I personally plan on paying down in both pitcher spots today on DraftKings. Why? Simply put I WANT EXPOSURE TO COORS FIELD AGAIN! Yes, Noah Syndergaard, Max Scherzer, and Gerrit Cole are in fine spots today, but I’ll seek value for pitchers and pay for bats.
Maeda will take the mound tonight for the Dodgers at Petco Park. Over his last three starts, Maeda has shown his upside, finishing with 24.5, 17.1 and 30 DKP respectively. During that span, he struck out a whopping 23 batters in 17.2 innings pitched. The dog days of summer have been kind to Maeda, as his 12.4 K/9 good for a 33.7 strikeout percentage, and 1.13 WHIP are evidence of. Now he gets a match up with a San Diego team who have struck out 27.7% of the time against right-hand pitching since the all-star break, and come in with a measly .292 wOBA within the same split. Although Maeda was roughed up in his last start versus the Padres allowing 5 earned runs over 2.2 innings pitched he has averaged 18.8 DKP in his four total starts against the Padres this season. At $8,000 I really like the upside for Maeda in this spot, it also helps that the Dodgers are currently -189 favorites and the Padres are implied for a paltry 3.8 runs.
Civale has looked really good in his first five career starts, working 29.2 innings and allowing just six runs while striking out 25 batters. He now gets a dream match up with the Tigers in Detroit. Since the all-star break, the Tigers have struck out 28.4% of the time versus right-hand pitching, which is the highest in the league. Their .287 wOBA and 76 wRC+ are certainly not terrifying and they may also be without Niko Goodrum (who is seriously like their only competent hitter, sorry Miggy!). Civale made his first career start against Detroit in June, pitching six shut out innings and striking out six batters, finishing with 26.5 DKP. He owns a serviceable 20% strikeout percentage in the month of August, which should be elevated with a strikeout happy Tigers team. Another bargain-priced pitcher in a nice upside spot.
Top Stacks – COORS FIELD
We are presented with a good opportunity to stack both sides in the same game. The Boston-Rockies series opened yesterday with the Red Sox winning 10-6, and as of this writing, the total on tonight’s game is at 14 runs.
The Rockies should tee off against Rodriguez and his sad 17.9% strikeout percentage in August. The following Rockies will be well represented in my lineups.
All of the following players for Colorado and Boston and our two value pitchers will all be featured in our DraftKings lineups for Wednesday, August 28. Best of luck!
The Reds will send righty Luis Castillo (12-5, 3.04 ERA) to the mound against Marlins lefty Caleb Smith (8-7, 3.82 ERA). Castillo has already set career highs in wins and strikeouts pitching 154 innings so far with 179 Ks. Over his last 5 starts Castillo has given up 15 earned runs but 8 were against St. Louis on August 16th. Castillo is 4-1 on the road this season with an impressive 12.4 K/9 per game away from home. Smith, on the other hand, over his last 5 starts has given up 17 earned runs over just 27 2/3 inning pitched and only 9 Ks. In that time his ERA has jumped from 3.43 to 3.82. Caleb is a respectable 6-2 at home totaling 57 innings and sporting a 1.07 WHIP.
More than the advantage of Castillo on the mound for Cincinnati is their bats. Since the all-star break, the Reds are 1st in BABIP (.331), 6th in wOBA (.345) and 8th in both runs (218) and RBIs (210). Absent since August 14 with a back injury, All-Star First baseman Joey Votto returns to the lineup tonight, and will bring his .450 road slugging percentage with him. Third baseman Eugenio Suarez who has homered in back to back games along with outfield phenom Aristides Aquino who has an impressive .338 average to go along with 12 HRs in only 71 at-bats will accompany Votto in the two through four spots in tonight’s lineup.
I like the Reds to keep the hot bats in this contest. Let’s confidently place a wager on Cincinnati -1.5 +125 (Intertops) for tonight’s free play. Good luck cappers.
The Florida Gators and Miami Hurricanes will face off to begin their respective 2019 college football schedules from Orlando at 7:00 p.m. ET.
