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MLB Daily Fantasy Baseball Recommendations for 6/8/18

by Mike Barner 0 Comments

*Mike Barner — @rotomikebarner*

June special! Use Code PAMLB30 at checkout

With only one day game Friday, we’re back to a packed night slate in DFS for baseball. 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 6/8/18

Justin Verlander vs. Texas Rangers
Stadium – Globe Life Park in Arlington
FanDuel = $11,600
DraftKings = $12,400

Verlander didn’t exactly struggle in his last few seasons with the Tigers, but he’s taken his game to another level since joining the Astros. His 1.24 ERA is likely to increase as the season wears on, but his 2.20 FIP indicates he could still finish with great numbers. Not only has he shown excellent control with a 1.8 BB/9, but his 31.9% strikeout rate is the highest of his career. He has already faced the Rangers three times this season, allowing two runs to go along with 23 strikeouts across 20 innings. He’s certainly expensive, but he has terrific upside.

Frankie Montas vs. Kansas City Royals
Stadium – Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum
FanDuel = $8,500
DraftKings = $7,900

Montas made 23 appearances out of the bullpen for the Athletics last year and did not pitch well with a 7.03 ERA, 7.13 FIP, and a 1.84 WHIP. He did show strikeout upside, though, with a 10.1 K/9. He had a 9.2 K/9 for his career in the minors, so that lofty mark wasn’t exactly out of left field. The Athletics have been hit hard by injuries, forcing Montas to join the starting rotation. He’s made two starts so far, allowing one run in 14 innings. His last start came against these same Royals and he threw eight shutout innings to go along with two strikeouts. The lack of strikeouts was disappointing, but the Royals do have the fewest strikeouts (454) in baseball. They are in the bottom-third in runs scored, though, leaving Montas as a cost-effective option in tournament play.

CATCHER/FIRST BASE

MLB Daily Fantasy Baseball Recommendations for 6/8/18

Mitch Moreland vs. Dylan Covey, Chicago White Sox
Stadium – Fenway Park
FanDuel = $3,500
DraftKings = $4,600

Covey has trouble keeping runners off base, resulting in a 1.43 WHIP this season. He had a similar problem last year when he posted a 1.67 WHIP across 18 games, 12 of which were starts. Moreland is having the best season of his career not only with a .303 average but also a .612 slugging percentage. He has a .441 wOBA against righties as well, making him a strong option for your entry.

C.J. Cron vs. Marco Gonzales, Seattle Mariners
Stadium – Tropicana Field
FanDuel = $3,100
DraftKings = $3,700

Cron is slumping a bit in June, hitting 3-for-23 (.130) in six games. He’s been dragged down by a .111 BABIP during that stretch and was hitting well coming into the month, so expect him to rebound sooner rather than later. This might be just the matchup he needs to get back on track since he has a .393 wOBA against left-handed pitchers.

Others to consider: Jose Martinez (first base) and Wilson Ramos (catcher)

SECOND BASE

MLB Daily Fantasy Baseball Recommendations for 6/8/18

Daniel Descalso vs. German Marquez, Colorado Rockies
Stadium – Coors Field
FanDuel = $4,000
DraftKings = $4,100

Descalso has never hit for much power since the highest slugging percentage of his career was a .424 mark set in 2016. That is the only season he has finished with a slugging percentage over .400. This year has been a different story as he enters Friday with a .514 slugging percentage. Part of that increase is likely due to his career-high 42.4% hard-hit rate. Marquez allows a lot of base runners with a 1.46 WHIP and this game will be played in hitter-friendly Coors Field, leaving Descalso with significant upside.

Starlin Castro vs. Eric Lauer, San Diego Padres
Stadium – Marlins Park
FanDuel = $3,200
DraftKings = $3,600

The Padres have very little pitching depth, which has kept Lauer in the starting rotation despite his 6.82 ERA and 1.98 WHIP. He has a 4.5 BB/9 and a 1.8 HR/9, which has left him susceptible to ugly outings. Righties have had plenty of success against him with a .421 wOBA, so Castro is a viable option if you’re looking to save money at second base.

