Welcome to the Core 4! My name is Michael aka @MadnessDFS on Twitter, make sure to give me a follow as I’ll occasionally make updates to the article throughout the day as news breaks and lineups come out. But, you’ll mostly find me in our VIP coaching forums where I provide detailed lineup maneuvers and answer all lineup questions. With that said, let’s get it started!
Purpose of the Core 4: These four players are guys that I want to get high exposure to in my cash game lineups and if doing multi-entry, using the Domination Station to either lock them in or set high exposure percentages to them. These are players that I see as underpriced, in great matchups, good conditions, or simply just have a hunch. I also need to mention that these plays are normally geared toward Draftkings pricing and scoring, however, the stats and reasoning behind liking them stay true no matter the site. Be sure to compare this article with the players mentioned on our Coaches Notes/Player Picks every night to get a sense of where you stand and to get multiple coach’s outlooks on the slate. With that said, let’s jump in!
I just want to give a quick shoutout to BoomersDaddy for the Clayton Kershaw core call last night, the man ended with 38.55 Draftkings points on Draftkings. He was a little chalky, but you needed him if you wanted to at least min cash.
—-> Coaches Notes/Player Picks
CORE 4:
Sonny Gray (SP) – $9,100
Sonny Gray draws a matchup with the St. Louis Cardinals at home tonight. The Cardinals have an implied run total of 4.2 runs which is second lowest only to the Chicago White Sox. Gray has been incredible this season and feels too cheap here. Gray has gone for at least 21 Draftkings points in six of his last seven starts and will look to keep this going tonight. The Cardinals are striking out at a 24.2% rate on the season against right-handed pitching to go along with Gray’s elite 27.9% k rate. The one thing I don’t love in this matchup is the fact that this game is in Cincinnati which is a very small, hitter-friendly ballpark. I’m willing to ignore this, however, due to the fact that Gray is actually scoring more Draftkings points per game at home on the season. Gray is my favorite starting pitcher on this slate. Nilly’s Carnage Reportisn’t out at the time I’m writing this, but be sure to give it a look and check out where he ranks!
-> NILLY’S CARNAGE REPORT <-
Kris Bryant (3B/OF) – $5,000
As many of you know, I’m a huge Brewers fan so starting my core with two inter-division opponents is tough to do, but Bryant is in a great spot here. He gets a matchup with Drew Smyly who regressed in his last start after starting his Phillies career with two great starts. Kris Bryant will likely hit third in a lineup that has an implied run total of 5.2 runs here. Not only this, but Kris Bryant destroys left-handed pitching, on the season he has a .676 slugging percentage, .468 wOBA, and a .324 ISO on the season. He has a combined 28 Draftkings points in his last two games, look for him to keep it going here in a great spot tonight.
Shohei Ohtani (OF) – $4,600
Ohtani gets a matchup against the Chicago White Sox and Reynaldo Lopez at home on this slate. The Angels have a 5.5 implied run total here and Ohtani will likely hit third in this high powered offense. Lopez has been better as of late, but we all know his ability to give up massive runs to other teams. Lopez has a 5.16 era and a 4.99 SIERA on the season, so the potential is there for this offense. Ohtani hits righties very well, on the season he has a .585 slugging percentage, .399 wOBA, and a .282 ISO. Lastly, Ohtani has been heating up as of late he has scored at least 13 Dratkings in three of his last four games and is coming off a 26 fantasy point outing. I like Ohtani here as the third piece of this core.
I’m going to continue to drive home the coaches notes/player picks here, these are something you need to look at before submitting your lineups! Often times we don’t have enough time to write big long write-ups on every single player on our coaching sheets, but trust me the research is there behind every pick! The Coaches Notes have a little bit of everything no matter what type of player you are. They have Draftkings notes, FanDuel notes, Showdown slate notes, and CashKeg’s Main Slate cash notes (see results below). Take these and compare them to the rest of the tools we offer on the site and you have already strengthened your chances of doing something like bobbywow did here when he won $50,000.
Jesse Winker (OF) – $4,100
I hate to make all three core hitters outfielders, but Kris Bryant is also third base eligible to make things a little easier. Winker should be hitting leadoff here against a righty in Michael Wacha. The Reds have an implied run total of 5.4 runs here and are in one of the smallest ballparks in the majors. Michael Wacha has given up a 40.1% hard contact rate on the season and Winker has hit righties very well. On the year, Winker has a .510 slugging percentage, .374 wOBA, and a .226 ISO which is much better than his numbers against lefties. This price seems too low for him and with our core pitcher being under $10k, I didn’t feel the need to go too cheap with this last core play.
Didi Gregorius (SS) – $4,400
So Jesse Winker didn’t crack the lineup for the Reds making Didi my fill-in play. He’s a little more expensive than Winker, but he gets a phenomenal situation tonight at home against Plutko. Not only does he provide a decent amount of value at the SS position, but he’ll be hitting third in a lineup that has an implied run total of 6.2 here. He has a DFSA grade of 92.3, sign me up for some Didi to round out the Core 4.
Simple Coaching = Simple Results
Our coaches build their sheets with their own “Core” plays in them (blue in color). You can use these to form your own foundations, or as a consensus across coaches to solidify your own thoughts. However, I definitely recommend upgrading to a Full VIP member so you can access our coaching discussions in rooms like, #cash-keg-allsports where our coaches explain when and why they change some of their thoughts based on late lineup confirmations. These pivots dramatically increase your edge as a player!
As always I appreciate everyone who gave the article a read! Feel free to mix it up with me in our coaching forums as news breaks and lock approaches. Let’s win some cash, whaddya say?!