MLB DFS Process | DraftKings & FanDuel Picks, Plays & Slate Breakdown | Friday, 09/04/26

Both confirmed lineups, and my boy Adley last night went back to – I don't know if he went back to back, but he had two bombs and his return to Camden Yard, so that was pretty cool to see. You nailed it. You were all over those Orioles. They went yard. Luis Robert went yard. And Canario on Strand went yard. Who else went yard? Pete Alonzo went yard in that game. So it was a lot of runs in that game. Talk to me tonight about this game.

Ranger Suarez taking on Shane Bazz. I like this game. I think this game is more looking at the offenses than anything, but in the context of the slate, kind of like yesterday, although yesterday was a much smaller slate. Like if you're playing one lineup today, you can make a case for stacking Bolton, Baltimore. Um, we get swap. Didn't mean you just mean you just talked about Suarez. I feel like Suarez is often a point of combo for us.

Um, You know, I'll say the same things I kind of always say about Suarez. I'm not looking to play him here, but he's good enough where I don't really want to stack against him either. In fact, on this particular slate, man, I don't really want to play him. I can't say I like him much more than the Baltimore stack. If forced to choose, I think I'd play him over the Baltimore stack, but I think both sides are just mediocre to me.

Boston and Boz, it's funny. I respect Boz's stuff, and if he has his best stuff on any given night, he can be really good. But he's inconsistent. This Bolton lineup is cooking right now, and they got their guys back. Roman Anthony up top of the lineup was crushing in his rehab assignment before he came back up, and now he's crushing in the bigs. Just adds a nice layer of everything to that lineup. I mean, he's their best hitter. I like Bolton here.

I respect Boz enough where I can't sit here and say Boston's like my top stack on the board, but they're not going to be owned as such. So like you told me you wanted to prioritize Bolton at ownershipOwnershipOwnership is the percentage of lineups in a contest that include a given player. Projected ownership is an estimate made before lock; actual ownership is posted once the contest locks.Ownership isn't something to avoid; it's something to build around. The goal is understanding how the field is likely to build, then finding your edge relative to that.Full explanation ↗. I wouldn't argue with you. They're just not my favorite stack. They're like a tier two stack for me. Baltimore, probably like a tier three, four, however you want to put it.

Yeah, I don't really like either one of these stacks, but I would say Rangel Suarez has been just pretty bad over the last six weeks. And, yeah, me and you have had several conversations. He was, in my opinion, one of the better pitchers on the slate that we did. But, man, he's been bad. But even at that price tag, I'm with you. I don't think I can get to him tonight. But I liked what you said. I wrote it down.

More offense than the pitchers, but don't necessarily love – either offense in a single-entrySingle-EntryA single-entry contest allows each user exactly one lineup. It can be a cash game or a tournament.In single-entry, one or two contrarian decisions are usually enough. Pair a strong, popular core with a lower-owned piece instead of fading everything the field likes.Full explanation ↗ type format. Next game up on the slate, Cubs going into the fish tank to take on the Marlins. Shota Imanaga taking on Jansen Junk. Big-time ballpark downgradeBallpark FactorsBallpark factors, also called park factors, measure how much a stadium raises or lowers scoring compared with an average park. Altitude, fence distances, foul territory and typical weather shape them, and some parks favor one side of the plate.Check whether a park factor is split by handedness. Some parks boost left-handed power while doing little for righties, and that split can change which hitters you stack.Full explanation ↗ for the Cubs. No wind is going to be blowing out in that dome tonight. PCA hit another bomb last night. These Cubs have been piping hot. They only scored two last night, but before that they were really rolling.

Talk to me a little bit about this game. You've got the Cubs going into Miami to take on this Marlins team. PCA, $6,800 in this stadium is quite the tag, but he's deserved of it. The Cubs are interesting here. The problem is their price tags, man, like in this ballpark. You know, obviously they just are coming off a massive homestand with the wind blowing out and a lot of these guys crushed. But. As a full stack here. PCA, $6,800.

Bregman, $6,300. That's insane. That's insane. Like their tags are just really hard to get to, you know. So do I like them against junk? Yeah. Do I want to allocate the funds to stack them? Unlikely, because I like expensive pitching on this slate. If it were a slate like last night where I really like to cheat pitchers, maybe I'd be more apt to go all in. But they're so expensive. I just. I like them, and they're going to be low-ownedLeverageLeverage is the edge you gain by rostering a play the field is underweight on, compared with how often it ends up in winning lineups. When that play outscores the popular option most lineups chose instead, you gain ground on those lineups, though the rest of your roster still decides where you finish.Look for leverage on players connected to the chalk, like the other side of a popular game or a teammate who can steal the popular player's touches.Full explanation ↗.

And if you can find a way to stack them with pitching you like, God bless you. I just don't think I'm going to be able to personally do it. The other side of this game, I think Imanaga in play. I mean, he's a guy that you really like with good weather in Chicago, fly ball guy. I think he can pitch well in this spot. I mean, if he pitched all his starts in Miami, we'd like him.

