WEATHER Rain in the Dodgers/Guardians and Giants/Tigers games but I expect them both to play. FREDDY PERALTA (DK: $9000, FD: $9900) Neither team did much hitting last night and I just don’t know what the hell is wrong with Boston all of the sudden despite me being on them.  They had what felt like multiple innings where they had less than 10 pitches total seen and just have horrific plate discipline right now. LUIS SEVERINO (DK: $7500, FD: $8100) The other logical spot for pitching is the Lopez/Rasmussen game in Tampa, but more on that in the hitting notes below.  Our options get pretty thin between old man Kershaw, young man Jobe and broken man McCullers.  Lance pitched well finally last start but is still limited in his depth.  Severino on the other hand has been doing well when not pitching in Sacramento.  So put aside any fears you have here, and trust him.   ATHLETICS Butler, Wilson, Rooker, Langeliers Love the Athletics, a little reverse blowout scenario after last nights big Houston romp.  Brent Rooker is a top play. TWINS/RAYS This game is going to be a hot one, and the day elements in Tampa are far better for seeing as we have seen.  This is the over game in this series. DODGERS LiC time for Freeman.   CATCHER Shea Langeliers Ryan Jeffers   FIRST BASE Prince Frederick Freeman Christian Walker   SECOND BASE Brice Turang Brandon Lowe Kody Clemens   THIRD BASE Max Muncy Matt Chapman   SHORTSTOP Jacob Wilson Willy Adames   OUTFIELD – Mt. Rushmore Brent Rooker Lawrence Butler Josh Lowe Trevor Larnach   Freddie Freeman – 1B – L.A. Dodgers – Chairman of the Sharp Dressed Dongers Club Brent Rooker – OF – Athletics Trevor Larnach – OF – Twins   TOP BETS Athletics ML Twins/Rays OVER 8

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

WEATHER No issues JOE RYAN (DK: $9700, FD: $9900) TYLOR MEGILL (DK: $8800, FD: $8800) STEPHEN KOLEK (DK: $8400, FD: $9400) OTHER PITCHING THOUGHTS Hunter Brown will rebound, but not into the stratosphere he was in before the Tampa day game blow-up.  The Athletics touch him up enough to warrant a fade.   D’BACKS Corbin Carroll, Josh Naylor, Lourdes Gurriel Second start for Mike Burrows – he gave up 2 HR in PNC and going into Chase Field – even with the roof closed – isn’t going to be any easier. RED SOX Jarren Duran, Kristian Campbell, Wilyer Abreu, Marcelo Mayer Something has to give here.  Civale has just a 15% strikeout rate on the season and the second lowest swinging strike rate on the slate tonight.  Boston is swinging at everything which comes their way lately.  If they’re smart, they adjust, they’re patient, and they get men on base for some good innings. ALSO CONSIDERING … Chicago Cubs KC Royals NY Yankees   CATCHER Keibert Ruiz Carlos Narvaez Salvador Perez   FIRST BASE Michael Busch Josh Naylor Vinnie Pasquantino   SECOND BASE Kristian Campbell Jose Altuve Jonathan India   THIRD BASE Marcelo Mayer Isaac Paredes Josh Jung   SHORTSTOP Francisco Lindor Trevor Story CJ Abrams Bo Bichette   OUTFIELD – Mt. Rushmore Jarren Duran Lourdes Gurriel Jr. Wyatt Langford Austin Hays   Michael Busch – 1B – Chicago Cubs – Chairman of The Dongers Club Francisco Lindor – SS – Mets Keibert Ruiz – C – Nationals Wyatt Langford – OF – Rangers Austin Hays – OF – Reds Ketel Marte – 2B – Diamondbacks Kyle Tucker – OF – Cubs Marcelo Mayer – 3B – Red Sox BONUS … Vinnie Pasquantino – 1B – Royals   TOP BETS Boston ML Kansas City ML Twins/Rays UNDER 8.5

