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Daily Fantasy MLB DFS Picks For DraftKings 7/4/16
Due to the holiday weekend, I will not be posting explanations to all players. If you have a specific questions, you can direct them to my social media, which you can find listed later in the article. Sorry for the inconvenience, but I hope everyone has a great July 4th weekend!
P – Archie Bradley (vs. San Diego Padres): $8,500
P – Jerad Eickhoff (vs. Atlanta Braves): $8,400
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Daily Fantasy MLB DFS Picks For DraftKings 7/3/16
Due to the holiday weekend, I will not be posting explanations to all players. If you have a specific questions, you can direct them to my social media, which you can find listed later in the article. Sorry for the inconvenience, but I hope everyone has a great July 4th weekend!
P- Jon Lester (vs. New York Mets): $12,800
P- Lucas Giolito (vs. Cincinnati Reds): $7,400
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Daily Fantasy MLB DFS Picks For DraftKings 7/2/16
P – Jose Fernandez (vs. Atlanta Braves): $13,800. Jose is expensive on Saturday, but he is worth it. He is facing one of the worst offenses in baseball and he has been red hot recently. Fernandez is coming off an absolute gem against the Chicago Cubs, in which he threw seven innings, striking out 13, and allowing only one run. He is now averaging 13.12 strikeouts per nine innings this season.
P – Adam Wainwright (vs. Milwaukee Brewers): $7,500. This is a bit of a risky pick, but it was necessary to choose a cheaper option since Jose Fernandez was so expensive. Wainwright has struggled this season, but he is facing an offense he has dominated throughout his career and they are ice cold over the last seven days. In 137 career at bats against Wainwright, the Brewers’ offense is batting .234, with two home runs, and a .274 OBP.
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Daily Fantasy MLB DFS Picks For DraftKings 7/1/16
P – Michael Fulmer (vs. Tampa Bay Rays): $10,900. Fulmer has been dominant this season. In 63.2 innings pitched, he owns a 7-2 record, 2.54 ERA, 50 hits against, 60 strikeouts, and 24 walks. The Rays offense has struggled quite a bit in 2016, so Fulmer should be able to take care of business. Prior to Fulmer’s last start, he threw 33.1 consecutive scoreless innings.
P – Tanner Roark (vs. Cincinnati Reds): $9,800. Roark struggled his last time out against the Reds, but he has been spectacular for the rest of the 2016 season. In 16 starts, he owns a 7-5 record, with a 2.96 ERA, 90 hits against, 89 strikeouts, and 32 walks in 100.1 innings pitched. The Reds offense has been miserable over the past seven games, which is a great sign for Roark.
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Daily Fantasy MLB DFS Picks For DraftKings 6/30/16
P – Zach Davies (vs. Los Angeles Dodgers): $8,000. Davies has been spectacular this month. In five starts in June, he owns a 1.64 ERA, 0.788 WHIP, 36 strikeouts, and six walks in 33 innings pitched. One of those five starts came against the Dodgers, in which he threw seven innings, giving up five hits, one run, and he struck out six. The Dodgers offense has really struggled over the past seven days, which is a good sign for the young right-hander.
P – Carlos Rodon (vs. Minnesota Twins): $8,500. Rodon is coming off a very good start against the Toronto Blue Jays in his last start. Over his last 12 innings pitched, he has struck out 16 batters, which is a great sign for daily fantasy. The Minnesota Twins rank in the bottom of the major leagues against left-handed pitching in 2016, so this should be a great matchup for Rodon. Rodon faced the Twins on April 13th, going six innings, giving up three hits, zero runs, and he struck out six. Rodon can be a very high risk, high reward pitcher, so this could be a risky play.