What a great matchup to start the 2019 college football season and one we believe has a ticket cashing opportunity. Although they haven’t played each other since 2013 and only six times since 2002, this should be a highly entertaining game. Let’s take a closer look.
The Canes are coming off a relatively disappointing 2018 campaign under head coach Mark Richt finishing 7-6 (4-4 in ACC) and a season-ending 35-3 loss to Wisconsin in the Pinstripe Bowl. But this is 2019. New head coach Manny Diaz and successful Hurricanes’ defensive coordinator from 2018, will go with Redshirt Freshman QB Jarren Williams who beat out Sophmore N’Kosi Perry and Ohio State transfer Tate Martell to land the starting job but will have an inexperienced O-line with two freshman tackles and only guard Navaughn Donaldson as a returning starter. Furthermore, the Canes also lost three starters in the secondary from last years stellar pass defense.
The Gators finished a successful 2018 season going 10-3 (5-3 in SEC) under first-year head coach Dan Mullen en route to a 41-15 Peach Bowl victory over Michigan. Florida returns starting QB Feleipe Franks who threw for 24 touchdowns and rushed for 7 more against just six picks last year. Returning running back Lamical Perine (826 yards, 7 TD) and receiver Van Jefferson (503 yards, 6 TD) at the skill positions and will certainly test the young Miami defense. For their part, the Gators’ defense in 2018 forced an SEC-leading 26 turnovers, collected 37 sacks and returned four interceptions for TDs.
I expect Miami to play hard and keep this game respectable for their new coach but in the end, we believe the Gators have more talent and experience to get the job today. The line opened with the Gators a -7.5 favorite. Since then it has moved to -7 which is where we will gladly put our money. Let’s go Florida -7 -108 (5dimes) to kick off the college football betting season. Good luck cappers enjoy the game.
Kershaw and the Dodgers will play host to the Toronto Blue Jays tonight. Clayton has not pitched against Toronto since 2016 when he pitched 7 innings and allowed 2 ER while striking out 10 to finish with 31 DKP. The BlueJays own the 11th highest strikeout percentage vs LHP (23.6%) and a lowly .308 wOBA vs LHP. In his most recent start against the Marlins, Kershaw went seven scoreless innings while striking out ten to end the game with 38.6 DKP. Since the beginning of August, Kershaw is simply elite – sporting a 3.71 xFIP, 0.90 WHIP and a 1.35 ERA, all while striking out 36.1 % of the batters he has faced. The Dodgers are the largest favorites on the day at -316 at some books currently, and Toronto has the lowest implied run total of the night with 3. Unquestionably, I believe Kershaw has the safest floor of the top tier pitchers and still possesses enormous upside in this match up.
Sonny “Money” Gray takes the mound at home tonight versus the San Diego Padres, who will be without phenom Fernando Tatis Jr. Gray has been an unstoppable force in the month of August with an 0.00 ERA, 32.9 strikeout percentage, a formidable 12 K’s per 9 innings, 1.00 WHIP, while opponents are only hitting .117 against Gray. In his last three starts, he has pitched 18 innings, allowed 7 hits, 0 ER and 24 K’s, averaging 28.2 DKP over that span. The only concern with Gray during that time is his insane amount of walks, 11 over 18 IP. But the Padres could be the perfect remedy as they own a pedestrian 7.4% walk percentage vs RHP and the 2nd highest strikeout percentage (26.4%) vs RHP. San Diego is implied for 3.8 runs (which I feel is rather generous) and the Reds are -156 favorites. At $9,700, Gray has massive upside in this spot.
I know Sanchez was roughed up in his last outing against Oakland (5.1 IP, 6 ER, 4 HR, 2 BB, 3 K) but he gets a much more favorable matchup against the Tigers who are currently 3-7 in their last 10 and losers of their last 3. On the year, Detroit sports the highest strikeout percentage (26.6%) vs RHP, the second-worst wOBA (.284) vs RHP and the worst wRC+ (74) vs RHP. If you look past his last start against Oakland, Sanchez has pitched admirably since joining the Astros (11 IP, 3 hits allowed, 1 ER, 12 K, good for 2 wins). At $6,800, Sanchez still holds plenty of upsides, especially with a run supportive team like the Astros.
