The daily fantasy grind never stops.
Who's ready to make some money? I hope you are. Today is going to be a little different since it's my first DFS post. Generally I will just post my best available roster, but today I wanted to show you how to differentiate between a "top play" and a "value play". You only have $50,000 of cap space on DraftKings.com so you need to use it wisely. I have divided each position in to two categories; top play, and value play.
All player prices are based on DraftKings.com player pricing.
Pitcher Top plays
Johnny Cueto, Cincinnati Reds, $11,700 - Cueto takes the mound against the Pittsburgh Pirates tonight. He has owned them throughout his career, including a complete game shutout last week. He is high priced, but he is well worth it.
Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers, $10,900 - Personally I am not too crazy about Verlander, but he is facing the Chicago White Sox, a team he has had success against historically. He is one of the safer bets on the board tonight.
Pitcher Value plays
Miguel Gonzalez, Baltimore Orioles, $6,500 - Gonzalez is one of the cheapest pitchers available tonight. I really love this spot for Gonzalez, he has been outstanding against the Blue Jays. If you do take Gonzalez it gives you the option to pair him with one higher end pitchers.
A.J Burnett, Philadelphia Phillies, $6,400 - The price for Burnett is ridiculous, he is priced like a relief pitcher. His opponent tonight is the Los Angeles Dodgers. This isn't an ideal matchup, but at this price point you can't go wrong.
Catcher Top Play
Wilin Rosario, Colorado Rockies, $4,300 - Rosario is always a top play when playing at home. Tonight he gets Madison Bumgarner. He is hitting .333 against Bumgarner in his career, although a small sample size it is assuring.
Catcher Value Play
Tyler Flowers, Chicago White Sox, $3,200 - Flowers is an all or nothing player. But he will take on Justin Verlander tonight, who he has three home runs against in 10 at bats. If you want to free up some cap space, take Flowers.
First Base Top Play
Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers, $4,900 - Cabreras' price has gone down as of late due to his slump. I like this spot for him since Chris Sale is headed to the DL, and the White sox will call up someone from the minors. Hopefully whomever the White Sox call up helps Cabrera get out his slump.
First Base Value Play
Casey McGehee, Miami Marlins, $3,400 - This is almost a punt play, but McGehee is a cheap source for RBIs given he bats in the front end of the order. He is a good right-handed hitter, and is facing lefty Alex Wood. I like this matchup.
Second Base Top Plays
Ian Kinsler, Detroit Tigers, $5,600 - Kinsler is really seeing the ball well. He is leading the Tigers in a lot of offensive categories and batting in the two-hole in the Tigers lineup. As I mentioned with Cabrera, he will be facing a pitcher fresh out the minors.
Jason Kipnis, Cleveland Indians, $4,800 - Here is another second basemen who is hitting really well as of late. Kipnis is really starting to heat up. Although his matchup with James Shields isn't ideal, I'd still roll the dice on Kipnis.
Second Base Value Play
Josh Rutledge, Colorado Rockies, $3,000 - This is strictly a speculation play. Rutledge has batted well against Bumgarner in the past, posting a .438 batting average including a home run. If you don't want to spend a big chunk of your budget on a 2B, and Rutledge is playing, take a shot on him.
Third Base Top Play
David Wright, New York Mets, $4,700 - Wright is finally starting to hit, after a pretty slow start. Adam Wainwright comes to Queens, to face a Mets team he surprisingly struggles against. Wright has a career average of .357 against Wainwright, and the way he's been swinging of late, I'd expect him to do well tonight.
Chase Headley, San Diego Padres, $3,800 - I like Headley on the road, especially in a hitters ballpark like Miller Park. He will take on Yovani Gallardo, a pitcher he fares well against. In his career Headley has batted .353 against him, and is a good value play tonight.
Shortstop Top play
Troy Tulowitzki, Colorado Rockies, $5,400 - Tulowitzki has been awesome lately. Last week he batted .458, with a dinger, six runs batted in, and 9 runs. As I said in my introduction to fantasy sports yesterday, always go with the hot bat.
Shortstop Value Play
Scooter Gennett, Milwaukee Brewers, $2,600 - Gennett is always a good punt play against a right-handed pitcher. Tonight he is going up against Ian Kennedy. The Brewers offense has been very dangerous, and there is a good chance Gennett can knock in a couple runs in.
Outfield Top Plays
Jay Bruce, Cincinnati Reds, $4,600 - Bruce is a streaky hitter, and right now he is on the hot side of the streakiness. $4,600 is a pretty reasonable price, so ride him out while you can.
Carlos Gonzalez, Colorado Rockies, $5,700 - CarGo at home, pretty self-explanatory. Not to mention, he owns Madison Bumgarner.
Michael Brantley, Cleveland Indians, $5,300 - I don't know if there is a hotter hitter than Michael Brantley right now. Look how high his price is, only $400 less than Carlos Gonzalez. Tonight might be difficult with Shields on the mound, but you got to ride the hot bat.
Outfield Value Plays
Nick Swisher - Cleveland Indians $3,600 - Swisher is a player I loath, but he gets on base, and has hit three homers off Shields in his career. If you want to free up some money he isn't a bad option.
Will Venable, San Diego Padres, $2,800 - This goes against my "Don't roster cold hitters" motto, but Venable is hitting high in the batting order currently. Venable is hitting .479, with one homer, and four RBIs against Gallardo, not too shabby. Venable needs to turn things around immediately if he wants to keep his job.
As always be sure to check the weather in the city your players are playing in. Don't forget to check lineups either, nothing worse than having a rostered player on your squad that isn't in the lineup. Good luck to all, and see you tomorrow.