Thanks to Chris Sheridan, who allowed me to stray from the fantasy corner with a front-page column on Canada Basketball. My home and native land lost to Argentina yesterday in a poorly-played game at the FIBA Americas tournament in Mexico City. If there was DFS action on international hoops, Luis Scola would cost more than LeBron James.
It’s fun to be excited about meaningful basketball for the next two weeks, but baseball remains our fantasy focus until the NBA returns. There are four afternoon games today, 11 in the evening.
All-Day contests at DraftKings close at 12:10 Eastern, followed by Early (2:20; 3 games) pools, Turbo (3:35; 2 games) and Afternoon (4:05; 4 games) offerings — that’s four different opportunities to win cash on the Yankees-Red Sox tilt, where Masahiro Tanaka $10700 is the choice over Henry Owens $8200.
Late (3 games; 8:40) and Later (2 games; 10:10) action is dominated by Clayton Kershaw $14600, who struck out 14 Cubs in his latest gem. The Dodgers’ co-ace (with Zack Greinke, who beat Madison Bumgarner last night in a 2-1 thriller) will attempt to sweep the fading Giants and might be worth that lofty salary.
We’re focused on the 11-game contests at 7:05, where Max Scherzer $12100 and Matt Harvey $11900 are the other stud SP. In San Diego, Ian Kennedy $8600 has a chance to prevail over Cole Hamels $10800; another lower-cost matchup that could be profitable sees Scott Kazmir $9300 at home vs. Taijuan Walker $7800.
Plays of the Day
The $150K Moonshot is a $3 buy-in (FREE to new depositors) that pays the top 11,780 finishers from up to 57,498 teams, with multiple entries permitted. First place wins $12,000. Deadline is 7:05, with lineup changes allowed until each player’s game begins.
Bargain SP? Rookie Aaron Nola $7300 might surprise the Mets, and Yordano Ventura $7700 punched out 11 in his latest. The Royals’ flamethrower takes on lefty control artist Randy Wolf $4500, a pleasant surprise in his first two starts for the Tigers.
I like Nola and Ventura combined, for only $400 more than Kershaw. That leaves plenty of cap space for hitting. The Diamondbacks swept a doubleheader from the Rockies yesterday; that meaningless game could be a great source of fantasy points.
In another possible slugfest, the Pirates will face Zach Davies $4000 in the 22-year-old’s first MLB appearance. The undersized righty was acquired from Baltimore for Gerardo Parra $4100 and the Brewers — who will also be free-swinging against Jeff Locke $5700 — have nothing to lose by giving him a shot.
C Jonathan Lucroy $4000 has a nifty 1.200 OPS over his last ten. Salvador Perez $3500 went 3-for-4 last night after resting on Sunday and has a juicy matchup.
You could pay a lot more at 1B, but I like Kendrys Morales $4200 vs. Wolf and 1B/3B Pedro Alvarez $3300 is excellent value against any inexperienced, soft-tossing RHP.
Staying with the Pirates, 2B Neil Walker $3600 might produce as well as higher-priced options like Brian Dozier $5000. Our bargain pick on Monday, 2B/SS Ryan Goins $2500 cracked a 10th-inning walkoff homer.
Powerful rookie Miguel Sano $5500 and Manny Machado $4700 are solid choices at third; 3B/SS Jung Ho Kang $3900 is worth considering at either position.
Using the Korean rookie at 3B allows us to afford top-priced Carlos Correa $4800 at SS. Not sure how his countryman Francisco Lindor $4300 will fare against a knuckleballer; Goins is the cheap alternative if you are loading up elsewhere.
Semi-stacking Pirates and Brewers makes Andrew McCutchen $5200 the top OF choice, closely followed by Ryan Braun $4800. A. J Pollock $5900 was 3-for-8 with a triple and homer in yesterday’s twin bill; he might be fatigued. 1B/OF Chris Davis $4400 blasted HR #36 last night and is notoriously streaky. Note that Alex Gordon $3900 (groin) returned from a 2-month DL stint and resumed hitting, though he might not play every day with the Royals leading their division by a dozen games. Trayce Thompson $2700 should be in the ChiSox lineup against a lefty. Ryan Raburn $2300 is almost exclusively a platoon player but is 4-for-8 off R.A. Dickey $2300 and could be a surprise starter.
| Pos | Premium | Bargain |
| SP1 | Clayton Kershaw $14600 | Aaron Nola $7300 |
| SP2 | Matt Harvey $11900 | Yordano Ventura $7700 |
| C | Jonathan Lucroy $4000 | Salvador Perez $3500 |
| 1B | Kendrys Morales $4200 | Pedro Alvarez $3300 |
| 2B | Neil Walker $3600 | Ryan Goins $2500 |
| 3B | Miguel Sano $5500 | Jung Ho Kang $3900 |
| SS | Carlos Correa $4800 | Francisco Lindor $4300 |
| OF1 | Andrew McCutchen $5200 | Alex Gordon $3900 |
| OF2 | Ryan Braun $4800 | Trayce Thompson $2700 |
| OF3 | Chris Davis $4400 | Ryan Raburn $2300 |
The Fantasy Spin features DFS advice every day of the NBA season. Until basketball returns, we’re offering baseball tips on weekdays. Follow Kent Williams @SheridanFantasy for updates.