Rise & Grind: Friday, April 3rd
Welcome to the RotoGrinders cup o’morning joe. Start your day off right here, as we sort through yesterday’s happenings and take a peek at the upcoming DFS day.
In Case You Missed It
DraftKings Partners with MLB – Two years ago, DraftKings signed a deal with MLB to market DFS. Yesterday, DraftKings and MLB renewed that agreement with some changes. DraftKings now becomes the exclusive Daily Fantasy Game of MLB. This deal gives DraftKings access to MLB in-game advertising as well as in-ballpark experiences which can be won or given to DFS players. For more information check out LeoTPP’s article here This is exciting news, but it was hardly the biggest news of the day yesterday.
You Get a Live Final! You Get a Live Final! – It appears both FanDuel and DraftKings have also signed a deal with Oprah Winfrey to plan live finals. Congratulations Los Angeles, you get a live final! Dallas, Texas, why not? You get a live final also! Boston Massachusetts, you get a live final as well! Las Vegas, of course you get a live final. Bahamas, you will most likely get a live final as too. In case you are wondering what I’m talking about, FanDuel announced a Dallas, TX final yesterday. This is in addition to the Playboy Championship already announced and the WFBC in Las Vegas which has not yet been announced. If all goes well, FanDuel may be running even more of these in the future. Not to be outdone, DraftKings announced the first ever PGA live final to be held at TPC Boston in September. FantasyAces even got in on the action this morning with a $250K final of their own If you love trying to qualify for live finals, yesterday was a good day. This is only the beginning though, as both FD and DK are expected to announce the baseball championships at some point in the coming months. Stay tuned!
MLB Incentives – With millions of dollars being handed out this season, you will need to bring your “A-game” if you want to claim your share. RotoGrinders stands ready to help with both free and premium tools. MLB incentives are now available to purchase for this season. Subscribers can gain access to expert picks from the usual suspects, including STLCardinals84, Notorious, Pepsi7, EMac, Hoop2410, DraftCheat, Dean78904, and RotoMonkey. In addition to those guys, we have also brought on FanDuel WFBC champion CheeseIsGood as well as DraftKings WFBC qualifiers JMToWin and SamENole. For pricing and more details, click here. If you can’t afford incentives, that’s okay. RotoGrinders will still be offering the usual free articles. Be on the lookout for the Daily Pitcher Breakdown, Daily Hitter Breakdown, Daily Plays, Six-Pack, MLB Grind Down, and more. You won’t be disappointed with the paid or free content this season.
Keeping it Real Gone Wrong – While you won’t be disappointed by the content here at RotoGrinders, from time to time you may be disappointed in the real athletes you select for your fake team. It’s ok to be angry. Sometimes it’s even fun to start a McCutch Sucks forum thread when the Pirates’ bats totally flop for an entire weekend series at Coors Field. What is never a smart idea though, is finding these athletes on twitter and calling them out. like Phil Johnson did. John Peterson responded, “Been out since Monday, pay attention noob.” There is so much ownage in that tweet. Phil, if you are reading this, I’m sorry you had to learn the hard way. On your way home today, stop by CVS and pick up some burn cream. Also, you may want to check out Notorious PGA Strategy Guide and some of the content on this site so you don’t waste your money again next week.
Better Know a Prospect, Kris Bryant – Yesterday’s “Better Know a Prospect” segment went over so well that one of you guys almost left a comment (you didn’t though). Even though you guys didn’t say so, I know you enjoyed it. Today’s prospect is Cubs’ third baseman Kris Bryant. Kris was originally drafted by Toronto in 2010 but opted not to sign. He was then drafted second overall by Chicago in 2013. This spring, Bryant hit .425 with nine “dongs”. That still wasn’t enough to make the Cubs opening day roster. The Cubs official position is that “Bryant needs to work on his defense.” That could possibly be the reason, or it could be the fact that if Bryant stays in the minors for 12 days, the Cubs control his free agency until 2021. Either way, Bryant is extremely disappointed. Keep this move in the back of your mind for approximately twelve days from now when Bryant is called up. The sites probably won’t have him in the player pool, but a massive #RevengeGame is brewing.
Big Winners – Congratulations to Grinder plymouth96 for taking first place and $40,000 in the FanDuel King of the Ice last night. Mirage8888 placed third in the KOTI and also took down the Goal and Blue Line. CSURam88 also took down the Deke. Over on DraftKings, ryanfour1637 took down the NBA Crossover and Sharpshooter while bamers took down the NHL Face-Off. For the rest of Thursday’s links visit the forums.
On the Menu
NBA Tonight – With MLB starting on Monday, tonight is our last Friday night of huge NBA GPPs. This is either the best or worst news depending on how you have been doing this season. Either way, Notorious has his First Look at this ten-game farewell slate. Later today, all the usual offerings will be available including NBA Grind Down, Starting Five, GPP Plays, Six-Pack, and Advanced Matchups. Some would say this slate offers its own narrative in being your last chance to take down a huge NBA GPP. Tonight, you are the equivalent of a fringe player on a ten-day contract. You better make that money while you can.
#NarrativeStreet – If you are looking for some narratives in the actual games, we have those too. It’s been almost a year since Raptors owner Masai Ujiri yelled, “F*** Brooklyn” to a crowd of cheering Raptors fans. Some would say Brooklyn already got their revenge when they eliminated Toronto last year. I’m here to tell you though that when someone disparages your city, you carry that revenge with you for at least a year. This game also has playoff implications for Brooklyn and the #YoloStack is definitely in play. Tonight is also a Chris Kaman #RevengeGame. Sure, Kaman has played for just about everybody, but last season in LA was especially bad. He wants revenge. Tyreke Evans and Lance Stephenson are also revenge candidates, but they haven’t exactly seized previous revenge opportunities this season.
NHL Tonight – With only five games on the schedule, the NHL takes a bit of a back seat tonight. Pepsi7 will still have your NHL Daily plays as usual. Our resident forum experts also have a daily strategy discussion for people of all skill levels to join. Why not give it a shot?
Bottom Line – Monday marks the “changing of seasons” in the DFS world. There is still money to be made in NBA all the way through the playoffs, but MLB will be the focus of most Grinders. If you are new to MLB, take it easy at first and soak it all in. Try to develop a routine, and find what works for you. Also, with so many live finals, bankroll management will be very important. If you have questions, feel free to ask. Good luck out there this season. On Monday, I will have an MLB primer of sorts in this space for both new and returning Grinders. Good luck out there tonight. See you on Monday!