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 you a little recap of our core plays on Draftkings on yesterday’s main slate. I had Mike Moustakas as a core play, he proceeded to go out and hit two home runs on his way to 41 Draftkings points. My other core play was JD Martinez who didn’t do quite as well, but I won’t turn my head at 17 Draftkings points. Overall great day yesterday, and if you started your lineup with these guys you gave yourself a nice little 58 point lead on the field.
—-> Coaches Notes/Player Picks
CORE 4:
Zac Gallen (SP) – $9,300
The first thing I noticed about this slate when going through pitching is that the pitching on this slate is extremely priced up. I initially looked at Gallen’s price and kind of wrote him off because I thought it was too high, but when you look at the pricing of the other good options on this slate you’ll see Wade Miley at $11.2k and Marco Gonzales at $10.6k. Zac Gallen at $9.3k is a nice promise comparable to the other pitchers on this slate. Gallen has a strikeout rate of 27.4% on the season which is above average and strikeouts are something that I chase when looking for a pitcher. Not only does he have a nice strikeout rate, but the Rockies are striking out at a 24.1% rate against righties on the season. I like targeting pitchers against the Rockies when they are away from home because they are a completely different baseball team. Gallen is someone that I’ll get a lot of on this slate, don’t let the price scare you. 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 <-
Michael Brantley (OF) – $5,000
I’ll start by saying that I love the whole Houston Astros lineup here against Edwin Jackson. Jackson has an 8.62 ERA on the season to go along with a 43.7% hard contact rate. The Astros finally head home after a road trip ending in Oakland which is not great for hitters. They will be more than happy to return to their home ballpark here and have an implied run total of 6.6 runs here. Brantley will be hitting three in this matchup, and it doesn’t get much better for the Tigers once Jackson gets run off the mound, their bullpen is one of the worst in the league. Not only this, but Brantley is crushing right-handed pitching on the season. He has a .561 slugging percentage, .406 wOBA, and a .224 ISO against righties this year. Finally, he is in great form, over the last ten games Brantley is averaging 13.5 Draftkings points per game, get yourself some Michael Brantley on this slate.
Jorge Polanco (SS) – $4,400
Jorge Polanco and the Twins get a matchup with Ivan Nova and the White Sox here. The Twins are another offense that I like a lot here. They have an implied run total of 5.7 runs here which sort of comes as a surprise because Ivan Nova has been very good as of late. However, I’m going to trust the full season sample size that tells us Nova is not all that great. The big thing on this Polanco play is the price, $4.4k is far too cheap for the production that he can bring to the table. Against righties, on the season Polanco has a .517 slugging percentage, .380 wOBA, and a .210 ISO. Lastly, Polanco is in good form, scoring at least 12 Draftkings points in three of his last four games. Take advantage of the price here and get yourself some Jorge Polanco.
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.
Austin Nola (1B/2B) – $3,500
As many of you know, I like to provide a bit of a cheaper option for the fourth member of the core especially when we have gone fairly expensive at pitcher. Austin Nola provides nice value and has dual position eligibility at 1B and 2B, which makes things easier when constructing lineups. Against lefties, on the season Nola has a .674 slugging percentage and a 348 wOBA and will look to take advantage here against left-handed Brendan McKay. Not only is he hitting lefties well, but is in good form as of late as well. He has at least 7 Draftkings points in each of his last four games and has at least 11 Draftkings points in three of those four. Over the past ten games, he is averaging 8.6 Draftkings points per game, I like him to stay hot here and will make it as the fourth member of my core.
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?!