Others to consider: Jose Altuve and Ian Kinsler

THIRD BASE

MLB Daily Fantasy Baseball Recommendations for 6/8/18

Jose Ramirez vs. Michael Fulmer, Detroit Tigers
Stadium – Comerica Park
FanDuel = $5,300
DraftKings = $5,500

Ramirez has supplied the Indians with a lot of power this season, hitting 19 home runs and 19 doubles in 59 games. His batting average hasn’t suffered at the expense of his increased power since he is still hitting .298. He is 4-for-10 with two home runs and a double against Fulmer in his career, who doesn’t exactly have overpowering stuff with a 6.9 K/9 for his career.

Matt Carpenter vs. Matt Harvey, Cincinnati Reds
Stadium – Great American Ball Park
FanDuel = $3,800
DraftKings = $4,000

Carpenter had batted at least .271 in each of his first five seasons in the majors but took a step backward last year with a .241 average. His strikeout rate only slightly increased and his walk rate actually improved, but he was somewhat unlucky with a .274 BABIP. His flyball rate was also almost 10 percentage points higher than his career mark. He’s continued to struggle with a .225 average this year and he only has a .267 wOBA against lefties. He is hitting righties better with a .332 wOBA and Harvey has allowed a .410 wOBA to left-handed hitters, so this matchup does swing in Carpenter’s favor.

Others to consider: Anthony Rendon and Brian Anderson

SHORTSTOP

MLB Daily Fantasy Baseball Recommendations for 6/8/18

Xander Bogaerts vs. Dylan Covey, Chicago White Sox
Stadium – Fenway Park
FanDuel = $4,500
DraftKings = $4,500

Bogaerts made the All-Star team in 2016 and finished the season with 21 home runs and 34 doubles. It looked like he was going to provide power at the shortstop position for years to come and while he did still have 32 doubles in 2017, he hit just 10 home runs. A lot of that had to do with a hand injury that he played through for much of the season. He’s healthy now and already has nine home runs. He has a .367 wOBA against righties as well, so don’t shy away from him just because he doesn’t have the righty/lefty advantage against Covey.

Brock Holt vs. Dylan Covey, Chicago White Sox
Stadium – Fenway Park
FanDuel = $2,700
DraftKings = $3,500

With Dustin Pedroia (knee) back on the disabled list, it’s open up increased playing time for Holt again. Holt has cashed in his opportunity to get more at-bats this season as he is hitting .319 with a .389 OBP. He doesn’t hit for power, but he does only have 15 strikeouts compared to 11 walks. Most of his at-bats this year have come against right-handed pitchers, who he has a .348 wOBA against.

Others to consider: Jean Segura and Marwin Gonzalez

OUTFIELD

MLB Daily Fantasy Baseball Recommendations for 6/8/18

Andrew Benintendi vs. Dylan Covey, Chicago White Sox
Stadium – Fenway Park
FanDuel = $4,900
DraftKings = $5,600

Benintendi enters this game red-hot as he has four home runs in his last five games. He has at least two hits in five of his last eight games to increase his average to .299. After posting his first 20 home run, 20 stolen base season last year, he looks to be on his way to reaching that mark again with 11 homers and 10 steals. If you’re looking to stack Red Sox hitters against Covey, Benintendi should be towards the top of your list.

Matt Kemp vs. Brandon McCarthy, Atlanta Braves
Stadium – Dodger Stadium
FanDuel = $3,900
DraftKings = $4,500

Kemp has at least one hit in 12 of his last 13 games, hitting 19-for-45 (.422) with five home runs. He is hitting .349 overall, but don’t expect that to hold considering his .404 BABIP. McCarthy’s 4.83 ERA isn’t great, but it really could be worse since he has a 1.50 WHIP. Keep riding Kemp’s hot bat.

Joc Pederson vs. Brandon McCarthy, Atlanta Braves
Stadium – Dodger Stadium
FanDuel = $2,400
DraftKings = $3,900

Pederson is hitting well right now also, batting 8-for-16 with five longballs in his last four games. He only has six home runs this year total, but he can do a lot of damage when he’s locked in. His .389 wOBA against righties makes him another Dodger worth considering for your entry.