I don't love the matchup against the Marlins are coming off a nice series themselves, but I think at eight, eight hundred showed us in play. If I'm playing one lineup, he's not in it, but I like him. What about like a one-off? Like, would you be more apt to do like a PCA one-off or a Suzuki one-off or you're not even going there tonight with these cubbies? Yeah, I mean, I think they're all in play. Like, I like them. I just think they're expensive.

So the cheaper guys, I think, make sense. You know, it's just... Ah, man. They're just super expensive. I mean, Suzuki, $5,800. Happ is cheap. I don't love him as a one-off, but he certainly has upside. So, yeah, I mean, I like the Cubs here. Getting some exposure makes sense. The Imanaga been really bad over his three out of his last four starts, but... There's no recipe like going into Marlins Stadium and, you know, getting a start there. Like you said, no win.

Fly balls go to die, which is a big-time fly ball pitcher. Excellent call by you there. Next game up on the slate. Talk to me a little bit about the weather in this one. Game two of the Tigers-Guardians, right? That's on the slate, correct? It is on the slate.

And what's interesting is game one started a couple hours late, so I don't know what they're going to do about the lock time of this game because I don't think it's going to, you know, I don't think first pitch is going to be at seven, ten or whatever it's expected to be. I don't know. Nevertheless, interesting game to talk about. Like we talked about game two. Andrew Sears slated to start, be the starter for the Tigers tonight. Newby acquired Foster Griffin in this one.

Assuming, you know, we don't have lineups out, but assuming these are the lineups. Talk to me a little bit about this game. Tigers at the Guardians. That's what's real interesting about it. If they don't change the lock time, we probably won't have lineups before this game is supposedly set to lock on DK because of the two-hour delay in the first game. So makes it risky. That said, I like the Guardians here, and I think you can look at Foster Griffin.

I mean, the Guardians are getting waxed right now in game one, six to one in the fourth inning. Logan Allen, their starter's already out of the game. They're using Ciccone. So I imagine... If they can get any length tonight out of Griffin, they're going to take it. I mean, they might leave him out to dry a little bit if he's not pitching well. But at that point, you don't really care. You're looking at the upside in tournaments. So I think he's in play.

The Cleveland stack in play, too. I'm presuming they're going to lose this game. So you get a Sears and a mediocre Detroit bullpen. I get playing Cleveland. It's hard for me to say Cleveland's like a top tier stack or anything, but I think they're on the same level as like Bolton. I think you're cutting in and out. Either you or me is, but I heard, I didn't hear what you said. Can you hear me? I got you. I'm going to leave and hop right back.

Maybe it's me. I'm going to leave and hop right back in. All right. He's going to leave and hop right back in. So we'll give him a minute to get back in here. But before we do that, we're going to go to the next game. It is in Shea Stadium, where I hate playing teams. But you got the Giants. They've been relatively hot, especially Rafaela Devers scoring in the teens against Pittsburgh.

Gil Devers, Bryce Eldridge have been – Now they go into Shea Stadium to take on this Mets. McClain's probably been one of the better things for the Mets this season. Matt Wilkinson on the bump tonight for this Giants team. So we know the Mets are going to get some ownershipOwnershipOwnership is the percentage of lineups in a contest that include a given player. Projected ownership is an estimate made before lock; actual ownership is posted once the contest locks.Ownership isn't something to avoid; it's something to build around. The goal is understanding how the field is likely to build, then finding your edge relative to that.Full explanation ↗. So, Matt, we're just talking about Giants and Rafaela Devers at the Mets. Nolan McClain against Matt Wilkinson. Tugboat Wilkinson here, former Guardians legend prospect, now on San Francis. Was okay his last time out.

He doesn't project to be anything good. Bad Giants bullpen. I could see stacking the Mets here. I think they might get a little bit too much love because of the matchup and some of their price tags. I know Lindor, I think, is under $4,000, but I like them here. I could see playing some Mets. I think they look good, if not great. Sam Fran, nah, I'm not playing Sam Fran against McClain here.

McLean himself, I think McLean is the best pivot off of Gilbert and Snell, who are going to be the guys that get the most love for good reason. I mean, Snell's been really good. You get a lefty against Washington and then Gilbert, insert pitcher here against the A's. I mean, he's in Seattle too. So those guys are going to eat up a ton of ownership. McLean is the natural pivot. I don't like him as much, full disclosure, if I'm playing one lineup.

The only reason I'm playing McClain is for ownership purposes, but he's good and he's also in a really good matchup. The San Fran lineup stinks. If I'm playing any pitcher against them, McClain is good. He's the third best pitcher on the slate, in my opinion. Yeah, McLean third best. Yeah, I think so. Saber, Sam would agree with you as well behind Snell and Gilbert. Excellent stuff there. Let's go to the next game. I'm interested in this game.

I'm interested to hear what you have to say as well. Got the Twins who beat up on the Tigers for the most part earlier in the week. Now going into Chicago to take on this White Sox team. Fatty Wap going to come in as a reliever in this one. Zebby Matthews, it was dynamite in his last outing. I think he threw a shutout for most of the game. I think they took him out in the ninth, if I'm not mistaken.

