Hello again everyone! nillyJay here – some of you may already know me; I’m a coach/contributor inside the DFS Army and my main focuses are NASCAR and MLB. If you’re not already, you can find and follow me on Twitter, or, for DFS Army members, in our coaching channels (@nillyJay or just swing by my channel #nillys-garage-nas-mlb).
As always, if you aren’t familiar with my content, be sure to check out these articles to get up to speed: carnage rating system and tiers & classic batter sheets.
More NASCAR domination from last weekend. Stay tuned for more winners next week!
My take on a consistent process – looking at pitchers
Because I created the carnage rating system, it only makes sense that I would start there when looking at a new slate. Let’s do just that:
It’s not too surprising to see Sale and Carrasco up here, and they’ll be popular choices in all formats today. Our mystery man has a full point on both of them though, so he’ll make a great GPP pivot or an SP2. Who is he? Who knows…DFS Army members will!
Finding pitchers to attack
Just like it can help us find pitchers to use, the carnage rating system is great for helping us to find pitchers to attack. Let’s take a look at some of the worst rankings of the day:
Also not too surprising is seeing the Rangers and Indians here, as they’re both in good spots to do some damage. Look to them for some production today in all formats. There is another though, and even though they’re a well-known team, I think they’ll fly under the radar a bit.
Early slate
St Louis Cardinals at Philadelphia Phillies
We’ll kick things off with a rematch between these two, and hopefully we can do it without any weather concerns. After getting pounded yesterday, the Cardinals will look to rebound here, though their matchup against Eickhoff won’t be a whole lot better than what they had yesterday. Hudson will hope to slow down the Phillies some, though that won’t be an easy task, either.
Cardinals 5 star plays – none
Cardinals 4 star plays – Fowler, Goldschmidt, Ozuna, Carpenter
GPP note – It’s a small slate, so stacking big here and hoping they can return the favor from yesterday is a viable option
Phillies 5 star plays – Harper
Phillies 4 star plays – Hoskins, McCutchen, Segura, Realmuto
GPP note – They’ll look to keep the momentum going from yesterday’s explosion, so don’t be afraid to go right back to them here (though they may be a little chalkier than usual)
San Francisco Giants at Miami Marlins
Next up are the Giants and Marlins, two teams who started slowly but have shown they can crank out a bunch of hits in a hurry if given the chance. It would be more difficult for me to call this game a good target on other slates, but with only three games, both sides are definitely work a look here.
Giants 5 star plays – none
Giants 4 star plays – Belt, Panik, Crawford
GPP note – Lefties are a good way to start here, but don’t overlook some others like Duggar who can hit both sides
Marlins 5 star plays – none
Marlins 4 star plays – Granderson, Anderson, Walker
GPP note – Same as above, but more likely to go off here as they’ve been heating up
Arizona Diamondbacks at Colorado Rockies
Our final early game will feature the Diamondbacks and Rockies at Coors again, and even though the last couple of games haven’t gone quite as expected, there’s still a good chance that these teams could blow up and bring in a lot of the fantasy production that we’ve missed the last couple of days. Remember, baseball is funny, and teams/players like to go off after you’ve moved on.
Diamondbacks 5 star plays – none
Diamondbacks 4 star plays – Escobar, Marte, Jones
GPP note – Pretty good matchup against Freeland, so don’t be shy!
Rockies 5 star plays – Arenado
Rockies 4 star plays – Story, Dahl, McMahon, Tapia
GPP note – Clarke has looked decent in his first three starts, but Coors is a different animal, so he may not quite be ready for it
Main slate
Milwaukee Brewers at Pittsburgh Pirates
We’ll kick off the main slate with the Brewers and Pirates, and while both teams will have decent pitchers on the mound, we know both teams are capable of some fireworks. Both offenses are firmly in play here, though if I had to take a chance at a pitcher, I think I would go with Anderson
Brewers 5 star plays – Yelich
Brewers 4 star plays – Moustakas, Grandal
GPP note – It’s the Brewers, and they’re always worth a look for some big stacks. Target the lefties here
Pirates 5 star plays – none
Pirates 4 star plays – Bell, Polanco, Frazier
GPP note -Tougher matchup against Anderson, but if he’s off, the Pirates could go blow for blow with the Brewers
Boston Red Sox at New York Yankees
All eyes will be on this next game, as the dominant Chris Sale and the Red Sox will head to Yankee Stadium to take on a team that can’t stop hitting home runs. There’s bound to be some big fantasy scores here, be it from the pitchers or the batters, so be sure to get some pieces here. Either way it goes, it should be a fun game, so tune in for this one!