Others to consider: Marcell Ozuna and David Peralta

MLB Daily Fantasy Baseball Recommendations for 5/29/18

by Mike Barner 0 Comments

*Mike Barner — @rotomikebarner*
May special! Use Code PAMLB30 at checkout

Baseball brings a full night of action Tuesday, leaving a lot of options to choose from 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 5/29/18

Charlie Morton vs. New York Yankees
Stadium – Yankee Stadium
FanDuel = $9,900
DraftKings = $12,100

Starting a pitcher on the road against the Yankees powerful lineup isn’t usually a good idea. However, you may want to do just that Tuesday. Morton continues to be a key part of the deepest rotation in baseball, recording a 2.04 ERA and 0.97 WHIP in 10 starts. He is likely in line for some regression with his 3.32 FIP and .235 BABIP allowed, but he’s an excellent source for strikeouts with a 10.9 K/9. He has already faced the Yankees once this season, allowing one run to go along with 10 strikeouts in 7.2 innings. On a night lacking elite pitching options, Morton may have the highest upside of anyone available.

Luis Castillo vs. Arizona Diamondbacks
Stadium – Chase Field
FanDuel = $7,800
DraftKings = $8,000

Castillo was horrible out of the gate, allowing 25 runs in 28.2 innings across his first six starts. He’s been a different pitcher since, though, allowing 10 runs (nine earned) in 28.2 innings over his last five starts. The key is after posting a 1.67 WHIP in those first six outings, he’s had a 1.22 WHIP in the last five. Add that with his excellent strikeout upside and he’s returning to the type of pitcher that showed so much promise last year. The Diamondbacks lineup is struggling to produce offense, recording the fewest hits (370) in baseball by a wide margin while also scoring the second-fewest runs (200).

CATCHER/FIRST BASE

MLB Daily Fantasy Baseball Recommendations for 5/29/18

Mitch Moreland vs. Marco Estrada, Toronto Blue Jays
Stadium – Fenway Park
FanDuel = $4,000
DraftKings = $4,100

The Red Sox decided to part ways with Hanley Ramirez and while a lot of that was financially motivated, it’s also because Moreland has been so reliable. Not only would his .317 average be the highest of his career, but he’s hitting for a ton of power as well with a .642 slugging percentage. He’s not likely to keep up this pace, though, with a .349 BABIP that is 61 points higher than his career average. He doesn’t always have success against left-handed pitching, but he is dominating righties with a .454 wOBA against them this season.

Wilson Ramos vs. Daniel Gossett, Oakland Athletics
Stadium – Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum
FanDuel = $2,800
DraftKings = $3,300

Ramos made the All-Star team with the Nationals in 2016 but only played 64 games in his first season with the Rays last year due to injury. He’s already played 41 games this season and has returned to his form with the Nationals, batting .310 with six home runs. He’s currently on an eight-game hitting streak, recording four multi-hit performances over that stretch. At this cheap price, it might be worth taking a chance on him continuing to swing a hot bat Tuesday.

Others to consider: Freddie Freeman (first base) and Joey Votto (first base)

SECOND BASE

MLB Daily Fantasy Baseball Recommendations for 5/29/18

Ozzie Albies vs. Steven Matz, New York Mets
Stadium – SunTrust Park
FanDuel = $3,900
DraftKings = $5,100

The Braves lineup suffered a big loss with Ronald Acuna Jr. (knee/back) landing on the DL, but they still have another young phenom in Albies. He’s slowed down a bit in the power department, hitting just one home run in his last 13 games. That was to be expected considering the pace he was on, but he’s still a dangerous hitter. He’s someone you normally want to target when facing lefties as well considering he has a .433 wOBA against them in his brief career.

Brian Dozier vs. Danny Duffy, Kansas City Royals
Stadium – Kauffman Stadium
FanDuel = $3,600
DraftKings = $3,900

Dozier had made significant improvements with his batting average the last two seasons but is hitting just .243 so far this year. His .271 BABIP is in line with his career mark, but he’s historically been a better hitter in the second half of the season. He’s already starting to show signs of heating up, hitting 9-for-28 in his last seven games. Duffy is really struggling and has been hit hard by righties, making Dozier a viable option for your entry.

Others to consider: Scooter Gennett and Joey Wendle

THIRD BASE

MLB Daily Fantasy Baseball Recommendations for 5/29/18

Matt Carpenter vs. Zach Davies, Milwaukee Brewers
Stadium – Busch Stadium
FanDuel = $3,800
DraftKings = $3,800

Carpenter dug himself a huge hole this season, batting .155 through his first 25 games. He was extremely unlucky, though, with just a .190 BABIP. He’s rebounded nicely in May, batting .291 on the strength of his .373 BABIP. Davies allows plenty of baserunners and doesn’t have an overpowering arsenal with only a 6.5 K/9 for his career, so look for Carpenter to keep his hot streak alive.

