrote about this earlier in the week but on these huge slates you apply the ‘Sale’ theory and just pay for the stud pitcher who is on a roll.  The value bats will figure themselves out tonight. JOE RYAN (DK: $10k, FD: $10.3k) It’s not just that Ryan is facing the Pirates, but also that he is facing the Pirates when Skenes pitches.  Which means the Twins win and the Pirates score 0 runs. NOTE:  Skenes is fine as well and equal to Skubal/Ryan IMO. OTHER PITCHING THOUGHTS It feels like Paul Skenes was going slow at the start of the season & now is in “f you” mode.  The guy is pitching exceptionally well despite zero run support.  Which, he likely runs into again tonight. Gavin Williams is worth taking a glance at pending how the first game plays out. I don’t mind Ranger Suarez, but he’s clearly behind about 4 or 5 other options today, but the gap is not as big as it might seem.  Suarez should give up a homer we just dont know if there are two on when he does it to Manny tonight.   RED SOX Yoshida, Bregman, Story, Mayer Bregman is back tonight or tomorrow.  But it’s the rest of the guys who are of interest along […]

WEATHER Braves at Athletics:  100 Degrees out in Sacramento Guardians at White Sox:  Rain coming in here, they should be able to play enough through it to make the game official.  Hitters only spot. Not a clear path to navigate tonight for pitching.  Woo is dealing with a really bad park shift obviously going into Yankee Stadium from Seattle – but his upside and likely ability to control Judge/Stanton/Goldy is a favorable reason to put him into the hopper. E-Fraud comes in off a bad outing, but he’s my favorite mid range bad SP to take a shot on for a bounce back tonight, while Corbin is the one who is likely going to be 15-20% owned.  What a world…  Another option not listed below is Logan Allen ($7700 on DK) going into Chicago vs the White Sox, who are not great and even worse vs LHP. Eduardo Rodriguez (DK: $8000, FD: $8700) Brayan Woo (DK: $10,000, FD: $10,300) Patrick Corbin (DK: $7500, FD: $7800)   The Braves remain on suspension from the Dongers Club.  All requests to have them re-instated is under review until after the all-star break.  Thank you… GUARDIANS … Weather aside really like Santana/Kwan/Ramirez.  Cleveland finally is hitting better (on road) & J-Ram is locked in. CARDINALS … Sorka is good for lots of hits, walks or homers.  Not all three, but definitely one. STL good vs RHP RAYS RANGERS   CATCHER Bo Naylor Cal Raleigh Riley Adams   FIRST BASE Josh H Smith Carlos Santana Yandy Diaz   SECOND BASE Brandon Lowe Brendan Donovan Daniel Schneeeman   THIRD BASE Jose Ramirez Junior Caminero Nolan Gorman   SHORTSTOP Corey Seager Jacob Wilson Masyn Winn   OUTFIELD – Mt. Rushmore Steven Kwan Brendan Donovan (Since we really want Lowe at 2B) Dominic Canzone Evan Carter     Carlos Santana – 1B – Cleveland Guardians – Chairman of The Dongers Club Jose Ramirez – 3B – Guardians Brendan Lowe – 2B – Rays Brendan Donovan – OF – Cardinals Dominic Canzone – OF – Mariners Bo Naylor – C – Guardians   Guardians ML Cardinals ML Rangers ML

WEATHER All games clear to go tonight even with a few storm threats. LUCAS GIOLITO (DK: $8500, FD: $9700) He can give up the HR to Hunter Goodman in the first inning and still finish 6 2/3 IP, 2 ER, 8 K and be your chalky why not play of the day. KRIS BUBIC (DK: $10,000, FD: $10,300) I am bullish on Bubic’s strikeout props tonight for certain.  His DFS landing spot is him versus Gore in terms of who you trust more because there’s not much reason to not use Giolito as well. MACKENZIE GORE (DK: $9800, FD: $9600) This is a dominant/smash/cant miss (ha!) type scenario for Gore.  The Cardinals have a nearly 30% strikeout rate against LHP and he is of course a king of the whiffs.  His last three starts though the walks have come back into play which has killed his PC and of course his actual results.  But that was the Dodgers/Padres/Tigers & the Cardinals vs LHP aren’t as lethal as the Cubs have proven.  Love Gore today. OTHER PITCHING THOUGHTS   UPDATE:  The Atlanta Braves have now been banned for 30 days from the Dongers Club.  Thank you for your attention to this matter. Do not fear, you have a ton of other good options today, including … ATHLETICS:  Butler and Rooker once again look great along with Kurtz.  It’s almost an automatic play the A’s at home vs bad pitching right now… METS:   Drawing Sugano and the Orioles pen.  Love McNeil/Nimmo/Alonso REDS:   Ice cold, they draw Sandy who also has gone ice cold after I said he was “back”.  Nice Will Benson game tonight along with Elly… RANGERS:   Seager/Smith/Semien ASTROS:   Kinda a sneaky play today.  They’ll get good RH matchups against Cecconi, which favors Paredes and Cam Smith a ton.   HONORABLE MENTION The Cubs/Twins once again and the Mariners against fresh meat making his debut.   CATCHER Agustin Ramirez Shea Langeliers Hunter Goodman   FIRST BASE Michael Busch Pete Alonso Coby Mayo   SECOND BASE Marcus Semien Jorge Polanco Jeff McNeil   THIRD BASE Isaac Paredes Royce Lewis Josh H Smith   SHORTSTOP Corey Seager Elly De La Cruz Jacob Wilson   OUTFIELD – Mt. Rushmore Lawrence Butler Trevor Larnach Will Benson Pete Crow Armstrong     Isaac Paredes – 3B – Houston Astros – Chairman of The Dongers Club Lawrence Butler – OF – Athletics Hunter Goodman – C – […]

