The big question in DFS baseball on Tuesday is whether to pay retail for Chris Sale $12800. The lefty has struck out ten or more in seven consecutive starts and most of the Cardinals have never seen him. Among other very talented SP to choose from, Dallas Keuchel $9800 fanned 12 in a complete-game shutout on Thursday and Sonny Gray $10700 will be a mystery to the Rockies.
The duel between Shelby Miller $7900 and Jordan Zimmermann $8400 could be a good one, though rain might be a factor in Atlanta (and Baltimore.) DraftKings also offers Late contests that close at 9:40 Eastern so you can double down on four games, but we prefer the full card of 15 games at 7:05.
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There’s plenty of pitching value, too. Marco Estrada $6300 is exactly the same salary after one of the best starts of his career. Mike Montgomery $6800 was very good in his first four big-league starts. In the fifth, the lefty was spectacular — a 10-K, 5-hit shutout of the Royals, his former team. Andrew Heaney $6900 allowed just one ER in 6 IP for a no-decision in his first career start; he gets the Yankees tonight.
In today’s sample lineup and Short List, I’m going with Sale and Montgomery. That means we need a mix of premium bats (at full price) and bargains. Russell Martin $4400 and Buster Posey $4500 are the best catchers if money’s no object. Oddly enough, Jonathan Lucroy $3100 and a few other Brewers have enjoyed success against Cole Hamels $10300. I also like to use Josh Phegley $3100 when the A’s face a lefty.
One of the things that sets Paul Goldschmidt $5600 apart from other 1B is consistency; the other is steals — two more last night. Joey Votto $4200 is a very nice price and Billy Butler $3300 could stay hot (3-4 with a HR on Monday.)
At 2B, Brian Dozier $4700 homered for us last night and Jose Altuve $4900 is most dangerous against southpaws. I’m partial to Matt Duffy $3700, who has nearly hit for the cycle in consecutive games.
Best at home and vs. LHP, Josh Donaldson $4800 has an ideal matchup. Manny Machado $4700 will try to keep up with him. Duffy also qualifies at third and platoon specialist 3B/OF Danny Valencia $3200 is a possible bargain.
At SS,although Carlos Correa $4600 stands out, we’re looking to save money. I still like J.J. Hardy $3200 to keep improving, but even cheaper and even hotter is Cesar Hernandez $2900, with eight hits in two days — he was 6-for-8 on Sunday playing both ends of a doubleheader.
In the outfield, we’ll stick with Mike Trout $4900, who went deep for us last night, but can’t afford any of the other big guns like Jose Bautista $5200 or Andrew McCutchen $4700 and will make a couple of risk-reward plays. On the Short List yesterday, Grady Sizemore $2500 broke up a perfect game with a homer. Maybe he can write another chapter of the Cinderella story tonight. Since being called up by the Orioles, Chris Parmelee $2900 has swatted 4 HR for an OPS of 1.069 and hits near the top of the order vs. RHP. Cut loose by Baltimore, Alejandro De Aza $3600 has found new life with the Red Sox.
| Pos | Premium | Bargain |
| SP1 | Chris Sale $12800 | Marco Estrada $6300 |
| SP2 | Dallas Keuchel $9800 | Mike Montgomery $6800 |
| C | Russell Martin $4400 | Josh Phegley $3100 |
| 1B | Paul Goldschmidt $5600 | Billy Butler $3300 |
| 2B | Brian Dozier $4700 | Matt Duffy $3700 |
| 3B | Josh Donaldson $4800 | Danny Valencia $3200 |
| SS | Carlos Correa $4600 | Cesar Hernandez $2900 |
| OF1 | Jose Bautista $5200 | Grady Sizemore $2500 |
| OF2 | Mike Trout $4900 | Alejandro De Aza $3600 |
| OF3 | Andrew McCutchen $4700 | Chris Parmelee $2900 |
The Fantasy Spin features DFS advice every day of the NBA season and we’re turning out attention to baseball for the summer. Follow Kent Williams @SheridanFantasy for updates.