Hello everyone, and welcome back to the MLB cash academy at the DFS Army! 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.
I hope you all enjoyed the All-Star break, as a little breather is good to have once in a while. If you were struggling with cash games in the first half, this is a good time to hit the reset button and start fresh. If that’s the case, and you’re looking to get things rolling in the right direction for the second half, you’re in the right place!
The basics
Please refer to the original article here if you’re unfamiliar with any of the stats or terminology used in the notes below.
Cash players – 7/20/2018
Trevor Bauer (CLE P: $12,200 FD | $13,600 DK) – Bauer leads the way today, though he is rather expensive. His consistency makes his price worth it for cash games though, as he’s struck out no less than 7 batters in a game since May, and well…just look at his game log, it’s ridiculous! Everything is backed by his 2.48 carnage rating, combined .242 wOBA, and 626 KSCORE, which are of course the best on the slate today. Vegas loves him too, as they’ve given him a -202 moneyline and 3.88 implied runs. The last time Bauer faced the Rangers (April 30th) he struck out 11 on his way to a big score, and he hasn’t slowed down any since then. This is an easy cash play today.
Nathan Eovaldi (TBR P: $7,200 FD | $8,200 DK) – His last start wasn’t very pretty, but hey, every pitcher has a game like that. He faced the Marlins earlier this year and did fine for cash game purposes, and I like him to do the same today. His 3.12 carnage rating and combined .268 wOBA are among the best on the slate today, and Vegas is giving him plenty of love (-158 moneyline, 3.33 implied runs).
There are some big names starting today that are fresh from the DL (mainly Strasburg and Syndergaard), but I don’t like to take guys in situations like that in my cash games. If you’re wondering why I didn’t write them up today, that’s why.
Jorge Bonifacio (KCR OF: $2,500 FD | $3,600 DK) – It’s not often that I get to write up one of my Royals for this, but they find themselves in a pretty decent spot today. Boni has been solid in his return and was hitting .413 wOBA and .318 ISO against righties before the break (he’s also had fantasy production in all but 2 games since his return). Gibson has been decent but was giving up .362 wOBA and .250 ISO to righties, and I think Boni gets the better of him today.
Jorge Alfaro (PHI C: $2,400 FD | $3,200 DK) – Another budget option, Alfaro has been putting up very consistent fantasy production this summer. His .352 wOBA against lefties isn’t setting the world on fire, but his consistency (fantasy production in all but 7 games since the start of June) makes him a solid option for his price. He faces Richard today, who is giving up .347 wOBA to lefties and carries a 6.14 carnage rating with a very low 13% strikeout rate over his last 5 starts. I don’t expect Alfaro to put up a massive score, but I think he can easily return value for us today.
Steve Pearce (BOS 1B/OF: $3,300 FD | $4,000 DK) – I don’t have to tell you how much of a great play Mookie Betts is, but I can point out another player that’s not too far behind. That would be Pearce, who has been very consistent as well. He’s had all of two strikeouts during July and was sporting a .911 wOBA / 1.00 ISO against lefties leading up to the break, while Boyd has given up .368 wOBA and .213 ISO to righties. Boston righties are sure to be popular today, and Pearce is a great starting point.
Like what you see here, but wish you could quickly find more batters in good spots like these ones are? I upload a list of every batter that meets the requirements I’m looking for, every single day, and today’s list has 37 batters on it. You get 3 here, along with some other goodies below, but our VIPs get the rest.
Freebie Friday!
It’s Friday, so you guys know what that means…freebies at the DFS Army! As usual, I’m going to post up one of the DraftKings Tiers tiers (that sounds silly, can we just go back to Pick’Em instead?). We’ve had a lot of success using this sheet, and I love sharing some of it with the rest of you.
And that’s going to do it for today! Be sure to check out the rest of our MLB content today, and since it’s Freebie Friday, don’t forget to take a test drive with the research station to see some more of the goodies we have access to every single day. We have plenty of other goodies on the way too, including two NASCAR races this weekend that I’ll be covering, so stay tuned for my free article for tomorrow’s race. We cover everything else too, such as WNBA that we’ve had plenty of success with:
Don’t forget that we have an opening for an NFL writer, so if you think you’ve got what it takes, be sure to apply! Don’t forget that once NFL rolls around our monthly rates go up as well. Now is a great time to get on board so you don’t have to pay the higher prices later, but remember to use promo code NILLY to get that 10% discount and make it even cheaper. Until then, good luck today!
