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MLB Daily Fantasy Baseball Recommendations for 4/17/18

Mike Barner — @rotomikebarner*

MLB Daily Fantasy Baseball Recommendations for 4/17/18

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The weather doesn’t seem like it will be a big issue in baseball Tuesday, which should hopefully leave us with a full night of options in DFS. Sign up for our Newsletter and try our Playerlab tool, where you can filter the stats that matter the most and help build a winning entry on FanDuel and DraftKings.

STARTING PITCHERS

MLB Daily Fantasy Baseball Recommendations for 4/17/18

Patrick Corbin vs. San Francisco Giants
Stadium – Chase Field
FanDuel = $9,500
DraftKings = $9,800

Corbin is off to an excellent start this season, posting a 2.45 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, and 14.2 K/9 through three starts. He’s never had a K/9 above 8.4 and has a career WHIP of 1.34, so he is likely in line for some regression across the board as the season wears on. However, Tuesday brings an excellent matchup against a bad Giants lineup that has scored the second-fewest runs (49) in baseball this season. Although both Corey Kluber and Shohei Ohtani are taking the mound Tuesday, Corbin could provide similarly excellent results at a more reasonable price.

Yonny Chirinos vs. Texas Rangers
Stadium – Tropicana Field
FanDuel = $6,000
DraftKings = $4,700

Chirinos has been one of the pitchers the Rays have thrown out first on their “bullpen days”, but he’s pitched so well that he’s made a case to be in the starting rotation moving forward. In 14.1 innings this season, he has yet to allow a run and has a sparkling 0.70 WHIP. His K/9 isn’t great at 7.5, but he’s shown excellent control with a 1.3 BB/9. He’s obviously going to give up a run at some point and has been a bit lucky with opponents posting a .222 BABIP, but he’ll face a Rangers lineup Tuesday that is missing Elvis Andrus (elbow), Rougned Odor (hamstring) and Delino DeShields Jr. (hand). At this price, Chirinos might be worth the risk in tournament play.

CATCHER/FIRST BASE

MLB Daily Fantasy Baseball Recommendations for 4/17/18

Yasmani Grandal vs. Bryan Mitchell, San Diego Padres
Stadium – Petco Park
FanDuel = $3,500
DraftKings = $3,600

The Padres have a lot of young promising players, but Mitchell is not one of them. Brought over in a trade from the Yankees to help fill out their rotation, Mitchell has been awful through three starts. Not only does he have a 6.64 FIP, but he has only three strikeouts compared to 14 walks. He doesn’t have overpowering stuff by any means, making Grandal a great option for your entry considering the hot bat he is swinging as well.

C.J. Cron vs. Matt Moore, Texas Rangers
Stadium – Tropicana Field
FanDuel = $2,800
DraftKings = $2,800

Moore has been almost as bad as Mitchell, recording an 8.76 ERA and 2.11 WHIP through three starts. Opponents are squaring him up well with a 44.7% hard-hit rate after he allowed a career-high 34.7% hard-hit rate in 2017. Cron is a better hitter against lefties, finishing with a .331 wOBA against them last year. If you’re looking to save money at the position. Cron is a viable option.

Others to consider: Cody Bellinger (first base) and Joey Votto (first base)

SECOND BASE

MLB Daily Fantasy Baseball Recommendations for 4/17/18

Jed Lowrie vs. Miguel Gonzalez, Chicago White Sox
Stadium – Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum
FanDuel = $3,800
DraftKings = $3,900

Lowrie is off to a scorching start this season, batting .343 with four home runs and 14 RBI. His BABIP sits at .392, so expect that to come down close to his career mark of .296 at some point in the near future. He could keep his hot streak going for at least one more game Tuesday though, in a favorable matchup against Gonzalez, who only has a career 6.3 K/9. Lowrie also hits right-handers well, finishing with a 123 wRC+ against them in 2017.

Jonathan Villar vs. Sal Romano, Cincinnati Reds
Stadium – Miller Park
FanDuel = $2,800
DraftKings = $3,000

After a breakout 2016 campaign, Villar came crashing back to Earth last year hitting .241 with a .293 OBP. His .373 BABIP from 2016 dropped to .330 last season, which was a big reason for his decline in production. He’s shown improvement with a .273 average in the early going and will get to bat from his stronger side of the plate against the righty Romano on Tuesday, who has struggled with a 1.50 WHIP in his brief Major League career.

Others to consider: Jose Altuve and Ian Kinsler

THIRD BASE

MLB Daily Fantasy Baseball Recommendations for 4/17/18

Kris Bryant vs. Adam Wainwright, St. Louis Cardinals
Stadium – Wrigley Field
FanDuel = $5,100
DraftKings = $5,100

Bryant is not only batting .352 this season, but he has more walks (10) than strikeouts (eight). He’ll face Wainwright on Tuesday who is a shell of his former self, posting an ERA of at least 4.62 and a WHIP of at least 1.40 in both of the last two seasons. He hasn’t been any better in 2018, recording  5.06 ERA and 1.50 WHIP through two starts.

Travis Shaw vs. Sal Romano, Cincinnati Reds
Stadium – Miller Park
FanDuel = $3,300
DraftKings = $4,100

Shaw is off to a bit of a slow start, hitting only .266 through the first 16 games of the season. He has just a 23.5% hard-hit rate, which is significantly lower than his career mark of 33.7%. Facing Romano might be just what he needs to jump-start his bat since he had a .373 wOBA against right-handers in 2017.

