Welcome to the Playbook for Wednesday, April 5th
We have our first full slate in MLB this year! There is plenty of opportunity out there and we’ll do our best to identify the best of the best cash plays and the bargains to be found in all of these players. We’ll get started early and go all day long.
Bargain Bin
There are a few players that I didn’t do a full write-up on, but like for value plays and may make it into my Optimal Lineups. They include:
C - Jett Bandy (MIL) -- an early season PBP favorite is demoted today
C - Travis d’Arnaud (NYM) - Yahoo! Value
1B - Ryon Healy (OAK) - DK Value
1B - Eric Thames (MIL) - DK & FD Value - GPP
2B - Devon Travis (TOR) - FD Value
3B - JaCoby Jones (DET) - FD Value (again)
3B - Joey Gallo (TEX) - HR yesterday - super value on Yahoo!
3B - Maikel Franco (PHI) - FD value - GPP
SS - Jorge Polanco (MIN) - Y! Value
OF - Brandon Guyer (CLE) - If he can sneak in the lineup today vs. Cole Hamels, he mashed LHP in 2016 (.437 wOBA) - great value on Y!
Keep in mind that this is the third and final game of the series for most of these teams and you will see some catchers already getting a day off. Heck, Jonathan Lucroy already got a day off! So, keep an eye on that position. We’ll try to suggest players that we expect to be in the lineup - but you never know for sure until the manager submits that lineup card. With late swap now in FanDuel, it’s not as big of a concern, but you don’t want to have to be monitoring the lineups all day and lose an edge to those who can/will.
Weather Report
CHC @ STL : Things do not look promising in St. Louis for the day game with the Cubs (Lance Lynn vs. John Lackey). There are storms everywhere and with both teams having a scheduled day off tomorrow - there is a good chance this one gets washed. Stay tuned. I wanted to include Anthony Rizzo below but am staying away from this mess - we replaced him with Hanley Ramirez.
PHI @ CIN : Another midwest game that is in severe danger. They are calling for scattered thunderstorms all over the place, so if there is a big enough window, they may be able to sneak it in, but I wouldn’t bet a starting pitcher (Brandon Finnegan vs. Jerad Eickhoff) on it. We love Joey Votto today but will have to sit that out too (replaced with Greg Bird).
DET @ CWS : You’d have to think they don’t want another rainout in this series and with the game starting early enough, they will have more time to get it in. Still, it’s a worrisome situation. We’re sticking with our top plays from the Tigers in the Playbook, but be ready to pivot. UPDATE: Game is PPD. Removed Miguel Cabrera, Ian Kinsler, Tim Anderson and Todd Frazier from the Playbook today.
Let’s get to it!
Stacks
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