In case you don’t know of my Ladder System when it comes to betting allocation, I’ll give you a real quick rundown. The goal is to play predominantly cash games but expose a portion of your daily budget to higher upside contests. It gives the best of both worlds. It also covers it’s ass. If you played a $5 Double Up, a $2 Triple Up, a $2 Quintuple Up, and a $1 large league or small GPP like the MLB Bunt, you have your $5 DU poised to pay for all your other entries ($2+$2+$1=$5) when it hits. You will obviously hit your DU most often. After that, your LU begins to climb and cross scoring barriers that release more mulitpliers of money the better it does. Just hit the DU, though, and you are on “house money” the rest of the day.

I have constructed a mini-Ladder for beginners with micro-bankrolls. This “mini-Ladder” can stretch a small deposit of about $50-$100 almost indefinitely and at absolute worst give you a season’s worth of entertainment for less than the price of most tickets to a live game. If this system intrigues you, come inside the DFS Army and look around our community of advisors. We are releasing content daily to help you #Learn2Build your own competitive lineups based on fundamental principles like betting allocation. We have several articles in the works, and have the best Slack community of live chat you have likely ever seen.

If you are a “show me” kind of guy, here are just a couple quick shots from this week of our comrades using our principles every day….

Now, let’s dive into the monster 15 game slate this Friday evening.

Again, I’m looking at some potential delays in weather for some games. You will see those in the table below. However, the timing of the weather in relation to the starts of these games is worth noting. The weather in SFG is scheduled to fade before the game starts at 10pm eastern. The percentage or rain drops from 32% to 1% from 8pm to 9pm. I’m not going to be too worried about that game. The Braves game has chances throughout the evening, which could led to delays. The weather in Cincinnati drops from 60% at first pitch to 30% the next hour, sort of like SFG. The Yankees are like the Braves in that they have steady chances the entire game. Yet in DC, we get weather ramping up as the game goes on. 10% to 30% from 7pm to 8pm. No major wipeouts are expected, but delays are more possible in the games where the weather isn’t fading as the game wears on. It’s important to note weather chances, but it’s more important to note the actual timing of the forecast and monitor it’s changes closer as lineups are released and as you assemble yours.

I am going to be looking at WAS, NYM, CHC, and SFG for my pitching initially. Expect me to detail some of those pitchers. I may shy off CHC for the weather. The totals are decent for those games, but I might also lean park factor out west in those pitcher’s parks. I’m going to be looking at the opponent’s K% numbers, too, though and that may sway me towards one or the other. For offense, I’m looking to COL (like everyone will be), but the KC game is intriguing again tonight. Another KC stack might get me some BAL or COL bats. I’m anticipating the LAD’s prices have been jacked up on us as they roll into Coors. The PHI/MIL game might get less attention than it should because of the Rockies being home. I’ll look there as well. And, from there I’ll round out by targeting mediocre pitching. That’s a quick summary of how I’m going to attack this slate. I pare down my choices pretty quickly this way and just take the others off my radar being that I lean on Vegas AND there are just so many to choose from on a 15 game slate. This graphic is a fast way to significantly cut down the list before it gets overwhelming.

PITCHERS

Jon Lester (10600) – Leader on the slate now that CIN is piling up some K numbers. However, he’s not in a favorable park and not dealing with clear weather. I know what Arietta did, but it was a gamble and so is this.

Matt Harvey (9800) – I mention him, but I don’t like it much. He hasn’t shown the same stuff he had last year just yet. ATL isn’t striking out a ton, either. Slight weather concern on top of it all and I’m likely off him. It’s noteworthy there is a nice gap in pricing from FD to DK, though…….indicating DK likes his matchup tonight.

Gio Gonzalez (9000) – Here is where I’m heading first, I think. Quality K numbers and even though MIN is heating up, they are still striking out enough to target.

Felix Hernandez (11000) – I don’t think I’m interested for this price. It’s a chalky play for the Ks, but it’s not heavily favored enough from Vegas to catch my eye for this price point with even Lester being a tad cheaper.

Adam Wainright (8500) – He might “get right” soon, but he’s a GPP play for me. SD strikes out as a club and they are in a nice park for Adam to get his mechanics back because the park factor should give him some margin for error. He’s a nice GPP play on a big slate like this, and his recent starts might chase some people away for you.

Aaron Nola (6900) – Cheap GPP play here, too. I’ve run him in cash but won’t be in this matchup. I treat most pitchers in Miller Park like they are in Arizona or Coors. I just avoid them and move on. But, I can see a medium risk/high reward spot when I see it……..and this is one.

If playing DK, I’d be looking off the high priced pitchers with weather concerns in cash. I’d be looking at names like Gio, Quintana, perhaps Tropeanu. You can certainly pair one of these guys with a higher priced pitcher for sure.

CATCHERS

Yasmany Grandal (3700) – This is where I’m going first along with everyone else on FanDuel. It’s just too good for under 4k. Grandal has come back into the lineup with some authority. This week alone, in 18 plate appearances he carries a .658 wOBA. He may not have any homers this week, but he is swinging the bat well and has the power to knock a few out in Coors.

Salvador Perez (3500) – Going to be lower owned based on Grandal AND being KC. This game is likely to score some runs and we saw him pop 30+ points twice this week. Ride the hot hand here in a game Vegas likes to put up some runs.

Also consider: Montero (CHC), Cerevelli (PIT), Gattis (HOU), Saltalamacchia (DET), Casali (TBR), Posey (SFG)

1st BASEMEN

Adrian Gonzalez (4200) – Dodgers are starting to look fairly inexpensive for playing in Coors. AGon is pretty darned consistent and to get this kind of affordability for Coors Field is almost too good to pass up.

