DOCOFS: Main Event Lineup Advice
Today is the final day for the DOCOFS on Draft Day and there is no question this series was a tremendous success for the site. Many of the the events filled almost a day in advance and they even upped the prize pool of several tournaments because the demand was so high. There is little doubt that we will see DOCOFS II not too far down the road. DraftDay is even offering up a $100 buy in “Second Chance” tournament with a $15,000 prize pool on Saturday. Tonight’s finale is a $25,000 Main Event with $5,000 going to the winner and important Player of the Series points on the line. Unfortunately I did not get a lineup in the big one tonight, but that doesn’t mean I can’t help out those of you who did. Good luck!
Pitchers
Clayton Kershaw – $19,815 Not sure there is a reason not to roll with Kershaw today. He looks about as sure of a thing as I can ever remember. He is going into Friday night with a 22-inning scoreless streak against a team that has only scored twice in their last 28 innings against him. Combine that with a record of 14-1 with a 1.50 ERA in his last 20 starts at home and a 3-0 record with a 0.64 ERA in his last four vs. Houston and he is an absolute lock
Cliff Lee – $18,345 Last night was a hitters paradise, but I think pitching rules the day on Friday night. Most days it is difficult to play the two top pitching options, but DraftDay has a pretty soft cap with minimum salary players that can put up some pretty good numbers. Lee has yet to get a win this year yet sports an ERA of 2.66. Lee is 3-1 with a 1.48 ERA during the regular season against St. Louis and Kyle Lohse is slumping so I expect a good amount of support today.
Hitters
C) Humberto Quintero – $4000 I really hate paying for a catcher, so this will be one of my minimum salary spots. Quintero usually does decent for me on the rare occasion I use him and he is going against Jason Hammel who is struggling with an ERA around 7.00 in his last 2 starts. UPDATE Quintero is not in the lineup….roll with Colorado’s Rosario for your minimum salary catcher instead.
1b) Eric Hosmer – $6000 Back to back Royals doesn’t usally excite me, but Hosmer might be starting to break out of his terrible early season slump. I like the fact he is facing a right handed pitcher and Hosmer is coming off a series vs. the Yankees where he went 5 for 11. He has a ridiculous BABIP of .191 so his luck is bound to change.
2b) Robinson Cano – $8875 I’ve watched a ton of Yankee games and Cano is another guy who is victim of some bad luck. He has hit the ball on the screws so many times this year, but unfortunately it was directly at someone. Oakland is not really a hitters park, but Tyson Ross is not a very impressive pitcher, so expect Cano to put together a solid game tonight.
3b) Alex Rodriguez – $8545 Two Royals and two Yankees, we may have a little trend on our hands. Before Yankes last game A-Rod said he found something wrong in his swing and declared he was ready to break out. After going yard twice in the next game I would say he is on to something. I am thinking it continues tonight. ag
SS) Jose Reyes – $8250 The days of avoiding hitters against Tim Lincecum are over and with the way Reyes has been swinging the bat he looks like a great play. It’s easy to forget that he led the league in hitting a year ago, but 9 hits and 5 runs over the past 5 games makes me believe he found his stroke.
OF) Delmon Young – $5405 At about 1500 above the minimum salary I think Young is a little undervalued. The Tigers have been slumping with the bats, but nothing better than Anthony Swarzak to turn the Tigers fortune around. He has been awful going 2-12 with a 5.06 ERA in 14 starts and 28 total appearances at home in his career. He is also 0-1 with an 11.57 ERA in two career starts versus Detroit, so I’m hoping Delmon does some of the damage tonight.
OF) Adrian Gonzalez – $8500 A-Gone in the outfield? Draftday is on top of things and I love the fact that I can use him in this spot. Alex Cobb is not terrible, but I have hunch that Gonzo is going to take one deep one of these days. So why not against the inexperienced right hander from the Rays.
OF) Xavier Avery – $4000 Here is my second minimum salary player of the day and although he doesn’t have a ton of power, his speed makes him a good option for the price. Bruce Chen has been surprisingly decent as of late, but we’ve seen him turn in Jo-Jo Reyes type performances in the past. If he does tonight, Avery will have a small part in making that happen and should pay off that paltry 4k salary.
DH) Mark Teixeira – $8250* This is my 3rd Yankee and although Big Tex has been in a monster slump lately, this is nothing new. Teixeira is a notoriously slow starter and I’m crossing my fingers this is the night he gets going. He is coming off a game where he took 3 BB’s, so hopefully that is a sign that he is done pressing at the plate and is willing to wait for his pitch.