The Yankees are implied for five runs versus Homer Bailey in Oakland tonight. Bailey turned in his best start for the A’s in his last outing against the Giants (7 IP, 2 hits allowed, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 K to finish with 32 DKP). But the Yankees and their robust .347 wOBA vs RHP in 2019 are a whole different animal. Outside of his last start, Bailey has been shaky in the month of August (5.02 xFIP, 6.1 K/9, 4.38 ERA) and although he pitched well in his lone start against the Yankees (6 IP, 1 ER, 6 K, 25.1 DKP), the fact of the matter is New York is too cheap in this spot.
Gio Urshella ($4,600) has averaged 10.9 DKP over his last ten games and sports an elite .402 wOBA vs RHP. Aaron Judge ($4,000) looks like he’s heating up as he is 4-8 with two doubles in his last two games, averaging 12 DKP. Didi Gregorius ($4,100) owns a .326 wOBA vs RHP and has 3 HR and 7 RBI in his last ten games, averaging 8 DKP. DJ LeMahieu ($5,000) is the most expensive Yankee in the projected lineup who comes in with a .366 wOBA vs RHP, LeMahieu is another player who seems to be heating up as he has 2 HR, 5 RBI in his last two games. All in all, any and every bat is in play for the Bronx Bombers tonight.
These are just some of the players we are more than comfortable to have in our DraftKings MLB lineups for Tuesday, August 20. Good Luck!
Russian Daniil Medvedev will face Belgian David Goffin in the finals of the Western and Southern Open at 4:00 ET today. Both will be seeking their first career ATP Masters Series title.
Medvedev who is currently ranked #8 in the world comes into these finals off a semi-finals upset match against world No. 1 Novak Djokovic 3-6, 6-3, 6-3. This the second time Medvedev has defeated the Serbian this year. The first was in the quarter-finals at Monte Carlo 6-3, 4-6, 6-2
Goffin, the 19th ranked player in the world and fresh off a defeat of French veteran Richard Gasquet in the semi-finals 6-3, 6-4 looks to secure his fifth career ATP title on Sunday.
Medvedev and Goffin will meet for the third time in their careers, each having split the previous matches, both in grand slams.
Year
Round
Tournament
Winner
Score
2019
R32
Wimbledon
Goffin
4-6, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3, 7-5
2019
R32
Australian Open
Medvedev
6-2, 7-6 (3), 6-3
Medvedev is into his third ATP Tour final in as many weeks (Washington, Montreal, Cincinnati) and has collected 30 hardcourt wins in 2019 giving the Russian confidence as we get closer to the U.S Open.
“I think I will need to play aggressively, especially remembering my match in Wimbledon against David. I felt that I couldn’t keep up with his consistency when he’s in great shape,” Medvedev said. “At one moment I stepped up my game kind of like today with aggression and I almost won the match, though I lost it, and I think I’m going to have to be aggressive tomorrow.”
The 28-year-old Goffin is the first Belgian to reach a Masters 1000 final and impressively has won 77% of his service games on hardcourt in 2019.
“I’m just focussed on what I have to do step by step. I’ll try to do my best. I try to win every match, and then we see at the end,” Goffin said. “To reach the first Masters 1000 [final] for a Belgian, of course for such a small country it’s really nice.”
Here’s how today’s competitors reached the finals:
Medvedev
Goffin
SF
Novak Djokovic
3-6, 6-3, 6-3
Richard Gasquet
6-3, 6-4
QF
Andrey Rublev
6-2, 6-3
Yoshihito Nishioka
w/o
R16
Jan-Lennard Struff
6-2, 6-1
Adrian Mannarino
7-6(6), 6-2
R32
Benoit Paire
7-6 (2), 6-1
Guido Pella
6-1, 7-5
R64
Kyle Edmund
6-2, 7-5
Taylor Fritz
6-4, 4-6, 6-4
The last time Medvedev and Goffin met on hardcourt they recorded 30 games between them. I see this match being no different. Let’s go with a Games Total over 22 -115 (BookMaker) for our Western and Southern Open Men’s Final pick. Best of luck cappers!