But talk to me a little bit about this game. Twins headed into the south side to take on the White Sox. Yeah, I like offenses here. I mean, Zabby coming off that start has shown you that he's a GPPGPP (Guaranteed Prize Pool)A GPP is a tournament whose prize pool is guaranteed to pay out in full even if the contest does not fill. Payouts are steep: a small group at the top wins most of the money.Before you enter a tournament lineup, ask how it finishes first, not just how it cashes. If you cannot name that scenario, rebuild it.Full explanation ↗ wild card. And, you know, when he's got his best stuff. He's worth at least looking at in tournaments or he has his best stuff and you know, he's going to have, he's worth playing, but you don't know that. I don't expect that here.

White Sox against a righty, an average righty. I'm about it. I got coming off his pride, best start of the year. The White Sox got to be in play, right? I mean, we love the White Sox against mediocre righties. That's exactly the spot that are in tonight. The Twins kind of the same thing. Uh, You know, Fatty's also not good. He's a below average pitcher. The Twins have been good. This game is all about the offenses for me. I think both stacks look good here.

Of all the games we've talked about, I think I like these two teams the most. Which one do you like better? I personally like the White Sox more. I think that's a contrarianContrarianA contrarian play or lineup is one built around choices most of the field will not make, such as low-owned players, unpopular teams or an unusual salary structure.Pick one or two contrarian spots per lineup and ground each in a real reason. The rest of the roster can look like the field.Full explanation ↗ take, though. Really? So the White Sox aren't going to get any love tonight? No, I just think between these two teams, the Twins get more. Yeah, just looking – yeah, they're not – I don't think either one of them are going to get played a whole, whole ton. Do you? Nah, they'll both be long for sure.

Yeah. Yeah, give me some White Sox. Give me some White Sox or some mediocre righty. I like that, like you just said. Murakami, who's a boomer buzz. Vargas, Benatendi's been all right. Montgomery brothers, yeah, I like them tonight for sure. Next game up on the slate are the Rangers, Kumar Rocker, Taking on the Rays. The Rays were hurtful last night, Matt. They were very bad against the ace, Cal Quantrill, just could not get anything going.

Now they get Kumar Rocker and, excuse me, the Rays' Nick Martinez, all-star Nick Martinez. This Rangers team has been kind of hot. So talk to me a little bit about this game. Can the Rays get the former Vandy boy Kumar Rocker, or is it going to be a Nick Martinez type night? Is Rocker starting or someone opening for him? Do you know if that's confirmed? Let me check. I just saw a Williams potentially. Yeah. Trevor Williams is starting for the Rangers.

Trevor Williams. Wow. Yeah. I think he says opening, but he stinks. I mean, he's a gas can of old for DFS purposes. You know, guy we always like picking on. Former Nats legend, right? Mm-hmm. Rocker. Rocker is another one of these guys with really good – yeah, he's not good, but he's also got good stuff, and he really is bad against lefties. And the guys you want on Tampa are righty. That said, Tampa's just a lineup full of good hitters.

I'm inclined to go back there after they really let down last night, man. And I had said on the show, like, I had been done picking on Quantrill kind of. Like, I hadn't done it the past couple of slates. He's been good. He's having his best year, what can you say, in the best stretch of his entire career right now, I would say. So I'll eat that. I think they're right back in play tonight. The Rangers are interesting.

I don't mind using hitters against Martinez, but usually for smaller slates. Like his numbers are way better. His actual numbers are way better than his underlying stuff. And he's gotten by with smoke and mirrors and I expect regression. But he's not bad. When we're this far in the season, like he's found a way to get it done so far. Like I'm not going to go out of my way to stack against him on this type of slate. But I'm with you.

Texas has been good. You want to use pieces. I don't even hate the five-man, but it's just not somewhere I don't think I'm going to land. But Seager has been good, and he probably looks like one of the best shortstop plays on the slate. Hit a home run last night, if I'm not mistaken. He did, and I don't know this, but I would presume that Lindor is going to be owned at shortstop. So...

Uh yeah maybe there's a pivot off of him maybe I'm I'm off there but I expect Lindor at $3,900 in a really good matchup I expect him to be like pretty popular here so I think Seager as a pivot makes sense yeah see you're only at forty $4,100 as well yeah he's dirt cheap too yeah you know I'm with you like I think both Lindor and see her look really good But you got some – yeah, you got – I mean, the shortstop position is – I'm not going to say loaded, but you got some guys in good spots, I'll call it that, that are going to get some ownershipOwnershipOwnership is the percentage of lineups in a contest that include a given player. Projected ownership is an estimate made before lock; actual ownership is posted once the contest locks.Ownership isn't something to avoid; it's something to build around. The goal is understanding how the field is likely to build, then finding your edge relative to that.Full explanation ↗ that we're going to get to here in a minute.

Yeah, nothing else to add on that. Hopefully Cam Montero can get back on the train tonight because he was very hurtful last night. Next game up on the slate, Christian Javier and the Astros taking on Merrill Kelly. Merrill Kelly – Matt, talk to me about Merrill Kelly. I mean, he's up, he's down, he's up, he's down. I think he was up last time in San Fran and just balling out of control there. But he's also been lit up numerous times this year.

So I'm interested to get your take on this game. What I do know about this Astros team, though, is if they have a lead going to the ninth inning, my boy Josh Hader is just going to shut it down. I don't think he's blown to save all season. So talk to me about this game. Diamondbacks going into Houston, which, I mean, you obviously don't see this game much. It's a weird combo. But talk to me about this game. I like this game a lot for offenses.

