In 34 days, 4 hours and 30 minutes, the 2014 NFL season kicks off and with it comes Fantasy Football! The humble-but-nonetheless-handsome Guru released his Hot 100 rankings earlier today, the Razzball 32 in 32 in 32 Tour is about to hit the road (get your tix and check the schedule here) and now NFL.com has released their Top 100 Fantasy Football trends for 2014.
We’re ready for some football!
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#TheDirtyTurban
Before we jump into the Fantasy Football Hot 100 Rankings, let your humble-but-nonetheless-handsome Guru pull on your turban about something cool going down that will change the landscape of fantasy sports forever – The Razzball.com 32 in 32 in 32 Tour is ready to hit the road and The Guru will be along for the ride. We’re talking a 50,000 mile, rock and roll all night, party every day, psycho circus of fantasy ballin’ madness in full Razzball makeup! Starting next week, Razzball Radio and the Fantasy Sports Network will have shows from all 32 NFL cities and I’ll be posting the daily dirt here for all our Dirty Turbanites to follow along (and possibly contribute bail money). We hope to meet, greet, draft some teams and tip a few back with fantasy ballers from Seattle to Boston and all 30 cities in between. There are still some spots available, so get your tix here and you could win a trip to Vegas with the Razzball crew.
Need help with your Fantasy Football draft, check out Razzball’s 2014 Draft Kit and join a Razzball League today.
Rankings are for 12-team Standard Leagues
The Dirty Turban Hot 100
1. LeSean McCoy, RB
2. Jamaal Charles, RB
3. Adrian Peterson, RB
4. Matt Forte, RB
5. Eddie Lacy, RB
6. Jimmy Graham, TE
7. Calvin Johnson, WR
8. Dez Bryant, WR
9. Demaryius Thomas, WR
10. Julio Jones, WR
11. A.J. Green, WR
12. DeMarco Murray, RB
13. Rob Gronkowski, TE
14. Jordy Nelson, WR
15. Marshawn Lynch, RB
16. Montee Ball, RB
17. Le’Veon Bell, RB
18. Arian Foster, RB
19. Julius Thomas, TE
20. Brandon Marshall, WR
21. Keenan Allen, WR
22. Alshon Jeffery, WR
23. Randall Cobb, WR
24. Peyton Manning, QB
25. Aaron Rodgers, QB
26. Zac Stacy, RB
27. Drew Brees, QB
28. Doug Martin, RB
29. Andre Johnson, WR
30. C.J. Spiller, RB
31. Antonio Brown, WR
32. Toby Gerhart, RB
33. Pierre Garcon, WR
34. Larry Fitzgerald, WR
35. Roddy White, WR
36. Giovani Bernard, RB
37. Torrey Smith, WR
38. Jordan Cameron, TE
39. Matthew Stafford, QB
40. Bishop Sankey, RB
41. Alfred Morris, RB
42. Victor Cruz, WR
43. Michael Crabtree, WR
44. Vincent Jackson, WR
45. Marques Colston, WR
46. Joique Bell, RB
47. Reggie Bush, RB
48. Andre Ellington, RB
49. Ryan Mathews, RB
50. Shane Vereen, RB
51. Rueben Randle, WR
52. Mike Wallace, WR
53. Jeremy Maclin, WR
54. Jordan Reed, TE
55. Percy Harvin, WR
56. Michael Floyd, WR
57. Stevan Ridley, RB
58. Cam Newton, QB
59. Frank Gore, RB
60. DeSean Jackson, WR
61. Rashad Jennings, RB
62. Lamar Miller, RB
63. Trent Richardson, RB
64. Matt Ryan, QB
65. Tony Romo, QB
66. Vernon Davis, TE
67. Jay Cutler, QB
68. Andrew Luck, QB
69. Wes Welker, WR
70. Nick Foles, QB
71. Jeremy Hill, RB
72. Cordarrelle Patterson, WR
73. Dennis Pitta, TE
74. Robert Griffin III, QB
75. Golden Tate, WR
76. Terrance Williams, WR
77. Steven Jackson, RB
78. Tom Brady, QB
79. Jason Witten, TE
80. Bernard Pierce, RB
81. Kendall Wright, WR
82. Terrance West, RB
83. Ben Tate, RB
84. Eric Decker, WR
85. T.Y. Hilton, WR
86. Aaron Dobson, WR
87. DeAndre Hopkins
88. Chris Johnson, RB
89. Dwayne Bowe, WR
90. Sammy Watkins, WR
91. Kyle Rudolph, TE
92. Zach Ertz, TE
93. Greg Olsen, TE
94. Brandin Cooks, WR
95. Ben Roethlisberger, QB
96. Philip Rivers, QB
97. Reggie Wayne, WR
98. Danny Amendola, WR
99. Kelvin Benjamin. WR
100. Heath Miller, TE
Over the next few weeks, we’ll do a position-by-position breakdown. See you on the Razzball Tour.