Broken down by pricing tiers, Mark Farris outlines his favorite PGA DFS plays on DraftKings

We got ourselves a bigger sized slate tonight.  Almost back to a throwback 15 gamer but there are two turbo games.  Rain and storms could be an issue tonight as well in a few spots… WEATHER Hot, stormy, delays…. Mariners at Yankees Rockies at Red Sox Blue Jays at White Sox Pirates at Royals Nationals at Cardinals HUNTER BROWN (DK: $11,000, FD: $10,800) Unless Lou Brown is coming in to give the Guardians a speech after their win last night, I would put my money on them not winning another one today.  Not the way most of their AB outside of J-Ram are right now and certainly not against Hunter Brown.  If he doesn’t get through 7 IP tonight I would be suprised, although with so many games and options you don’t HAVE to force him in, but there is a very old and reliable theory on these random big Tuesday night slates and it’s never failed. It’s the Scherzer/Sale theory from back when they were both elite at the same time.  When you have a ton of games and a high priced ace pitcher in a good spot, you play them.  Why?  Because every jackass who is $2500 or $3200 who might be chalky from an optimizer is FOR SURE going to homer tonight… SETH LUGO (DK: $8800, FD: $9700) Death. Taxes.  Royals pitchers at home not allowing runs early. BRAYAN BELLO (DK: $6600, FD: $8400) Likely the chalky SP2 with Brown or other builds.  Simply being on the mound against the Rockies warrants that consideration. OTHER PITCHING THOUGHTS Happy Merrill Kelly day to those who celebrate.  Really like him tonight to give you a reliable 15. Nick Martinez for whatever reason has done great in his career against Marlins.  Oh, duh, he has pitched in great parks and the Marlins have sucked.  Not these Marlins, not tonight Nicky… Eovaldi and Pivetta are kinda in no-mans land.  I would rather have Lugo for less or pay up for Brown as well.   CUBS/TWINS Suzuki & Lewis Favorite game tonight for high scoring on both sides.   Good weather, mediocre pitching and right now the Cubs pen remains a mess, so the Twins might actually be a viable play for once. BRAVES Austin Riley, Marcell Ozuna, Jurickson Profar, Sean Murphy, Nick Allen?  Sure, Why not… Jeffrey Springs vs the Braves.  What a trainwreck.  Gotta side with the Braves in what should […]

WEATHER Marlins at Reds:  Storms, chance of delay. Pirates at Royals:  You don’t honestly care, do you? CRISTOPHER SANCHEZ (DK: $8800, FD: $10,000) Off to the west coast out in San Francisco, a great spot for a late night SP1 hammer while others are on deGrom as their SP1.  Sanchez should really be able to get through 6 IP tonight without much concern from the Giants. TANNER BIBEE (DK: $7000, FD: $8100) My sleeper today is everything Cleveland breaking their slump.  Bibee’s struggles are more with LHH but the Astros are a great cure for a pitcher with that profile. JACOB deGROM (DK: $10,300, FD: $11,200) Of the top end options it’s hard to find a blemish on deGrom right now.  Even if he stays under 90 PC and doesn’t try to overpower everyone the guy knows how to pitch and should execute perfection tonight vs the Angels.   MARLINS/REDS MIA:  Edwards, Sanchez, Stowers CIN:  DeLaCruz, McLain, Friedl Obviously I am banking on this game playing and will take a risk even if they start in a delay. RED SOX Anthony, Narvaez, Refsnyder Chalky today w/ the Rockies coming into town.  Great weather for offense tonight in Fenway, so consider both sides in this game viable.  I think if you are going Boston you’ll easily find yourself paying up for pitching tonight without much problem.  The reason though that they’re all cheap is because they actually kinda suck. GUARDIANS Ramirez, Santana, Angel Martinez Coldest team in Baseball which has not had much luck hitting at home this season is going on the road to maybe get some fresh eyes on a new batters eye to change things up. DIAMONDBACKS Carroll, Marte, Naylor, Suarez Welcome Yu Darvish to the 2025 season.  Give me that YRFI tonight.   CATCHER Augstin Ramirez Carlos Narvaez Hunter Goodman   FIRST BASE Freddie Freeman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Josh Naylor   SECOND BASE Angel Martinez Marcus Semien Ketel Marte Matt McLain   THIRD BASE There’s not much to love here today which makes it the best low owned good player pay up spot today. Jose Ramirez Eugenio Suarez Gavin Lux   SHORTSTOP Elly De La Cruz Bo Bichette Trea Turner   OUTFIELD – Mt. Rushmore TJ Friedl Roman Anthony Kyle Stowers Wyatt Langford   OUTFIELD – Tier II Shohei Ohtani Jesus Sanchez George Springer Brenton Doyle   Jose Ramirez – 3B – Cleveland Guardians – Chairman of […]