Both these pitchers are not good. I think the natural instinct is to say Houston against Merrill Kelly. But I'm going to say not so fast and say, man, I really like Arizona against Christian Javier. He is not good. What's that? He's just not good. He's always had some reverse splits, so I never mind using righties with him. Against him, excuse me. And I really like the vibes of Arizona getting out of Arizona with Cattell Marte back.

Obviously dealing with that whole fiasco, the boos. Dealing with the questions about that garbage. That can wear on a team. And I think getting away from home sometimes can reinvigorate guys. And I'm not playing them because of that. I like the Javier matchup. But that doesn't hurt. I'm in on Zona here. I like Houston a lot, too, because Merrill Kelly isn't good. He's coming off a really good start, I think, against San Fran. So that is what it is. I mean, in San Fran against that lineup.

A lot of bad pitchers or mediocre pitchers are going to have starts like that. I'm totally fine picking on him, but I really like Arizona as a contrarianContrarianA contrarian play or lineup is one built around choices most of the field will not make, such as low-owned players, unpopular teams or an unusual salary structure.Pick one or two contrarian spots per lineup and ground each in a real reason. The rest of the roster can look like the field.Full explanation ↗ stack. What kind of ownershipOwnershipOwnership is the percentage of lineups in a contest that include a given player. Projected ownership is an estimate made before lock; actual ownership is posted once the contest locks.Ownership isn't something to avoid; it's something to build around. The goal is understanding how the field is likely to build, then finding your edge relative to that.Full explanation ↗ do you think they'll garner? Where do you think they come in from an ownership perspective? Low. Really? Yeah, I think Arizona is like White Sox level low, don't you?

Uh yeah I mean especially with you know cores they're not gonna be like they're not gonna be like Nationals level low you know what I mean like yeah uh you know a's level low but they'll be like you know third or four yeah like sub tennis yeah yeah all right I got a question for you if one of your beloved Cleveland Guardians pulled what kettle marty did would you be booing him I'm not, like, a booer. Like, I just don't. You just like to build people up?

No. I mean, I just think it's, like, counterproductive. Listen, trust me, I've booed at Cleveland sporting events, like the Brown especially. But I don't know. Like, I get why they booed, but I also think it was kind of in poor taste because clearly, like, he's going through something and he's – still a human, like, I don't know. People will always just bring up the money and I get that. And there's no argument against the money, but people are still human.

And I thought that like, I did think it was like distasteful, even though I totally understand why they booed. I thought it was distasteful. Did you not? Uh, you know, to be honest with you, I didn't follow it that much this time, just because, you know, it's crazy to say this exact same thing happened last year. Um, and listen, I don't know what was said or what wasn't, but yeah, I mean, I, I'm not, I, I don't, uh, who knows?

They can do what they want to do, I guess, but it probably wasn't bad taste. And I guess, I guess I wonder like what his teammates think about it. Right. Like, I wonder if his teammates have his back, maybe they've come out and said they do, but I think that would be like where, what I would question. I definitely questioned that. And I wouldn't be shocked if like some of his teammates, if the act is more than, you know, but yeah.

Yeah. Right. At the same time, Like, and this is just true with sports and in life. Like, he's one of their best players. So, like, you're going to cut him more slack than you would just about anyone else. For sure, the roles are different. Right. Now, maybe it's gone too far. And maybe a fresh start for both sides is needed. But I don't know. I think getting away from home tonight is good for them. And, yeah, I'm just going to say it now.

Cattell Marte, bomb of the night tonight. Cattell Marte, bomb of the night tonight. All right. Well, let's go on to the next game. Enough about Cattell Marte and the bombs he's going to hit. We're moving on to the next game. There's going to be some ownership here. Carter Jensen was on fire last night. Now he gets to take on Jameson Tyon, who we love picking on, especially in Coors Field, two point oh. Dusty Daniel Lynch, the fourth against this Blue Jays team.

This Blue Jays team is going to garner tons of ownershipOwnershipOwnership is the percentage of lineups in a contest that include a given player. Projected ownership is an estimate made before lock; actual ownership is posted once the contest locks.Ownership isn't something to avoid; it's something to build around. The goal is understanding how the field is likely to build, then finding your edge relative to that.Full explanation ↗ tonight, Matt. I think they're going to rival The Cardinals. But interested to get your take on this game. Blue Jays or the Royals? The Blue Jays are going to really be that high owned. The Jays, you don't? I don't know. I mean, yeah, I guess so. They look really good. I mean, they're so cheap in this spot. It's hard not to like the Jays.

They're coming off a pretty good series in Cleveland. Yeah. But you got to remember one thing. You got to remember one thing. Hmm.