Featured Writer: The Guru
@TheGuruGS
#TheDirtyTurban
The trade deadline is like crack for seam-heads like me. It’s a non-stop information orgy up until the 4pm deadline. With players moving all over the league, contenders staking their claim in this year’s playoff race and sellers building up and hording assets for the future. Yesterday’s deadline was one of the best I could remember with names like Jon Lester, David Price, Yoenis Cespedes, John Lackey, Allen Craig, and Austin Jackson finding new teams. Several of the moves had an effect on player values in our daily fantasy world going forward. With playing time opening up for some players and opportunities closing for others, it will be weeks before all this truly shakes out. With that said, we have a full slate of games to build our team from tonight, a lot of new options to mull over and money to burn.
Want to play with the Dirty Turban crew? Click this link. Here’s the Legendary Lifshitz DraftKings Roster for 8/1.
SP 1 – Chris Sale, $12,600: Chris Sale is like water in the desert, I need him in my life to survive. He gets the Twinkies today in Chicago. Sale’s career vs. the Twins are impressive: 6-1 with a 2.08 ERA , .94 WHIP, and 61 K’s in 56 IP. The Twins are 20th in wOBA vs. LHP and have the second worst K% at 23.2% on the road. This should all set up for a big point total from Sale.
SP 2 – Doug Fister, $7,800: One of the better buys on the pitching roster tonight is Fister. The Phillies and their road wOBA of .299 roll into the Capital tonight, and I like Fister’s high floor. I’m expecting a serious crotch punch to a putrid Phillies lineup, you know cause he’s a Fister. It also doesn’t hurt that in two career starts against Philadelphia Dougie Fist is 2-0 with 1.20 ERA and .53 WHIP.
C – Stephen Vogt, $3,800: The A’s get Jeremy “Go Deep” Guthrie tonight as the Royals kick off a three game set in Oak-town. Guthrie currently ranks 7th in HR/9 as he’s allowed an average of 1.30. So the A’s are certainly a very stackable option in GPP’s tonight. I like Vogt to bear some fruit in a home matchup against the righty Guthrie. Vogt slash line at home against righties is .352/.379/.500 and is on the right side of the platoon.
1B – Brandon Moss, $4,900: Moss is a funny player in terms of splits as he hits for power against righties and is a better contact hitter against lefties. 19 of his 23 homers have come off RHP but his average against righties is .255. His home road power splits are pretty even with 11 dongs coming at home (eww) and a dozen on the road. Where I’m going with all this is he gets Guthrie at home. Guthrie is righty who gives up homers in bunches. Moss hits homers off righties. Needless to say Moss is my DONG OF THE NIGHT!
2B – Kolten Wong, $3,900: Over the last 30 days, Wong has been a top 5 2B in our game. His wOBA over that time is .381 which is top 30 in MLB over that time. He also brings a nice speed/power tool set to the table that’s always dangerous on DraftKings. He faces Wily Peralta tonight who’s been a mess in July surrendering 5 homers in 30 innings and 4.80 ERA. Priced in the sub-$4k range has me buying some Wong. That sounded Wong! Pun points!
3B – Yangervis Solarte, $3,400: In 9 games since joining the Padres, Solarte has rediscovered his early season from. Thus far he’s hitting .324 with 2 homers, 8 RBI’s, and 8 runs in his San Diego career. He’s a cheap option at third tonight and faces the always hittable Mike Minor.
SS – Jose Ramirez, $2,500: Punt Play Alert! With Asdrubal Cabrera moving to Washington it opens up playing time for Ramirez. He’s a solid contact/speed guy at a weak position, so he could be one of the biggest benefactors from yesterday’s trade deadline. That’s as long as Cleveland keeps Francisco Lindor in Columbus.
OF 1 – Chris Coghlan, $4,000: Not many players have been hotter than Coghlan coming out of July. The Northside’s CC was the 4th best hitter according to wOBA last month, and faces Dan Haren this evening at Dodger Stadium. Haren’s ERA in July was 9.47. Seriously he had more earned runs allowed (20) than innings (19) last month. Cubs stack attack? Maybe….
OF 2 – Oscar Taveras, $3,500: With Allen Craig heading out of town Tavares is in place for immediate playing time, and took advantage of it right away by homering last night. Tavares faces Wily Peralta tonight and if you don’t know my thoughts on him you didn’t read my blurb on Kolten Wong. I mean what’s Wong with you, you skip my blurbs?
OF 3- David Peralta, $3,500: I can’t tell you why I love David Peralta but he always seems to end up in my lineups. Maybe it’s the .300 average and the sub $4K price, maybe it’s his eyes, I don’t know. More than likely it’s the fact that he rakes against righties at home (.338 BA, 2 hr’s, 11 rbi’s, .402 wOBA). He gets a righty tonight in Edinson Volquez that’s known to have some serious diarrhea starts.
As always be sure to check the lineups, give a look at the weather and I toast your team with slightly chilled Manischewitz.
Contributing Writer: Ralph Lifshitz
@Ralphlifshitzbb
#DirtyTurban
I don’t mean to just go on and on about my fake teams – that’s about as interesting as your girlfriend trying to tell you about The Bachelorette finale. However, your humble-but-nonetheless-handsome Guru has had an up and down month. A terrible cold streak turned into a heater only to just break even on the month thus far. Let’s look to wrap up July with a win as I’m sick of just throwing money away.
