Daily Fantasy Baseball Top Picks
Changing lineups cost me last night.
Making changes in daily fantasy baseball isn’t always a good thing.
I spoke in yesterday’s post about how I was high on the Marlins right-handed bats, and when the lineup cards came out it showed the 1-4 hitters for Miami were all righties. I decided to start all four and adjust my lineup accordingly. The Marlins posted five runs total, which wasn’t a bad showing. It could have been more if a few hard hit line drives by my picks would have found their way into the gaps instead of straight into gloves. As the late game lineups posted I was hit with a crippling surprise. Howie Kendrick, my value pick second baseman, was being given a day off for rest. This meant I needed to use the Late Swap feature to fix my lineup, and while I wasn’t unhappy with what I locked in, I wasn’t thrilled either. Don’t get me wrong, this roster could have easily posted 50 fantasy points given the matchups. I don’t believe it was near optimal though, and these are the days you learn to live with when you’re on the daily fantasy baseball grind.
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Daily Fantasy Baseball Weather Alert
Rangers @ Yankees - 40% chance of storms. Angels @ Tigers - 40% chance of storms.
Diamondbacks @ Nationals - 40% chance of storms. Indians @ Orioles - 60% chance of storms.
Blue Jays @ Red Sox - 50% chance of storms.
Pitcher
Stephen Strasburg - $12000 - Owns the league’s second lowest home earned run average. 3-1 with a 1.46 earned run average over his past six outings.
Tyler Chatwood - $9600 - 3-1 with a 1.93 earned run average in six starts since being recalled from the minors. The Mets are one of the worst hitting teams in baseball and David Wright is said to be getting a rest for today’s game.
Catcher
A.J. Pierzynski - $6300 - Phil Hughes is struggling mightily, especially against left-handed hitters.
J.P. Arencibia - $6200 - Boom/bust factor fully in play today as he takes on reeling lefty Jon Lester.
First Base
David Ortiz - $9900 - Pitcher versus batter stats don’t normally raise alarms, but Ortiz is 16 for 37 against Chien-Ming Wang in his career and has been playing well as of late.
Anthony Rizzo - $7000 - I don’t buy that Wily Peralta can repeat his performance from last outing, and am looking for him to return to his earlier form. This means Rizzo, who’s wielding a hot stick, is in line for a huge game.
There are lots of solid value picks today. The weather will determine my lineup in the end though.
Second Base
Jason Kipnis - $8800 - Matchups barely matter at this point as he’s simply locked into the zone. It does help that he faces off with a right-hander though.
Ryan Flaherty - $4700 - Make sure he’s in the lineup first, and if so he makes an excellent high upside value play.
Third Base
Juan Francisco - $4200 - The upside against right-handed pitching at this price makes him worth a look every time. Make sure he’s starting before you unleash him.
Anthony Rendon - $4200 - Even with the tough matchup against Patrick Corbin it’s tough to not consider Rendon. He’s been a machine since his promotion from the minors.
Shortstop
Hanley Ramirez - $6400 - Heating up in a big way right now, and matchups matter very little. He has elite talent and this could be the beginning of something special.
Maicer Izturis - $4900 - If you need a cheap shortstop there are few hotter value plays than Izturis. His June has been extremely productive.
Outfield
Clete Thomas - $3800 - Thomas is still a huge value play hitting at the top of the Twins order. As a bonus he gets to tee off in a great matchup against right-hander Jeremy Guthrie.
Oswaldo Arcia - $6100 - All the Twins left-handed hitters are in play against Guthrie today, and Arcia has been heating up over the past week.
Ryan Sweeney - $4900 - As I mentioned above, I think Wily Peralta will struggle. Sweeney has done an excellent job as in injury fill-in and has massive upside for a bargain bin price tag.
Yasiel Puig - $8000 - He’s still well under the maximum salary, and that means regardless of matchup he has to be considered.
Josh Hamilton - $5800 - Hamilton has shown flashes of brilliance against right-handed pitching over the past month. He’s worth the risk at this price in what figures to be a high scoring affair.
With only nine games on the docket and a slew of weather concerns, daily fantasy baseball players must be extra vigilant as they build their rosters. Remember, if a pitcher starts a game that is then delayed by the weather, he rarely resumes pitching after the break. Making sure your roster is free from weather-related turmoil also carries the added upside of defeating your opponent by default when any number of their roster spots receive a zero. Tread cautiously my friends.
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Remember to visit tomorrow. We’ll break down tonight’s lineup and discuss Friday’s top daily fantasy baseball options.