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Daily Fantasy MLB DFS Picks For DraftKings – 6/28/16
Elite P – Corey Kluber (vs. Atlanta Braves): $13,400
Elite P – Jon Lester (vs. Cincinnati Reds): $11,700
Elite P – Zack Greinke (vs. Philidelphia Phillies): $10,600
Bargain P – Ubaldo Jimenez (vs. San Diego Padres): $4,800
Bargain P – Lucas Giolito (vs. New York Mets): $6,400
Bargain P – Matt Harvey (vs. Washington Nationals): $6,500
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Daily Fantasy MLB DFS Picks For DraftKings 6/27/16
Elite P- Jake Arrieta (vs. Cincinnati Reds): $13,700
Elite P- Trevor Bauer (vs. Atlanta Braves): $12,800
Elite P- Noah Syndergaard (vs. Washington Nationals): $12,200
Bargain P- Eduardo Rodriguez (vs. Tampa Bay Rays): $6,600
Bargain P- Collin McHugh (vs. Los Angeles Angels): $6,900
Bargain P- Jeff Samardzija (vs. Oakland A’s): $8,400
To see the other positional picks, click the link below:
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Daily Fantasy MLB DFS Picks For DraftKings 6/26/16
P- Justin Verlander (vs. Cleveland Indians): $10,700. In 264 career at bats against Verlander, the Indians’ offense is batting .223, with 63 strikeouts, and a .306 OBP. He struggled against the Indians in his last start, but in the nine starts since, he is 6-2, with a 2.34 ERA.
P- Hector Santiago (vs. Oakland Athletics): $5,800. Santiago has been very solid over his last two starts. Oakland’s offense has really struggled over the past seven games. They are ranked 26th in runs scored, 25th in OBP, and 26th in slugging. They have also struggled against left-handed pitching all season, which points in Santiago’s favor as well.
To view the rest of the picks, please click the link below:
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Daily Fantasy MLB DFS Picks For DraftKings 6/25/16
P- Madison Bumgarner (vs. Philadelphia Phillies): $14,000. Bumgarner has not allowed more than two earned runs in his past 12 starts. He is now 8-3 on the season, with a 1.83 ERA, and 115 strikeouts. In 62 career at bats against Bumgarner, the Phillies’ offense is batting .210, with two home runs, 20 strikeouts, and a .239 OBP.
P- Brandon Finnegan (vs. San Diego Padres): This month has been great for Finnegan. He is 2-1, with a 2.96 ERA, and he has gone six innings while giving up fewer than two runs in three of the last four starts. On the season, he is 3-5, with a 3.81 ERA,with 59 strikeouts.
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Daily Fantasy MLB DFS Picks For DraftKings 6/24/16
P – Max Scherzer (vs. Milwaukee Brewers): $13,900. In 61 career at bats against Scherzer, the Brewers’ offense is batting .115, with 28 strikeouts, and a .169 OBP. In his last start against Milwaukee, Scherzer held together a perfect game through seven innings. Unfortunately he lost the perfect game in the seventh, but he only gave up one hit with 16 strikeouts in the complete game. In his last three starts, he owns a 2-0 record, 0.90 ERA, and 27 strikeouts.
P – Cody Reed (vs. San Diego Padres): $7,200. In his MLB debut, Reed showed lots of promise. He threw seven innings against the Houston Astros, giving up four runs, and striking out nine. His ability to strike batters out should make him a very good play on Friday. San Diego is ranked 27th in strikeouts, which is great for Reed.
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Daily Fantasy MLB DFS Picks For DraftKings 6/23/16
P- Jerad Eickhoff (vs. Minnesota Twins): $9,400. All of the top tier pitchers have tough match-ups on Thursday, but Eickhoff has a very favorable matchup. He will be facing the Minnesota Twins, who have scored the fewest runs in the American League this year. So far in 2016, Eickhoff is 4-9, with a 3.49 ERA, 83 hits against, and 73 strikeouts in 85 innings pitched. His record isn’t pretty, but it is more a matter of lack of run support, which shouldn’t be an issue against the Twins.