Want to play with the Dirty Turban crew on DraftKings tonight? Click this link. Here’s your dirty turbaned Guru’s team for Tuesday 7/29. Good luck, cheers.
All values are based on DraftKings pricing.
SP 1 – James Shields, $8,400: Big Game James burned us a couple weeks ago, but the price is right for a starter with a 2.03 ERA and 28 Ks in his last four starts.
SP 2 – Trevor Bauer, $6,500: This is a roll of the dice and I can’t blame anyone that wants to pay up for Stephen Strasburg or Cole Hamels, but to fit in the big bats we want you have to find a way to save. Bauer seems a good cheap buy as he’s averaged 22 FPTS over his last four starts and has been very good at home with 48 Ks in 44 innings this season.
C – Stephen Vogt, $3,800: Vogt’s price is creeping up, but he’s still worth it. Vogt has 14 hits and six RBI over his last 10 games and a .415 wOBA against right-handed pitching.
1B – Brandon Moss, $5,100: Our A’s stack fell a little short last night so let’s double down on the team that leads the league in runs scored and RBI. 19 of Moss’ 23 homers have come against right-handed pitching this year and he’s your Guru’s Dong of the Night.
2B – Ryan Goins, $2,400: Goins had himself a night in Boston Monday with four hits, four RBI and 24 FPTS. Give us half that against the Sox struggling rookie Rubby De La Rosa and it’s a successful punt.
3B – Josh Donaldson, $5,100: Another piece of the swingin’ A’s stack attack. Dongaldson has hits in nine of his last 10 games and double digit FPTS in six of his last 10. The sharks in Vegas have the A’s as the biggest favorite on the board and scoring 5+ runs.
SS – Ramon Santiago, $2,500: Punt play alert, just make sure he’s in the lineup. Ramon does have FPTS in eight of his last 10 starts.
OF 1 – Jose Bautista, $5,700: Joey Bats has averaged 20+ FPTS over his last six games and faces a struggling Sox staff at Fenway Park where he’s hit 18 homers in 42 games .
OF 2 – Yoenis Cespedes, $5,400: The final piece of our A’s double down stack. Yoenis has 12 hits over his last nine games with three homers and 10 RBI.
OF 3 – Melky Cabrera, $4,900: The Melk Man went double dong last night with one bomb smashing through the windshield of a Sox fan’s SUV across the street from Fenway. Cabrera has been hot with 18 hits and 15 RBI over his last 10 games and the Fenway Faithful may want to just take the T.
Make sure to check the lineups, give a look at the weather and buy me a Mojito with your winnings.
Featured Writer: The Guru
@TheGuruGS
#TheDirtyTurban
Happy Monday, faithful Dirty Turbanites. Another weekend in the books and yours truly is in the middle of a glorious hot streak. I cashed in 2/3rds of the contests I entered this weekend, including a nice top 25 finish in Saturday’s Moonshot. My bankroll is growing and I’m hoping to ride this wave of success all the way to the bank again tonight. I could sit here and be humble and say that I’ve been lucky, but who has time for modesty? I have the Midas Touch and I’m going to ride this momentum until the wheels fall off.
Want to play with the Dirty Turban crew? Click this link. Here’s the Legendary Lifshitz Squad for today’s DraftKings contests.
SP 1 – Yu Darvish, $11,400: I don’t love any of the pitching options for tonight’s games, but there are a few I like. Darvish vs. the Yankees at home being the best of the bunch. Yu has looked marvelous in Arlington this year dropping a 2.49 ERA, 11.08 K/9, and a 2.35 BB/9. Sure the Yankees have been better of late and Darvish hasn’t been in his best form the last month or so, but he’s still the best bet for a high K number and 6+ innings on today’s board.
SP 2 – Jesse Chavez, $8,000: Chavez gets Houston today as he faces the Astros in back to back starts for the second time this year. In his previous 3 starts against them Chavez is 2-0 with a 3.78 ERA, a 1.38 WHIP, and a K/9 of 9.72. The Astros have the highest K% in baseball this season at 23.6%, and they’ve actually been striking out more the last month whiffing at a 24.5% rate. They also have the 5th lowest wOBA against right-handed pitching, hitting an abysmal .296. All of this should setup well for Chavez, I’m going to predict 9 K’s today and 7 innings of quality work. I’m anticipating a point total in the 20’s from Chavez.
C – Travis d’Arnaud, $2,600: I like d’Arnaud tonight for a couple of reasons mostly based around his cost. His price is under $3,000, he has some pop, and is getting the lion’s share of the playing time behind the dish for the Mets. He faces AJ Burnett today at home and is 1/3 with an RBI against him lifetime. So not a lot of data to draw from. When it comes down to it this a punt play with some upside, which is how I like my catchers.
1B – Paul Goldschmidt, $5,700: It’s not like you ever need to justify fitting Goldy into your lineup, but today sets up very nicely. He faces Homer Bailey for the first time of his career as the D-Backs travel to Great American Ballpark. Bailey is one of the most generous arms in the league when it comes to serving up dongs. EWWW. Any the who, true to his name Bailey is averaging 1.16 homers per 9. So I like Goldy’s chances of going deep. Did someone say Dong of The Night? I just did? Yes I did.
