Congratulations to the Golden State Warriors as their dream season continues. There’s an entire week off before they face the Cleveland LeBrons for the championship. Yes, this is a basketball site. However, with hoops contests at DraftKings over for this season, the fantasy corner is switching to baseball.
My sports fandom — OK, obsession — has been focused on MLB and the NBA for a very long time. That “schedule” provides year-round excitement in both traditional and daily fantasy formats. It gets a little hectic in the spring but otherwise overlaps nicely.
Growing exponentially, DFS is challenging, fun and can be profitable no matter what leagues you prefer. There’s seasonal action on football, soccer, hockey, golf and the NCAA, where I’m more of a casual observer. We’re going to give this a try for the next month, and if you like it, will continue all summer.
DK matches your first deposit 100% (up to $600) with bonus funds that convert to cash. You will also receive a FREE entry into the $100K Moonshot, which offers 7,850 guaranteed cash prizes — $10,000 for first — and a maximum of 38,315 teams. Multiple entries are permitted but it only takes one to win.
The biggest event of the summer is the $4,000,000 Fantasy Baseball World Championship. There are 80 spots in the FBWC Final, on August 15 in Las Vegas, where first place is worth a million bucks. Get there by winning a 63-team Qualifier if you’re willing to put up a $1,000 buy-in. Too steep? Try a Satellite for just $3. Beat 382 other teams and you win a $1,000 ticket into a Qualifier. There are also $100 Satellites where you need to defeat only 10 others to get into an upcoming Qualifier.
Today there’s a makeup doubleheader in Baltimore, where the Orioles and White Sox were postponed twice last month. Both are afternoon games, which we’re ignoring, though Chris Sale $10900 is certainly a factor in All-Day leagues that close at 1:05 Eastern. The big contests, including FBWC Qualifier #26, close at 8:05 and span the other six games.
Two very hot SP top the salary scale. Corey Kluber $11600 is back in Cy Young form and 38-year-old A.J. Burnett $10100 is off to the best start of his 17-year career. His 1.37 ERA is unsustainable, so I’m reluctant to overpay. Shelby Miller $9300 has made seven straight quality starts and is holding opponents to a .172 batting average.
That’s about it for dominant arms likely to go deep into games. James Paxton $7700 might make it a duel with Kluber and there are two intriguing rookies. 22-year-old southpaw Eduardo Rodriguez $5200 makes his big-league debut as one of Boston’s top prospects, with a ridiculous 44 K to just 7 BB for Pawtucket. Or consider Kendall Graveman $4700, who had an 8.24 ERA in April and got demoted to Triple-A. Recalled five days ago, the 24-year-old pitched the game of his life, shutting out the Rays for six innings on just three hits.
Always look for “stackable” teams before selecting individual hitters. RH batters for the Tigers like Miguel Cabrera $4900, Yoenis Cespedes $4100, Ian Kinsler $4000 and Rajai Davis $3600 match up well against C.J. Wilson $7400 in Anaheim. However, Detroit is calling up Buck Farmer $4300 from Toledo and despite his good minor-league numbers (consistently a strikeout per inning) the Angels might also score in bunches. The great Mike Trout $5300 has virtually no platoon split, Albert Pujols $4200 is hitting righties better than lefties this year and Kole Calhoun $4300 is the clean-up man behind them.
Giants rookie Chris Heston $6100 might have trouble with the Braves, especially lefty bats Freddie Freeman $4300, Nick Markakis $3400, A.J. Pierzynski $3200 and Jace Peterson $3100.
The Rangers are hitting much better of late; their RHB include future Hall of Fame 3B Adrian Beltre $4500, SS Elvis Andrus $4100, rookie CF Delino DeShields $3800 (also 2B-eligible) and platoon specialist Adam Rosales $2800, who actually plays 2B but qualifies only at 1B or 3B.
After two encouraging starts, C.C. Sabathia $8400 was shelled last out by Texas. Among the A’s bats who match up well against the aging lefty are Billy Butler $3400, Mark Canha $3100 and backup C Josh Phegley $2700.
Hot hitters include Dustin Pedroia $4400 (2 HR last night) and 2013 MVP Andrew McCutchen $4700, who has woken up from a slow start. Then there’s the often-lucrative angle of using a RH batter who plays only against southpaws. Ryan Raburn $2600 has an extreme split; the 34-year-old crushes LHP (.356/.418/.627) and is hitless with 4 K in just 9 AB against RHP. One problem with such specialists is being removed for a pinch-hitter in the late innings but they can do some damage early.
Our sample lineup tonight again loads up on pitching with two aces. Hitting is far less predictable — even the best can go 0-for-4 on any given night. That’s one of the areas where luck affects this game of skill, along with injuries, illness and ejections. It’s highly recommended to enter early then check for updates closer to game time; DK makes that easy with a green circle beside each player’s name once they are confirmed starters.
| Pos | Premium | Bargain |
| SP1 | Corey Kluber $11600 | Kendall Graveman $4700 |
| SP2 | Shelby Miller $9300 | Eduardo Rodriguez $5200 |
| C | Carlos Santana $4100 | Josh Phegley $2700 |
| 1B | Freddie Freeman $4100 | Mark Canha $3100 |
| 2B | Dustin Pedroia $4400 | Delino DeShields $3800 |
| 3B | Adrian Beltre $4500 | Adam Rosales $2800 |
| SS | Elvis Andrus $4100 | Jung Ho Kang $3300 |
| OF1 | Mike Trout $5300 | Brett Gardner $4100 |
| OF2 | Andrew McCutchen $4700 | Rajai Davis $3600 |
| OF3 | Kole Calhoun $4300 | Ryan Raburn $2600 |
The Fantasy Spin features DFS advice every day of the NBA season. Follow Kent Williams @SheridanFantasy for updates.