It’s midweek. What better time to order some delivery, eyeball your NFL team’s schedule, sip your favorite beverage, and watch your DFS lineups cash in? Sounds sublime. Let’s make hay throwing some Hump Day Haymakers.
As always, the group below is meant as more of a guide of guys that I like at each position but the salary works as a qualifying lineup. At the very least, it may provide you with some bargains while you fill in your studs. In the interest of full disclosure, your author will be playing this exact lineup in several contests this evening. We’ve got a nice 10-game slate beginning at 7 p.m. EDT, so let’s get to it.
You can check out our past MLB DFS articles to see how we are doing here.
***All prices listed are DraftKings***
The Arms
Gerrit Cole – at Tampa Bay ($10,500)
Cole was not the first choice for the top of the lineup, as he’ll be rostered by most. With that said, he’s actually the best value for the money, based on what he’ll do. It’s never a good idea to miss out on guaranteed points. The Yankees hurler had a down game in terms of Ks his last time out against the Astros, only fanning four. Tampa Bay is another story. They’ll likely put a run or two on the board, but expect that K column to bounce back against a team that is striking out 27.4 percent of the time. Simply put, there’s not a good enough duo of mid-tier starter matchups to justify leaving the stud out. It’s a W, it’s 7 innings, it’s double-digit batters dejectedly walking back to the dugout.
Zac Gallen – vs. Miami ($9,000)
Gallen is a great choice, and on a side note, Arizona batters would make a nice stack. The Marlins are putting up almost exactly four runs per game thus far in the season, including two runs per in their last three. That’s good for the Arizona righty, who comes in with a nice 3.04 ERA and 11 strikeouts per 9 innings. There’s isn’t much not to like about this matchup. As long as Gallen gets the run support he should cruise to a W tonight.
The Bats
Carson Kelly, C – vs. Miami ($5,000)
Certainties in life: Death, taxes, and I will play Kelly at catcher every day in at least one of my lineups. Obviously not every day will be a monster but he just simply has not regressed yet. He’s sitting on .333/.476/.667 (that’s a 1.143 for ya’ll that don’t math good). The power has been down in the last two weeks (zero homers) but he always has the potential to leave the yard.
Rhys Hoskins, 1B – at Washington ($4,100)
Hoskins has been scuffling on the season, but a drop to late in the order just might be enough to take some pressure off. For the money, the power potential makes it worth the gamble. While he’s striking out at an alarming rate, he still has eight home runs and I’m leaning on Philly against John Lester to put runs on the board and run up the score. Rhys is my home run haymaker call for the day.
Nick Madrigal, 2B – vs. Minnesota ($3,000)
Not really crazy about the higher-tier prices at the position today, so second base is as good a place as any to seek some value. It’s feast-or-famine with Madrigal and his .713 OPS. He’s not going to hit any longballs tonight but has the ability to find the gap and is still hitting .299 on the season. He’s a safe bet with upside, hopefully they’ll pull the trigger and let him run when he reaches base.
Alec Bohm, 3B – at Washington ($3,100)
We are continuing to lean on Philadelphia against Lester, who very well may implode tonight, even at home. Without catcher J.T. Realmuto in the lineup, the inevitable shuffle is likely to land Bohm in the cleanup spot with men on base. Expect Lester to come after him, which may not actually be the best choice. Lester isn’t blowing anyone anyway with that fastball and I expect Bohm to jump all over a few pitches in this game.
Miguel Rojas, SS – at Arizona ($4,600)
Rojas has been hot of late. In the last 14 days he is 13-for-42 (.310) with two dingers, six RBI, and has crossed the plate 11 times. He has had a solid season at the plate in 2021, and while there’s not a whole lot to expect out of the Marlins tonight against Gallen, it’s a safe bet that Rojas will find himself on the basepaths multiple times.
Aaron Judge, OF – at Tampa Bay ($4,600)
If you’re sensing an overall theme here, you are. We’re gambling on guys that are “due”. Judge has gone yardly only once this month, but still holds eight moonshots with the boomstick on the season and an OPS of .840. His exit velocity is largely unchanged and he’s been making contact so he’s right on the edge of going on one of those patented runs. Tonight it begins with Collin McHugh and his 7.36 ERA.
Tyrone Taylor, OF – Milwaukee Brewers ($2,100)
Here’s another haymaker opportunity. Taylor’s numbers on the year at .250/.344/.446 aren’t much to look at but he’s got three homers in limited playing time, two of which were absolute rockets over the center field wall. His opponent in this game, righty John Gant, has a very nice 2.15 ERA but a lot of it has been done with smoke-and-mirrors. He still has the tendency to hang his fastball out over the plate and Taylor is exactly who you want at the dish when he does.
Pivot: If Taylor is not starting, the optimal alternate is Nomar Mazara (DET, same price).
Andrew McCutchen, OF – at Washington ($4,200)
This is an amazing value and makes the veteran the crown jewel of this lineup. McCutch is slugging .579 in his last 60+ plate appearances against guys without a plus fastball. That’s the very definition of Lester. Once again, with Realmuto likely missing tonight’s game, the lineup becomes more compact. The pair of McCutchen and Bohm should work well, and Hoskins later is a bonus. For what it’s worth, a Phillies stack tonight is a great play if you add guys like Segura and possibly Kingery for the turn.
Haymakers don’t always land, but you keep throwing them until one does. The value in this lineup is that for the prices, we are gambling on guys that have a chance to do major damage. The pitchers are set and are going to get points.
When throwing punches like these, you are playing to win rather than playing not to lose. Nobody ever made a ton of money on DFS by playing it safe. This week we toss in some guys that are unlikely to be in many other lineups. If, for example, you start getting good games from guys like Rhys and Tyrone… look out.
Best of luck tonight. Hopefully you’ve got some good possibilities here to give you a fighter’s chance to pad your account.
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