A Happy Memorial Day to everyone and a nice setup of a Two Slate DFS/Betting action for us. WEATHER Reds at Royals – Ugly here, could be at risk of PPD.   This Holiday Monday slate has no shortage of top end pitchers who are in line for strong performances. GARRETT CROCHET (DK: $10,300) … I prefer Crochet over deGrom but it is very close because if the Texas/Toronto game is anything other than 2-0 I would be shocked.  But Crochet is the slight edge for me, although pending lineups I wouldn’t hate flipping it over to deGrom.  They really are 1a and 1b and should warrant being used together just to avoid pitching tilt (ha.  good luck with that) JACOB DEGROM (DK: $10,000) … Option 1b.  I have Garrett & deGrom on my main lineup. KEVIN GAUSMAN (DK: $9000) … Only other pitcher I would consider OTHER PITCHING THOUGHTS I can see Hayden Birdsong being good for 3 innings and then the second time through Detroit knocks him out of the game. Jameson Taillon?  For $8600?  Just pay up for deGrom or Gausman   CARDINALS I could not be more excited to stack up the red birds, arguably the hottest team in Baseball who has been doing it well with their pitching & now gets to showcase the offense in Camden Yards with warm temps and the horrific Charlie Morton + Orioles bullpen behind him.  Willson Contreras has owned Camden Yards. RED SOX Years ago (the Ortiz years), we had a saying that you simply play Boston on a holiday and you cash.  Well, this one feels like that type of scenario as well.  SS Trevor Story doesn’t have a ton of hits in Miller Park, but the ones he does have leave the stadium & I still think Chad Patrick isn’t that good as he really has just two pitches — the guy is a future backend of bullpen arm IMO.  Boston will get to him today. CUBS #AlwaysCubs.  Wind is blowing in, but who cares.  When Seiya Suzuki is on fire like this you are hard pressed to ignore him, but would need to be able to get production from Turner/Shaw here to make the stack fit with high priced pitching. CATCHER Carson Kelly and Ivan Herrera are good plays but damn they’re gonna cost you a pretty penny for a catcher on a Monday. Carlos Narvaez Maverick […]

Yankees at Rockies is on FanDuel only today. WEATHER TOR at TB:  Hot with a chance of late storms ARI at STL:  Chance of rain throughout the game. ROBBIE RAY (DK: $10.1k, FD: $10.4k) The reason I always love Robbie Ray after dark is because I have a pretty good chance of being asleep when he implodes with a Robbie Ray 4 walk inning.  Truth be told, he’s gotten better in this regard and I shouldn’t keep picking on him that way, but it’s fun.  There’s a good path here though for him paying off at the high price.  The Nationals are weaker vs LHP & definitely walk less in this split and so I’ll take Ray over Bubic for the top lefty on the slate. BAILEY FALTER Consider this the ‘Sunday Sleeper’.  Can the Pirates maybe get their SP a win?  If so, this pays off mightly, if not, we just take a decent Quality Start and move on.  The Brewers have a 30% strikeout rate against LHP over the last 100 PA. DAVIS MARTIN (DK: $6500) Both Martin and Corbin are likely good SP2 candidates.  Neither opposing offense is one that I would expect much out of today   TAMPA BAY / TORONTO Vlad Guerrero, Anthony Santander, Daulton Varsho, Brandon Lowe, Josh Lowe Can’t ignore this park with the great weather & also cannot expect Bassitt to repeat a dominant game against the Rays lefties.  Get out your credit cards for some home improvement projects because one of the Lowe’s is going to hit 2 homers today. The only question is will those be enough to out score Vlad/Varsho and Santander. SEATTLE Cal Raleigh, Julio Rodriguez, Randy Arozarena After a relatively okay start for Colton Commissioner Gordon he now faces Cal Raleigh on a Sunday ALSO CONSIDER … BOSTON …Devers, Mayer, Campbell, Toro CUBS … Happ, Swanson, Suzuki   CATCHER Salvador Perez Cal Raleigh Adley Rutschman   FIRST BASE Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Vinnie Pasquantino Ryan Mountcastle   SECOND BASE Brandon Lowe Nico Hoerner Jackson Holliday   THIRD BASE Rafael Devers Addison Barger Nolan Arenado Ryan McMahon (FD)   SHORTSTOP Willy Adames Bo Bichette Dansby Swanson   OUTFIELD – Mt. Rushmore Josh Lowe Randy Arozarena Daulton Varsho Luis Robert Jr.   OUTFIELD – Tier II Anthony Santander Kameron Misner Heston Kjerstad Will Benson Julio Rodriguez   Josh Lowe – OF – Rays – Chairman of The Dongers Club Salvador Perez […]

