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.
We kick off the last weekend of August with a big 14-game slate, and there are lots of great options on both sides of the ball. Big slates like these are great for cash games because it’s much easier to find good value players to help squeeze in elite arms and hot bats. With that in mind, let’s take a look at a few solid options for tonight’s games!
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. If you want to read more about my carnage rating system, you can do so here.
Cash players – 8/24/2018
Mike Clevinger (CLE P: $9,500 FD | $10,600 DK) – As a Royals fan, this one is pretty easy. Even when my boys were putting up a fight (with Soler in the lineup) earlier in the season, Clevinger still had two decent outings, and this time he faces a much weaker version who has been striking out plenty (30.36% over the last 10 days). That gives Clevinger a very nice 554 KSCORE that compliments his 3.25 carnage rating and -200 moneyline / 3.65 implied runs quite nicely. My model has Clevinger down for 5.82 strikeouts (highest on the slate), but I wouldn’t be surprised at all to see him go higher.
Jose Iglesias (DET SS: $3,200 FD | $3,400 DK) – Lopez is a prime target to attack tonight with his 6.75 carnage rating and combined .404 wOBA. A lot of that damage has come from righties, to which he’s allowed .433 wOBA, .471 xwOBA, and .333 ISO. Iglesias has been very consistent this month and has posted .383 wOBA against righties while only striking out 9.52% of the time. He bats second today and makes a great inexpensive shortstop if you don’t want to pay up at that position today (if you do, look at Trea Turner instead).
Joey Wendle (TBR 2B: $3,000 FD | $3,900 DK) – Wendle is having a great summer, having at least one hit in all but 9 games since the beginning of July. He gets a decent matchup today against Velazquez (who isn’t normally a started), and he homered against him just last week. Wendle is only striking out 13.46% of the time over the last couple of weeks and makes a solid one-off option today.
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 36 batters on it. Everybody gets a few here, but our VIPs get the rest! That list also has a breakdown of the Tiers and QuickPick slates.
Blake Swihart (BOS C/OF: $2,000 FD | $3,000 DK) – Another solid value option, Swihart gets the start today and is among the cheapest viable bats on the slate today. He was running fairly hot in July (only one dud in 14 games), and after having the first half of August off, it’s looking like he’s finding his groove again. I wouldn’t pay up for a player in this spot, but considering how cheap he is (and we know that Boston can go bananas in any matchup), I’ll gladly take some cheap exposure to this offense. Add in the fact that he offers switch-hitting capabilities, and we have ourselves a solid punt/value option.
Matt Kemp (LAD OF: $3,100 FD | $4,100 DK) – There are plenty of good choices on the Dodgers lineup tonight, and Kemp is just as good of an option as any (but comes at a slight discount). He’s 3 for 6 with one home run against Clayton already, who is allowing .462 xwOBA / .214 ISO to righties and carries a 6.50 carnage rating. If you can’t afford Machado, Dozier, or Bellinger, then Kemp is your guy.
Friday bonus!!
As you’ve come to expect, I’ll end this one with another freebie that’s usually reserved for our VIP members. I love me some Tiers, so let’s take a look at one of the groups in there:
Our cash player should be pretty obvious, but I can see at least two interesting GPP options. How about you?
And that’s going to do it for today! As usual, be sure to check out the rest of our MLB content today, and take a look at my NASCAR Xfinity preview article for the race tomorrow. If you like what you see here and want to test the waters for our VIP content, check out our free trial offer too. Just be sure to use promo code NILLY to get 10% off for the life of your active membership if you decide to stay with us (and I hope you do!). Until then, good luck today!