P- Tim Lincecum (vs. Oakland Athletics): $7,100. Lincecum dominated the A’s in his season debut on Saturday. The A’s offense has really struggled recently, so Lincecum should be able to take care of business again on Thursday. Over the last seven games, the A’s rank 29th in runs, 29th in OBP, and 29th in slugging. This will also be Lincecum’s debut at his home stadium, so the crowd will be behind him, which should help him succeed.
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Astros’ Prospect, Alex Bregman, Hit In The Head By A 94 MPH Fastball
Many Houston Astros and fantasy baseball fans have been wondering when Alex Bregman will finally make his MLB debut. Unfortunately, it might be delayed after taking a fastball to the head on Monday night. Luckily Bregman got up on his own power and he seems to be okay, but he sat out last night as a precautionary measure. Hopefully this event doesn’t hurt Bregman physically or his approach at the plate.
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Daily Fantasy MLB DFS Picks For DraftKings 6/22/16
P- Cole Hamels (vs. Cincinnati Reds): $10,400. So far in June, Hamels has posted a 2-0 record with a 1.88 ERA in four starts. He is taking on a Reds’ offense in which he has dominated throughout his entire career. In 14 career starts against the Reds, Hamels is 9-1 with a 1.96 ERA.
P- Lance McCullers (vs. Los Angeles Angels): $8,200. The Astros need to win this series, so you know McCullers is going to be fired up for this one. In his four starts this season, he is 2-1 with a 2.55 ERA. In 2015, he faced the Angels four times and went 1-1 with a 2.52 ERA.
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Daily Fantasy MLB DFS Picks For DraftKings 6/21/16
P- Jose Fernandez (vs. Atlanta Braves): $13,700. Fernandez has been lethal on the mound recently. In his last 10 games, he owns a 2.25 ERA, with 91 strikeouts in 64 innings pitched. Jose will be facing one of the worst offenses in baseball, so this should be a great matchup for daily fantasy.
P- Sonny Gray (vs. Milwaukee Brewers): $6,600. Gray pitched incredibly well in his last start until the sixth inning, which he surrendered five funs. In his two starts prior to his last starts (since returning from the DL), he gave up only three runs on 12.2 innings pitched. Over the last seven days, the Brewers’ offense ranks in the bottom third in runs, batting average, OBP, and slugging, so hopefully Gray can take advantage of this struggling offense in his home park.
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Daily Fantasy MLB DFS Picks For DraftKings 6/20/16
P- Clayton Kershaw (vs. Washington Nationals): $14,200. It is close to impossible not to start Kershaw every time he steps on the mound. He is averaging 30.1 points per game this season on DraftKings. He currently owns a 19-1 strikeout to walk ratio, so he should provide plenty of points every time he steps on the mound. In 155 career at bats against Kershaw, the Nationals’ offense is batting .219, with 48 strikeouts, and a .265 OBP.
P- Drew Smyly (vs. Cleveland Indians): In 77 career at bats against Smyly, the Indians’ offense is batting .195, with 24 strikeouts, and a .249 OBP. He struggled over the past month or so, but he dominated his last time out, in which he struck out 12 batters over seven innings.
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Daily Fantasy MLB DFS Picks For DraftKings 6/19/16
P- Jacob deGrom (vs. Atlanta Braves): $11,300. deGrom has had some pretty bad luck recently when it comes to run support, but this hasn’t affected how well he has pitched. In his last five starts, he has four quality starts and he dominated the Pirates’ over his last two starts. In six career starts against the Braves, deGrom owns a 3-2 record with a 1.89 ERA.
P- Mike Fiers (vs. Cincinnati Reds): $6,500. Fiers is coming off one of his best starts of the season, in which he gave up two runs and five hits against the Rays in seven innings of work. He is pitching at home, which is very good. He owns a 3.67 ERA at home, compared to a 6.19 ERA on the road. In 67 career at bats against Fiers, the Reds’ lineup is batting .179, with one home run, seven XBH, 10 RBIs, 14 strikeouts, and a .242 OBP.
