Hello everyone, and welcome to the 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 results
Dylan Bundy: 27 FD, 15.3 DK
Blaine Hardy: 28 FD, 16.4 DK
Francisco Cervelli: 3 FD, 2 DK
Freddy Galvis: 6 FD, 6 DK
Yan Gomes: 16.5 FD, 11 DK
Curtis Granderson: 3.2 FD, 2 DK
A tad underwhelming, but at least nobody gave us a zero. Moving on…
Cash players – 6/18/2018
Before we get into any players, be aware that there are some weather concerns today that could cause some issues. We have the best weather guy in the business that always points us in the right direction, and if you want to check him out for some of his free stuff you can visit his Twitter right here. He saves the best stuff for us in our Slack channels though, which is just another perk of being a member!
Gerrit Cole ($11,000 FD, $13,000 DK) – His 3.53 carnage rating, 570 KSCORE, and 2.65 implied run total (overwhelming Vegas odds) are enough to make me very interested, and his combined .281 wOBA / .156 ISO help seal the deal. He’s pitching in a dome (no weather concerns), has a bit of a BvP advantage (most Rays have not seen him, and those that have don’t have a whole lot to show for it), and none of the Rays are running particularly hot right now. Everything adds up to a great cash option, even if he is expensive. Pitchers in spots like these are worth the asking price!
Andrew Suarez ($6,600 FD, $6,800 DK) – While Suarez doesn’t have massive strikeout potential, he does have a decent matchup at a good price today. Vegas really likes him (-156 moneyline with 3.12 IRT) and his 2.77 carnage rating is the second lowest on the slate. None of the Marlins are running hot, and him being at a pitcher’s park is icing on the cake. I like him as an SP2 on DraftKings to help fit in Cole.
Daniel Descalso ($3,200 FD, $3,900 DK) – You have to go all the way back to May 26th to find a game where Descalso put up a zero. He’s been hot ever since and hasn’t slowed down any recently; he brings a .457 wOBA, .300 ISO, and 15% strikeout rate to the table and faces Barria who has been giving up .682 wOBA and .143 ISO to righties. I like him paired with either Peralta or Jay for a two-man cash mini stack.
Yasmani Grandal ($2,800 FD, $3,900 DK) – While his .313 wOBA isn’t setting the world on fire, he’s got everything else going for him today. He’s hitting for power (.321 ISO) and is only striking out 15.38% of the time. He’s got a great BvP matchup today (6 for 11 with a home run) off a guy who is getting smashed by left-handed hitting (.450 wOBA). Chatwood has a very high 9.84 carnage rating today, which is almost as high as you can get, so the Dodgers look to be in a great spot to make some noise today. Muncy, Bellinger, and Pederson (5 for 11 with a home run against Chatwood) all make good partners for a two-man cash stack.
Michael Conforto ($3,600 FD, $4,200 DK) – Conforto was pretty productive last week with 6 straight games with fantasy points. He’s starting to heat up again and gets a great matchup today to really kickstart his streak. He’ll take a .348 wOBA, .308 ISO, and 11.54% strikeout rate up against Anderson’s .462 wOBA and measly 16.5% strikeout rate. Nimmo makes a good option to take along with him.
Travis Shaw ($3,600 FD, $4,100 DK) – Shaw has been producing all over the place and is in a good spot today to keep it going. His .390 wOBA and .226 ISO are solid, while the struggling Williams has been getting hit for .488 wOBA and a whopping .500 ISO by lefties. He’s not striking people out (16% strikeout rate) and has more single-digit fantasy scores than a lot of hitters have over the last month.
That’s going to do it for this week! Cash academy will be back on Friday, along with my NASCAR content, so stay tuned for both. Be sure to check out the rest of our free MLB articles coming out today, and consider signing up to get access to everything else we have on the inside (our 24/7 Slack channels, research station, Domination Station lineup optimizer, and much, much more). Be sure to use promo code NILLY to get 10% off, and good luck today!
