Week 12 RWBC Recap
Well, here we are in the final "regular season" week of this season's big FanDuel event, where despite finishing tied for second among RotoWire experts last week, my team continues to linger in Sadtown. Those worries weren't shared by FanDuel user dwade35, who dominated last week, taking first place by a 7.5-point margin thanks to a well-rounded performance led by Tyson Ross's win over Arizona and Edwin Encarnacion's two-homer game.
My own team actually got a better, cheaper pitching effort -- Noah Syndergaard picked up 16 points to Ross's 15, and for $800 less -- but aside from Scott Van Slyke and J.D. Martinez, not many of my hitters showed up to play. But hey, how can I complain? I made 20 bucks, after all. Can't wait to blow it in Vegas!
The top two spots among our experts remain unchanged since I last wrote this recap three weeks ago, with Ryan Rufe and Paul Sporer continuing their run of dominance, but the meteoric rise of Ronny Mor into third place has been an impressive run. With 54.5 points, Ronny led all experts and tied for 11th overall last week, and he's another one who can thank E5 and Ross.
Updated RotoWire expert top-10 standings:
1. Ryan Rufe (rmrufe) — 487.57
2. Paul Sporer (pjs24) — 458.24
3. Ronny Mor (Ronnymor2) — 448.24
4. Shannon McKeown rotoshannon) —434.65
5. Peter Schoenke rotopeter) — 431.15
6. Tony Goldenstein (trookie83) — 429.40
7. Scott Jenstad (OaktownSJ) — 427.31
8. James Anderson (realjranderson) — 425.47
9. Chris Benzine (Crispy272001) — 417.32
10. Chris Smith (smithca28) — 415.32
Value Picks/Sleepers
SP Ubaldo Jimenez: Baltimore Orioles @ Chicago White Sox
FanDuel Price: $8,400
The White Sox actually managed to put up seven runs Wednesday, but most of that came off the Cardinals' weaker bullpen arms rather than starter John Lackey. Jimenez is a more interesting starter from a fantasy perspective than Lackey, and the Chicago lineup has been so fantasy-friendly to opposing pitchers. Ubaldo's won four consecutive starts and is coming off a masterful eight shutout innings against Cleveland in his last outing. There's always the risk of getting Bad Ubaldo, but at this price and with this matchup, the value is hard to pass up.
3B Miguel Sano: Minnesota Twins @ Kansas City Royals
FanDuel Price: $2,200
It doesn't seem likely that the days of Sano at the minimum price will last very long, and it's possible that the powerful 22-year-old could have a big first look blowup-prone Royals starter Jeremy Guthrie. Sano was hitting a fairly modest .274 with Double-A Chattanooga, but with 15 homers and a .374 OBP to his credit. He's even got the speed to swipe a bag here and there, as he's picked up five this season and reached double digits in 2013. After missing all of last season to Tommy John surgery, Sano has returned without missing a beat, and he should draw regular starts for the hitting-needy Twins going forward. Can't beat his power for the price.
OFGerardo Parra: Milwaukee Brewers @ Cincinnati Reds
FanDuel Price: $2,600
One of the most typically underrated FanDuel plays, Parra is available at a pleasantly cheap price, considering the damage he's been able to do against righties this year. He's hitting .304 with four homers and four steals off righties, as opposed to .275 with one homer and one steal (in limited at-bats) versus his fellow southpaws. He's also likely to bat leadoff against unimpressive Reds righty Michael Lorenzen, who has almost as many walks as he does strikeouts.
High Risk/High Reward
SP Clayton Kershaw: Los Angeles Dodgers vs. New York Mets
FanDuel Price: $12,300
If there's one thing we know about Clayton Kershaw, it's that he's amazing. If there's one thing we know about the Mets, its that they can't hit. This is a perfect fantasy storm for Kershaw -- a Mets lineup that lacks its two best hitters in David Wright (back) and Travis d'Arnaud (elbow), with the struggling Michael Cuddyer (knee) hurting too. The Mets are coming off a three-game set with the Cubs in which they scored one run, which is about as bad as it gets. They haven't exceeded two runs in a game since June 20 — nearly two weeks ago. And now they face The Best Pitcher In Baseball (TM), who's going to be out for blood coming off three consecutive losses in which he's pitched pretty well. If you're willing to pay the freight, it looks like the stars are aligned for Kershaw here.
Steer Clear
OF Jose Bautista: Toronto Blue Jays @ Detroit Tigers
FanDuel Price: $4,800
Bautista's in an interesting position entering Friday's action, as hes picked up consecutive two-hit games -- with a total of five RBI -- following a seven-game hitless slump. He also draws Anibal Sanchez, who's turned around his poor season and has a good track record (in a small sample) against the veteran slugger -- Bautista's just 2-for-10 off him without a homer. It's not typically a bad idea to find room for Bautista in your lineup, but there may be better options out there for you this time around, especially if you're intending to spend the requisite freight on Kershaw.
Have a good Fourth of July, folks!
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