Draftkings Lineup

Main Slate Draftkings Lineup

/ italksportsandthatsit / Leave a comment

QB: Deshaun Watson, Houston Texans ($7,100)

Watson gets a week of rest ahead of a game with the Jacksonville Jaguars with their horrendous defense.  The Jags give up the 4th most fantasy points to QBs this season and Watson has already roasted them once with 29.86 fantasy points in week five.  Watson is moderately priced at just $7.1K.  What makes him a better choice than Justin Herbert or any other top fives is that his receivers are affordable.  He is easy to match up with Will Fuller, Brandin Cooks and Darren Fells.  

Other QB’s I Love:

Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers

Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks

RB: Dalvin Cook, Minnesota Vikings ($8,200)

RB: James Robinson, Jacksonville Jaguars ($7,000)

Dalvin Cook is coming off of a monster performance against the Packers.  He will likely be very popular but the matchup is too good to ignore.  The Lions give 32 fantasy points per game this season versus RBs.  The Minnesota offense has very little interest in putting the ball in the hands of Kirk Cousins.  They will continue to feature Cook and he will dominate this matchup. 

James Robinson will have a rookie QB at the helm on Sunday when he faces one of the worst run defenses in the league.  The Jaguars, Texans game has one of the top totals in the league and Robinson will be a big part of that.  Robinson is hot, ride the hot hand. 

Other RB’s I Love:

Deejay Dallas, Seattle Seahawks (If Carson is ruled out)

David Johnson, Houston Texans

WR: Brandin Cooks, Houston Texans ($5,500)

WR: Marvin Jones Jr., Detroit Lions ($5,100)

WR: Mecole Hardman, Kansas City Chiefs ($4,800)

Cooks is my choice to pair with Watson.  His cost at $5.5K is a main reason why.  He has three straight games with at least nine targets.  He dominated the Jaguars in his last outing against them going for 33 DK points. 

Jones Jr. may be without Mathew Stafford on Sunday.  Even without Stafford Jones Jr. should still be a great option against the subpar Vikings secondary. The Vikings have given up 15 touchdowns to wide receivers this year.  The Lions won’t have Kenny Golladay on Sunday and may have Chase Daniel under center but they are a team that consistently will lean on the pass.  

You can start nearly any Chief and have a great chance to get points.  Mecole Hardman is coming off a nine target game, his explosiveness is always a touchdown waiting to happen.  His price tag of $4.8K is too intriguing to ignore.  Hardeman has been the clear replacement for Sammy Watkins seeing 68% of the snaps, second on the team to Tyreke Hill.  Find a receiver on an offense this good at a similar price,  go ahead and play him. 

Other WR’s I Love: 

Any Seattle or Buffalo Receivers you can fit.

Darnell Mooney, Chicago Bears

Mike Williams, Los Angeles Chargers

TE: Noah Fant, Denver Broncos ($4,600)

Tightend has its top options.  Kelce, Waller and Andrews are always great but Noah Fant is beginning to find himself in that category. He is a target monster for a Denver team that doesn’t have a clear #1 receiver. Atlanta has given up the most fantasy points to the position in the league.  

Flex: Justin Jackson, Los Angeles Chargers ($4,900)

Seems like Justin Jackson is now the #1 RB for the Chargers.  Coming off of a game where he got 20 touches and 5 total targets he has established himself in the Chargers backfield.  Jackson gets a great matchup with the Raiders.  He is a starting RB, in a great matchup with a close spread and a high potential total. 

Defense: New York Giants ($2,700)

They are a defense playing a bottom five offense.  Why not. 

Other Defense I Love:

Steelers (Duh)

Washington Football Team

MLB DFS Breakdown August 23

/ italksportsandthatsit / Leave a comment

Pitcher Spotlight- Vince Velasquez, Philadelphia Phillies

Vince Velasquez is a confusing real life and fantasy pitcher.  Velasquez has an ideal matchup versus the Miami Marlins who sport a pathetic 75 wRC+ verus right-handed pitchers.  Velasquez’s 25.3% strikeout rate this season as well as a ballpark upgrade in Miami put his in a great spot at a much to low cost. 

Stacks: Minnesota Twins, St. Louis Cardinals, Arizona Diamondbacks. Milwaukee Brewers, Houston Astros

Focus: St. Louis Cardinals

The Cardinals offense has quietly begun to find its footing over the last few weeks.  They get a juicy matchup with the Rockies rookie powder keg Peter Lambert. Lambert has been bad whether he is Coors or on the road giving up a .500+ slugging percentage.  The focus of my lineup will be on the power guys.  If you can find a way to fit Paul Goldschmidt, Marcell Ozuna and Paul DeJong into your lineup they all have major power upside.  Pair them with lead-off hitter Dexter Fowler and you can have a stack that has the potential to carry you with two mid-level pitchers.