Anthony Rizzo (4200) – But, if you want a similar pivot you look to Rizzo in CIN. People might chase those numbers last night, but I would think they’d flock to Rizzo first.

Also consider: Teixera (NYY), Davis (BAL), Encarnacion (TOR), Howard (PHI), Lind (SEA), Duda (NYM)

2nd BASEMEN

DJ LaMahieu (3600) – If he hits leadoff, I love this spot for DJ. He carries a great OBP, consistently hits at Coors, and occasionally runs into one at home. Obviously, Chase Utley’s slight resurgence has me intrigued for the same price leading off for LAD.

Neil Walker (3300) – This feels pricey for him, but I love attacking Bud Norris. With a game in Coors, you won’t find many on Walker tonight and he draws perhaps the crappiest pitcher on the slate.

Also consider: Zobrist (CHC), Gennett (MIL), Murphy (WAS), Cano (SEA)

SHORTSTOP

Carlos Correa (4200) – Price is dropping because the Stros have gone cold for a week or so. But, no one can snap back with a double dong like Correa. Gambling on a HOU stack or paying up here can get you off the herd in COL tonight.

Trevor Story (4900) – He is pricey as hell right now. He has supposedly cooled off. I don’t know I’d be afraid to roster him back home vs a lefty. He has demolished lefties so far. In this “cool” week of his, Story has only 3 ABs vs LHP and has two hits…….and a .712 wOBA, meaning he did some damage with those two ABs.

Alcides Escobar (2400) – Leading off for KC, Escobar has ability to put up some decent games. I don’t roster Royals too often but when they carry nice Vegas totals, I look to them for value pretty quickly.

Also consider: Seager (LAD), Crawford (SFG), Espinosa (WAS)

3rd BASEMEN

Brandon Drury (2300) – I mention this because he is cheap and slots the 2-hole in ARI. The issue here is a lot of people will look at this spot and freak out thinking it’s an auto-value-play. Niese isn’t a terrible pitcher and ARI bats are not too hot right now. I’m not looking this way most likely.

Justin Turner (3600) – Here we go again with Coors. But, this is much cheaper than where a lot of people will try and go with Arenado at $5300. Hey, I like Arenado, but Turner gives me some exposure and doesn’t cost me my a stadium beer.

Also consider: Moustakas (KCR), Bryant (CHC), Longoria (TBR), Rendon (WAS)

OUTFIELDERS

Dexter Fowler (3800) – I’m still blowing the Fowler horn. This dude just has it all and faces a bad pitcher in a great ballpark and often finds himself on base when the thunder comes to the plate. It’s just a great spot for you almost night in and night out.

Curtis Granderson (3200) – Attack Bud Norris. It gets you off Coors and carries a nice price. And, it’s so far from a bad spot you can no longer see what you are looking at.

Matt den Dekker (2000) – Cheap and if he leads off for WAS facing Kyle Gibson, it’s another spot I don’t mind attacking in the slightest. But, you have to check the lineups first.

Ryan Raburn (3400) – This dude has GREAT splits vs lefties. While your Cargo and Parra are Coors favorites to pay up for, they are lefties themselves and aren’t in great spots today. Raburn, though, is. Don’t be afraid to roster him up. He was a DFS veteran’s sneaky value play last year that you just rostered when he was in the lineup and waited to cash in.

Also consider: Conforto (NYM), Puig (LAD), Tucker (HOU), Rasmus (HOU), Pederson (COL)

How to read the graphics above:

Home and away teams are pretty simple. Pitchers tend to pitch better at home.

Weather matters huge in MLB. Green is good, red is bad. Anything over a “5” should give you pause in rostering a pitcher. Hitters aren’t as affected, but warming up and shutting down and warming up and shutting down isn’t something managers like to do to their pitchers. Any delays will shorten the “lifespan” of your pitcher and affect the opportunity he has to score you points. A “0” indicates a dome team.

Favored team according to Vegas. Vegas P gives the moneyline and by how much the favored team is favored. The bigger the number, the better our pitchers has a shot at earning the win. I typically look for a number larger than 150. Vegas B shows how many combined runs Vegas is projecting the hitters to score. For hitters, the bigger the better. For pitchers, the smaller the better. The last thing you want is your pitcher on the mound in a slugfest.

Park Factor is a rating assembled by combining historical numbers of runs and home runs scored over the past few seasons. This rating is expressed in comparison to the “average” ballpark. Average is a score of 100. The greater the difference from average, the more the park favors hitters (greater than 100) or pitchers (less than 100). This number is not foolproof, though. For example, if we assembled a team of weak hitters and had them play half their games in a great ballpark, we would undoubtedly see a suppressed ballpark factor rating. But, it does give us a great idea on a given slate where we may/may not see runs scored. Use in conjunction with the Vegas B column. If you see a green number in both columns, you can consider rostering hitters from that game.

In researching pitchers, I want a heavy favorite in Vegas, a red number in Vegas B, and good weather. I also want to see a ballpark that’s bad for hitters, if possible. That’s really about it to narrowing down my list of choices for who I’ll start as a pitcher.

In researching hitters, I want a green Vegas B number, good weather (but it doesn’t have to be perfect), and a hitter’s park to play in, if possible. But, mostly I want terrible pitching on the mound. This is indicated by high run totals (green Vegas B) and even the Vegas P column because a team that is heavily favored “can be” facing terrible pitching. But, that’s getting a bit specific for this quick-hitting column. That simple graphic can really tell you a lot in 30 seconds.