 Hey everybody, what's going on? I am Greg Sussman baseball is back and so is Jim Sonnis a newly married man What's happening Jim? Obviously, I'm pretty great Greg It was nice to have a week to kind of rest up recharge see some family and have a lot of fun And but I'm coming back here and now Everything's hitting the fan all at once. We got NASCAR race on Thursday night We got baseball clean back Thursday a full slate on Friday So, you know, it was nice to rest up for a bit, but we are back in full swing How are you doing? I'm great, man In fact, I'll be back in full swing with baseball here opening day upon us But it's really beginning of all four major sports coming back We have baseball basketball a week later then hockey NASCAR and golf board have been there the football on the horizon Things are looking up. That's what they say that way. Let's get to opening day Thursday There's two baseball games to talk about Yankees and Natal. That's a big one. Max Scherzer take it on Garrett Cole here And well, you don't just like one of those pitchers You like both. Let's start with Garrett Cole. Who is priced at eleven thousand four hundred dollars over on FanDuel? You want to pay up for a picture on Thursday? You know with two of the best. Why are we starting Garrett Cole? Yeah, I think to me it's a pretty easy case to make Cole the top starter of the night And yeah, you know, you look at Clayton Kershaw's matchup. It's pretty intriguing But the talent level and Cole and Scherzer is so good that I'm gonna use them no matter what they're facing I think the matchup here for Garrett Cole is a bit better than it may seem given that the Nationals just won the whole thing last year So maybe people could be scared off with Anthony Rendon being gone This matchup or this lineup isn't as imposing as it would have been previously their active roster according to fangrass actually has Just a 97 WRC plus against righties based on last year's numbers and Cole He can take advantage of that last year a 40% strikeout rate 6% walk rate didn't allow a whole lot of hard contact I would expect that to continue this year once again now You could say the one downside is it is pitching on the road But I'm not sure what effect that's gonna have this year with no fans being in the stands It'll certainly saw some effect. He is still traveling, but well the same effect as it would previously I don't know, but I think that's with Garrett Cole being as good as he is It seems like he is mostly ramped up which allows me to afford to you know, justify paying 11-4 for him. I think that it just kind of makes sense I think that if you're tearing out the pitchers for the Thurston Ed Slate Garrett Cole is by himself at the top and then it's everyone else fighting for second place And I think that if you're doing just one lineup Garrett Cole would be the pitcher I'd use Of course, everybody else is really just only three other pitchers But Garrett Cole is the top pitcher on the board and you talked about how he seems ramped up here And from everything you've read everything you've looked at He's ready to go 90 pitches or so or so. I don't imagine he'll go much more If he can get six innings out of him, that would be of course ideal. Garrett Cole against the Nationals Well, it's top pitcher on the board for a reason Yankees gave him all that money for a reason to take advantage If you have one lineup, let's get him in there But you don't want to go with Garrett Cole if you want to go into that second tier you want to begin with Max Scherzer He's a bit cheaper than Garrett Cole at ten thousand seven hundred dollars. Why Max Scherzer over Clayton Kershaw? Yeah, if you look at just these two guys and based it on their matchup You're gonna favor Clayton Kershaw because he's facing the Giants and the Giants don't have a lot of pop against anybody But I think that's that's definitely true against lefties as well But the reason that I want to go with Max Scherzer is that the difference is just three hundred dollars and the skill level in Scherzer is enough to justify Swallowing the tougher matchup Scherzer last year had a 35% strikeout rate for the full season That's compared to 27% for Kershaw That is an 8 percentage point gap and that is a major difference made DFS expectation perspective The Yankees active roster last year against righties very good. They ranked fourth in WRC plus according to Fangrass That's good But they do have a higher than average strikeout right against righties as well Which gives Scherzer a pathway really good ceiling My hope here Greg is that people avoid Max Scherzer because he's facing the Yankees That is definitely a tough matchup, but we don't care about the floor and cash gains We are in tournaments we care about the ceiling and Scherzer against a team that will strike out at home And being as good as he is has a really good ceiling So if you want to go for the safer route, maybe you want to go Kershaw there, but I'm going to Kohl and cash gains I think that it makes sense to emphasize ceiling and I think that the ceiling for Scherzer is better than the ceiling for Kershaw So to me, I think Scherzer is better straight up than Clayton Kershaw I think that he has the potential to be a little bit less popular than Kershaw as well It's me that says I want Scherzer as my number two guy behind Garrett Kohl I think the talent is too good to pass up and I'm hoping people lower their interest in him due to the matchup Because if they do, I'm going to gobble him up and be pretty excited about him at lower popularity I think that analysis is spot on here Jim, Garrett Kohl is