Hello everyone, and welcome to the DFS MLB cash academy! I go by nillyJay in the DFS Army where I coach and contribute content for MLB, NASCAR, and all things cash games related (such as proper bankroll management and cash ladders). You can find me on Twitter or in our Slack channels @nillyJay.
The purpose of these articles is to teach you how to find players to use for cash games, as well as giving out a few that my research has put me on (and why I chose them). The idea here isn’t to just say “lock these guys and run an optimizer.” Rather, I want to encourage everyone to work on their research process and dig a little deeper to find players in good spots instead of just settling on players that fit the salary cap.
The Basics
In an effort to keep these articles quick and to the point, I’m going to skip the definitions here. You can refer to the original article here if you’re unfamiliar with any of the stats or terminology used in my notes below.
Yesterday’s DFS MLB Results
Corey Kluber: 12 FD, 6.25 DK -Yikes. This one hurt, but not even the best pitchers in the game are immune to having a few bad games in a season.
Brent Suter: 37 FD, 18.95 DK – Solid performance for $6,500.
Juan Soto: 9.2 FD, 7 DK – A little underwhelming for the price, but still a serviceable score for cash games.
Adrian Beltre: 12.2 FD, 10.0 DK – Good production, but the better value was on FanDuel.
Brian Anderson: 15.5 FD, 12.0 DK – Much better return on FanDuel, but solid either way.
Denard Span / Yuli Gurriel – Did not play.
WATCH – Research Station Statistics Tool Tutorial for MLB DFS
Cash players – 6/16/2018
We have another split-slate Saturday today, so once again it’s bonus time!
Early / all day DFS slates
Max Scherzer ($12,000 FD, $14,000 DK) – I always look forward to Scherzer pitching, because on any given start we could see another 20-strikeout performance. His 3.24 carnage and combined .228 wOBA both look great, and there aren’t many batters on the Blue Jays that are running hot right now. The exception would be Granderson, who is running hot and has good BvP in this matchup. One batter won’t scare me off of taking Scherzer though, and it wouldn’t be a bad idea to take Granderson in lineups where you aren’t using Scherzer.
Luis Severino ($11,000 FD, $13,900 DK) – The other top option today is Severino. He’s right behind Scherzer with a 3.52 carnage and combined .235 wOBA. Both of these aces are great options today, though Severino offers an ever-so-slightly higher floor with his matchup today. You really can’t go wrong either way!
Junior Guerra ($7,400 FD, $8,200 DK) – If you don’t want to pay up for one of the aces, Guerra is a solid mid-range option. He offers a 3.96 carnage and combined .271 wOBA, which is among the best on the slate today. It starts to get a little dicey once you dip below this price range, so tread carefully.
John Hicks ($2,600 FD, $3,400 DK) – I’ll start the batters off with a good budget option. Hicks has a 5-game hitting streak going, with a .504 wOBA and 15.79% strikeout rate against righties to go with it. He faces Giolito today, who has given up .417 wOBA and .280 ISO to righties over his last handful of starts. Did I mention that over these last 5 games, Hicks has 9 hits?
Jesse Winker ($2,800 FD, $3,500 DK) – I was on Winker yesterday in a good matchup, but he didn’t produce. No matter, I’m going right back to him in another good spot today. Nova is somebody we like to target with lefties, especially when he’s giving up .428 wOBA and .211 ISO to them. Winker has solid numbers himself; .341 wOBA, .174 ISO, and a low 9.52% strikeout rate. He broke his 9-day fantasy scoring streak yesterday, so he’ll look to start a new one today. Votto, Schebler, and Gennett all make good choices to pair with Winker for a solid two-man cash stack.
Delino DeShields ($2,900 FD, $3,500 DK) – Much like Beltre yesterday, DeShields finds himself in another good matchup today. He offers .565 wOBA and a low 12.5% strikeout rate, while Freeland is giving up .372 wOBA and .255 ISO to righties. I like the DeShields & Beltre combo again today for some exposure to what Vegas sees as another high-scoring game.
Ian Desmond ($3,200 FD, $3,900 DK) – On the other side of that game, there are several batters in good spots going up against Minor and his combined .368 wOBA / .288 ISO. Desmond is one of the cheaper bats you can grab from the Rockies, and he offers a .440 wOBA along with 7 hits in his last 5 games. Grabbing a few good pieces from both sides of this game would be a smart move for your cash games.
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Main / evening DFS slates
Patrick Corbin ($9,500 FD, $12,200 DK) – Corbin leads the way on the main slate with his 4.09 carnage and combined .295 wOBA. The Mets are striking out a bunch right now (30.85%) and Corbin has a 27.60% strikeout rate of his own (this creates what we call a KSCORE of 584, which is the highest of every pitcher today). My model has him projected for a little over 6 strikeouts, though I think he could see 7 or 8. None of the Mets are running hot right now either, which only adds to his safety.
Andrew McCutchen ($3,700 FD, $4,500 DK) – McCutchen comes in hot again today; .603 wOBA / .429 ISO against lefties, while Wood is giving up .528 wOBA / .417 ISO to righties. Posey makes a good stacking partner, as he’s hitting well right now too. Both of these guys have seen Wood plenty, so they’ll look to get the advantage today while he’s still struggling to find himself this year.
Anthony Rizzo ($4,100 FD, $4,600 DK) – Speaking of struggling pitchers, Martinez has been getting hammered lately with a combined .408 wOBA and three straight single-digit scoring efforts on DraftKings. Rizzo also has 9 hits (3 home runs) off of Martinez, which only adds to his favorable matchup today.
Jackie Bradley Jr. ($2,500 FD, $2,800 DK) – Bradley has started to warm up (.346 wOBA / .429 ISO against lefties), and faces LeBlanc today who isn’t doing too well against lefties himself (.416 wOBA / .261 ISO). There aren’t many solid budget options on this small slate, but this is one we can feel good about.
Justin Turner ($3,600 FD, $3,600 DK) – Bumgarner isn’t somebody who I try to target on a regular basis, but he’s still finding himself this season. He’s given up .377 wOBA / .256 ISO to righties and has only struck out 12.20% of the batters he’s faced so far, while Turner has been smashing lefties with .588 wOBA and .750 ISO against them in the last 10 days. Add in his low 7.14% strikeout rate and his 12 hits (2 home runs) against Bumgarner, and that gives me another value option I can feel good about.
That will be all for today! Be sure to check out the rest of our MLB content that’s coming out today right here, and if you want to see what we offer on the inside, I encourage you to sign up (with promo code NILLY for that 10% discount) or check out our free month trial. Good luck today!