Red Sox 5 star plays – Betts, Martinez
Red Sox 4 star plays – Bogaerts, Chavis, Devers, Benintendi
GPP note – Not the best matchup against Happ, but they’re always hungry when they face the Yankees
Yankees 5 star plays – none
Yankees 4 star plays – Sanchez, Torres, Voit, Hicks
GPP note – Very difficult matchup against arguably the best pitcher in baseball, but they’ll be ready for him. Feel free to hedge your Sale lineups with some Yankees stacks, especially the power hitters
Minnesota Twins at Tampa Bay Rays
We head to Tampa Bay next, where Morton and the Rays will host the dangerous Twins. They’ll have a tough matchup here, but as we’ve seen all year, we can’t count them out until the ballgame is over. Feel free to grab some shares of both sides of this one, too.
Twins 5 star plays – none
Twins 4 star plays – Kepler, Polanco, Rosario, Cron, Sano
GPP note – It feels like this one will be all or none, so stack/fade however you best see fit
Rays 5 star plays – none
Rays 4 star plays – Pham, Garcia, Meadows
GPP note – These guys are always worth a look, so don’t be afraid to go here when others are looking at other games
Kansas City Royals at Texas Rangers
My Royals head down south to meet the Rangers in this next one, where they’ll have Junis take on Minor. Junis has had some flashes of brilliance here and there, while Minor has looked pretty good all season long, so I would treat them that way with your pitcher exposures. As for the batters, both teams are certainly capable of a big game, though I would lean Rangers in this one.
Royals 5 star plays – none
Royals 4 star plays – Mondesi, Merrifield, Dozier, Soler
GPP note – Tough match here, but if you want to attack Minor, do it with the righties
Rangers 5 star plays – none
Rangers 4 star plays – Gallo, Choo, Pence
GPP note – Junis can be hit or miss, but they’ll probably be a bit popular either way. Feel free to join the crowd or fade them in hopes that Junis has one of his good games
Cleveland Indians at Chicago White Sox
Next up is a divisional game with the Indians and White Sox, where we’ll see Carrasco and Banuelos face off. Carrasco certainly has the advantage here, but don’t count out the White Sox, especially not at home in a divisional game. I expect to see a big score from one side or the other here.
Indians 5 star plays – Lindor
Indians 4 star plays – Santana, Ramirez
GPP note – Look for some fireworks here. Stack accordingly
White Sox 5 star plays – none
White Sox 4 star plays – Moncada, Alonso, Abreu, Anderson
GPP note – Tough matchu against Carrasco, but the White Sox love to put up a fight when a division rival comes to town
New York Mets at Los Angeles Dodgers
Vargas and Ryu will face off in this next one, where both pitchers will look to have better games than what two of their club’s better pitchers had yesterday. Ryu will have the better chance at that, but these Mets aren’t exactly rolling over easily. Vargas will have a tough task ahead of him; the Dodgers can make quick work of a soft-throwing righty, so he’ll need to be on his game to keep that from happening.
Mets 5 star plays – none
Mets 4 star plays – Alonso, Davis
GPP note – Tough matchup against Ryu but they’ve shown some signs of life, so don’t be afraid to grab some contrarian stacks here
Dodgers 5 star plays – Bellinger
Dodgers 4 star plays – Turner, Freese, Hernandez, Taylor
GPP note – Attacking Vargas with some hot-hitting righties is always in play
Los Angeles Angels at Seattle Mariners
And finally, our hammer game features the Angels and Mariners, where we’ll see two mid-ranged pitchers (with decent ceilings) face off. Both make interesting GPP options, though they are a little risky, as both teams are capable of going off. I don’t mind taking bits and pieces from all sides of this one, as there’s bound to be some good production here.
Angels 5 star plays – Trout
Angels 4 star plays – Pujols, La Stella, Ohtani
GPP note – Kikuchi has been good and is capable of shutting down an offense for a while, but some one-offs or small stacks are still in play here
Mariners 5 star plays – none
Mariners 4 star plays – Vogelbach, Haniger, Encarnacion, Narvaez
GPP note – Big stacks are in play here too
Tiers!
Like I mentioned earlier, I provide a tiers breakdown for our members every day. I figured since I was running the show today that I would slide in a freebie. Let’s take a look at Tier 1:
The obvious cash choice here is Yelich, though Bell and Pence look to be good GPP pivots. Meadows isn’t hitting lefties all that well, so we may consider fading him today.
Closing thoughts
Thank you for joining me here today! I hope you found this article helpful with your research for today’s slate. I have some more GPP thoughts for you guys in the DFS Army, so be sure to check my channel and #mlb-news-and-notes this afternoon for those.
If you like what you see here and want to experience everything we have to offer, I’d encourage you to consider joining up with us. As you saw, we cover (and win!) all sports, not just the common ones. Just remember to use promo code NILLY to save 20% off for the lifetime of your active membership, for the best deal in daily fantasy sports. Until then, I hope you all have a great day!