Focus: Houston Astros

Houston sports one of the baseball lineups in the majors.  You can get the red-hot Robinson Chirinos at a bargain bin price.  Add in your favorite players like George Springer, Jose Altuve and/or Yuli Gurriel and you have some combustible elements in the middle of your lineup.  The price of the bats outside of Chirinos will make it tough to have a full stack with any pitching but having a three man with the right one-offs can lead to a successful night. 

Favorite one-off: Jake Lamb, Arizona Diamondbacks

You will have to watch and make sure that Jake Lamb makes the lineup, if he does you have an affordable option that has decimated Brewers starter Jordan Lyles.  Targeting this game as a potential full stack would be ideal if you can afford it. The focus on Lamb is based on his domination of Lyles in 12 career at bats.  Lamb has 7 hits, .604 wOBA and an exit velo of 89MPH.

P: Jack Flaherty, St. Louis Cardinals, $9,400

P: Vince Velasquez, Philadelphia Phillies, $7,800

C: Robinson Chirinos, Houston Astros, $3,800

1B: Rhys Hoskins, Philadelphia Phillies, $4,200

2B: Isan Diaz, Miami Marlins, $3,100

3B: Jake Lamb, Arizona Diamondbacks, $3,800         

SS: Adeiny Hechavarria, Atlanta Braves, $3,300

OF: Marcell Ozuna, St. Louis Cardinals, $4,900

OF: Dexter Fowler, St. Louis Cardinals, $4,200

OF: George Springer, Houston Astros, $5,300

MLB Draftkings Breakdown August 2

/ italksportsandthatsit / Leave a comment

Pitching:  Give me Lance and I will figure out the rest.

This is not a slate where we are going to have tough decisions on which stud to play.  Lance Lynn is the highest priced pitcher due primarily to his recent dominance and the pure trash that is the Detroit lineup against righties.  Lynn is averaging 12K/9 during the 2019 season and the Detroit lineup is full of right-handed hitters.  The only lefties that are in the lineup for Detroit are guys like Jeimer Candelario and Niko Goodrum, both don’t strike fear into an opposing pitcher.  The lone downside to Lynn would be playing in Texas were the ball will most likely be flying out at a pretty good rate.  With the Tigers high strikeout percentage, the potential of homeruns is negated by the fact that it’s likely Lynn will reach double digits. 

Sneaky Stack Option: Chicago White Sox

The obvious stacks today are the Astros against Kickuchi and ofcourse both the Giants and the Rockies in Coors.  The sneaky stack of the night is the Chicago White Sox versus the bipolar Jason Vargas. Vargas has had his moments of glory in both real life baseball and the fantasy side of baseball.  He will make his first start for the Phillies and from the outside it looks like a great matchup with the struggling Chicago White Sox. 

Vargas could be chalky in the matchup but I think that Chicago is a sneaky way to fit in the best pitchers and the highest upside one offs.  Chicago has good power with Jose Abreu, Eloy Jimenez and the always fun to watch and start Tim Anderson.  Vargas has a slight downgrade in ballpark when compared to New York, that along with a negative hard-hit percentage.  This is a gamble but isn’t all DFS a gamble?

One-offs to target: AJ Pollock, Robinson Cano, Josh Donaldson and Aaron Judge.

Robinson Cano- Price play with high upside against the struggling Trevor Williams.  They continue to bat Cano 4th. 

AJ Pollock- .450 wOBA and a .604 slugging percentage versus lefties.  

Aaron Judge- Judge is at his lowest price of the season, just $3,900 versus a lefty. Judge is struggling but a matchup with the Boston Red Sox which should light the fire for all the Yankees.

Josh Donaldson- The reverse splits for Donaldson are surprising.  His inability to hit lefties is surprising as his career versus lefties is actually very strong.  At just 4.3K his is worth the price.  

August 2 Draftkings Lineup

P: Lance Lynn, Texas Rangers, $11,700

P: Kevin Gausman, Atlanta Braves, $8,300

C: James McCann, Chicago White Sox, $3,500

1B: Jose Abreu, Chicago White Sox, $3,700

2B: Robinson Cano, New York Mets, $3,200

3B: Josh Donaldson, Atlanta Braves, $4,300

SS: Tim Anderson, Chicago White Sox, $3,900

OF: Eloy Jimenez, Chicago White Sox, $3,500

OF: Aaron Judge, New York Yankees, $3,900

OF: AJ Pollock, Los Angeles Dodgers, $3,500

MLB DFS Lineup July 19 (Draftkings)

/ italksportsandthatsit / Leave a comment

P: Jacob DeGrom, New York Mets, $10,600

The Giants have been hot up until their matchup against Thor last night.  The Giants team total is set at a pedestrian three runs tonight in San Francisco, a very pitcher friendly park.  DeGrom is not the highest priced pitcher on the slate, which means you will save some money.  San Francisco is still striking out at over 26% as a team even with their recent hot streak.  

