The trade deadline has come and gone.
My boy Yu Darvish is no longer a Ranger, shipped to the Dodgers for a handful of prospects.
A few other mid-tier to minor transactions took place, but nothing more noteworthy than the departure of Yu from Texas.
It’s weird to think Darvish won’t be pitching for the Rangers. He’s been a great pitcher to watch since he came to the states.
He is a free agent after this season and I am hopeful the Rangers can re-sign him in the offseason. It would be a fantastic deal for Texas. Trade him and get a bunch of prospects and get him back. I will be interested to see how that storyline plays out.
But for now, I think the transition from a heat-infested, outdoor venue in an AL ballpark to the National League is going to do wonders for Yu and his production the rest of the way. I hope we see a deflated price tag in his first start at home for the Dodgers.
Sonny Gray to the Yankees was the other big deal to go down, and I think that’s a solid addition for the Yanks, especially if Sonny is fully back to his old self.
In case you missed it, some other notable trades include Francisco Liriano to the Astros, Tim Beckham to the Orioles, Alex Avila to the Cubs and then some relievers went here and there.
But now it’s time to look forward as we tackle today’s slate of DFS games.
It’s a full slate, 15 games.
As I was scrolling the pitcher list, entering them into FanGraphs, I had one thought – “holy shit.”
There are a ton of options on today’s slate. It’s ridiculous. Counting from the top on DraftKings, it took until the 15th pitcher, C.C. Sabathia, for me to say “No, I am not using him.”
And no, I am not effing using C.C. The list doesn’t end at him. There’s some value below him as well.
Anyway, tons of pitching options tonight AND we have a game at Coors. It’s great slate and it’s slates like this that truly make DFS fun.
How about some rankings?
Catcher
- Buster Posey
- Willson Contreras
- Gary Sanchez
- Jonathan Lucroy (if he’s in the lineup)
- Miguel Montero (if he’s in the lineup)
First Base
- Cody Bellinger
- Ryan Zimmerman
- Chris Davis
- Paul Goldschmidt
- Freddie Freeman
Second Base
- Robinson Cano
- Neil Walker
- Rougned Odor
- Ian Kinsler
- Jose Peraza
Third Base
- Kris Bryant
- Kyle Seager
- Nolan Arenado
- Mike Moustakas
- Josh Donaldson
Shortstop
- Trevor Story
- Corey Seager
- Didi Gregorius
- Jean Segura
- Xander Bogaerts
Outfield
- Aaron Judge
- J.D. Martinez
- Nelson Cruz
- Yoenis Cespedes
- Mike Trout
Pitchers
- Max Scherzer
- Jose Berrios
- Jeff Samardzija
- Jameson Taillon
- Aaron Nola
Top Stacks
- New York Mets
- Seattle Mariners
- Los Angeles Dodgers
- New York Yankees
- Colorado Rockies/Texas Rangers
Chris Davis – 1B – Baltimore Orioles – $4,200
Analysis: A fly-ball pitcher in a warm environment and a hitter’s park is not a good combination. That’s what Ian Kennedy is facing tonight on the road against the Orioles. Kennedy has allowed a 45% hard contact rate to lefties this season and is giving up 1.89 HR/9. Davis is stroking the ball right now as well, notching 7 hits in his last 7 games and 5 walks. He’s scored double-digit fantasy points in his last 3 games. A hot Crush Davis is a dangerous Crush Davis.
Robinson Cano – 2B – Seattle Mariners – $3,700
Analysis: Is DraftKings serious with some of their pricing today? Rougned Odor is above $5K? Mazara, Brett Gardner, Eduardo Nunez all $5K and above too! Then you have this price for Cano. He’s going to be chalky, but only because Nick Martinez is a friggin troll will I have lineups without Cano. However, he’s the best 2B on the board and he’s cheap. He’s going into a wonderful hitting environment in Texas where it’s hot and humid. Against Martinez, Cano is 2-for-9 with a home run and 2 walks. Martinez is ultra generous to lefties, sporting a .383 wOBA and a 1.98 HR/9 rate this season.