Lose you I'm here but I can hear you no you're good you got to remember one thing the jays don't win DFS slates they just don't do it no one can show me a slate they won all season I don't really want to play them into ownership honestly like I like them here I think they look great and pieces for sure they're so cheap and they're in a good spot great ballpark full five man stacking them into ownership on the site like this I'm probably good I like other teams at lower ownership that I will get more exposureExposureExposure is the percentage of your lineups in a contest, or across a slate, that include a particular player, team or stack.Set exposure caps before you build, not after. Decide the most you're willing to have on any one player, then let your lineups fill in around those limits.Full explanation ↗ to and yeah

I do like them though like what somehow they come if somehow they come in lower owned than I'm expecting and I don't play them I'm gonna be mad so maybe I might play them because of that just not go overboard with it um Yeah, and I do see Sansali coming in saying he won a bowl last year. That was last year. Yeah. That was last year. Big difference. Big difference. Now, it doesn't mean they haven't had slates this year, but all in all, you're right.

Like, they've been a lot worse this season. They went to the World Series last year. They were good last year. And Vlad hit balls last year. Yeah, Vlad hit bombs. They had Varsho. They had Bichette. I mean, Vlad was completely different. Yeah, I like them here, but I don't want to play them into ownership. Go ahead. Yeah, I just wonder what Razzles is saying. Interesting. I wonder if it's the Jays' comment. I don't know.

I haven't missed many slates this year, and the Jays have – I don't remember them being on one. I'm sure to goodness they have. But as a full five-man stack, I don't recall. Or four-man on FanDuel where I play most of my stuff is, yeah. I don't remember them being on the winner. But in any event, you got to like them. Yeah, so we like the Jays. We both agree on the Jays.

I mean, if you just look at – The stone and the ownership, this will obviously change throughout the course of the night. I mean, they rival the Cardinals, you know, just looking at this numbers, and it's not finalized yet, but it's similar in a lot of the spots. But we like the Jays. Who are some of your favorite Jays, like if you had to pick out two or three? Is there a lineup out?

I have not seen it come out unless it's come out when we've been on the air. Let me look. Don't they normally just play the normal suspects? Yeah, I mean, honestly, their whole lineup's pretty cheap, and you've got to like Kirk at catcher because he fills a weak spot. McAdoo, Vlad, Springer. I mean, the righties here stand out, but I think you can play them all. Royals bullpen stinks. We just saw Miami get to them.

But then the Royals themselves also in play here. You mentioned Jensen yesterday. I mean, he's got three homer. He's got five extra base hits over the past two days. So, yeah, that's something. Well, talk about Jameson Tyon, too. Like, this is his, what, first start in over a month? And we picked on him for years, I feel like, but... Yeah, he's definitely a guy you can pick on. I mean, I'm not, like, super excited about picking on him, honestly, on this slate.

But I think the Royals definitely are in play, if nothing else. Their whole lineup. Tyon's not good. Isn't Daniel Lynch a long reliever? Yeah, he isn't. I don't think he's – let me see how much he's been throwing. But who's opening for them? No, Lynch is the guy that's been opening. Isn't Lynch the one that's been opening? I thought he's been coming in for like three or four innings, like after two innings. No, I think he's the one that's been starting the games.

So he's been going like three, four innings and then they've been bringing someone else in. Um, it's the way I'm reading it. Yeah. Razzle said that Lynch is horrendous, which he is. Penn comes in early too. Yeah. So Lynch must be starting. Um, I know he's been pitching like, yeah, like I said, two to four innings somewhere, somewhere around, around that. But, um, And you knew this was going to happen too, but Cleveland has tied that game. No, six to one and they tied it?

Still in the fourth inning, six to six. Of course they did. So, yep. Oh, man. They're going to win that. Let's put some money on that. They're going to win that game. Rokio Homer, Grand Slam. Oh, yeah, the wheels are falling off. I'm taking the Guardians. I need some money. I wish I would have taken them when they were down one to six. Yeah, right? I mean, that's – yeah. All right, so Jays or Royals? Who do you like better?

I mean, Jays, but that's such a fishy answer. So, man. If this Royals team – if they're low-ownedLeverageLeverage is the edge you gain by rostering a play the field is underweight on, compared with how often it ends up in winning lineups. When that play outscores the popular option most lineups chose instead, you gain ground on those lineups, though the rest of your roster still decides where you finish.Look for leverage on players connected to the chalk, like the other side of a popular game or a teammate who can steal the popular player's touches.Full explanation ↗, like if they're not – They can't be low-owned. They just can't be low-owned. I agree. But if they are like, aren't we just in Sabre and the trial run, they're the fifth, they're the fifth highest owned stack. Yeah. I like the lower own team, which is the Royals here. The Blue Jays will be higher owned. I'm pretty, pretty confident in that. Yes.

The Jays are popping in Sabre, by the way. So whenever you get the road teams in these spots too, they always stand out, you know, it's going more outs. Yeah. Right. And like, they're going from words ballparks where the Royals are kind of priced as such, you know, All right, good deal. Yeah, Jensen been hot. All right, good stuff there. Moving on to the next game that's going to get some more play, some more coverage. Got the Cardinals.

Did they sweep or did they lose last night? The Dodgers won late. The Dodgers won late. That's right. Yeah, hey, they went toe-to-toe with the world champs. They held their own battle with Tarek. Now they get the most pristine ballpark in the country, get to go into Coors Field. You got Andre Pallante taking on Ryan Feltner. I've never met somebody that has such a disdain for the Cardinals pitching staff as Matt Belman, so let's see. Does he like this Rockies team tonight?

