Fantasy Alarm.com has partnered with DraftKings.com so that's the spot that I’m going to focus on that partnership every Friday here at BaseballGuys. So get ready to begin the journey with a DFS rookie. To find my overview of Daily Fantasy Baseball check this link to The Basics. Note that I consider this article to be a MUST read. It not only lays out the basics of how to put a daily fantasy squad together but it also has links to all the TOOLS we have to offer at FantasyAlarm... and I bet you that you haven't used them all yet. So get on it. There's a wealth of information to be had on our site.
Set your lineup in the daily game, play & move on. That's how it works. If your big ticket player goes down with an injury so what. You simply choose a different lineup the next day and move on without the injured star. No harm no foul. People also like the thrill of having a winner crowned each day. And let's be honest, pulling in some cash is never a bad thing either.
THE RULES
We're playing on DraftKings. We've got a way for you to earn up to $600 in free cash bonuses with DraftKings, so make sure you keep reading. Before we get to that, what are the rules for DK? Unlike some of the other daily sites, DK is pretty straight forward. Here's the starting lineup you need to put together.
2 PITCHERS
C, 1B/DH, 2B, 3B, SS, OF, OF, OF
You have $50,000 to set up your 10 person team.
Pretty simple stuff. Here's the Scoring System.
For the full scoring rules you can check out the SALARY CAP RULES page.
Hitters will accumulate points as follows:
Single = +3 PTs
Double = +5 PTs
Triple = +8 PTs
Home Run = +10 PTs
Run Batted In = +2 PTs
Run = +2 PTs
Base on Balls = +2 PTs
Hit By Pitch = +2 PTs
Stolen Base = +5 PTs
Caught Stealing = -2 PTs
Pitchers will accumulate points as follows:
Inning Pitched = +2.25 PTs
Strike Out = +2 PTs
Win = +4 PTs
Earned Run Allowed = -2 PTs
Hit Against = -0.6 PTs
Base on Balls Against = -0.6 PTs
Hit Batsman = -0.6 PTs
Complete Game = +2.5 PTs
Complete Game Shut Out = +2.5 PTs
No Hitter = +5 PTs
*NOTE: Hitting statistics for Pitchers will not be counted, and Pitching statistics for Hitters will not be counted.
HOW TO PLAY
Sign up with DraftKings.com.
You can sign up to take me on directly. All you need to do is the following.
1 – Create an account at DraftKings if you don't have one using the FANTASY ALARM LINK. Otherwise just sign-in to your DraftKings.com account.
2 – Find the league information listed below and sign up. USE THE PROMO CODE ALARM.
3 – Draft your team.
ID# - MLB BIG $5 50/50 (Top 50% Win)
Entry fee $5
Prize Pool $900.00 (50% of those that enter win $9– how about them odds!)
Up to 200 entries
That's it, simple, easy and straightforward. However, there's one more exciting opportunity for FIRST TIME DEPOSITORS.
If you've never deposited with DraftKings before you are eligible for a deposit bonus up to $600. That means every dollar you deposit up to $600 DK will match if you're a first time depositor. Put in $25 and you will end up with $50. Toss in $100 and you get $200. Add in $300 and you get $600. You get it. (Note the bonus money is awarded out as you play. It won't all show up in your account on day one).
For those of you that know the daily game space already I'll be an easy mark. For those of you just starting out like me, let's enjoy the ride together. What do you say?
LAST WEEK
I ran into a problem that many newbies do in the daily games. I set my lineup, didn't check the starting lineups, and then ended up with two guys in my lineup who weren't play. In my defense I wrote about my lineup in last week's article and didn't really want to change my lineup last minute. Second, I'm doing a nationwide radio show on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio when lineups come out, so my attention is totally in another spot. Excuses? Maybe. But trying to be honest too.
I came in 105th out of 160 teams thanks to Alex Gordon and Matt Kemp being on the bench.