2B – Jordany Valdespin, $3,100: Punt play alert! Jordany has come up huge for me the last two days as a cheap option at 2B/OF. He put up 16 points on Saturday and 12 yesterday, so I’m riding the hot hand until it burns me. Yes this is the same philosophy that got me crabs. Not to worry readers they make a shampoo for it!
3B – Anthony Rendon, $4,500: This is a bit of a gut pick. I like Rendon and he’s been one of the most consistent performers at third base all year. Having put up double digit points in 3 of his last 5 games, I’m seeing the potential against Eovaldi tonight. Between Eovaldi’s July ERA of 6.38 and his home ERA of 4.85 I’m thinking the punishment should continue.
SS – Josh Rutledge, $4,300: Rutledge has been a man possessed since Tulo hit the DL. Scoring in double digits for 4 straight games leading up to last night’s goose egg. He gets Tsuyoshi Wada in Coors tonight, and I think he could be in for a big one. He hasn’t crushed lefties at home thus far, but his .263 average against them at Coors tells me he’s not baffled by him either. Buy the hot bat!
OF 1 – Kevin Kiermaier, $3,900: The Rays get righty Kyle Loshe at home tonight, and there is no one in the Rays lineup who hits righties better than Kiermaier. His .409 average, 3 homers, and wOBA of .488 tell that story. K2 is a great play whenever a righty faces the Rays.
OF 2 – David Peralta, $3,500: Peralta is a .338 hitter against righties and he gets Homer Bailey at Great American tonight. As I mentioned in my Goldy blurb Homer is staying true to his name this year and giving up dongs like a reformed porn star. I like the matchup, I like the hitting environment, and I like the price. I don’t like jelly donuts though. I can’t help it, I just don’t trust things filled with jelly. Sorry Billy Butler!
OF 3 – Jim Adduci, $2,700: Adduci is this week’s diamond in the rough. With a price tag under $3,000 clams and an everyday starting gig what’s not to like? I have a feeling I’m going to be using Adduci as a way to get premier pitchers and hitters into my lineup all week. With efforts of 9 and 15 points on Friday and Saturday the man has shown he’s worth a flier.
As always be sure to check the lineups, give a look at the weather and I toast your team with slightly chilled Manischewitz.
Contributing Writer: Ralph Lifshitz
@Ralphlifshitzbb
#DirtyTurban
It’s the most wonderful time of the year again. Well, at least for us baseball fans. The trade deadline is rapidly approaching, the division and wild card races are heating up, and over the next few weeks a bounty of prospects should make their way to the bigs. It’s a fun time to be a baseball fan. The only thing that can make all this baseball any better is winning on DraftKings. Over the last couple of days I’ve started to kick things back into gear and gotten my bankroll going in the right direction. I know, it seems like every day you read a statement like this from The Guru or me. But it’s true! We really are everyday players of DFS that live and die by our wins. Thankfully we both cashed in a few contests last night. In fact The Guru just edged me in the Razzball 20 teamer.
If you’re interested in playing with the Dirty Turban crew click here to join a 50/50 put on by yours truly.
Here’s The Legendary Lifshitz DraftKings lineup for the night:
SP 1 – Wade Miley, $8,600: Miley has continued to keep his owners twerking to the bank the last couple of months. Since June 1, the Diamondback lefty hasn’t lost a game throwing up a 73:14 K: BB. Over his four July starts, Miley has been an ace sporting an ERA of 1.88, a K/9 of 9.10, and a BB/9 of 1.57. He gets the Phillies today who are a complete mess.
SP 2 – Alex Wood, $7,700: Let me mention that while I’m suggesting two cheaper options today, I would have no issue if you decided to spend a little more to get King Felix, Lester, or Price into your lineup. All three are consistent performers with little risk. With that said you have to love the matchup for Wood. He gets the Padres at Turner Field tonight in what should be another step in what I’m thinking could be a big second half for the lefty. I’d expect a top 5 night from Wood as he faces off against the worst offense in the majors.
C – Evan Gattis, $4,000: I professed my love for Gattis on Wednesday and he of course got the night off. I’m thinking he’ll be in the lineup tonight and ready to tee off on Jesse Hahn. Dong of the night!
1B – Lucas Duda, $4,000: Duda is 5/10 off Yovani Gallardo with two homers. When you have 10 at bats off a pitcher and your OPS is almost 2.000 I take notice.
2B – Rickie Weeks, $3,500: Rickie has been solid filling in for Scooter Gennett for the last few days. Putting up 7,7,8 and 11 points in his last 4 starts. It sounds like Scooter is still a couple of days away, so Weeks should get the start tonight.
3B – Pedro Alvarez, $4,000: This one is simple. Alvarez is a serious power hitter going into Coors and facing Brett Anderson. What’s not to like? Stack the Bucs.
SS – Josh Rutledge, $3,700: Filling in for Tulo, Rutledge has delivered. As he’s put up double digit point totals three of the last four nights. Rutledge is going to be a solid buy until he has a night that blows up his price tag. I’d expect it to come soon. Could it be tonight?