Jake the Snake, Jake McCarthy swiping bags left and right, batting leadoff all season long. I feel like he's had a pretty good year, in my opinion. This Cardinals team, they can smack the ball around. We saw that in L.A. A couple nights as well. But talk to me a little bit about this game. I know you have a little bit of love for Fulton, or at least maybe in another slate, maybe in a different spot, but Cardinals at the Rockies.

Yeah, so I do think Fulton has probably – I think he has better stuff than, like, the masses do, but he's not good.

You get the Cardinals – know they just had a really good series in la now going into cores to face Feltner and this pitching staff yeah I mean is it possible to have a letdown they just like use all their energy and might yeah definitely and they lost a close game yesterday and we just saw Baltimore let down in cores and I think Feltner is of the Rockies pitchers like not the one I most want to pick on at least that's what he's got going for him so Yeah, Cards will be the highest ownedOwnershipOwnership is the percentage of lineups in a contest that include a given player. Projected ownership is an estimate made before lock; actual ownership is posted once the contest locks.Ownership isn't something to avoid; it's something to build around. The goal is understanding how the field is likely to build, then finding your edge relative to that.Full explanation ↗ team on the slate.

I think an ownership fade of them makes sense. Typical ownership fade in Cortes. They do have cheap bats, though. We'll see what their lineup is when it comes out. But it's going to be hard to totally ignore them. I like the Rockies, man. I will say, Peyante is like the one Cardinals pitcher I don't pick on a lot because he's a ground ball guy. And honestly, like before he got hurt, he was probably their best starter this season. But he's not good.

Now you get him in Cortes. Low ownedLeverageLeverage is the edge you gain by rostering a play the field is underweight on, compared with how often it ends up in winning lineups. When that play outscores the popular option most lineups chose instead, you gain ground on those lineups, though the rest of your roster still decides where you finish.Look for leverage on players connected to the chalk, like the other side of a popular game or a teammate who can steal the popular player's touches.Full explanation ↗ Rockies in my opinion here. They're really expensive. Yeah. They're Uber pricey. I just don't think people are going to want to allocate their funds there. So I like the Rockies. Honestly, I don't know if I want to spend the funds on them. Like as much as I like them, they're super expensive and there's other good stacks tonight. So this might be it. Go ahead. Oh, you first. I know what you're about to say.

I like it. I can't wait. No, I didn't even know what I was going. You go ahead. I was going to say, what are the odds that Cole Carrick gives the number one salute to his home fans in left field tonight? None, because you don't want to get benched again. Hey, you don't come to the ATL, man, and think you're going to get it easy. Like, no, we're going to let you have it. We're going to boo you.

I know you're not a big boo guy, unless it's Tim Couch playing quarterback. But, hey, we're going to boo you if you don't do a good job. Hey, I get it. Yeah, I like this Rockies team too. Single entrySingle-EntryA single-entry contest allows each user exactly one lineup. It can be a cash game or a tournament.In single-entry, one or two contrarian decisions are usually enough. Pair a strong, popular core with a lower-owned piece instead of fading everything the field likes.Full explanation ↗, Matt. Fading the Cardinals. Fair or foul? Fair. Fair. Yeah, I agree. Favorite Rocky one-off? I mean, it's got to be Goodman. Uh, yeah. Strikes out a bunch, which he also hits three bombs, a bunch too. So, and he's catcher, you know?

So like if you get the game, he hits two bombs. It's you're likely, you know, way better than the field there. Yeah. All right. Good stuff there. Moving on to the next game. If you haven't already done so do us a huge favor real quick. Takes less than three seconds. Hit that. Like hit that subscribe button. Next game, the Yankees going out of the Angel Stadium, now headed down south to take on this Padres team. Walker Bueller, former Bolton Red Sox great.

He knows this rivalry all too well. Gets to take on his former arch nemesis, the Yankees. Max Fried making his appearance. I hate this game. I hate this ballpark. I actually love this game. Hate the ballpark. I won't be getting much tonight, but What about you? I think, yeah, you talk to me first. Yankees at the Padres. Feels like, sounds like we feel the exact same way about this game. I'm good. I'm not playing anything here.

You know, I think you can play Yankees against Bueller, but in this park, I'm good. This bullpen, this park. Yankees are going to have to do it against Buehler. And I respect him enough where I don't think I want to stack the Yankees on this slate. I'm fully off Reed and I'm fully off the Padres. So this game's probably nothing for me. But talking it out, I do understand why someone would stack the Yankees here.

I mean, yeah, you're just hoping for the best, in my opinion, for that. And that ballpark, like you said, with that pin. Quite frankly, this Yankees team, they didn't really get to the Angeles staff that badly, did they? They were okay. They had one good game. Yeah, no, they only had one decent game against Grayson, and other than that, Winder, Urania shut them out, and Detmers was really good against them, so you're right. Yeah, I'm looking forward to the game, not the park, for sure.

All right, we're headed down the home stretch. Two games left on this slate. My Athletics last night, we put seven up on the board, Matt, but none of it really mattered. We had a pinch hit home run, grounded into double play RBI, did me no good. We had some of these Athletics last night. They did put up seven, but we're on no winners. Now they get a tough test in Logan Gilbert at home.