the best And there's a reason you want to put him into your cash game lineup, but it comes to tournaments Most people I imagine are going to pin it to a little bit cheaper in the Clayton Kershaw If you believe Max Scherzer is better, well, that's one certainly check mark in his column The other is what you mentioned with how much the Yankees do tend to strike out Facing a strikeout pitcher in Max Scherzer, and especially because Scherzer got roughed up a little bit in a scrimmage last week People may be down on Max Scherzer, he shouldn't be Nate's tournament, he's a somehow sneaky play despite the price tag And despite the name, with just four pitchers on the board and of course we're ignoring San Francisco Max Scherzer is going to be the sneakiest play out of Clayton Kershaw and Garrett Kohl Potentially the smartest, and that's how you're going to win the cash with that highest upside with Max Scherzer A lot of hand motions today on the hurry up, but it's opening day and we're excited So let's move on Jim to some of the hitters and we begin with the Dodgers Max Muncie He's $3,900 here on Fandle, and Muncie, well he had obviously a very good year last season You think he gets off to a good start, obviously we are stacking with Dodgers in our lineup Because why would he want a hitter that's going after Garrett Kohl or Clayton Kershaw Or Max Scherzer when you don't have to, so let's start with our first Dodger and that is Max Muncie Yeah, no disrespect to Johnny Quaidow, because Johnny Quaidow for a long time has been a very good pitcher But I think when you're looking at the pitchers on this slate, it's pretty obvious that the team we're going to want to stack is the Dodgers And the Dodgers have expensive studs in guys like Cody Bellinger and Mookie Betts And they could be expensive as a whole, but they also have some affordable pieces within their lineup And one of them at the top end is definitely Max Muncie And I think that Muncie, you know, is a good alternative if you can't get up to guys like Betts and Bellinger Muncie, last year a 267 isolated slugging percentage against right handed pitching That's a very good number and he justified it, but a 44% hard hit rate And a 41% fly ball rate The strike area for Muncie, not too bad either, just 24% against righties I think that all those things definitely check in the boxes there for sure So he's $3900 Even if you use Kohl, that's going to be affordable Some of the bats we're going to talk about later on So I think that Muncie is affordable, a high upside piece And in the lineup we want to stack for this slate So I think that if I'm locking in just one Dodger, I think I'm going to start with Max Muncie Because I think that I can make it work around him And he's got the upside to justify it So Muncie may be one of the first Dodgers I turn to Even if he's not quite as attractive as guys like Betts and Bellinger Certainly the name value isn't there with Max Muncie compared to Cody Bellinger and Mookie Betts And we told you we're stacking Dodgers, you would have thought that's exactly where we're starting Garrett Kohl is the must have Max Muncie should also be a must have in your lineup Very, very affordable As are some other Dodgers I don't think Muncie would be the first Dodger I lock in We're going to have to him in just a second But Muncie is certainly a viable option here on this opening day slate The Dodger that I'm most excited about here Maybe even this season Jim, it's Corey Seeger He's $3200 on a Fandall And he's healthy We haven't seen Corey Seeger healthy in a long time And just starting the season out here in July Without any health concerns With the normal off season You're going to get a guy that Well, just a couple of years ago was the best One of the best young haters in baseball He's a really good price It's the right matchup here against Johnny Cueto I love Corey Seeger He's the first Dodger that I'm locking into my lineup And I can't fault you for that for a second, Greg Because he is super affordable at $3200 And even though, like you said He was coming off a big injury last year Even in that 2019 season Seeger still was sneakily kind of good He had a 42% hard hit rate against righties With a 40% fly ball rate Those are numbers that can generate some upside In DFS for sure And he did that while striking out just 15% of the time When you put all that together It says that he is a guy Who could have a lot of single game upside I think we could see that come to fruition this year Especially if you can take an extra step forward As he is another year, like you said Or removed from all those injuries The main question we could have with Seeger Is where he'll bat in the order Once we get all those Dodger studs Funneled them there Because Seeger at times last year Didn't bat super high in the order Definitely a downside for DFS But he did hit ahead of Jack Peterson on Tuesday In their scrimmage Which is a good sign Which I think means Seeger is probably going to bat Somewhere around 5th or 6th And if he does so That is absolutely acceptable In this lineup In this matchup And in this park as well The talent is there Further removed from the injury Good spot lineup In the exact team we want to stack That's a lot of things to like About Corey Seeger for $3200 So if you want to put Seeger Above Muncie once you consider the salaries I will not push back on that for a second Because Corey Seeger is just that good The good news is the price is Allowing you to put both Muncie And Corey Seeger in your lineup In the right matchup here Against Shawnee Quaidow I imagine we're going to see Seeger