Kyle Seager vs. Austin Bibens-Dirkx, Texas Rangers
Stadium – Safeco Field
FanDuel = $3,100
DraftKings = $3,500

Seager has never been a great hitter for average, but at only .226 this season, he’s been a major disappointment. He has been unlucky with a .241 BABIP, but it’s not a good sign that his strikeout rate is up while his walk rate is down. He’s been a much better hitter against right-handers in his career and faces an underwhelming one in Bibens-Dirkx, who has spent most of this season in Triple-A. If you want to go cheap at third base, Seager is someone to consider.

Others to consider: Rafael Devers and Miguel Sano

SHORTSTOP

MLB Daily Fantasy Baseball Recommendations for 5/29/18

Jurickson Profar vs. Felix Hernandez, Seattle Mariners
Stadium – Safeco Field
FanDuel = $3,600
DratfKings = $3,600

Hernandez has been in a downward spiral the last couple of years. He’s hit a new low through 11 starts this season with a 5.58 ERA, 5.08 FIP, and a 1.39 WHIP. His average fastball velocity is down to 90.5 mph this season, significantly below his career average of 93.8 mph. Profar has been a better hitter against lefties, but Hernandez’s lack of overpowering stuff still makes him a viable option for your entry.

Dansby Swanson vs. Steven Matz, New York Mets
Stadium – SunTrust Park
FanDuel = $3,000
DraftKings = $3,300

Albies isn’t the only Braves hitter who is better against lefties as Swanson has a .368 wOBA against them this season compared to .293 against righties. Swanson doesn’t hit for a ton of power and his batting average has been on the decline as his BABIP has normalized, but he might be worth taking a chance on in tournament play at this price.

Others to consider: Xander Bogaerts and Carlos Correa

OUTFIELD

MLB Daily Fantasy Baseball Recommendations for 5/29/18

Andrew Benintendi vs. Marco Estrada, Toronto Blue Jays
Stadium – Fenway Park
FanDuel = $4,200
DraftKings = $5,100

Benintendi only has a .275 wOBA for his career against lefties but has had much more success against righties with a .365 wOBA. He’s been even better against righties this season with a .405 wOBA. His batting average is also 32 points higher at Fenway Park than it is on the road for his career, making him another Red Sox to target against Estrada.

Nomar Mazara vs. Felix Hernandez, Seattle Mariners
Stadium – Safeco Field
FanDuel = $3,800
DraftKings = $4,200

It’s hard to believe that not only is Mazara already in his third season in the majors at only 23 years old, but he also hit exactly 20 home runs in both of his first two seasons. He’s well on his way to that threshold again this year with 12 homers. Stacking Rangers hitters against Hernandez could yield excellent results, Mazara included.

Brandon Nimmo vs. Anibal Sanchez, Atlanta Braves
Stadium – SunTrust Park
FanDuel = $3,300
DraftKings = $3,800

Nimmo has done a great job getting on base with a .408 OBP this year, helping him secure the leadoff job for the Mets. He’s provided some pop as well with four doubles, four triples, and five home runs. His 194 wRC+ against right-handed pitchers makes him a great cost-effective option against Sanchez, who is making his first start for the Braves in over a month.

Others to consider: Michael Conforto and Adam Jones

DraftKings FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks for July 28

by Chris Durell 0 Comments

*Chris Durell*

DraftKings / FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks for July 28, 2017

Welcome back to another TGIF edition of our daily fantasy baseball picks. Friday gives us another full 15-game slate to sort through and there will bea wrinkle with some weather issues thrown in the mix. Be sure to monitor the situations in Washington and Philadelphia as we get closer to lock. You can also follow me on Twitter(@Jager_Bombs9) as I will be updating the situations there as well. Let’s take a look at some of the top pitchers and stacks for tonight.