You said it earlier, this ballpark, this AAA line of the Athletics are going to roll out. Another K with $1,000. On the bump tonight, but this time on the other side of the mound, Cade Morris, whoever that is, for this Athletics team. Talk to me a little bit about this game. Athletics at the Mariners. Gotta like all things Seattle here, right? Like, the A's are throwing this Morris and Basso, whoever. Their bullpen stinks. These guys aren't good.

This park is bad, but Seattle ran a bunch last night. If they continue to do that, that mitigates the park a lot. So, I think you can stack Seattle here. And then Gilbert. At his price point, I think he's the best pitching option on the slate. I mean... Really? If all his matchups were at home against the A's, yeah, he'd be one of the best pitchers in baseball. You know? I mean, if not the best pitcher in baseball. So, I feel real good about him here.

The A's have been pesky lately the past two games, but we know who they are. This is a nightmare spot for them. A righty in Seattle... I'm in on Gilbert. If I had to choose between Gilbert and Snell, I'm playing Gilbert. I like both a lot, but Gilbert my number one SB here. I like the Mariners. I'm out on everything A's. And you know me. I'll play the A's if I have semi and even a semi inkling to do so, but not tonight.

The A's are who we thought they were, and that's why Logan Gilbert taking the damn field. Matt's SP one on the slate tonight. Love that call. J-Rod, like you said, was stealing bags left and right last night. I think a Rosarena had a good game as well. Those two are really putting in that work last night. All right, take us to the last game, Matt. Got the Nats, the Natitudes going in to Hollywood. James Wood back in the lineup.

I don't like this matchup for him, though, in his first game back. C.J. Abrams, lefty, lefty. Combo, $6,000, C.J. Abrams. But you got the Nats taking on Snell. Then you got Jackson Kent, no relation to Jeff Kent, taking on this Dodgers team. Tommy Edmond was good for you last night. Dodgers, Friday night Dodgers. Late night Hammer Dodgers. Six runs implied. Total Dodgers. Shohei should be in the lineup tonight, Matt. I believe so is what I saw. But talk about this game.

Nationals at the Dodgers. Yeah, just kind of like the last game. I'm in on all things Dodgers here. To start off, I'm definitely out on the Nats. I'm definitely out on Kent. Snell is the second best pitcher on the slate outside of Gilbert. If they were the same price, I think that you could make the strong case for Snell being the top guy. At eleven K still, he's got massive upside. I love the matchup. And then the Dodgers. Yeah, I like them a lot here.

You get them against Kent in this bad bullpen. They've started to get going again a little bit. Last night wasn't their best night, but Quinn Matthews is good. Other than that, I like the way they've looked recently. They won on a walk-off double. Another lefty tonight. They got some cheap guys in there. Mm-hmm. I like the Dodgers quite a bit here. I don't think they're my favorite stack on the board, but they're up there for sure. I like them a lot.

What's not to like is my opinion. You'll probably have Edmond hitting second if Shohei's back in there. Maybe they give Shohei another day off. I kind of hope they do cheapen this lineup. But if Shohei's in there, I'm going to play some. Do you have any interest in $3,500 overpaid, overpriced Tyler Tucker? Only in a stack. I mean, if I'm stacking them, I'll play anyone, but I'm not playing him as a one off. I'll tell you that.

Has Tyler Tucker hit five home runs this year? I'm going to say no. Yeah. Oh, yes. Yes. I'm sure he's at like, what, twelve, thirteen. I'm taking the under. Eleven. Yeah. So. So we're both not good. We're both wrong. But still, I said more than five. And I was, you know, I was way closer. You weren't close. You said twelve. It's eleven. That's it. The price is right. You lose. I win. So, OK, that's fair. And he's batting to twenty five.

That guy's been horrendous this year. The one guy I will play is Teoscar. He looks like he's starting to see the ball better right now against the lefty. Against the lefty, yeah, I like that. Also cheap. But, yeah, Tucker, man. I kind of hope he's out of the lineup. No, he won't be. They play that guy every night. They're paying him too much money to sit down. Yeah, he stinks, though. This quick.

Freddie Freeman hadn't hit a home run since, like, July fourth until, like, two nights ago. That was crazy to me. Yeah, that's wild. I mean, Jose Ramirez hadn't hit one since June before he hit one a few days ago. Just quick game log watching. Guess how many, and this could be wrong, guess how many home runs Tyler Tucker has hit in the last month? None. One. All right, let me guess where it was. Oh, hold on. Now you're making me work.

I think I remember Arizona maybe. Damn, my boy is good. On eight, eight. Eight, eight. My boy Tyler Tucker goes yard in Arizona in his only hit of the night. One RBI. You had to be looking that up. I hear you typing over there. No, I'm not. I mean, trust me, the only time I'm typing this here is because my wife can't stop nagging me. You know how it goes. Man, that was a great call. I'm impressed. I'm super impressed. That was good stuff.

Almost thirty days ago, I remembered the bomb. Alright, Matt, that'll do it. That's all twelve games tonight. Let's see, how are these Guardians doing? Come on, Guardians, don't let me down now. We got to get a run. We got to get something across the board. Now I'm confident they'll win this game. I mean. Yeah, that's right. Yeah, me too. Got Uncle Momo on her side. Going to win this one. Come back tonight. Win it. Just double it down. Keep rolling it up.

