Dongers Club – August 10th

WEATHER

Fourteen game slate and no weather issues tonight.

 

UPDATE

I did not list Nathan Eovaldi because I felt he was just gonna pitch an OK game with limited strikeouts.  But yes, that Orioles lineup is atrocious and they’re going full throw in the towel right now so he’s obviously an ok play today.

 

PITCHING

There’s not a clear cut #1 today, and some late breaking news has shifted guys around for me a little bit…

1. Zack Wheeler … He was not my first choice today but with Justin Bour being shipped out he’s getting the best power threat out of that lineup.
2. Shane Bieber … It’s not an easy slate to look for a clean pitcher across the board, but this is a game I think could be low scoring and both guys are tempting but Bieber is the one I trust more to be steady and get more strikeouts.   The Beebs has settled in nicely of late and should give us a 20 point night on DK which tonight is likely to be among the leaders.   Nicky Delmonico is leading off which terrifies me, but frankly he was gonna play anyways so just leading off doesn’t completely drive me off Shane.
3. Kenta Maeda … He’s 4-1 with a 3 ERA and gets a strikeout per inning in Coors Field.  The Rockies outside of Nolan are ice cold and while he’s gonna get pulled too early because of Dave Roberts, I still think you’ve got a slate tonight where he can be the top arm at < 5% ownership.
4. Zack Eflin … Any mediocre pitcher against the Padres always seems tempting because there isn’t a lot on the Padres to be worried about — especially when they’re in PETCO.  That said, the Padres do have a few bats that should give you pause tonight, specifically Fran The Man Reyes.   That said, the Padres lineup is thin enough that Zack should get deep enough into the game as they don’t have much power from the left side to hurt him which is where he is weaker.

FADES

• Blake Snell – I simply fear that Kevin Cash and the Rays will be very cautious with how much they use Snell down the stretch.  It’s got nothing to do with him pitching poorly as much as it’s a concern over him getting pulled early.  He’s a do not touch for me.
• Gerrit Cole – Too expensive against Seattle.
• Masahiro Tanaka … Not this matchup

 

TEAM STACKS

1. Arizona … Great ballpark, bad pitcher against lefties and a lineup that is really heating up at the right time.  Every left hander is in play against DeSclafani who is giving up a .400+ wOBA at home this year to left handed hitters.   David Peralta is the man on fire but Eduardo Escobar should not go overlooked here.   AJ Pollock is back and this is the best Arizona lineup we have seen all year.  Load em up tonight.
2. Oakland … The A’s seem to destroy the Angels in LA and it’s very warm plus Felix Pena’s splits at home have been horrendous and should immediately be attacked.  If you DO wanna fade Boston then this is where you go to off-set the potential HR barrage.  Matt Olson and the lefties are in the better spot, however it’s tough to roll Oakland without Kriss Kross (Khrush Davis).
3. Boston … Everyone knows about Mookie in Camden and while I wouldn’t go crazy with the Red Sox here because of Bundy I do wanna keep chasing that JBJ in Baltimore narrative and I think we gotta take a shot on Benintendi today as well.  Not the spot to fade Boston again.

MID RANGE – Multi Entry Tournament Plays

1. St. Louis … The Cards and Royals face off and this time it’s in Kansas City.  The Cardinals have more power vs RHP and Burch Beer Smith is the Royal I want to pick on the most these days out of that rotation (which honestly has been better lately).  I wouldn’t expect the Cards to be a chalky play tonight so lets roll them in an MME if you take a dart there with Jose Martinez (all HR vs RHP), Ozuna, DeJong and of course Matty Carpenter as the favorite plays.  Harrison Bader is a value play batting 9th.
2. Milwaukee … Not as high on them as others but 1-8 they’ve got pop to hit some bombs in this park.  Prefer the lefties but it’s Braun on the road on a Friday, so you know me….

SNEAKY

1. Philadelphia … Jacob Nix will make his ML debut tonight for San Diego.  Teams promoted their good pitching prospects earlier in the season and of late anyone getting called up is getting hammered and while Philly might look tempting with their strikeout woes at times, even I have to admit that Nick Williams is swinging a good bat lately and this is NOT a team I wanna pick on, so give me the Phils against the kid today in a ballpark that has actually played ok and has good weather tonight.

FADES

• Yankees

 

PLAYER RANKINGS

CATCHER 

This is not a position that I would look to pay up for tonight, but if you have the money then you might as well go Grandal at 5k in Coors.  It’s terrible to say, but that’s how the position plays out today with almost nobody grading out well as a one off.  So it’s Grandal or find your favorite stack play.  That said, these are the guys I’d consider as punt one offs…

1. Robinson Chirinos
2. Alex Avila … Good park and good matchup if he is in lineup.  Bad hitter this year.
3. Salvy Perez
4. Sandy Leon … Leon in Camden, it’s a thing and he should give you a wrap-around stack with Betts and Benintendi

FIRST BASE

1. Matt Carpenter
2. Matt Olson
3. Paul Goldschmidt
4. Ji-Man Choi

SECOND BASE

1. Jed Lowrie
2. Devon Travis
3. Travis Shaw … Lefties in atlanta if you go with the Brewers + Braun

THIRD BASE

1. Eduardo Escobar
2. Miguel Sano … Feels like he crushes Detroit
3. Mike Moustakas

SHORTSTOP

Fairly weak position today, I like Cabrera as a sneaky late play if he is in for the Phils today, otherwise its take Manny vs Gray in Coors after he broke his bat over his knee out of anger last night.

1. Manny Machado
2. Asdrubal Cabrera
3. Andrelton Simmons … Simba vs Lefty the only offense they got tonight.
4. Brandon Crawford

OUTFIELD – Tier 1

1. Matt Kemp
2. AAAAAAAAAAAA JJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJ POLLOCK
3. David Peralta
4. Krush Davis
5. Mookie Betts … Owns Camden Yards

OUTFIELD – Tier 2

1. Andrew Benintendi
2. Rhys Hoskins & Willie Mays Hayes
3. Cody Bellinger
4. Ryan Braun on the road on a Friday
5. Eric Thames … So Thames is 2800 on FD and 5400 on DK.  That’s a HUGE gap.  The matchup and the ballpark are pretty good here so he’s a top play on FD but the 5400 price tag on DK isn’t as tempting.

OUTFIELD – Tier 3

1. Jackie Bradley Jr
2. Trey Mancini
3. Steven Souza Jr
4. Harrison Bader
5. Nick Delmonico … So you sit down and start with a steak?   Oooh.  That’s juicy.

 

DONGERS CLUB

1. Mookie Betts – OF – Chairman
2. Matt Kemp – OF
3. AJ Pollock – OF
4. Matt Olson – 1B
5. Eduardo Escobar – 3B
6. Manny Machado – SS … Andrelton Simmons
7. Jed Lowrie – 2B
8. Robinson Chirinos – C ……………… um ………………… um ……………….. Tucker Barnhardt -c ??? (If you cant tell, Im not in love with catchers tonight)
9. BONUS …………………….. Jackie Bradley Jr – OF