DFS Alerts
Get Creative
The absence of Josh Donaldson obviously weakens the Blue Jays offense significantly as a whole but they’ll still enter Monday’s slate with the highest implied run total (5.4) on the board. Outside of Smoak on DraftKings, every Jays hitter is priced under $4,000 and outside of Smoak + Solarte on FanDuel, every Jays hitter is priced under $3,000. Those cheap price tags allow you to get creative with GPP builds and allow you to spend up on both pitcher spots on DraftKings (too bad we don’t have more high priced options).
Other tagged players: Justin Smoak, Teoscar Hernandez, Yangervis Solarte, Russell Martin, Randal Grichuk, Kevin Pillar, Aledmys Diaz, Devon Travis
Wide Open at SP2 = Play For Upside
Past deGrom, we get a large group of upside pitchers at good salaries, but all come with some risk. The risk to Paxton is the matchup with Houston, but the Astros have just not been as tough on strikeout pitchers yet this season. After a rough opening start, Paxton looks to back to his 2017 form with 17 strikeouts and just two walks in his last 11 innings. His 28.3% strikeout rate from 2017 is second only to deGrom on tonight’s slate and he also limits walks and hard contact. His DK/FDRFT salary is simply too low for his skill level, and he appears to have been over-penalized for the matchup.
The Search For Power Begins Here
Jeremy Hellickson has always been a pitcher who allows home runs, but that reached a whole new level last season as his strikeouts dipped to 13.8%, leading to a mark of 1.92 HR/9. Jay Bruce has continued to improve his plate discipline, and while it seems like he has the reputation as a high strikeout hitter, the numbers don’t bear that out. In 2017, he had an average 21.1% K rate against righties, while his 43% hard hits led to a .273 ISO. With Hellickson throwing a lot of hittable strikes, there is a lot of power upside in this matchup.
The Matchup To Start With
There are a lack of obvious top hitters tonight. We don’t have a lot of clarity, but one place I am comfortable spending on bats is in Toronto, where the Blue Jays face Eric Skoglund. Skoglund may develop into a decent pitcher, but his low strikeout, fly ball style is not going to play as well for him away from home. In 2017, Justin Smoak showed elite plate skills against left-handed pitching with as many walks as strikeouts while hitting the ball hard, resulting in a .413 OBP, .412 wOBA and .234 ISO. He hits in the middle of one the top offenses on the slate, and has on base and power upside.
The Ace Of Monday Night
There is plenty to like at pitcher tonight, especially in tournaments, but deGrom stands alone at the top, and is worth the spend in all formats. His 28.9% strikeout rate in 2017 was the highest of any pitcher on this slate, and even if those K’s stay down near his current 25% range, he can still limit walks and hard contact, giving hitters very few ways to past him. This current Washington lineup is really nothing to fear against right-handed pitching, as they are not much better than an average team as long as Adam Eaton and Daniel Murphy remain out. deGrom will be my first player in cash games and a key part of tournament builds.
Take The Free Square
Occasionally, there will simply be a mistake in the pricing. The Cubs Anthony Rizzo is a top hitter, and is expected to come off the DL tonight. If in fact he is in the lineup, it was a clear and obvious oversight on FanDuel that he didn’t get priced up. He is a $4k+ hitter for $2,000 and there’s just no need to overthink it.
It's Always Sun(Trust?)ny in Philly
Lefties versus Julio Teheran, especially at Sun Trust, are going to be a thing all year and Monday night is no different. Despite being a strong pitcher at one point, Julio has always struggled against lefty hitters, allowing a .342 wOBA to them over his career. Teheran’s skill-set has deteriorated over the last couple of years to the point where righties are also hitting him hard, making it ok to use some right handed hitters in your Phillies stacks (sup, Rhys?). This still stands as a more favorable matchup for lefties as SunTrust has played very favorable to left handed power since it’s inception and strong winds blowing out can only help. If you’re not sold on a full out stack, Philly hitters are a strong place to look for mini-stacks or “one off’s”- Nick Williams is cheap across the industry and should (who knows with Kapler) hit fifth in the order.
Other tagged players: Nick Williams, Cesar Hernandez, Carlos Santana, Rhys Hoskins, J.P. Crawford Sunday's LAA-KC game postponed due to inclement weather
The matchup between the Los Angeles Angels and Kansas City Royals on Sunday afternoon has been postponed due to cold temperatures. The teams have already announced that today’s previously scheduled game will be made up on Monday, June 25 at 3:15 pm local time, a mutual day off for both clubs. Players from this matchup will not accrue fantasy points on today’s slates across the industry, so be sure to remove them from lineups as soon as possible.
