Happy Fourth of July! There’s a ball game in the nation’s capital at 11:05 a.m. EDT that we’re watching, but ignoring at DraftKings. For DFS purposes, Saturday is effectively two 7-game “days” — Early contests (1:05) and evening play (7:10) — each top-heavy with pitching.
Tonight, I’m expecting Zack Greinke $11100 to outduel Matt Harvey $10800 in an exciting finale. Alex Wood $9200 is good value and Hector Santiago $6900 might surprise. The Brewers and Royals are potential targets for hitting.
The big guns this afternoon are Felix Hernandez $11400 and David Price $10200, each capable of superb starts. Carlos Martinez $9000 is fairly priced; Michael Pineda $8300 can be dominant and Collin McHugh $7600 could surprise. Though he’s unlikely to outpitch King Felix, Kendall Graveman $6000 has become consistently good.
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The pitching question mark is Cody Anderson $5700, brilliant in his first two MLB starts. The big righty took a perfect game into the seventh last time and is affordable enough to pair with one of the Cy Young winners. In today’s sample lineup, I’m using him with Pineda and spending even more on bats.
Brian McCann $4000 homered last night and is reasonably priced; for a longshot C, consider James McCann $2900 (and other Tigers) against R.A. Dickey $6800 and his 5.79 road ERA.
A leg injury to Miguel Cabrera will affect depth at 1B and 3B for a while. Jose Abreu $4600 is the top-priced healthy first baseman, and Mark Teixeira $4300 is now up to 20 HR for the season. I’m still on the bandwagon with David Ortiz $4300 and the Red Sox; Big Papi has always been a streaky hitter.
Jose Altuve $4800 is healthy again and raking; he’s the #1 2B. Robinson Cano $4200 made our Short List yesterday and went 3-for-5; gotta roll with the profits.
Manny Machado $4400 may be cooling off a little but he’s become one of my favorites and is hard to ignore at that price. Pablo Sandoval $4000 is a strong second choice at 3B and even though he’s facing Price, 3B/OF Danny Valencia $2800 has made us money all season as a cheap lefty-masher.
Brilliant rookie shortstop Carlos Correa $4600 had three hits including a homer last night. In the same game, our selection SS/OF Hanley Ramirez $4700 went deep for the second straight night and teammate Xander Bogaerts $3600 was 2-for-4 with a walk and three runs scored.
Brett Gardner $5200 and J.D. Martinez $5000 are my top two OF picks. By going cheap at catcher I can also afford Andrew McCutchen $5100, but as you know it’s the deepest position and value can be found in every price range. We touted Grady Sizemore $2600 yesterday (3-for-4) and while I’m not sure he can handle Pineda, it’s possible. Preston Tucker $3500 and recent callup Alex Presley $3200 each had a couple of hits for the Astros, who won 12-8 in Boston.
| Pos | Premium | Bargain |
| SP1 | Felix Hernandez $11400 | Michael Pineda $8300 |
| SP2 | David Price $10200 | Cody Anderson $5700 |
| C | Brian McCann $4000 | James McCann $2900 |
| 1B | Jose Abreu $4600 | David Ortiz $4300 |
| 2B | Jose Altuve $4800 | Robinson Cano $3700 |
| 3B | Manny Machado $4400 | Pablo Sandoval $4000 |
| SS | Hanley Ramirez $4700 | Xander Bogaerts $3600 |
| OF1 | Brett Gardner $5200 | Grady Sizemore $2600 |
| OF2 | J.D. Martinez $5000 | Preston Tucker $3500 |
| OF3 | Andrew McCutchen $5100 | Alex Presley $3200 |
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.