New Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers brought a lot of former Green Bay Packers — seven — with him in order for the longest-tenured Packer (18 seasons in Green Bay) to feel at home in New York: wide receivers Allen Lazard, Randall Cobb and Malik Taylor, offensive tackle Billy Turner, quarterback Tim Boyle, offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett, and safety Adrian Amos. One player Rodgers couldn’t bring with him was three-time All-Pro receiver Davante Adams, the player who has caught more touchdowns from Rodgers (68) than anyone else in the four-time NFL MVP’s storied career. Fortunately for Rodgers, he sees plenty of similarities between Adams and the Jets’ No. 1 wide receiver, 2022 Offensive Rookie of the Year Garrett Wilson.
“Yeah,” Rodgers said on July 20 when asked if Garrett Wilson reminds him of Davante Adams. “Look, I love Davante. I saw him this summer. Davante is in a category by himself still, but that 17 [Wilson] reminds me of the other 17 [Adams] as far as his [Wilson’s] ability to get in and out of breaks and his quick twitch at the line of scrimmage, for sure.”
The four-time NFL MVP doubled down on his praise for Wilson by once again comparing him to Adams during a sideline interview in the third quarter of the Hall of Fame Game between his Jets and the Cleveland Browns.
“Man Garrett, what an amazing kid,” Rodgers said Thursday during the Hall of Fame in an interview with NBC Sports announcers Mike Tirico and Cris Collinsworth. “I have so much love and respect for Davante [Adams], he’s the best receiver in the league. I don’t say this lightly, but there are definitely traits that this 17 [Wilson] has that special 17 [Adams] has as well. I’m not going to put him in that category yet because Davante is in a category by himself, but Garrett really has the potential to be special. … He has great talent, incredible work ethic, and he’s a freaking great kid. He’s a good human being. He cares about it and carries himself the right way, like a seasoned vet.”
It was quite the scene on Thursday when an independent league baseball player made his way into the stands to confront a fan. Spire City Ghost Hounds first baseman Raudy Read, who spent time with the Washington Nationals, ran into the crowd midway through the 10th inning of Thursday’s game against the Long Island Ducks.
Read had just completed a double play to finish off the top half of the 10th inning. The 29-year-old then ran into the stands and chased someone all the way up the concourse.
Former MLB player Raudy Read completes a double play then immediately runs up into the crowd to confront a fan pic.twitter.com/WceV8CIXrs
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) August 4, 2023 It’s unclear what exactly angered Read to the point that he raced into the crowd. Immediately after turning the double play, he threw his glove down, and before anyone could even react he was running up the concourse.
According to a fan who claimed to be in attendance, a man and his daughter had been calling Read “barbaric” names during the top half of the 10th inning.
Independent baseball Twitter account Indy Ball Nation reported that Read wasn’t ejected from the game. The fans that Read was chasing “took off running” once they noticed Read chasing after them. Indy Ball Nation also reported that Read may have been following another player into the stands, potentially to restrain them.
Read appeared in 14 games with the Nationals in 2017 and 2019, and he’s hitting .303 with Spire City during the 2023 season.
The Reds jumped all over Washington starting pitcher Patrick Corbin when they last met a month ago. With Corbin scheduled to start against Cincinnati again on Friday, should daily Fantasy baseball players expect similar offensive outbursts? Elly De La Cruz went 3-for-3 and Spencer Steer went 2-for-2 with a walk against Corbin on July 4, so should you pull them from the MLB DFS player pool when constructing MLB DFS lineups on sites like FanDuel and DraftKings on Friday?
Corbin has allowed 10 runs (nine earned) over his last two starts, so timing and the previous outcomes seem to favor Reds hitters. But one poor outing won’t guarantee another, so daily Fantasy baseball players will have to balance those thoughts when forming an MLB DFS strategy for Friday. The Reds allowed 41 runs over their last three games, so maybe utilizing Nationals hitters could be wise for creating MLB DFS lineups.
Before submitting any MLB DFS picks for Friday, be sure to check out the MLB DFS advice, strategy and projections from SportsLine daily Fantasy expert Mike McClure.
McClure is a daily Fantasy pro who has won more than $2 million in his career. And when it comes to daily Fantasy baseball, McClure is at his best. Recognized in the book “Fantasy Football (and Baseball) for Smart People: How to Turn Your Hobby into a Fortune” as a top MLB DFS player, McClure’s proprietary projection model simulates each game 10,000 times, taking factors such as matchups and recent results into account. This allows him to find the best values on every site.
On Thursday, McClure highlighted Cubs outfielder Ian Happ in his MLB DFS player pool on both sites. The result: Happ went 1-for-2 with a double, two walks, an RBI and a run scored, returning 13 points on DraftKings and 18.7 points on FanDuel. Anybody who included him in their lineups was well on the way to a profitable day.
Now, with the 2023 MLB season rolling on, McClure has locked in his top MLB daily Fantasy picks for Friday, August 4. Head to SportsLine now to see them.
McClure’s top MLB DFS picks for Friday One of McClure’s top MLB DFS picks for Friday is Cardinals first baseman Paul Goldschmidt ($5,700 on DraftKings and $3,700 on FanDuel). Goldschmidt was also being discussed as a trade deadline target leaving an underachieving squad for ones with World Series aspirations, but that never came to fruition. The 35-year-old hasn’t lived up to his personal expectations either with 18 home runs two-thirds of the way through the season after hitting at least 30 long balls in each of his last five full seasons.
But that has driven his MLB DFS price down as well, leading to a valuable position for Friday. The Cardinals begin a three-game series with the Rockies on Friday as Colorado has allowed the second-most runs in baseball (627) this year. Rockies probable starter Chris Flexen has an 8.08 ERA over 18 outings, including a 10.71 ERA in his five starts this year. He allowed six runs (five earned) in 3 2/3 innings against Oakland in his last start on July 29 as Goldschmidt should find himself in positions to drive the ball with runners on base on Friday.
McClure’s optimal MLB DFS strategy includes rostering Mariners shortstop J.P. Crawford ($3,600 on DraftKings and $3,000 on FanDuel). Crawford, a left-handed hitter, went 2-for-3 and reached base four times on Thursday to improve his slash line to .327/.441/.519 over 28 games since July 1. The seven-year veteran is having a career season, posting his best OPS (.785) in a season and he already has tied a career-high in home runs (nine) with two months left.
The Angels are scheduled to start left-handed pitcher Reid Detmers, who had a 6.12 ERA over his five July starts, on Friday. Detmers is coming off his worst month over the last two seasons and despite being a LHP, he’s struggled against left-handed batters this season. Left-handed hitters are batting .297 with an OPS of .887, which is more than 200 points higher than he’s allowing against right-handers, this year. The Mariners, who are in the middle of the wild card race, have won seven of their last nine games, averaging 5.6 runs per game during that stretch, and adding Crawford will leave money to pair with higher-priced players. See who else to pick right here.
