Daily Musing 5/3/14: Back to the Drawing Board

Recap:

Last night was not a great night. I went 1 for 1 on Draftkings. I sucked it up on fanduel, placing only in2 out of the 8 leagues. When I started playing a few weeks ago I was only trying one lineup in multiple leagues. Then this past week I have tried to mix and match. Not sure which is the best method, but I think I am going to go back to 1 lineup per website. Each website's lineup will be different because of the dollar value's assigned on each site.

I played in some early leagues today. These leagues only allow you to pick players from the early games of the day. I went 2/3 on fanduel, and placed in the one league I entered on draftkings. I played Tanaka in all of my lineups, he did ok and got the win. This helped me place in the money. Jonny Gomes was huge, getting a grand slam. I also played Ichiro who had two doubles and 2 runs scored.

Pitchers:

Since the games are already off and running, I am going to just go through the people I started.

Cueto: He has been dominant this year. Against the Brewers over the past three years he has an ERA of 2.23 and they are batting a collective .229 against him. He is the highest priced pitcher. I started him on Draftkings and Fanduel.

I thought about starting Burnett. I just didn't trust him going against a hot Nationals team, and pitching with a hernia. This may have been a mistake. He looks dominant again tonight.

I went way off the radar for my second starter. I went with R.A. Dickey. I know, I know, this was probably a crazy pick. He has been better his last two starts. He has pitched well in Pittsburg in the past. Over the past 3 years he has 2 starts at PNC, and has an ERA of 1.20. This was still a huge gamble. I was hoping the knuckle was going to knuckle today. As it stands right now the gamble is paying off. He has giving up 2 runs through 6 innings and struck out 3.

Hitters:

C: I went with Buster Posey. He has been good against Tehran in a small sample size. He was 4/6 with 1 home run. This has only gotten better. Tonight, as it stands now, he is 2/3 with another bomb.

1B: I went with Billy Butler again. He is 5/6 against Smyly. This has yet to pay off tonight, he is 0-2.

2B: On draftkings I went with Brandon Phillips. He has been cold recently. Over his past seven he is only 3/19. He does do well against Gallardo. In a large sample size of 51 AB's he is batting .314 with 3 doubles and 2 HR's. On fanduel I started Howie Kendrick. He is batting .297 against Matt Harrison in 17 AB's with 2 doubles and 1 HR.

3B: Todd Frazier also likes batting against Gallardo. He is 6/18, with one lone long bomb against the Brewers hurler. I went with Nolan Arenado on Fanduel. He is sporting a 22 game hit streak, and over his past seven he is batting a cool .400 with 1 double.

SS: Everth Cabrera was my lone shortstop of the night. He has been cold recently, but I needed a cheap option to fit under the salary cap on both sites. He does seem to do well at home, batting .294. Against Brandon McCarthy his is 1/3. Hopefully he is at least 2/6 at the end of the night.

OF: Jay Bruce, another Red who dominates Gallardo. He is just 14/29 with 2 doubles, 2 homes runs, and 3 walks. None of the Reds hitters have let me down tonight. Every single one I have played have at least 1 hit on the night. Austin Jackson enjoys hitting against lefties. This season he has tuned them up, batting .412/.500/.647. Collin Cowgill: He was another cheap option tonight. He is batting .286/.375/.476 on the year against lefties. He is also leading off tonight for the Angels. Hopefully he can get on base, and Trout and Pujols drive him in. Juan Lagares: He just came back off the DL, but had a solid night last night going 2/5 with 1 double. He is another leadoff batter. The Mets have scored 6 in the first 5 innings tonight, but he has yet to get on base. Hopefully he finds his way on by the end of the night.

As it stand right now I am in the money in each of my contests tonight. Not sure how long it is going to last. I thought I was a sure thing in my draftkings league tonight with my player performances. I am currently 69^th, and the top 70 get paid. I have 3 players still playing. Cowgill, Lagares, and Cabrera. If they all get a few singles I should still place.