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Daily Fantasy MLB DFS Picks For DraftKings 6/18/16
If you have any questions or comments about this article or fantasy baseball, please Tweet me @dynasty_digest. Please follow my blog for daily updates on my daily fantasy baseball rosters for DraftKings (dynastydigest.sportsblog.com). I won’t be able to post once the actual prices come out for today, so I will post elite and bargain picks for Saturday.
Elite P- Zack Greinke (vs. Philadelphia Phillies)
Elite P- Max Scherzer (vs. San Diego Padres)
Elite P- Danny Salazar (vs. Chicago White Sox)
Elite P- Steven Matz (vs. Atlanta Braves)
Bargain P- Matt Moore (vs. San Francisco Giants)
Bargain P- R.A. Dickey (vs. Baltimore Orioles)
Bargain P- Tyler Chatwood (vs. Miami Marlins)
Bargain P- Michael Pineda (vs. Minnesota Twins)
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Daily Fantasy MLB DFS Picks For DraftKings 6/15/16
P- Corey Kluber (vs. Kansas City Royals): $13,100. This matchup almost looks too good to be true. Kluber has been very successful as of late. He is coming off his second complete game of the season, in which he gave up only three hits, with eight strikeouts against the Angels. He has gone at least six innings in his last six starts. He has also dominated the Royals throughout his career. In 240 career at bats against Kluber, the Royals’ offense is batting .204, with 60 strikeouts, and a .235 OBP.
P- Sonny Gray (vs. Texas Rangers): $7,100. Gray has really excelled in his first two starts since returning from the disabled list. In his first start, he threw five innings against the Astros giving up five hits, one run, and five strikeouts. In his second outing, he faced the Reds, in which he gave up five hits, two runs, and four strikeouts in 7.2 innings pitched. Gray does face a tough offense, but he is pitching at his home park, which is always a good sign. In 176 career at bats against Gray, the Rangers’ lineup is batting .210, with 34 strikeouts, and a .291 OBP.
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Daily Fantasy MLB DFS Picks For DraftKings 6/10/16
P- Clayton Kershaw (vs. San Francisco Giants): $13,900. In 237 career at bats against Kershaw, the Giants’ offense is batting .148, with 76 strikeouts, and only 10 walks, with a .189 OBP. Kershaw has been absolutely dominant all year long and regardless of his high price, he is a must start. In 12 starts, he is 8-1, with a 1.46 ERA, 54 hits against, 109 strikeouts, and only 6 walks in 92.2 innings pitched.
P- Ian Kennedy (vs. Chicago White Sox): $9,300. In 78 career at bats against Kennedy, the White Sox’ offense is batting .244, with 20 strikeouts, five RBIs, and a .272 OBP. The White Sox offense has also struggled quite a bit recently. In the past seven days, the White Sox rank 28th in runs scored (20), 27th in batting average (.212), and 21st in OBP (.300).
To see the rest of the picks, click the link below:
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Daily Fantasy MLB DFS Picks For DraftKings 6/4/16
P- Clayton Kershaw (vs. Atlanta Braves): $14,100. I don’t care how expensive Kershaw is, he is a must start against one of the worst offenses in baseball. In 104 career at bats against Kershaw, the Braves’ offense is batting .240, with 35 strikeouts, and a .288 OBP.
Kershaw is currently on pace for one of the best seasons in baseball by a pitcher in a long time. In his 86.2 innings pitched in 2016, he owns a 7-1 record, 1.56 ERA, 51 hits against, 105 strikeouts, and only 5 walks.
P- Bartolo Colon (vs. Miami Marlins): $7,000. In 262 career at bats, the Marlins’ offense is batting .279 with a .287 OBP. In his last 10 starts, Colon has given up more than three runs in only one of those starts. He won’t put up elite numbers, but he is a very viable option for solid statistics.
