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For today’s free play we will head to Kansas City where the red-hot Royals look to keep things rolling against the Oakland A’s. The A’s are coming off a loss as a huge favorite against the Minnesota Twins. The same story we’ve seen with Hammel on the mound for the A’s happened again. Poor run support.

In his best start in Oakland, the A’s were only able to manufacture one run. The A’s got out of a jam in the 7th inning in which would be Hammel’s last. But in the 8th and 9th the bullpen gave up five runs, including a two run homer in the 8th.

Today’s starter for Oakland is Sonny Gray while for Kansas City it’s Yordano Ventura. Both have been great young aces for their respective teams.

In handicapping you have to look for value, and I believe there to be strong value for Oakland today. Oakland is only -108 thanks to Kansas City’s great win streak.

Though Gray is coming off a rough start, I’d look for him to bounce back in similar fashion as he did in July off a rough start against the Miami Marlins. He also just pitched against Kansas City on the 1st, and although it was a loss, he only allowed three hits in 7 innings.

Yordana Ventura has been equally impressive but has had issues with his command. He has walked nine batters in his last four starts and is escaping out of jams. Look for the A’s to open up this game with some runs early. That’ll be enough for Gray as he seeks to get back in the win column.

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Friday night is in the books for week one of the preseason. Here are a few quick notes on fantasy worthy contributors to this upcoming season.

Nic Foles
Ouch. While most starting quarterbacks either sat out or had minimal affect in short stints, Nic Foles put out a dud performance. Two interceptions are not what fantasy owners want to see on nine attempts. I’ll fade this output and look for Foles to put his 2014 early jitters away.

Bryce Brown
Brown had a few opportunities as an Eagle and flourished for a couple of games there. Now he is in Buffalo where a role could open up in similar fashion. Fred Jackson is up there in age and CJ Spiller is not a high carry back. Brown ran the ball for 64 yards on 11 carries Friday night against the Panthers.

Mark Ingram
Ingram was probably the most impressive fantasy worthy player Friday night. He looked leaner overall and took advantage of his eight carries on the night. In all he totaled over 80 yards and scored a touchdown on a nifty 22-yard run. Ingram became a bigger part of the Saints offense during the latter part of 2013. He’ll need to showcase a continuation of a solid effort in the preseason before he gets moved up to RB2 consideration.

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Listening to and viewing picks on tonight’s preseason games, I’ve seen a lot of support on the Buffalo Bills. When same views are in play it can be a vast detraction to true point spread value. Sure the line on this is just -1, but if you’re handicapping this game be leery.

The whole notion that the Bills should come out better is an aberration. Just because they have one preseason game under their belts means nothing. That’s like saying in the regular season a team off consecutive losses should be better prepared for a win. We all know that a poor team will continue to lose.

Watching Buffalo in game one I witnessed a lot of poor technique defensively and a slow moving offense.

Look for that to continue in preseason game two tonight in Carolina. The lean on Buffalo has drawn a tad bit more as well with the news that Cam Newton likely will miss tonight’s game. I wouldn’t draw much into that either as a few series of a four quarter game does not effect the overall result.

Carolina has a range of backups that have played big roles before in the NFL. Former Pro Bowl quarterback, Derek Anderson and ex-Minnesota Vikings quarterback Joe Webb.

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Just like ESPN’s show Numbers Never Lie, sometimes you have to ignore opinion and focus on the numbers. Andrew Luck has led some great comebacks and has had some dazzling throws in his young career. But he has also had some disastrous games that seem to be forgotten when the media hypes him up.

Luck seems poised all the time even if he makes a mistake. The problem is when he makes a mistake it usually tailspins into a horrific multi-interception game. Obviously he either can’t block out his mistakes or just lets his turnovers get to him too much.

It’s not like Luck is out there throwing a high amount of touchdown passes to offset this trend either. Luck ranked just 15th in touchdown passes a year ago with 23. Quarterbacks such as Ryan Tannehill, Russ Wilson, and Carson Palmer threw more touchdowns than Luck.

The way the media hypes Luck you’d think he had been to the Super Bowl already. The talent is there but fantasy football draftees need to hold the projections of the media back when drafting.

There are a few variables to consider that may even hurt Luck in 2014. One the Colts all but abandoned their running game last season. With the woes of Trent Richardson and not a suitable backup, the Colts lacked the fire power to help Luck. That may change this season if Richardson recommits himself but that could also hurt Luck’s overall yardage numbers and touchdown results.

The Colts do not run a fast tempo offense that the Broncos, Saints, Cowboys, and other teams with fantasy friendly stats do.

I do not think Luck warrants a top five to eight fantasy consideration at quarterback just yet. He is likely going to remain in the ten to thirteen range until the stalwarts in the top five retire.

If you’re one that waits to draft a quarterback like an old school draftee, do it with caution. Luck’s stats aren’t likely to fluctuate to a higher draw from what we saw in 2013.

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Arian Foster’s decline a year ago has been seen time and time again from the position of running back. Outstanding seasons suddenly get abruptly halted from injuries. Foster had shaken off a few injury bugs in prior seasons to still perform. In 2013 though they piled up to the brink that he told Hannah Storm in a recent interview he pondered retirement.

The tread on Foster’s legs and body is definitely not the same from most 27 year old backs. In college Foster was a four-year guy and carried the ball enough to break all-time records at Tennessee. Though undrafted, Foster ended up in a prime position in Houston with the likes of Steve Slaton.

Not too often will you find a second year back not drafted as the feature back. He relished the role and received a mega contract most backs don’t get until his current age now.

Foster’s track record sort of gives the vibe that he is a 30 year old back. Fantasy owners are likely leery of the Texan back, but I’d give him strong upside as a top tier fantasy back. Even though the Texans do not have a stud quarterback, the offense will still move fluid enough to garner Foster a higher ranking than he currently is averaging (10th).

For those not registering the possibility of Foster being a top five back again, consider this. Jamaal Charles fell back pretty hard in rankings when he suffered a serious knee injury and missed an entire season. He came back at full strength and now is considered the top fantasy back with his duel abilities.

His climb back to the top has left an absent minded void to perennial fantasy football owners. The age of Charles and Foster are the same, 27.

If Charles can return from a far and away more serious of an injury, than why is Foster receiving such a steep downgrade? Sure he doesn’t offer the same bang for the dollar that he once did out of the backfield, but he is still a great rusher and double digit type of touchdown producer.

Houston felt comfortable enough to part ways with Ben Tate and allot room for a downgrade in the second running back position in Andre Brown. I look for Foster to quiet his skeptics and work his way back into solidifying himself as a top five fantasy running back. Consider him a steal if you get him in the early to mid second round.