Ah, the first Sunday of the year. Sunday’s are usually weird lineup days, with veterans getting a day off after a night game but hopefully, four games in those aging knees can hold up. Both major DFS sites have their main slate being 8 games starting at 1:05, so that’s what we’ll focus on. It should be an interesting slate because the Dodgers in Coors is cut off from the main slate.
Top SP: Aaron Civale, CLE ($9,600 DK, $8,400 FD) at DET
Alright, here’s the thing. We’re on day 3 or 4 for most teams and the starting pitching quality has fallen off a cliff. On days like this, I’m more likely to take shots at two cheaper pitchers so I can pay up for studly bats. Today, Aaron Civale is my exception. Civale made a lot of noise in the offseason for his revamped delivery and we’ll get to see it on the main stage today. The Tigers have been a little more punchy than I expected them to be, getting to Bieber and Plesac for a couple of runs. However, top to bottom the Detroit lineup is filled with high strikeout guys making them an attack candidate.
Honorable Mentions: Michael Pineda, MIN ($9,200 DK, $7,300 FD) at MIL
Value SP: Zach Davies, CHC ($7,900 DK, $8,200 FD) vs PIT
Late in draft season, Zach Davies became one of my favorite “last-round targets” because of this start. Now we’re likely getting the Pittsburgh lineup without Ke’Bryan Hayes? This becomes a must-play spot for me. Davies was a changed man in 2020, increasing his swinging strike rate and strikeout rates to career highs thanks in part to increased usage in his cutter. If Hayes is out of the lineup, the Pirates will roll out complete mediocrity and Davies should take full advantage at a nice discounted price.
Honorable Mention: Tarik Skubel, DET ($7,300 DK, $6,000 FD) vs CLE.
1B Paul Goldschmidt, STL ($5,200 DK, $4,000 FD) at CIN
I had a lot of fun going through this slate and seeing what pitchers were getting rolled out. Somehow, on game 3 of the season, the Reds are throwing Jeff Hoffman. Yes, THAT Jeff Hoffman. I don’t think I need to dive tooooooooooo deep on Hoffman to convince you that the Cardinals are probably going to score runs today. Okay, I’ll give you just one piece of information and you can decide if its enough. Over the last FOUR seasons, Hoffman has thrown 199.1 innings and sports a lovely 6.64 ERA. The Cardinals are going to be one of my favorite stacks today and Paul Goldschmidt is my anchor.
Honorable Mentions: Xander Bogaerts, SS ($5,500 DK, $3,700 FD) vs BAL; Whit Merrifield, 2B/OF ($5,200 DK, $4,000 FD) vs TEX; DJ LeMahieu, 2B/3B ($5,500 DK, $3,700 FD).
OF J.D. Martinez, BOS ($4,500 DK, $3,600 FD) vs BAL
Raise your hand if you’ve never heard of Bruce Zimmermann! Welcome to the club! Here’s the only detail that I really need to know – he’s a lefty who struggled with control in the minors. The Red Sox have some nice righties that can hit mistakes and the best of those is J.D. Martinez. When I’m looking at my secondary stack, I like to try and save a little cash, so I’m likely rolling a 3-man “wrap-around” stack with Bobby Dalbec ($3,700), Enrique Hernandez ($3,200), and Martinez.
Honorable Mentions: Nick Castellanos, OF ($4,800 DK, $3,400 FD) vs STL; Aaron Judge OF ($5,700 DK, $4,000 FD) vs TOR.
Value Batter: 1B Carlos Santana, KC ($3,600 DK, $3,300 FD) vs TEX
There is a ton of value that I like on this slate. I’ll get to some of them in a second, but I wanted to take a second and focus on the Royals stack for a minute. The Royals have shown some pop early in the season and between Carlos Santana, Jorge Soler ($3,100), and Andrew Benintendi ($3,900) they have a trio of underpriced hitters that have a decent upside. Today the Royals take on Jordan Lyles, who has been mediocre for his career, and, as of this writing, the wind is forecasted to be blowing out to centerfield at 13 miles per hour.
Another stack that features super cheap options, is the Orioles. First of all, Trey Mancini is criminally underpriced still at the minimum ($2,000). Cedric Mullins is likely leading off and sports the same pricetag as Mancini. The Orioles face Garrett Richards who showed super shaky control in Spring Training, walking 11 batters in 13.2 innings pitched. I know it’s a “vomit stack”, but those are usually the ones that lead to a takedown.
Honorable Mentions: Jordan Luplow, OF ($2,300 DK, $2,400 FD) at DET; Enrique Hernandez, 2B/OF ($3,200 DK, $2,800 FD) vs BAL; Joc Pederson, OF ($3,600 DK, $2,600 FD) vs PIT.
Top Stack: Cardinals at CIN (RHP Jeff Hoffman)
With Coors off the main slate, I don’t think any one stack will be super chalky. But as I mentioned earlier, I want to pick on the pitcher with a 6+ ERA over his last 4 seasons. A Cardinals stack has to start with Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado ($5,300 DK, $3,800 FD). My next three favorites are Tommy Edman, Paul DeJong, and Tyler O’Neil, but if you needed to save salary, you could look to Dylan Carlson. If you’re looking to win yourself a GPP, make sure you get different. The key is to zig while everyone is zagging. Good luck today!
Honorable Mentions: KC vs TEX (Lyles); BOS vs BAL (Zimmermann).
Design by J.R. Caines (@JRCainesDesign on Twitter and @caines_design on Instagram)