Week 10 RWBC Recap
Last Friday's contest was quite interesting with daily players drooling over ace pitchers Clayton Kershaw and Felix Hernandez on the evening slate. Kershaw earned a win following 11 punchouts against the Padres, whereas the Astros annihilated "The King" to the tune of eight runs on five hits, knocking him out of the game after one third of an inning and leaving 12.6% of RWBC contestants unhappy. While Felix may never pitch that poorly ever again, it's important not to overlook Houston hitters, as they currently rank first in the majors with 97 team home runs, 13 more than the next best (Dodgers).
Hats off to jimmies05 and ndirish416, tying for best lineup in the qualifier with 56.66 points. Jimmies took the unconventional route and chose a cheap pitcher in Tampa Bay's Matt Andriese ($5,000/ 14.66 pts), allowing him to stack an outfield of Mike Trout ($5,000/10 pts), Bryce Harper ($5,500/ 9.75 pts) and Andrew McCutchen ($4,800/ -1.5 pts). The Notre Dame fan had Kershaw and a group of hitters that combined for 44.75 points, including Gerardo Parra who set him back a minimum $2,200 in FanDuel dough and still served 6.75 points.
As for the RotoWire Experts, Jason Brown (modano9) led the way with 44.66 points. One of his biggest hits was Toronto First Baseman Justin Smoak ($2,600/ 12.5 pts), a platoon player who finished a double shy of a cycle.
Congratulations to all of last week's FanDuel winners!
Enter the Week 11 Qualifier
Updated RotoWire Expert Top-10 Standings
Ryan Rufe (rmrufe) - 417.32
Paul Sporer (pjs24) - 409.83
Scott Jenstad (OaktownSJ) - 358.56
Tony Goldenstein (trookie83) - 358.24
Chris Liss (cliss11) - 352.90
Shannon McKeown (rotoshannon) - 351.65
Brett Goldhammer (bretskyball) - 349.23
Peter Schoenke (rotopeter) - 348.90
Jason Brown (modano9) - 345.82
Herb Ilk (joecomma) - 340.07
Strategy Tip
Great news! The RotoWire MLB Lineup Optimizer section has been upgraded with more data points to help you assemble the best daily lineup possible. Want to see money lines and over/unders? Check. Weather information right in the player pool? Got you covered. Want to learn if the players you're scouting are righties or lefties? Look no further. Best of all, the information is neatly presented and color-coded, greatly reducing the time it takes to do the important research ahead of setting a daily lineup.
Value Picks & Sleepers
3B Alex Rodriguez ($3,300) New York Yankees vs. Detroit Tigers
Third Base is packed with sluggers routinely drawing high ownership rates like Todd Frazier ($5,200), Josh Donaldson ($4,600) and Kris Bryant ($4,100). However, I believe A-Rod can put up just as many points as those hitters at a lesser price. Rodriguez needs only one hit to reach 3,000 for his career and match Roberto Clemente for 28th all time. If that's not reason enough to like him, consider that he's been successful against Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander, who is making just his second start of the season after dealing with a significant triceps strain. His OPS against JV is 1.276 between 28 career at bats.
2B Jace Peterson ($3,100) Atlanta Braves vs. New York Mets
In his last 10 games, Peterson has finished with negative fantasy points just once. You simply know what you're getting with him. He's also a leadoff hitter, making him likely to see at least four at bats in a game. I don't love that he faces off against Jacob deGrom, but he's still hitting righties better than Southpaws this season.
High Risk/Reward
SP A.J. Burnett ($9,200) Pittsburgh Pirates at Washington Nationals
Burnett's in the midst of a spectacular season, currently ranking third in the MLB with an ERA of 1.89, complemented by a career-best WHIP (1.13). Don't go thinking that people are going to suddenly forget about his nine innings of shutout ball against the Phillies last Sunday either, even if the Philadelphia batters can barely hit a beach ball this year. Keep an eye on Bryce Harper's status for Friday, as he left Thursday's game with a left hamstring injury. If Mr. Harper is healthy enough to play, it would be enough for me to shy away from Burnett. Otherwise, consider rolling with him despite the high ownership and a price tag typically reserved for pitchers in the upper echelon.
Steer Clear
SS Jose Reyes ($3,700) Toronto Blue Jays vs. Baltimore Orioles
I look at Reyes the same way I do a certified pre-owned vehicle. You know he's reliable and can be an attractive option under the right conditions, but the wheels don't spin like they used to and his cost outweighs the perceived value. Let's be honest here. You need home runs in daily games and Reyes only has two this year. Save your daily dollars for a shortstop with more pop in his bat, such as Jhonny Peralta ($3,500) or the suddenly cheap Brandon Crawford ($2,800).