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!
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CORE 4:
Noah Syndergaard (SP) – $9,000
This slate is loaded with great pitching with Gerrit Cole and Mike Clevinger leading the pack, but I think we can save some money here and get a guy with a similarly good matchup. He may not have the floor of a Cole or Clevinger, but that’s baked into the price tag. Syndergaard gets a matchup with the Miami Marlins who have an implied run total of just 3.2 here. As always, we want to target guys with big strikeout potential and I think we get that here with the Marlins as they have a strikeout rate of 24.2% this season. Syndergaard has a strikeout rate of 24.1% to almost match that of the Marlins. Thor has faced the Marlins twice already this season and is averaging 21.9 Draftkings points per game in those outings. He may not go out and get you the 35 Draftkings points that Gerrit Cole might, but he’s also $4,000 cheaper, but also has the potential to do so considering the matchup. Nilly’s Carnage Report isn’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 <-
Ozzie Albies (2B) – $4,500
The Braves draw a matchup with Danny Duffy and the Kansas City Royals on tonight’s slate. They come in with an implied run total of five runs and the wind blowing out to left at over 10 mph. Atlanta is one of my favorite teams on the slate considering the matchup with this Kansas City Royals pitching staff. Duffy has been pretty solid as of late and is giving up a 39.6% hard contact rate on the season. However, Albies is destroying left-handed pitching on the season with a .691 slugging percentage, .456 wOBA, and a .309 ISO. That being said, Duffy’s effectiveness lately doesn’t bother me especially when he has this Royals bullpen to back him up. This Royals bullpen has the second-highest era on the season right behind the Marlins at 5.04. If he can’t get to Duffy, look for him to take it out on the bullpen. I love this spot for Albies.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (3B) – $3,800
We’re going to save a little money here with Vlad Jr. who I think is way underpriced for the spot. He draws a matchup against Dylan Bundy and this Baltimore bullpen, who is similarly bad as the Royals with a 4.78 era. The thing I love about this matchup is the home run potential here. Bundy is known for being susceptible to the long ball in his career. He is giving up 1.9 HR/9 against right-handed hitting this season and this is one of the best ballparks for home runs in the majors which comes as a surprise to most people. Toronto ranks as the second in the league in home runs this season with 1.29 per game. If that wasn’t enough for you, Vlad has some heavy reverse splits on the season. Against righties, he has a .481 slugging percentage, .361 wOBA, and a .184 ISO. This feels like a very sneaky spot that I think we can get an edge on this slate with a value guy like Vlad Jr.
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.
Trey Mancini (1B/OF) – $4,700
Mancini and the Orioles will travel to Toronto to play against the Jays and Anthony Kay here. I’ve already touched on the home run upside you get by playing in Toronto so we will continue to attack that here with a home run hitter in Mancini. Mancini is crushing left-handed pitching this season with a .536 slugging percentage, .378 wOBA, and a .265 ISO on the season. Not only this but he is averaging over 14 Draftkings points per game over his last ten games, so he is in great form. Kay has a 5.79 era on the season and Mancini’s multi-position eligibility helps with lineup construction, I love getting to a lof Trey Mancini 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?!