OF 1 – Andrew McCutchen, $5,800: Here’s a little secret that isn’t a secret at all. I’m stacking Pirates against Anderson tonight. In fact, all three of my outfield picks are Pirates. Obviously, McCuthchen is one of the best hitters in baseball and a trip to Coors only makes him more desirable. Well, desirable if you get boners over home runs. Hey, don’t laugh! It’s a serious condition known as Dong Erectus and it keeps me 500 feet away from Home Run Derbys.
OF 2 – Gregory Polanco, $4,400: After coming out the gate like gangbusters back in June, Polanco has cooled down considerably. After a 27 point night on Tuesday, I’m hoping Polanco is out of his funk and on his way to a big weekend in Denver. If you’re looking to spend a little more I fully endorse Brandon Moss tonight against Jerome Williams. In fact, I endorse all A’s tonight and will have a stack lineup based around it.
OF 3 – Josh Harrison, $3,900: I’m beating a dead horse with the body of a different dead horse at this point, but I like the Pirates at Coors. I’m actually dressed like Jack Sparrow right now. Harrison may be their second best hitter this season and I always like his potential for some steals. Another play in this price range that I considered was Mark Trumbo. He hasn’t homered since returning from the DL but I like him to get off the schnide tonight in Illadelphia.
As always be sure to check the lineups, give a look at the weather and I toast your team with slightly chilled Manischewitz.
Contributing Writer: Ralph Lifshitz
@Ralphlifshitzbb
#DirtyTurban
Mike Minor is a dick! This is the only phrase I’ve been capable of muttering the last 12 hours. Putting up a vomit inducing negative 10 points last night, teams with Minor where underwater before they even started. Such is life with our daily fantasy addiction. The highs are high and the lows are Mike Minor. I hereby pledge no matter the matchup, price, or (though hard to imagine) potential hot streak. Mike “he ain’t major he” Minor is way out of the circle of trust. No longer will he hurt me with his implosions and inability to capitalize on juicy matchups (ex: The Marlins on the road). Mike Minor may you swelter in suck.
Now that my ode to Mike Minor is complete. I wanted to talk about a topic any DFS nut worth his or her weight in internet dollars knows. That’s tailoring your roster to the contest you’re playing. The two basic approaches are on polar ends of the spectrum.
Guaranteed prize pools, and Leagues – these are the places to take chances on contrarian plays at pitcher. The logic behind this is you can use the saved budget to take advantage of a stackable matchup for a good offense. This can payoff big or can fail miserably. Believe me, I’ve lost quite a few internet dollars, and years off my life to a risky GPP lineup or two. I’ve also won hundreds of dollars due to the right risky lineup as well.
Head to Heads, and 50/50’s – I typically go with a more conservative approach in these set ups opting for well-established pitching options and reliable bats. Due to the lower budget available for bats I think it’s important to target players with speed or power upside.
Now that I’ve shared with you my two approaches I’m going to bed. Thanks anyway I’ll see you tomorrow. Oh you think I forgot the picks? Oh yeah that’s right! The picks!
Play the degenerates of the Dirty Turban by clicking here and get in our daily 50/50.
All prices based on DraftKings
SP 1 – Ian Kennedy, $8,300: I still can’t grasp why Kennedy’s price is always so low on DraftKings, but oh well no bother I’ll just own him everywhere. Seriously! Ian has been a solid play all season long putting up solid strikeout numbers and avoiding complete nuclear blow ups. He also gets the Cubs tomorrow at Wrigley. Not many teams like to strikeout as much as the Cubs. Kennedy has also avoided the HodgePadre label by defying logic and putting up better numbers outside the offense sucking vortex of Petco. Go figure.
SP 2 – Tsuyoshi Wada, $5,500: This is one of those GPP risks we talked about. He’s young and unknown but he faces the Padres and he did have a 120:28 K:BB ratio in 113.2 minor league innings. So I’m going to take a shot and use the 3,000 to 4,000 $ saved on some serious bats.
C – Evan Gattis, $4,000: Prior to hitting the DL Gattis was a regular in my DFS lineups. Now that he’s back I plan on using him a few times a week. Gattis has proven over the last year plus that he’s anything but a fluke. As he’s averaged out to 34/100 over his first full major league season. I wonder if his acquaintances from his drifter days ever see him on TV between bong rips and ask themselves if they know that guy?
1B – Albert Pujols, $5,100: I like the Angels stack against Chris Tillman tonight. Before I lost faith in Mike Minor and banished him from the circle of trust it was Tillman who was the target of my scorn. I like Albert to put one out tonight. I also like Jose Abreu after a night off as well. Choose wisely!
2B – Tommy La Stella, $3,400: La Stella lacks power and speed but makes consistent contact. His consistency and high spot in the Braves batting order make him an appealing choice at. $3,400. I’ve also lost all faith in Eovaldi at this point.
3B – Josh Donaldson, $4,600: Donaldson faces Brad Peacock tonight. Lifetime he’s 3/11 against the Bird but one of those three hits is a dong. Peacock is a terrible last name on so many levels.