THIS WEEK
Each week I'll tell you who I'm playing. Likely not very smart, but I'm in this for all of us to have success. My squad.
P: Corey Kluber, Anibal Sanchez
C: Jose Molina
1B: Paul Goldschmidt
2B: Aaron Hill
3B: Casey McGehee
SS: Troy Tulowitzki
OF: Domonic Brown, Matt Holliday, Kendrys Morales
Make sure you tune in to the Fantasy Alarm's Daily Game Show at 6 PM EDT, Monday through Friday on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio (Sirius210, XM87) as Jeff Mans and Ted Schuster will help you to set your daily lineups.
Player News
Ronald Acuña Jr. walloped his 19th home run of the season and walked three times, leading Atlanta to an 11-5 blowout win over the Nationals.
Acuña has caught fire down the home stretch following a prolonged slump coming out of the All-Star break, homering four times in his last 11 games. The 27-year-old generational talent took Nationals lefty MacKenzie Gore deep in the opening frame and wound up reaching base safely in four of his six plate appearances in the one-sided affair. He’s looked like a fantasy superstar again of late, batting an absurd .346 (18-for-52) with four homers, 13 RBI and two steals over his last 15 games.
Nasim Nuñez went 3-for-4 with a solo homer in Monday’s blowout loss to Atlanta.
Nuñez walloped his first career leadoff homer when he took Atlanta ace Chris Sale deep to right field. It was his fourth round-tripper since returning to the big leagues back in early September. He came a few feet shy of his second big fly on the night a couple frames later and finished the one-sided affair with a season-high three hits, reaching base safely in four of his five plate appearances. He’s shown enough down the home stretch to be considered a serious contender for an everyday role next spring.
Michael Harris II went 3-for-5 with three RBI and three stolen bases in Monday’s lopsided win over the Nationals.
Harris kicked off an impressive three-hit performance with a 109-mph line-drive to right field that brought home Ha-Seong Kim from second base in the second inning. He scorched a run-scoring single as part of Atlanta’s five-run outburst in the ensuing frame. He wasn’t done yet as he drove in another run on a fielder’s choice in the fourth before adding a sixth-inning single. The three steals matched his previous career-high mark set back on July 16, 2022 during his stellar rookie campaign. It also puts him one theft shy of reaching the 20-steal threshold for the third time in the last four seasons.
Chris Sale was charged with five runs over five innings on Monday in a win over the Nationals.
Sale received a touchdown and a two-point conversion worth of run support from Atlanta’s offense by the fifth inning and was cruising along, despite coughing up early solo homers to Nasim Nuñez and Dylan Crews, before Andrés Chaparro delivered a bases-clearing three-run single with two outs in the frame that slashed the deficit to three runs at the time. He managed to wriggle out of the jam without any further damage, finishing with six strikeouts and two walks in the shortened outing. He’ll close out the season on Sunday with a home matchup against the offensively challenged Pirates.
MacKenzie Gore was lit up for four runs over two innings on Monday in a loss to Atlanta.
Gore served up a first-inning solo homer to Ronald Acuña Jr. and things only went downhill from there in the abbreviated outing as Atlanta tacked on another run in the second before chasing him from the contest in the ensuing frame after just 71 pitches (48 strikes). The 26-year-old southpaw battled some serious control issues in this one, handing out four free passes, and only notched three strikeouts. The unexpected implosion breaks up a decent late-season stretch for Gore since returning from the injured list back in early September. He’ll attempt to close out the season on a high note when he faces the White Sox on Sunday afternoon.
Cubs released RHP Nate Pearson.
Pearson’s time in Chicago is over after he posted a lackluster 5.05 ERA across 41 innings of work in 30 appearances over the last two seasons. The 29-year-old former top pitching prospect was never able to make it work after converting to a full-time relief role. However, it’s possible there’s still an organization out there willing to bring him in this offseason as a reclamation project.