Actually move up in the lineup As the season goes But that's not going to help us Of course for one day DFS play With the Dodgers and the Giants Here on Thursday But Corey Seeger All these metrics as you mentioned Going the right direction He's healthy here If you could just bat high enough In the order he gets more at bats Well he's going to be well worth it We really like Corey Seeger here On the hurry up So we've got him in your lineup One more Dodger to mention He just talked about him And that's Jock Peterson Now Jock Peterson We didn't think it was going to be A be a Dodger here in July And yet he is And he's going to be in the lineup And he's also cheap All of these combinations Means he should be in your lineup As well on Fandall Yeah I think we can say A decent amount of certainty That Jock Peterson will be The most popular player On this Thursday's slate But a lot of times Chalk is chalk for a reason Greg And that's the case with Jock Peterson on Thursday night Because he's facing a righty He is a value play And Duke can do stupid things With a baseball bat Because last year against Righties he had a 319 Isolated slugging percentage A 46% heart hit rate And a 43% fly ball Where you got to fan yourself Off during that When you see his salary Is $2,800 And also his strikeout rate Was a lot lower Than you'd imagine at 21% Now Peterson because A lot of things are maybe Not where you'd want them to be Is probably going to bat A little bit lower in the order I would expect him to bat At the highest 6th or so Now that Mookie Betz is in town But that's okay When it comes to that As much upside as Jock Peterson brings And when we're stacking this team As we will be stacking The Dodgers on Thursday There is a lot of upside For a low salary So yeah Jock Peterson is going to be popular Again I would If I had to bet I would say he's probably The most popular player On Thursday night's slate But again I don't like Carroll that much I think he's worth it $2,800 in a fantastic matchup I think that Jock is Definitely one of the best Or I would say the best Value play on the slate And someone who Is justifiable Even though Everyone else is going to use him too There's this whole mantra That Jock Peterson kills righties And it's not a mantra It's just true And Jock Peterson has to be In your lineup Almost whenever he plays A right handed pitcher And especially When he is priced Under $3,000 on fans At least $2,800 It's Jock Like you like to say Jock for a reason He's the right play Corey Steger's a little bit Sneakier Max Muncie Max Scherzer A little bit sneakier Jock Peterson Well everyone's going to have him And when he goes off You need to have him as well He's $2,800 on the fan bill So make sure he's In your lineup One last player To mention Jim And it's Well not a Dodger Alright And he's also Unbelievably cheap If he's in the lineup At $2,100 Well you got to start Wilmer Flores I feel like the reasoning Is simply Well he's starting And he costs a minimum That makes sense It's also because He's facing a leftie And Wilmer Flores Despite being Only like 27 years old Has been Like the most Automatic guy Against a leftie For it seems Like a decade at this point No matter what Team he's played for It seems like Whatever Oh hey They're facing a leftie He could hit Pretty high in this lineup Because the giants Have a lot of lefties And if they decide To factor in the platoon Thing here with Clayton Kershaw We could see Wilmer Flores Potentially that As high as like Third And at $2,100 Sign me up baby Because last year A 279 isolated Slugging percentage Against left handed Pitching And just an 11% Strike rate When you combine power With a low strike Outrate That is a tremendous Combination for DFS And it's not A long time now Despite being Not that old If we look at Just the past two calendar Years he has a 39% Hard hit rate Against left handed Pitching That's all good Maybe it's a bit daunting To have him Facing Clayton Kershaw But I'd rather pick Bats against Kershaw Than against Garrett Cole And Max Scherzer For sure And last year Kershaw Did allow a 41% Hard hit rate To right handed batters When they make contact They can do some good Things I think the Flores Is palatable Because that salary Will stand out so much Again, I just think It's worth it Wilmer Flores Does bad things To lefties He is cheap Probably going to Bet pretty high In the order And he has a softer Matchup than a lot Of guys on this slate So Wilmer Flores Definitely someone We can turn to When trying to Jam in guys Like Garrett Cole And could potentially Allow us To get back up to Guys like Mookie Bats And Cody Belanger For our hitters As well Essentially the mirror Mark Peterson He destroys righties Not so much Even playing against Lefties Even better part About Wilmer Flores Just $2,100 And you can see him That even Third in the lineup Killed lefties forever Since he was crying On the field With the New York Mets All the way to Arizona And of course now With San Francisco Wilmer Flores A guy I really Like last year And I really Like here on Opening Day Especially with a price Being at $2,100 That's going to Do it for us Here on I've been ready, Greg It's been It's been a long wait For this day To finally get here It seems a lot of times Like we may not get here But hey It's here Let's enjoy it Let's have a full Slate Friday too I am ready For some sports Be back I appreciate it And I'll be talking You a couple of times Next week too So that's Even more reason To be excited That's right Twice a week You and I Next week Here, Jim Five days a week Is what the hurry up And stay safe everybody