SS – Dee Gordon, $4,400: Dee’s got to be the surprise of the season, as he’s reached the potential so many saw in him last season. Better late than never right? Well either way I’m rolling with Gordon tonight against Liriano. Mostly because Liriano is another former member of the circle of trust banished to the never again pile. I have a lot of pent up anger with pitchers I guess.
OF 1 – Andrew McCutchen, $5,600: Cutch has a couple of bombs off Haren in his career and oh yeah McCutchen is pretty good regardless. I know shocking stuff here on the Turban today!
OF 2 – Nelson Cruz, $5,000: This is admittedly a risky play as Cruz has 20, yes 20 strikeouts lifetime vs. Jered Weaver. He also has a couple of homers and Weaver has gotten worse as Cruz has gotten better. I’m betting against Weaver getting the best of this year’s Nelson Cruz. BTW this year’s Nelson Cruz comes with leather seats and Bluetooth standard. So what do you say can I get you into a Cruz today? That’s me selling Nelson Cruz.
OF 3 – Marlon Byrd, $3,900: Mad Bum hasn’t been good lately and Byrd is one of the few startable options in Philly. That’s my logic here. Unless you think Grady Sizemore is good. That would mean you just woke in the hospital from a 6 year coma, or you should be in the hospital for hallucinations.
As always be sure to check the lineups, give a look at the weather and I toast your team with slightly chilled Manischewitz.
Contributing Writer: Ralph Lifshitz
@Ralphlifshitzbb
#DirtyTurban
As any DFS player knows, the daily grind of fantasy sports can be downright One Few Over the Cuckoo Nest-kind of maddening. When you hit a cold spell that drains your bankroll and has you questioning all that is sacred you may start to think fantasy cricket may be for you. Your humble-but-nonetheless-handsome Guru hit one of those cold streaks before the break that approached Game of Thrones-winter-is-coming-sized proportions. (Cuckoos Nest and GOT references in the first paragraph?!)
However, the tide has turned as the season kicks off it’s unofficial second half. Last night I cashed in all seven contests I entered and doubled the bankroll. Believe me, I needed it! The cold streak had dwindled the winter in Cancun fund to something that looked more like a winter in Detroit. Let’s keep the hot streak rolling tonight.
Here’s your dirty turbaned Guru’s team for Tuesday 7/22. Good luck, cheers. Want to play with the Dirty Turban degenerates tonight? Just hit this link.
All values are based on DraftKings pricing.
SP 1 – Mike Minor, $7,700: Minor hasn’t been so good lately – just check that 4.86 ERA. He also hasn’t been very lucky – an xFIP of 3.61 suggests he’s a lot better than that. Minor will begin a $econd half bounce back on the road against the Marlins tonight.
SP 2 – Erasmo Ramirez, $5,800: We’re looking to $ave on the pitching tonight. Sure Adam Wainwright and Scott Kazmir are nice plays if you want to pay up (and we’ll have another team with those two), but we have some big bats to stack tonight. Let’s roll the dice on Erasmo who has all the talent and a great matchup against the K happy Mets.
C – Cameron Rupp, $2,300: Punt play alert, but Rupp is averaging 7 FPTS over his last seven $tarts. Want to pay up? Look to Brian McCann or Wilson Ramos.
1B – Jose Abreu, $5,200: The Cuban Crusher leads the league with 29 homers, but has yet to send one deep in the $econd half. That changes tonight. Abreu is your Guru’s Dong of the Night. Miguel Cabrera is a pricier option and, if you’re looking to save a buck, take a look at Mike Napoli in Toronto.
2B – Anthony Rendon, $4,800: Here it comes, the first piece of our Nats $tack attack in Colorado against a no-name Rockies starter with an ERA over 7. It paid off last night, let’s double down. Robinson Cano is also in play and a nice punt could be Brian Roberts of the Yankees.
3B – Ryan Zimmerman, $5,100: Love all the Nationals righty bats tonight. Can Bryce Harper bat right-handed? Zimmy is averaging 9+ FPT$ over his last 10 games. For a cheaper option look to Kyle Seager in Seattle.
SS – Ian Desmond, $4,600: Des dropped 32 FPTS on our fake teams last night as he went 5-for-5 with a homer, 3 runs and 2 RBI. Give us half that tonight and we’ll be in the $$$. Want a punt play? How about Derek Jeter. The sharks in Vegas have the Yanks scoring 5 runs tonight.
OF 1 – Jayson Werth, $5,300: Jay$on is the final piece of our pricey Nats stack. However, I’m happy to pay up for double dong potential – that sounds like the worst CraigsList ad ever.
OF 2 – Jacoby Ellsbury, $4,700: Think the Yanks make for a $neaky $tack tonight as Vegas has them scoring a bunch. If Vegas is right, Ells will be in the middle of the fun as he’s averaged nearly 20 FPTS over his last 4 games.
OF 3 – Brett Gardner, $4,400: Gardner should be leading off tonight and has that speed/power combo that makes $bank$. Other outfielders worth targeting tonight include the two boppers in Baltimore – Nelson Cruz and Adam Jones.
Make sure to check the lineups, give a look at the weather and buy me a Margarita with your winnings.