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Chris Swauger Blog: Swags’ Baseball Gear
Tuesday January 17, 2012
Chris Swauger- MLB reports Blog (Swags’ Hotspot): I was given an idea for this blog and I tried to run with it. I ended up plowing headfirst into a brick wall. The idea was to write about how I choose my equipment. How do I decide on what gear to arm myself with to go into baseball battle? I started thinking about it and writing about it… when I realized something: it doesn’t matter. As a minor leaguer grinding and struggling my way up the food chain, I will take anything I can get. I don’t care if I have the latest batting gloves or the newest cleats. There are no style points awarded in this game. Any and all equipment provided for me is acceptable. If I don’t have to pay for it, that’s a huge plus. One of my teammates and I came up with a saying, “FREE is in the budget.” Truer words have never been spoken.
Contemplating this equipment idea led me to two alternatives. The first was I could talk about the brands I use and prefer, and possibly galvanize any other company into belly-laughing the next time I or my agent called them to talk about supplying me with gear or a contract. So that was out. Then I started thinking about the fact that I have used so much different equipment over the years. So many different gloves, batting gloves and cleats. So many different bats. So many different models. Why? I concluded that I was looking for an edge. I’ve been searching for the next best thing to make me better. I constantly adjusted and changed until I found tools that were comfortable and useful to me and my skill set. I realized that all the time (and money) I’ve spent playing guinea pig and copycat with my coaches’ and teammates’ gear suggestions mirrored my playing career. It’s all about adjustments.
Adjustments are the main reason I am still playing. While I would never be so ignorant as to say I have no talent, I will say that I was not a 26th round senior-sign for nothing. I have always been a productive player everywhere I have gone, but that is definitely not because it has come easy to me. Any success I’ve had has been because of hard work and adjusting to what I see, feel, and hear on the diamond. I believe in and repeat my routines daily, but I am not scared to tweak them and look for alternatives based on what I feel that day. I try to be consistent with the bats or gloves that make me feel confident on the field, but if something is not working- then it’s time to adjust.
I would estimate I have used about 20 different bat models in my four years playing professionally. Sometimes I had to change out of
necessity, because I have a penchant for buzz-sawing bats faster than factories can ship them to me. Other times, it was because I got curious what works for other players. Maybe their “magic sticks” could work for me. While I’ve never been one to completely throw my hands in the air by blowing up everything I have been working on and radically change my approach, I will shake things up when I think it is necessary. I have never been accused of being superstitious, and I think that is because of my willingness to change anything and everything to be successful. I am consistent in what I do and stick to what works. But when it stops working, I grab my gear and move on to the next idea.
That concept is not exclusive to my preparation. Once the game starts, I take the same approach to each play, each at-bat, each pitch. I try to have a solid plan going into the game, but if I feel it’s necessary to adjust- I will. Brad Pitt has a great line in the movie “Moneyball” where he says “Adapt or die.” I love that. There is a constant chess match being played on the field between the managers, the hitter and the pitcher. Between the offense and defense. Falling behind in these tiny point/counterpoint contests usually decides the winner and the lay-HOO-zay-herrr (thank you Ace Ventura). So when I get in these situations, I’m not afraid to flip my game plan based on what the opposition seems to be doing to me or my teammates. No one on the field is going to change just for the sake of changing. Until I prove that I can adjust, players are going to continue to attack me the same way and be successful. Once I evolve, I get the edge and the pressure to change falls back on them. Casual observers don’t always see it, but this happens every pitch. That is why baseball is so fun and interesting. Especially if you pay attention.
I appreciate all of my readers’ attention. If you would like to give me even more of it, follow me on Twitter (@CSwag8). I hope everyone enjoys my insights as much as I enjoy giving them.
Until next time,
Swags
***Chris Swauger (AKA Swags) is an outfielder in the St. Louis Cardinals system. Swags played for the Springfield Cardinals (AA) in 2011. With his own Blog Page on MLB reports known as Swags’ Hotspot, Swags provides a behind the scenes look into the life of a professional baseball player. One of the funniest guys we know, these blog entries are a MUST read for every baseball fan! ***
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