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!
While you’re here, go check out the Full Count Article which goes game by game and breaks down the slate as a whole and where you should be focusing your attention!
-> FULL COUNT ARTICLE <-
CORE 4:
Gerrit Cole (SP) – $12,000
This play should come as no surprise to anyone and if you read the Full Count Breakdown, you know I’m all over him here. Same story with Cole as it was with Verlander yesterday and they are the exact same price, on Draftkings at least. At $12k you get one of the best pitchers in the league against a AAA offense in the Detroit Tigers. The Tigers come into this game with an implied run total of just 2.6 here, which is one of the lowest I’ve seen all season. Right now the Astros are -482 favorites to win the game even after losing last night as -512 favorites. Gerrit Cole has an elite strikeout rate of 36.8% on the season to go along with the Tigers 25.7% k rate. Cole is your cash game SP1 and likely your SP1 for GPPs, hard not to absolutely love him here. 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 <-
Corey Seager (SS) – $4,500
The Dodgers will draw a matchup with Jake Waguespack here who is not a pitcher that scares me. The Dodgers have an implied run total of 5.6 runs here and usually go under-owned when they’re at home. They are a top stack for me on this slate and Seager will be hitting in the five or six-hole here. Waguespack really hasn’t been terrible as of late but his matchups haven’t exactly been all that difficult, in his one tougher matchup against the Yankees he gave up 2 home runs and 3 earned runs in 3.2 innings pitched. Seager is smashing right-handed pitching on the season with a .517 slugging percentage, .368 wOBA, and a .239 ISO. Not only this, but he is in good form as of late, over his past ten games he is averaging 10.7 Draftkings points per game. I like Seager a lot here.
Ji-Man Choi (1B) – $4,100
Since we are going to try and jam in Gerrit Cole, I’m trying to keep these core plays a little cheaper than usual. Choi makes for a great candidate for a cheap play that could provide some great value. Now, he hasn’t been in the greatest of form, but I’m hoping this keeps the ownership down on him. The Rays are one of my favorite stacks on the slate and have an implied run total of 5.8 against Asher Wojciechowski. Choi will likely hit in the three or four-hole here in a small Baltimore ballpark that is great for lefty power. Not only this, but Choi is on the right side of the lefty/righty splits. On the season Choi has a .471 slugging percentage, .367 wOBA, and a .197 ISO against right-handed pitching. I like the value he provides at a 1B position and allows us to get to Cole with ease.
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.
Raimel Tapia (OF) – $3,900
As usual, I like to get a cheaper guy in as the last part of my core. We’ve gone a little cheaper than usual with the bats, but I really think you need to get Gerrit Cole in your lineup today so these guys will help make that happen. Tapia draws a matchup with the St. Louis Cardinals and Miles Mikolas here. Mikolas is in rough form as he has given up five earned runs in each of his past two starts and will hopefully do the same here. Tapia should be batting in the middle of the order around the five-hole if I had to guess. Tapia is hitting righties very well this season with a .455 slugging percentage, a .333 wOBA and a .172 ISO. Not only this, but he has been in good form as well. Over his last ten games, he is averaging 8.4 Draftkings points per game and has hit safely in nine of his last ten. He provides nice speed and power upside at a fairly cheap price tag, I like Tapia a good deal here.
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?!