Alright, so we have a decent sized 4PM slate which is taking the role of the ‘Main’ slate on both sites.  On DraftKings they’ll have the second game of the Orioles and Red Sox doubleheader which won’t start until 6:35 PM. WEATHER NYY @ COL:  Chance of storms or showers MAX FRIED (DK: $8300, FD: $11000) … This is just a drastic error by DraftKings which is factoring in Coors Field elements far too much.  If this game is clear of weather issues then Fried is the best play of the day in my mind. FRAMBER VALDEZ (DK: $8900, FD: $10.2k) JACK LEITER (DK: $7400, FD: $8400)   CUBS & REDS This is one of those series where you ride it all weekend.  There are no weather issues here & I don’t really trust Andrew Abbott to pitch a 5th straight game without allowing a HR.  For the Reds though, they’re bound to keep hitting against this Cubs pitching all weekend, so dont ignore them. Favorite Bats:  Ian Happ, Nico Hoerner, Matt McLain, Elly, TJ Friedl OTHER SPOTS I LIKE PADRES … I’m a sucker for being stubborn PIRATES … Back to back games with more than 4 runs?  It’s a heater! RED SOX   CATCHER Tyler Stephenson Patrick Bailey Elias Diaz   FIRST BASE Rhys Hoskins Justin Turner Paul Goldschmidt   SECOND BASE Matt McLain Nico Hoerner Amed Rosario   THIRD BASE Matt Shaw Manny Machado Rafael Devers … Pending G2 lineups, him or Bregman   SHORTSTOP Willy Adames Elly De La Cruz Anthony Volpe   OUTFIELD – Mt. Rushmore Ian Happ Oneil Cruz T.J. Friedl Jackson Merrill   OUTFIELD – Tier II Christian Yelich Gavin Lux   Ian Happ – OF – Chicago Cubs – Chairman of The Dongers Club Nico Hoerner – 2B – Cubs Oneil Cruz – OF – Pirates Jackson Merrill – OF – Padres Rhys Hoskins – 1B – Brewers Christian Yelich – OF – Brewers   TOP BETS Pirates ML Cubs/Reds OVER 9.5

WEATHER The only game that looks of slight concern is once again in Boston, where they are playing two today and the night game is on the MAIN slates but has some potential for showers or a delay. Talk about a reverse/backwards type slate.  A couple pitchers that I would use are in the few spots that are in warmer/good hitting environments.  Specifically Zack Wheeler out in Sacramento, Clarke Schmidt in Coors vs the Rockies and Drew Assmuffin in Tampa vs the Jays.  Then there is my old friend, and not too much of a friend of the Dongers Club, Yusei Kikuchi in Anaheim against those Fish. Meanwhile, Chris Sale is the other big name tonight.  He draws the Padres who were a massive let down in Toronto but are poised to take part in the Ronald Acuna/Ozzie Albies bromance re-union tonight with their own set of homers as well.  Should Sale go off?  Probably.  I don’t hate him, but I am going to be on the Padres one more time, which either pays off, or allows me to say Go F*** Yourself San Diego once again. As you can deduce, I am quickly just finding reasons to not want to use anyone tonight on pitching. ZAC GALLEN (DK: $8800, FD: $9300) I always try to take an initial gut instinct when looking at the games, and this one read as one with some runs in it — but the more we dive into the details the more we realize it’s all on the Arizona side.  Gallen, a former Cardinals draft pick, has struggled in recent home starts, so going on the road here is probably a nice relief into a better pitchers park as it’s not as hot out in St. Louis quite yet. SANDY ALCANTARA (DK: $7700, FD: $8000) Sandy is going to figure it out.  He has just been walking a few too many hitters and had the unfortunate luck of facing the Dodgers twice while trying to do so.  His PC is back up and so the strength and confidence is there, which is good because he should give up 2 ER vs the Angels, but if he can get through 6 IP then he’s going to wind up posting his best start of the year.  Angels are thin on left handed hitters & those are the ones which could make his outing shorter. CLARKE SCHMIDT […]

WEATHER Orioles at Red Sox:  I don’t see any scenario where this game plays   Jack Flaherty (DK: $8300, FD: $8800) AJ Smith-Shawver (DK: $9800, FD: $9800) The next best option is Tanner Bibbe, but I wouldn’t skip over Flaherty.  While Cleveland is known for not striking out much, Flaherty is more just needing to avoid the long ball, which he should get favorable conditions for that tonight.   BRAVES Wanted this game to play yesterday and we have the same pitching match-up tonight, so we can hope Atlanta comes through like they should — that always works, right?  Focus on the top guys here Riley-Olson-Ozuna BREWERS Not a ton of Lefties here for the good park shift, but Mike Burrows in limited time has proven to be not great against them either.  Turang-Yelich MARINERS Until Lance McCullers shows that he is good again we should treat him as if he isnt.  Of all the games to stack tonight, this one is best for both sides, but I am drawn more to Polanco/Julio/Raleigh   Matt Olson – 1B – Atlanta Braves – Chairman of The Dongers Club Jorge Polanco – 2B – Mariners Christian Yelich – OF – Brewers   TOP BETS Brewers ML Mariners ML