Others to consider: Todd Frazier and Matt Carpenter

SHORTSTOP

MLB Daily Fantasy Baseball Recommendations for 4/17/18

Carlos Correa vs. Ariel Miranda, Seattle Mariners
Stadium – Safeco Field
FanDuel = $4,700
DraftKings = $4,800

Miranda is making his first start of the season after finishing with a 5.12 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and 7.7 K/9 in 2017. He wasn’t a big strikeout pitcher in the minors either with a career 8.3 K/9. Correa’s 187 wRC+ against left-handed pitching ranked inside the top-15 in the majors last year, leaving him as an excellent option to consider Tuesday.

Corey Seager vs. Bryan Mitchell, San Diego Padres
Stadium – Petco Park
FanDuel = $3,600
DraftKings = $4,200

Seager is batting just .200 so far this season, but he has been victimized by a .224 BABIP. A lot of that could be because he is not hitting the ball hard, posting a 28% hard-hit rate compared to his career mark of 41.4%. However, with Mitchell’s struggles and lack of an overpowering pitch arsenal, this could be a breakout performance from Seager.

Others to consider: Zack Cozart and Marcus Semien

OUTFIELD

MLB Daily Fantasy Baseball Recommendations for 4/17/18

George Springer vs. Ariel Miranda, Seattle Mariners
Stadium – Safeco Field
FanDuel = $4,400
DraftKings = $4,700

Springer’s bat is starting to heat up, collecting at least two hits in three of his last four games. He hit for excellent power over that stretch as well, slugging three home runs. Like Correa, Springer also excels against left-handed pitching, posting a 165 wRC+ against them in 2017.

Dexter Fowler vs. Tyler Chatwood, Chicago Cubs
Stadium – Wrigley Field
FanDuel = $3,300
DraftKings = $3,600

After being limited to just 118 games due to injury last year, Fowler is not off to the kind of fresh start he hoped for with a .183 average. You might be able to take advantage of his reduced price Tuesday though against Chatwood, who allowed a .360 wOBA to left-handers last year. The switch-hitting Fowler is better against righties, finishing with a wOBA of at least .363 against them in both of the last two seasons.

Matt Joyce vs. Miguel Gonzalez, Chicago White Sox
Stadium – Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum
FanDuel = $2,900
DraftKings = $3,100

Joyce is someone you normally want to target as a cost-effective outfield option against right-handed pitching since he has a .351 wOBA against them in his career. This season has been no different as he has a .362 wOBA versus lefties in his first 17 games. Lefties were able to finish with a .360 wOBA against Gonzalez in 2017, making Joyce an excellent option once again Tuesday.

Others to consider: Charlie Blackmon and Jose Pirela

DraftKings FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks for July 21, 2017

*Chris Durell*

DraftKings / FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks for July 21, 2017

Welcome back for another night of DraftKings FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks. It’s Friday and we are gifted with a 15-game slate that is chalk full of elite pitching options and some other options we may want to stack against. Let’s take a look at a few of my favorites.

Starting Pitchers

DraftKings FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks - Chris Sale - Boston Redsox - Lineup lab

Chris Sale
Opponent – @ LAA
Park – Angel Stadium of Anaheim(Pitchers Park)
Vegas Favorite (BOS -205)
Vegas Total (7.5)

With their ace on the mound, the Red Sox enter the Friday night slate as the second biggest favorite and are one of three matchups with a very low 7.5 Vegas total. After putting together a CY Young like first half, Sale picked up where he left off dominating the Yankees last Saturday with a season-high 13 strikeouts while limiting them to just three hits over 7.2 innings pitched. Of the four top tier pitchers tonight(Sale, Scherzer, Wood, Darvish), Sale also has the highest projection when looking at the lineup tool by a nice margin which only helps justify his high salary. The Angels don’t strike out a whole lot and did get back their star outfielder Mike Trout but still rank 27th in wOBA and dead last in wRC+ vs. left-handed pitching. Sale is the top pitcher of the night.

 

Jeff Samardzija
Opponent – vs. SD
Park – AT&T Park (Pitchers Park)
Vegas Favorite (SF -155)
Vegas Total (7.5)

When it comes to GPP pitchers, I love taking risks to gain an edge in ownership. You can’t just throw a dart and hope for the best as you still need upside. Enter Jeff “Shark” Samardzija who has the upside with a 9.8 K/9 rate and terrific matchup in one of the best pitchers park vs. a team that ranks 29th in hitting vs. righties. However, he was blown up by these very Padres in his last start despite striking out eight batters. I know there will be a ton of people avoiding this play tonight and that flips the switch for me to go overweight tonight in tournaments. If you aren’t about the risk, I would consider Aaron Nola instead.

Top Stacks

DraftKings FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks - George Springer - Houston Astros - Lineuplab

Houston Astros vs. Ubaldo Jimenez (BAL)

It is a terrific night for targeting bad pitchers and combine that with another series starting at Coors and you should see some spread out ownership. My favorite stack at the top is by far the Houston Astros who lead the league in runs scored and are one of the few teams that can handle losing a stud like Carlos Correa. They get one of the top matchups of the night vs. Ubaldo Jimenez who has given up four or more earned runs in three straight and four of his last five starts with six home runs against. The other good news is that the Astros head out on the road, where they get a nice park boost away from Minute Maid Park.

Top Players to Stack – Jose Altuve, George Springer, Josh Reddick, Brian McCann

Miami Marlins vs. Homer Bailey (CIN)

Another team that gets a nice park boost as the Marlis travel to the Great American Smallpark to start a series with Reds. Not only that, they get a matchup vs. Homer Bailey who has shown some huge blowup potential since returning from offseason surgery. He has made five starts since mid-June and while two of them were positive on the road(one in Coors), he has given up six, eight, and eight earned runs in his other three starts. With so many great spots tonight combined with the fact the Marlins rank in the bottom third of runs scored, I think they are going to be bargain when looking at ownership.

Top Players to Stack – Dee Gordon, Giancarlo Stanton, Christian Yelich, Justin Bour