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.
The purpose of these articles is to show an easy way to identify players to use MLB cash game lineups. While I do provide some player names, the idea is to show what I’m looking for so that you can use some of that same thinking to help aid your research for building lineups.
You knew I had to drop this one off in here again. DFS Army crushing NASCAR, as usual!
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.
Yesterday’s results
Dallas Keuchel: 34 FD | 16.35 DK
Nathan Eovaldi: 58 FD | 37.15 DK
Sandy Leon: 0 FD | 0 DK (pitching change)
Starlin Castro: 6 FD | 6 DK
Jesse Winker: 3 FD | 3 DK
Andrew Knapp 0 FD | 0 DK
Our batters had a Sleepy Sunday, but Eovaldi sure had himself a game!
Cash players – 7/9/2018
Note: Kershaw is on the slate, and he’s always an option, but I need to see him return to his normal form before I can pay that much for him. Use him in cash at your own risk!
Gerrit Cole (HOU P: $11,000 FD | $13,100 DK) – Pitching is pretty rough for cash games today (aces fresh off the DL and numerous teams running hot), and it looks that Cole is our top option today. His biggest draw is his -215 moneyline and 3.19 implied runs for Oakland. He’s not as hot as he was at the beginning of the year, but he’s still striking people out and has a solid floor today. He’s faced Oakland three times this year and struck out no less than 6 batters each time, and did much better against them in Houston (where he pitches today).
Corey Dickerson (PIT OF: $2,500 FD | $3,900 DK) – Dickerson is one of many good options today (when pitching is difficult, batters tend to be easier to target), and is especially cheap on FanDuel. He’s got a 4-game hitting streak going (6 hits in those 4 games) and has been hitting righties for .495 wOBA and .333 ISO in that span. Rodriguez has been getting hammered by lefties, giving up .416 wOBA and .333 ISO to them. I think Dickerson makes it a 5-game streak today.
Tony Kemp (HOU OF: $2,400 FD | $3,600 DK) If he starts, Kemp makes a great value play. He’s one of those guys who can produce without getting a hit (three walks/steals in his last three games), but his .514 wOBA and .600 ISO against righties makes me think he finds a hit or two today. Montas is plenty soft and gives up a lot of hits, and his .443 wOBA / .243 ISO against lefties make Kemp all the more appealing. If Kemp doesn’t start, look at Reddick, Altuve, Bregman, or Gurriel instead. Any of them (or a pair of them for a mini cash stack) make solid cash plays today.
J.D. Martinez (BOS OF: $4,900 FD | $5,800 DK) – J.D. is expensive, but he’s smashing everything and is 3 for 4 against Minor (who has a 7.86 carnage rating today) with a home run. His .824 wOBA / 1.00 ISO against lefties lately is just ridiculous, and he’s had more double-digit fantasy games than single-digit ones in recent memory. If you can’t afford him in classic, he makes a great option in Pick’Em for tier 1.
Brad Miller (MIL SS: $2,800 FD | $3,500 DK) – Miller has been very consistent for a couple of weeks now, and neither site is pricing him up. He sports a .419 wOBA and .211 ISO against righties and faces Urena who is giving up .396 wOBA to lefties. He’s had fantasy production in 14 of his last 16 games, and I think he adds one more to that today.
Brandon Belt (SFG 1B: $3,900 FD | $4,600 DK) – Belt offers a lot today, starting with a decent history against Hendricks (5 for 14 with 2 XBH and a home run). He cooled off for a couple games but picked right back up from where he left off. His recent .336 wOBA is steadily increasing, and he’s only striking out 13.04% of the time over the last week. Hendricks, on the other hand, has been getting blasted by lefties to the tune of .428 wOBA and .333 ISO lately, and his strikeout rate is extremely low at 13.9%. All in all, this looks to be a great spot for Belt to keep his new hitting streak going.
For DFS Army members, my sheet with 23 other batters in similar spots to these guys will be available in my channel today, as well as my Pick’Em breakdown for every tier. We’ve been smashing there all season long, so come join us!
When we’re not taking down big tournaments, we’re grinding away at cash games increasing our bankrolls!
And that’s going to do it for today. Cash academy will be back on Friday with another freebie of some sort, but until then remember to check out the rest of our MLB content coming out today. Also, for those of you on the outside looking in, keep in mind that NFL season is fast approaching, and our prices will be going up once that happens. Of course, if you join up before that happens, your membership will never increase as long as it remains active. Be sure to use promo code NILLY to get a 10% discount that also remains for the life of your active membership. Until then, good luck today!