As reported by: Rustin Dodd via Twitter
Game 2 of Sunday's NYY-DET doubleheader postponed due to rain
Not long after the first game was postponed, the second game of the split doubleheader between the New York Yankees and Detroit Tigers on Sunday has also officially been postponed due to rain. The teams have already announced that today’s previously scheduled games will be made up on June 4th as part of a split doubleheader. Players from this matchup will not accrue fantasy points on today’s slates across the industry, so be sure to remove them from lineups as soon as possible.
As reported by: Pete Caldera via Twitter Start of Sunday's STL-CIN game will be delayed due to rain
The start of the matchup between the St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds on Sunday afternoon will be delayed due to rain. There’s yet to be any confirmation of an official start time, but the Reds have stated they plan to provide an update at approximately 1:15 pm EST and are optimistic that the game will be played. The late start is better news for the prospects of Carlos Martinez not being pulled from his start because of a mid-game delay, but as Kevin Roth has detailed in the latest update to his MLB weather forecast, the delay is expected to be lengthy and there’s still a possibility that the game is postponed.
As reported by: the Cincinnati Reds via Twitter Carlos Martinez has a career 27.2% K% and 3.15 xFIP versus RHB
Outside of a rough Opening Day outing, Carlos Martinez has been stellar from a run prevention standpoint to begin the 2018 campaign, as he has allowed just one earned run in his last 14.1 innings pitched while racking up 14 strikeouts in that span, buoyed by a 10-strikeout performance against the Milwaukee Brewers in his second start of the year. Martinez can be volatile on a game-to-game basis, making him an ideal tournament target with his potential upside, and he’ll draw a great matchup with a reeling Cincinnati Reds squad that really only has two competent left-handed hitters, Joey Votto and Scooter Gennett, in their lineup this afternoon. Martinez is a strong groundball pitcher overall, as evidenced by his career 53.7% groundball rate, but his batted ball control ascends to another level against right-handed batters by limiting them to just a 25.3% hard-hit percentage. On top of that, Martinez is coming off of a season where he recorded a 29.2% strikeout rate while walking righties just 6.2% of the time, both numbers that are not far off from his total career statistics. The one major concern with Martinez on Sunday’s slate is the weather in Cincinnati, a common theme this weekend, but that uncertainty should lower his ownership percentages in large-field tournaments and enable players to roster a high-upside starting pitcher at a reasonable price tag and ownership discount on both DraftKings and FanDuel.
As reported by: FanGraphs Sunday's ATL-CHC game postponed due to inclement weather
The matchup between the Atlanta Braves and Chicago Cubs on Sunday afternoon has been postponed due to forecasted inclement weather. The teams have already announced that today’s previously scheduled game will be made up on Monday, May 14th at 1:20 pm local time, a mutual day off for both clubs. Players from this matchup will not accrue fantasy points on today’s slates across the industry, so be sure to remove them from lineups as soon as possible.
As reported by: the Chicago Cubs via Twitter Game 1 of Sunday's NYY-DET doubleheader postponed due to rain
The first game of the split doubleheader between the New York Yankees and Detroit Tigers on Sunday has been postponed due to rain. The teams have already announced that today’s previously scheduled game will be made up at a later date, and they are currently planning on playing Game 2 of the doubleheader at it’s originally scheduled time this evening. Players from this matchup will not accrue fantasy points on today’s slates across the industry, so be sure to remove them from lineups as soon as possible.
As reported by: Chris McCosky via Twitter LAA RHB Have Plenty Of Upside
Erik Skoglund could be the worst pitcher on the slate and this is definitely an arm we want to attack this afternoon. Hitters from both sides of the plate have had plenty of success versus Skoglund in his short Major League career, but we are best to target the Los Angeles Angels right handed hitters in this game. In his 22.2 innings pitched at the Major League level, the Kansas City Royals southpaw has been blasted by righties, allowing .460 wOBA and a 36.6% hard hit rate, while generating as many walks as strikeouts. Skoglund was roughed up in his first start of the 2018 season (4.2 IP, 6 H, 2 BB and 5 ER), and I think we see similar results today at Kauffman Stadium. Albert Pujols is the top value bat to target here, with all three of Jefry Marte, Chris Young and Martin Maldonado also in play (assuming they are in the lineup) at their inexpensive price tags.
Other tagged players: Jefry Marte, Chris Young, Martin Maldonado
Loading Up On Bats?
It is another bullpen game for the Tampa Bay Rays, so if you want to roll the dice on a pitcher, and load up on bats, Ryan Yarbrough is certainly an option. The 26-year-old left hander has looked solid thus far, twice going four innings in a game, so it is possible we see him go five innings today, with six innings being his absolute ceiling. Yarbrough is not a top prospect, or a big strikeout pitcher, but the Rays southpaw does have above average command, and two very good off speed pitches (good slider and a plus change up), which keeps both lefties and righties off balance. So, we are simply looking at a handful of strikeouts at best, however, at his price point, five innings and four strikeouts would work just fine.