Today, I’m playing in a Double Up! contest. They range anywhere from a dollar to ten dollars, but each works the same way. If you finish in the top half you get almost twice as much as you put in. Naturally, DraftKings gets their cut because they have to pay their employees, the light bill, and make a little for their trouble. That being said, they are very generous to those that start playing as they will give you a deposit bonus you can access here.

Before we get to the lineups today we should talk a little bit about the way Draftkings works. They have different kinds of contests, so you have to keep on your toes. Sometimes, they have early bird contests where you can only pick from day games and sometimes they switch it to the west coast action. Other times, entire teams seem to be left out for one reason or another.

Of course, this is not a complaint on my part. An enlightened player goes forth with a multitude of options just in case. In this case, I had planned on using some Oakland Athletics against Josh Lindblom and none were available. Everyone has to deal with the same thing, so why not use it to your advantage. The alternate lineup is going to be a bit one-sided simply because I tried to keep the primary lineup as balanced as possible.

My Lineup

Player

Opposing SP

Salary

Notes
Catcher 

Buster Posey

Tom Koehler

4,500

Who in the hell is Tom Koehler? Exactly.
First Base 

Brandon Belt

Tom Koehler

4,100

Why not double our pleasure?
Second Base 

Derek Dietrich

Homer Bailey

3,400

See the above comments about this pick.
Third Base 

Anthony Rendon

Roy Oswalt

4,000

It’s Oswalt’s first start of the year and based on last year’s performance this is a good play.
Shortstop 

Brandon Crawford

Tom Koehler

3,600

He’s listed as day to day, but there is a very limited offering here.
Outfield 

Hunter Pence

Tom Koehler

4,500

Anyone detecting a pattern?
Outfield 

Wil Myers

Andy Pettitte

3,700

He’s affordable for now and he needs to bust out soon.
Outfield 

Michael Cuddyer

Jordan Zimmerman

4,300

It’s a tough matchup, but he’s averaging 10 points per game in Draftkings.
Pitcher 

Lance Lynn

Chicago Cubs

9.600

The Cubs are a struggling offense and Lynn is on pace to win 20 games and strikeout 200 guys.
Pitcher 

John Lackey

Detroit Tigers

8,300

He’s been solid on the season and he is affordable for you.

A Reasonable Alternative

Player

Opposing SP

Salary

Notes
Catcher 

Kurt Suzuki

Roy Oswalt

3,500

A nice affordable option if you want to splurge elsewhere.
First Base 

Adam Laroche

Roy Oswalt

4,500

It’s a slim pickings on this day.
Second Base 

Marco Scutaro

Tom Koehler

4,400

The top contact guy among regular second basemen.
Third Base 

Ryan Zimmerman

Roy Oswalt

5,000

A slim pickings at the position.
Shortstop 

Ian Desmond

Roy Oswalt

5,000

Noticing a pattern on the undercard?
Outfield 

Bryce Harper

Roy Oswalt

5,700

If you are in the mood to overspend….
Outfield 

Denard Span

Roy Oswalt

4,400

I figured why mess a good thing.
Outfield 

Jayson Werth

Roy Oswalt

4,700

It’s an even sweep.
Pitcher 

Mike Minor

New York Mets

9,300

The Mets offense is bordering on pathetic these days.
Pitcher 

Jordan Zimmerman

Colorado Rockies

10,500

If the offense is going to pick on poor Roy Oswalt then he should easily win.

Are the Dodgers Back?

For one day at least, Dodger fans could forget about their woes. Their boys took it to the Yankees and Yasiel Puig continued his onslaught on the big leagues. It’s almost as if the foreign import thought there was some level above MLB. Hanley Ramirez also threw off the rust and disappointment to turn in a good day. Officially the Dodgers split the twin bill with the Yankees, but those two players went absolutely nuts.

Love or hate the Dodgers, but everyone would agree that baseball is better off when they are relevant. Considering the fact that they spent over 200 million dollars on their squad this season you naturally assumed they would at least be in playoff contention. Maybe if they get some good health and good luck they can fight their way back in.

They certainly have enough marquee talent to make a go of it. If Matt Kemp can find his way back into the lineup and if he can rediscover the magic then the Dodgers might be back in business. Andre Ethier will present somewhat of a challenge to get rid of, but if they can find a taker for him and if they can get some help in that deal then they may have a shot.

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