Featured Writer: The Guru
@TheGuruGS
#TheDirtyTurban
Happy Monday, Dirty Turbaners! Hopefully you all had an incredibly productive weekend full of drinking and gambling on sports! That’s exactly what consumed my weekend, as I cashed in a contest or two every night. It was a beautiful thing as my bankroll more than doubled. The best of the bunch was a last second victory due to a 9th inning RBI single by A-Gon in the Sunday Night game. Heading into the break I was on a monstrous cold streak, but I’ve managed to right the ship and get myself back on a bed of green.
Let’s keep the momentum going tonight. I’ve studied the board and I think I’ve got a lineup that will rake in some dough and get us on the way to taking other people’s money.
Want to play ith the Dirty Turban crew tonight? Hit up this link and may the best man (or lady) win.
All prices based on DraftKings pricing
SP 1 – Chris Sale, $12,100: Not many players are more consistent in our daily game than Sale. He’s in the company of Kershaw, Wainwright, and King Felix on the Mt. Rushmore of Daily Fantasy in 2014. Going deep into games and racking up K’s, Sale is always worth the price. He squares off against the Royals today who are coming off a tough matchup against fellow lefty Jon Lester. The Royals looked lost yesterday, and I would expect that trend to continue as they face the best of what the American League has to offer in Sale.
SP 2 – Julio Teheran, $9,400: I love Teheran almost as much as an Ayatollah on a bender. When Julio is on the mound my world is all hummus and sixth wife shopping! But seriously, Julio’s been a little off his last two starts putting up a stinker against the Mets and a mediocre outing against the Cubs. Lucky for us Teheran gets the Marlins at home tonight. If there’s anything we’ve learned about the fish this season it’s that they hate being out of water (see what I did there?). As their road production is amongst the worst in the majors. Owners of a .295 road wOBA, a 25.2% K%, and a road wRC+ of 85. There aren’t many teams pitchers should be more excited to face at home.
C – Caleb Joseph, $2,000: Caleb Joseph is like the Ramen Noodle of daily fantasy – helping you pinch pennies early in the week to afford that steak dinner on Friday (Chris Sale). He’s not good and you don’t expect much, but he does the job.
1B – Adrian Gonzalez, $4,300: A-Gon was last night’s hero of the evening winning the Dodgers the matinee of their series in St. Louis, as well as putting me over the top in a 3 team cash league. I’m giving my boy some love, but it’s more than that. As Mr. Gonzalez’s career BvP against Edinson Volquez is sweet as he’s 4/14 with two bombs. I’m hoping he can regain some of his early season form and put one into the seats at PNC tonight.
2B – Ramon Santiago, $2,300: Here’s an upside punt play I’ve been riding since Brandon Phillips went down a few weeks ago. Not only is Santiago cheap, but he’s been pretty solid. Putting up double digit totals (13, 17, 13, and 11) 4 times since the 7th of July. He hasn’t been feast or famine either, Having scored less than 7 points only once in his last 8 starts. The only caveat, make sure he’s in the lineup.
3B – Anthony Rendon, $4,600: Rendon and the Nationals travel to Denver tonight to face off against the Rockies and Franklin Morales. Rendon loves hitting lefties like Morales, putting up a wOBA of .416. Vs. southpaws. He’s actually done most of his lefty bashing away from Nationals Park, as his road lefty wOBA is a fat .502! This all sets up great for tonight’s matchup as he travels to the most hitter friendly stadium in the bigs. So let’s review, Rendon + Lefty + road game (X) Coors = Must start. Got it? Good!
SS – Xander Bogaerts, $3,300: X-man rewarded my faith in him with a 20 point night on Friday. Looking to get back to his pre-June levels of production, Xander should stay on the right track against Drew Hutchinson and the Blue Jays tonight. Expect to see Xander in my picks quite a bit going forward while his price is this low. Not many everyday players of Bogaerts ability cost under $3,500.
OF 1 – Ryan Zimmerman, $4,800: Zim has been a beast the last few weeks averaging 10.8 points over the last 12 games on DraftKings. As I mentioned in my Rendon write up, the Nats get a good matchup against Franklin Morales at Coors tonight. I’m betting on Zimmerman continuing his hot hitting in the mile high city. He’s hit lefties well this year putting up a wOBA of .365 to go with a wRC+ of 134. I think Zim’s one of the best bets on the board today, so plug him in.
OF 2 – Colby Rasmus, $3,700: Grey Albright of Razzball has a theory that Colby Rasmus only hits homers on short schedule days. I’m not sure if that’s true, but it is a short schedule day and Rasmus has started to heat up. Having put up good totals on back to back days over the weekend, I’m taking a shot and hoping Grey’s theory holds true.
OF 3 – David Peralta, $3,500: Pickings are slim for outfield options under 3,600 today, and I’m not going to throw just anyone at my loyal readers. So I’m going with a reliable option I’ve been starting a lot over the last month or so in Peralta. He gets Justin Verlander today in the desert, and that doesn’t mean what it meant back in 2012. If anything this year Verlander has become synonymous with the term blow up, giving up 4 runs or more in 8 of his last 12 starts. He’s also struggled against left handed batters like Peralta on the road allowing a wOBA of .319, and that’s with an xFIP of 4.64. So I’d expect those numbers against left-handed batters to swell over the next couple of months. Peralta has also done most of his damage against righties hitting .351 with 3 homers, and wOBA of .392. Sorry Kate but get your bosom ready to sop up Mr. Verlander’s tears once again.