All right, here we go. Twelve games. All right. Top three stacks on the board tonight, Matt. Dodgers. D-backs. I mean, we're going to leave the Cardinals and Blue Jays out because I think both those teams are uber popular. But I like them, obviously. And we'll go Rockies, who I think kind of come in low-ownedLeverageLeverage is the edge you gain by rostering a play the field is underweight on, compared with how often it ends up in winning lineups. When that play outscores the popular option most lineups chose instead, you gain ground on those lineups, though the rest of your roster still decides where you finish.Look for leverage on players connected to the chalk, like the other side of a popular game or a teammate who can steal the popular player's touches.Full explanation ↗. All right. So I was going to ask you. No, I'm going to sub Rocky. I'm going to sub White Sox for Rockies. So you like the White Sox better, huh?

Mm-hmm. So what's going to actually give me a contrarianContrarianA contrarian play or lineup is one built around choices most of the field will not make, such as low-owned players, unpopular teams or an unusual salary structure.Pick one or two contrarian spots per lineup and ground each in a real reason. The rest of the roster can look like the field.Full explanation ↗ stack? I mean, I think the White Sox would suffice for contrarian. I mean, they're probably the fifth, you know. Yeah. More. Matt saw there was some weather in Cincinnati or somewhere and had to type it up. Yeah, that's exactly what I'm doing. Yes. Oh, man. Good stuff. Who's that? Oh, N.S. Stiegel, man. That's good stuff. All right. We got the top stacks. All right.

Top three pitchers not named Blake or not named Logan. I mean, I'll answer this, but it's really a fruitless exercise because, like, what's the point? Those two are the clear best guys. But if you're taking them out, which you are, we'll go McClain, Shota, and – Go Foster Griffin. Like I said, they're going to need length from him. Detroit is not good. I mean, Griffin is, you know, mediocre, but he's $8,300. He's my he's the guy there for me. All right.

If I say this enough, it's eventually going to be right, Matt. I'm saying it again tonight. Ranger Suarez is the top scoring pitcher on the slate tonight. I'm just going out on a limb. Ranger Suarez. Wow. Yeah. Yeah. Hey, it's a risk. I know. I get it. He's been bad. He's got a great ballpark. Cannon yards. I said this last night. It came out to haunt me. Didn't even sound like you really liked him. I know, but I do now. I do now.

Yeah. Right-handed power goes to die there, even though Alonzo and Carcino Strain hit a bomb last night. Give me some Rangel Suarez to get back on. Say what? I said Robert, too, but who's counting? I was hoping you wouldn't say that. You knew subconsciously I said that. You had to go back to it because you knew that it wasn't the truth until you did. I mean, I get it. I said even, like, on this slate, I like Suarez more than Baltimore.

It is a good spot for him, and he's back to throwing his normal allotment of pitches. I get it. Oh, yeah. All right. I'm going to have to take him on some overs, outs, alternate strikeouts. All right. Oh, everybody's favorite portion of the show. Give me a home run call of the day from you. We got to get some of these.

I know I've been ice cold, so I need to dig in here and find me a home run call for the night. Go ahead. Okay, so I already gave my home run call, but I'm going to – No, that's right. Cattle. Cattle chips. Cattell Marte, but I'm going to go another one, and I'm going to say first plate appearance of the game going yard here. Okay? Bet that. Tay Oscar Hernandez. Tay Oscar Hernandez. Okay. All right, come on, Matt.

Matt over here is calling a home run call against my top-ranked pitcher. All right, that's a good call. I'm going to give two then, too. My first one. Your top-ranked pitcher. Well, not my top-ranked pitcher, but the one I think is going to score the most points, so he must be my top-ranked. No, you said Suarez was going to score the most points. Yeah, Copenayo or whatever his name is. Oh, I thought you were talking about mine. No, no, no, no, no.

No, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. No, I said, oh, Matt McClain. Sorry, in the chat. Yeah, too many Matos here. All right, two. I'm giving two as well. One. Lefty lefty. I don't care. Juan Soto. Love that play. Love Juan Soto tonight as a one-off. Don't love the stack. Hate that part. And then my second one, someone saw it in the chat and I had to do some digging. I like it tonight. Not because Adley burned me last night and I'm going back to the well.

I looked it up. Christian Walker going to get some Merrill Kelly revenge tonight, taking on that Arizona Diamondback team. Not saying he's going double down, but I do like him. He hits baseballs very well against his former mate. So those are the four of the day. Let's get some winners tonight, Matt. We need them tonight. Appreciate each and every one of you tuning in. Hit that like. Hit that subscribe button. We certainly appreciate it.

If you aren't a member of the nation, head on over there now. We're giving away over $45,000 in an unprecedented shipping games. We did it last year. Doing it again this year. Get in the Discord. You got any questions? Ask myself or Matt. For my guy, Matt, everybody have a good weekend. Stay safe out there. We'll see you again on Tuesday, I believe. I don't think there's a show on Monday for the holiday.

I'll be in there all weekend long, though, putting out cores and a slate plan. Good luck tonight in this contest. We'll see you at the top of the leaderboards. Just shipping.