P: Tyler Mahle, Cincinnati Reds, $6,000

The Cardinals are hot, but they still feature a watered-down lineup with a lot of strikeouts.  Tyler Mahle is way better against righties than lefties and the Cardinals will feature only a few lefties that are not overly scary DFS players Dexter Fowler, Matt Wieters and Tommy Edman.  

C: Gary Sanchez, New York Yankees, $4,600

Kyle Freeland has given up five earned runs or more in six straight starts.  Sanchez’s price has come down due to recent struggles but a matchup with the homer happy Kyle Freeland is a great play.

1B: Joey Votto, Cincinnati Reds, $3,400

Adam Wainwright has troubles versus lefties.  With multiple options in the Cincinnati lineup. I have chosen Joey Votto who over 49 at-bats versus Wainwright has hit him to a tune of a .995OPS.  Votto has been a disappointment all season but at this cost against a pitcher getting killed by lefties he makes almost too much sense.

2B: Cavan Biggio, Toronto Blue Jays, $3,900

Stacking against Kyle Freeland and Jordan Zimmerman are a theme for today’s lineup.  Biggio has been put in the middle of the order for the Blue Jays since his call up.  All six of Biggio’s homers have come against righties. I am looking for him to go yard tonight. 

3B: Vlad Guerrero Jr., Toronto Blue Jays, $3,700

Power. Power. Power. Vlad brings ridiculous power to the table against Zimmerman.  End of story.

SS: Corey Seager, Los Angeles Dodgers, $3,900

Seager has not returned to his rookie year form after a litany of injuries has slowed him down. His struggles have forced a lower cost at a prime position on a big slate.  Seager will face rookie Zac Gallen who

OF: Aaron Judge, New York Yankees, $5,300

Judge may be the chalkiest of chalk plays in a Yankee stack.  Freeland has a real issue with giving up bombs and Judge will happily oblige him. Look for a double dinger day.

OF: Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Toronto Blue Jays, $4,900

Lourdes is the light to our firecracker Blue Jays stack.  Gurriel hits in bunches and an already juicy matchup with Jordan Zimmerman should be a great showcase of one of the hotter hitters in baseball over the last few weeks. He is the highest price Blue Jay for good reason, and he will show it tonight.

OF: Matt Beaty, Los Angeles Dodgers, $3,600

Beaty is coming off one of his best games of the year posting 26 fantasy points against the Phillies including a homer and three runs scored.  Beaty has a low price tag and high upside against Zac Gallen.  Check the starting lineup before you finish your lineup.  If he is in it, he is a must start at just $3.6K.

Stackable Teams:

Blue Jays

Yankees

Brewers

Sneaky Stack:

Pirates

Angels

NBA DFS 2.26.19

/ italksportsandthatsit / Leave a comment

PG: Kyrie Irving, Boston Celtics ($8,800)

Kyrie was able to torch the Raptors in their last matchup.  With the obvious popularity of Russell Westbrook tonight going different with a hungry Kyrie can set you aside from the pack.

SG: Dennis Schroder, Oklahoma City Thunder ($4,300)

In a 3 game slate someone has to standout.  Schroder at a low cost in a high total game can bring major upside.

SF: Gordan Hayward, Boston Celtics ($4,300)

Before his injury Gordan Hayward had three straight games of over 30 DK points.  If he is fully healthy he can be a tough matchup for the Raptors second unit.

PF: Aaron Gordon, Orlando Magic ($6,400)

This isn’t an ideal spot for Gordon against a slower paced Knicks team but if the choice is between him or Jonathon Isaac the choice has to be the upside of Gordon

C: Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets ($10,000)

Jokic like Westbrook is always a smart start no matter what.

G: DJ Augustin, Orlando Magic ($4,100)

Backup point guard Isaiah Briscoe is out which means Augustin is the only point guard on the roster that has played any minutes.  Augustin and Terrance Ross have been going off lately either will be a solid start tonight.

F: Al Horford, Boston Celtics ($6,300)

Big game Horford will show up tonight.

UTL: Steven Adams, Oklahoma City Thunder ($5,600)

This was a tough choice but with the bigs that Denver can bring at you Adams is a must play for the Thunder.  Tip ins and blocks will be huge tonight for Adams.

*also consider playing Jamal Murray in UTL spot.  Just sub Isaac for Gordon.