It just keeps getting worse. I imagine my competition has more experience in DFS than I do, but 46th place out of 50? That's just awful and embarrassing, but I guess some has to finish near the bottom, right?
Last week's 7.50 point total was my fault, as I thought I had set my lineup, but apparently I did not. Oops. Prior to that though, I did set my lineup and netted a whopping 8.08 week.
Jordan Zimmermann didn't do me any favors, and Albert Pujols picked that day to not hit a home run. These things happen though, but they obviously happen to me more than the folks at the top of the leaderboard. Unfortunately though, you have to hear from me this week.
Here are the standings through week 11:
1. Paul Sporer (pjs24) - 451.74
2. Ryan Rufe (rmrufe) - 450.32
3. James Anderson (realjranderson) - 399.64
4. Peter Schoenke (rotopeter) - 398.65
5. Tony Goldenstein (trookie83) - 398.15
6. Shannon McKeown (rotoshannon) - 396.65
7. Ronny Mor (Ronnymor2) - 393.74
8. Chris Benzine (Crispy272001) - 383.57
9. Scott Jenstad (OaktownSJ) - 383.56
10. Herb Ilk (joecomma) - 382.57
46. David Regan (vtadave) - 271.82
Here are a few of my picks for the week if you're so inclined to still believe I have anything worthwhile to share:
Max Scherzer ($12,500) – Obviously this is a huge chunk of my budget, but I'd previously avoided top dollar pitchers and you see where that's got me. Scherzer gets the punchless Phillies and he'll take a 1.76 ERA into the game along with a career low (by far) 1.2 BB/9. He's the heavy favorite for the Cy Young right now. Sorry Clayton Kershaw.
Scott Van Slyke ($3,000) – Van Slyke appears to be a lock to be in the lineup given the Dodgers face Miami rookie LHP Justin Nicolino. Nicolino had a strong MLB debut, but he's far from a flame thrower, so there at least appears to be a decent chance that Van Slyke can connect on one.
Domingo Santana ($2,800) – I needed to get a cheap outfielder after spending big on Scherzer, and I like the upside Santana provides at the price. He gets to face Nathan Eovaldi and his 4.95 ERA and Santana has already homered twice in 22 at-bats this year. There is some risk that Santana doesn't play tonight, so keep an eye on that, but I liked the price.
Danny Espinosa ($2,500) – Espinosa faces Aaron Harang in this one, and with Harang sporting a 10.19 ERA in his last four starts, perhaps I should go back and start more Nationals. Espinosa is known more for his prowess against southpaws, but this year he's hit six home runs in 159 at-bats against right-hand pitching. Surprisingly he's managed to steal just one base this year, but he's swiped as many as 20 in a season, so that helps. Plus, it's Aaron Harang.
Avoid
Johnny Cueto ($10,600) – I'm not risking this sort of money on a guy with a sore elbow. Perhaps Cueto will be fine going forward, but I'm too risk-averse to go here.
Jonathan Lucroy ($3,000) – The price has come down, so that's good, but I'm still not ready to roster a guy with one home run in 134 at-bats. Perhaps Lucroy will heat up once he gets a little more playing time under his belt, but I'd rather pay $3,000 for Nick Hundley or $100 less for Yasmani Grandal.
Any Philadelphia hitters – It's probably best to avoid them in many cases (other than Maikel Franco), but the Phillies get Max Scherzer in this one. Avoid.
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