WEATHER Braves at Nationals:  There is rain in the area which should delay the game, but they also should play.  Then again, this is the Nationals.  It’s an overcast, gray, cold day in DC with a divisional game and a perfect #SoNationals spot where they find up delaying and then PPD once it stops raining. Rangers at Yankees:  Slight rain concerns here.  I love deGrom, which makes this one tricky.   Jacob deGrom (DK: $10k, FD: $10.2k) … Yes, some weather concerns here but he’s the play over Crochet.  Expecting 10+ K game Taijuan Walker (DK: $7000, FD: $8000) … Has always pitched well in Coors Field, so don’t worry about that too much.   Braves (PPD Risk) … Olson, Riley, Albies Blue Jays … Bichette, Vlad, Santander, Varsho Athletics … Wilson, Soderstrom   CATCHER Logan O’Hoppe J.T. Realmuto Gabriel Moreno   FIRST BASE Matt Olson Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Luis Arraez   SECOND BASE Ozzie Albies Kristian Campbell Ernie Clement   THIRD BASE Manny Machado Austin Riley Alec Bohm   SHORTSTOP Bo Bichette Zach Neto Jacob Wilson:  Should be back in after leaving early last night.   OUTFIELD – Mt. Rushmore Anthony Santander Tyler Soderstrom Fernando Tatis Jr. Taylor Ward   OUTFIELD – Tier II Alek Thomas Marcell Ozuna Corbin Carroll   Manny Machado – 3B – San Diego Padres – Chairman of The Dongers Club Anthony Santander – OF – Blue Jays Matt Olson – 1B – Braves Bo Bichette – SS – Blue Jays Tyler Soderstrom – OF – Athletics   TOP BETS Padres ML

I am getting too old to be ranting about this, but just once I would like FanDuel and Draftkings, the only real DFS sites out there to have a sense of a clue as to how to build an Early or Main slate. For FanDuel lovers, you get the Reds/Pirates game, which starts at 12:35, but DraftKings is worried folks are still in a meeting at that time and might miss lock so they have you waiting until 1:10 PM.  Oh, so that means the Guardians/Twins first game of their double header which is now 1:10 gets included, right? Yeah, No. Oh.  Well, I guess we can get a full slate on FanDuel, they included it, right? Yeah, No. Well, damnit.  Okay, no big deal.  So long as we can stack the Mariners once again for some stupid reason on FanDuel. Yeah, No. But…  they’re both 5 game slates? Yes! So, site synchronicity????? … … WEATHER REDS at PIRATES:  Could see mid game rain.     There’s just no reason not to play Hunter Brown.  Even if he doesn’t continue to dominate, there really arent enough other options to justify fading him.  I would think we should be picking on Baltimore and Chicago (White Sox) elsewhere for SP2 options. HUNTER BROWN (DK: $10,500, FD: $11,000) CHAD PATRICK (DK: $7500, FD: $7600) LOGAN EVANS (DK: $6500)   Yes, I want to go to the Mariners again but too many warning track outs right now in Chicago.  Maybe a day game helps but going to the Cubs against the Marlins is a no brainer here.  Like both sides in that game. CUBS / MARLINS BREWERS MARINERS   CATCHER Yainer Diaz William Contreras   FIRST BASE Michael Busch Rhys Hoskins   SECOND BASE Jorge Polanco Nico Hoerner   THIRD BASE Matt Shaw Nolan Arenado   SHORTSTOP Dansby Swanson Trey Sweeney   OUTFIELD – Mt. Rushmore Kyle Tucker Kyle Stowers Seiya Suzuki Ian Happ   OUTFIELD – Tier II Jake Bauers Jesus Sanchez Ryan O’Hearn   Kyle Tucker – OF – Chicago Cubs – Chairman of The Dongers Club   TOP BETS Cubs/Marlins OVER 9 Milwaukee + Detroit ML Parlay