Home Run Derby - MLB DFS Community Contest: Tuesday, August 2nd
Happy Tuesday, Grinders! The trade deadline looms this afternoon as several contenders look to add bats and arms to their squads ahead of the MLB playoffs. For us, July is behind us and we are left with only August for the Home Run Derby. This month means a lot — with monthly prizes as well as the season-long prizes up for grabs.
As you see with our leaderboard, the final slate of the month brought plenty of home runs (33 HR) but little clarity on the top performer in July. That’s okay, though, we will just award everyone! Congratulations to yisman, Sagn442, and WestCrook1 for winning the month of July and the two final months of RG MLB Premium. Kudos to 1010mg and his Aaron Judge #anthony-rizzo)Anthony Rizzo”:/players/anthony-rizzo-11311 stack for landing a solo-second place and a RotoGrinders shirt and hat. 1010mg, please send me a message on either Discord or Twitter for details on shipping. Finally, kudos to Hendo2132 and Drew1up for a big final slate and tying for the final spot. Two weeks of Scores and Odds Premium will be added to your account.
Aaron Judge punished the non-believers again which drove our leaderboard. In August, we have monthly prizes but also a seasonal prize to deal with. Further, for pride purposes, I was able to do just enough in July to retain my overall lead. Will anyone pass me? Consider that a gauntlet. Good luck!
Reminder! Prizes were doubled for each month. Spread the word!
Rules, Tiers, and Prizes
Here are the cliff notes from the introductory rules and guidelines set forth in our opening article. If you want a bit more clarification, here is the first article with a more developed explanation for the contest.
In short, pick three players in the comments for tonight’s DraftKings Main MLB slate. You may pick one player from each of the tiers below.
Luxury Box – $5,000 and above
Promenade – $3,500 – $4,900
Bleachers – Below $3,500
You will collect home runs for every home run your batters hit that night. Selections must be made prior to lock time in the comments section. At the end of each month, prizes will be awarded to the community members with the most home runs. At the end of the season, additional prizes will be awarded to those members who put together the best totals for the entire season (ending in August).
The following prizes will be awarded to players based on their home run total for the month (April, May, June, July, August)
First Place – 2 months of RotoGrinders MLB Premium
Second Place – RotoGrinders T-shirt and hat
Third Place – 2 weeks of SAO Premium
The following prizes will be awarded to players based on their home run total for the entire baseball season (April – August)
First Place – One month of RotoGrinders Combo Premium
Second Place – RotoGrinders Swag Pack
Third Place – One month of SAO Premium
If you have any questions, please feel free to leave them in the comments or send me a message on Twitter.
Tuesday, August 2nd MLB DFS Slate Notes
We have fourteen games on tonight’s slate with only the first leg of the San Diego – Colorado doubleheader and the Reds-Marlins game occurring before the 7:05 PM EST lock time. We have three dome games on the slate. Yankee Stadium is on the slate — which is noteworthy because Aaron Judge is a monster.
I am finishing this a bit too early for Kevin Roth’s weather report but use the link to check throughout the day. At the time of this writing, our lineups is not indicating a ton of trouble. That said, stay on top of everything throughout the day before locking in your DFS lineups or sports betting picks.
Dinger Tuesday is available again on FanDuel Sportsbook. Attack every game on Tuesday with a home run bet for a chance at a huge free bet for every home run hit. I will try to tweet out my home run card for the day. Last week, if you bet a home run in every game you would have received a $200 free bet!
Here is today’s HR/9 list:
Spencer Howard, TEX, 2.97
Lucas Giolito, CHW, 1.68
Triston McKenzie, CLE, 1.34
Bryse Wilson, PIT, 1.29
Jordan Lyles, BAL, 1.22
When we look through this list, we notice that the HR/9 totals are not that high for this slate. Spencer Howard leads but only has 30 innings of work thus far in 2022. The rest of the starters bring a full complement of innings but don’t inspire plenty of hope for a Dinger Tuesday filled with fireworks. That said, if the weather cooperates, we could still see the balls fly.
The Yankees are always on the shortlist regardless of the opposing starting pitcher as is Aaron Judge. Given the context of the slate, the Texas versus Orioles game might be a worthwhile consideration for home run targets. If we are thinking late night, the Dodgers draw Alex Wood on the road in a park that generally suppresses power in San Francisco.
The trade deadline is at 6 PM EST. We should see plenty of movement and many lineup changes or late scratches. Due your best to navigate with late swap!
Pickings might be slim but this just might be the type of slate to get ahead of the field. Good luck!
Tuesday, August 2nd MLB Home Run Picks
Luxury Box – Yordan Alvarez – OF – $6,200
Well, one thing is for sure. Yordan Alvarez is not getting traded.
Alvarez must really be upset that Aaron Judge is putting together a season for the ages. Alvarez’s .360 ISO is second to Judge while his 202 wRC+ leads the league. Unfortunately for Alvarez, he ONLY has 30 home runs.
The Alvarez numbers truly help crystalize just how great Judge has been in 2022. In any other season, Alvarez would be an MVP candidate. Kutter Crawford is struggling mighty this season with lefties with 50.9% of his batted balls in the air. Yikes!
We will go against the grain and fade Judge this evening. Alvarez is just as likely to hit a pair of home runs and will likely be very different relative to the collective. I don’t have a line at the time of this writing but I would guess it will be a bit shy of +300 for Alvarez to go yard.
Promenade – Salvador Perez – C – $4,700
Salvador Perez is back in our lives and is my second pick because I am not in love with this range tonight. Lucas Giolito continues to be the worst HR/9 pitcher that is working with a full complement of innings and that is probably good enough. If not, he rests above 47% fly balls and 45% hard contact against righties this season.
Giolito transformed back into a bad pitcher since last season and is likely a contributing factor to the underachievement of the White Sox. He gives up plenty of fly balls and hard contact to both sides of the plate making any Royal a sneak play on a full slate. If you are looking for salary relief, the bargain bin in Kansas City makes some sense. As for Perez, his home run number is +215 on FanDuel — a more premium price.
Bleacher Seats – Ryan Mountcastle – 1B – $2,900
The cheap seats, gross. Good luck culling out a home run hitter from this heap. Last slate, Seth Brown brought a double dong for Sagn442. You will have a lot of success in this contest if you can mine some home runs from this range.
Tonight, I wanted a bat from this game so Ryan Mountcastle fits nicely. As mentioned, in a small sample, Spencer Howard is pitching well but struggling to keep the baseball in the yard. We could do worse than picking an Oriole here on the road for a full complement of at-bats. Mountcastle does not get cheated against righties, boasting north of 44.5% batted balls hit hard this season.
Mountcastle features a +390 tag on FanDuel this evening. This parlay won’t bring that big lottery ticket feel but will still be worth a few shekels. Good luck, everyone!
Thanks so very much for reading. Give me a follow on Twitter for sports betting banter, golf tidbits, and professional wrestling reactions. We will see you again on Friday for a recap, leaderboard, and home run calls.
Player Image Credit: Imagn