As always be sure to check the lineups, give a look at the weather and I toast your team with slightly chilled Manischewitz.
Contributing Writer: Ralph Lifshitz
@Ralphlifshitzbb
#DirtyTurban
The last four baseball-less days have been excruciating. Sure the Home Run Derby and the Jeter over the pants hand job fest…oops, I mean Mid-Summer Classic took my mind off it a little, but all I could do was think about Daily Fantasy. Wednesday and Thursday were two of the most painful days of my life. And that’s saying a lot – after all I did see all the Twilight movies at my wife’s request. I mean that’s painful!
Wednesday night I went to the super market to go shopping for the family and just ended up wandering around until the cops asked me to leave. I was in the Freezer section talking about Xander Bogaerts BABIP…..to a bag of waffle fries. Needless to say things got bad, REAL BAD. But here we are back in the swing of things! Baseball is back, there are daily fantasy rosters to be made, and other people’s ca$h money to win. Gambling addiction is not only fun, dangerous, and exciting. It’s also great at distracting you from the mundane details of everyday life! Now onto the picks.
All prices based on DraftKings
SP1 – Stephen Strasburg, $10,500: 10.73 K/9 and a 1.87 BB/9 that’s nearly a difference of 9 between his K/9 and his BB/9. The only person in that range is David Price. Stras gets the Brewers who are no easy matchup, but I don’t expect him to get blown up. He’s the best bet on the board for a quality outing and 8-9 K’s.
SP 2 – Jose Quintana, $8,600: over the last month not many pitchers have been hotter than Quintana putting up 21 and 34 points in his last two starts. The lefty has a K/9 of 10.43 and a BB/9 of 1.84 over those appearances. He gets Houston tomorrow who surprisingly have hit lefties pretty well ranking in the top 5 against them. The Astros still don’t scare me and the K% against southpaws is still high at 22.5. I’m betting on the hot streak continuing tonight.
C – Christian Bethancourt, $2,300: Bethancourt probably doesn’t have too many starts left with the Braves before Evan Gattis returns. I’ll give him a ride today as an upside punt play at catcher.
1B – Paul Goldschmidt, $5,800: Goldy gets Edwin Jackson at Chase Field tonight. That matchup sounds as appetizing as drinking Blue Label out of Scarlett Johansson’s navel. In other words PERFECT!
2B – Arismendy Alcantara, $3,700: The Double A Battery has been charged up since joining the Cubs right before the break. He’s hit .391 and averaged 14.8 points per game on DraftKings. He’s got solid power and speed and is always a candidate for the ever elusive, ever sexy slam and legs. He’s in the desert tonight facing Trevor Cahill. What’s not to like? Scorpions? Sure! But are we talking about the insect or the band?
3B – Anthony Rendon, $4,200: The Nationals 2B/3B has had a great first half putting up solid numbers across the board. He’s typically one of my favorite plays at 2nd and 3rd. He faces Kyle Loshe tonight, who Rendon is 1/3 against with a homer. Small sample size but it’s powerful! I said that all the time in college.
SS – Xander Bogaerts, $3,300: Okay fellow Sox Fans he’s had a really bad month. That happens to 21 year old rookies. It’s insane the amount of hate I’ve heard directed his way over the last couple weeks. He hit .135 in June and is at .132 thus far in July, but let’s not forget he hit .278 in April and .327 in May. Young hitters go through slumps. He’s still a future star with an advanced approach and good power. It’s also no coincidence that he started to slide a little after the signing of Stephen Drew. End rant! As for today he costs $3,300 and I’m looking for the X-Man to get on the good foot for the second half. Plus I made a bet that Xander will out hit Brock Holt in the 2nd half.
OF 1 – Jay Bruce, $4,500: This is simple, Bruce is a lefty power bat at Yankee stadium against a so-so fly ball pitcher. I’m going all dong of the night on JB. Bruce don’t let me dowwwwn Bruce! Sorry I have to reference that song after every bold prediction about Jay Bruce. It’s in my contract, and by contract I mean my made up agreement with Guru.
OF 2 – David Peralta, $3,700: He’s a .300 hitter facing Edwin Jackson at Chase Field tonight. I mean it’s not Goldy vs Jackson is to Drinking Blue Label out of Scarlett Johansson’s navel perfect, but it’s still good. It’s more drinking Dark and Stormys from Rihanna’s navel. Sounds good right?
OF 3 – James Jones, $3,400: This is all about some cheap speed. At this price if I get two hits and a steal I’m coming out in the black. I’m looking for speed the way Don Johnson was looking for a heartbeat. Speaking of which for a good looking guy his standards were pretty low huh? A heart beat is your qualifier? You were an 80’s sex symbol Don look for a tight waist and pretty face Doode.
As always be sure to check the lineups, give a look at the weather and I toast your team with slightly chilled Manischewitz.
Contributing Writer: Ralph Lifshitz
@Ralphlifshitzbb
#DirtyTurban
the DIRTY TURBAN 