Starting Pitchers

Masahiro Tanaka
Opponent – vs. TB
Park – Yankee Stadium(Hitter Park)
Vegas Favorite (-175)
Vegas Total (9.0)

The Yankees are the third biggest favorite(-175) on the slate and Tanaka comes at a value price on both sites which give him huge PTS/$ value on this full slate. I will, however, only be using him in tournaments due to the inconsistency he has shown all season. He has given up 4+ earned runs seven times this season and sits with a 5.37 ERA but there are signs of positive regression working in his favor. First of all, the xFIP(3.74) sits over a run and a half better thanks to a below average walk rate(2.1 BB/9) and elite strikeout potential with a 9.18 K/9 and 14.6% swinging strike rate. While the Rays do rank inside the Top 10 vs. right-handed pitchers, they also K over 24% of the time and have been one of the coldest teams over the last 14 days(.290 wOBA, 81 wRC+).

Danny Salazar
Opponent – @ CWS
Park – Guaranteed Rate Field(Neutral)
Vegas Favorite (-215)
Vegas Total (9.5)

My top option tonight is the electric but wild Danny Salazar. Before a shoulder injury placed him on the disabled list for over a month, Salazar had a ton of issues walking batters(4.58 BB/9) and was punished for it with a 5.40 ERA and 22.4% HR/FB rate. He made his return to the rotation last Saturday and was very impressive giving up just one hit to the Jays over 7.1 innings while striking out eight and walking ZERO. He gets an even better matchup tonight facing a White Sox team that has lost 12 of their last 13 games and rank right near the bottom of the league vs. right-handed pitching with a .304 wOBA, 87 wRC+, and 22.3% strikeout rate.

Top Stack

Texas Rangers vs. Chris Tillman (BAL)

I absolutely love targeting against the Orioles pitching staff. Their bullpen sits in the middle of the pack with a 4.01 ERA but the starters hold the second worst ERA(5.90) and third worst HR/FB rate(16.5%) in the entire league. Tonight it’s the Texas Rangers who, despite getting shelled 22-10 yesterday, have scored 10+ runs in back to back games and face Chris Tillman who has been the worst of the O’s staff this season. He has walked a to of batters(4.48 BB/9) this season and has been punished with the long ball(17% HR/FB rate) resulting in a 7.01 ERA and equally bad 5.51 xFIP.

Top Players to Stack – Shin-Soo Choo, Adrian Beltre, Nomar Mazara, Roughned Odor

 

 

 

Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Matt Moore(SF)

I guess we can call this a sneaky snack? I mean the Dodgers, at this point, rank 9th in implied runs tonight and on the main slate the late games can sometimes be overlooked. This is good news as they rank third overall in wOBA and wRC+ vs. left-handed pitching this season and have been the league’s hottest team since the break. They have won They have won five straight and 10 of 12 games scoring an average of over five runs per game. Matt Moore is not a good pitcher with a 5.82 ERA and 5.15 xFIP and has given up at least one home run in three straight and four of his last five games. I think you can further separate yourself from the pack by leaving out the popular and expensive Bellinger and Seager. I will definitely have exposure to both but like the idea of fading them in a few spots to be contrarian.

Top Players to Stack – Justin Turner, Chris Taylor, Logan Forsythe, Enrique Hernandez

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DraftKings FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks for July 27, 2017

by Chris Durell 0 Comments

*Chris Durell*

DraftKings / FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks for July 27, 2017

Welcome back for another Thursday in daily fantasy baseball. Today is a bit of weird one with just eight games in total with three of them running in the afternoon. For the article below, I am going to give you my top pitcher and stack for tonight and we will get back to full-slate baseball on Friday. Let’s dig in.

Starting Pitchers

DraftKings FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks - Jon Lester - Lineuplab

Jon Lester
Opponent – @ CWS
Park – Guaranteed Rate Field (Neutral)
Vegas Favorite (CHC -225)
Vegas Total (10.5)

The vegas total is the highest of the entire day but don’t let that scare you off as the Cubs side of things makes up for over 61% of that. Lester takes the mound for the North siders tonight and has been brilliant lately. Over his last two starts, he has gone 15 innings, limiting the Braves and Cards to three hits each and three combined earned runs while striking out 16 batters and walking just one. Tonight he faces a White Sox team that started out the year destroying lefties but has fallen off lately since the trade of Todd Frazier. They currently rank 8th in wOBA and more telling is the 18th rank in Isolated Power. Trust Lester in all formats tonight.

Also Consider: C.C. Sabathia

 

Top Stack

DraftKings FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks - Matt Carpenter - Lineuplab

St. Louis Cardinals vs. Zack Godley (ARI)

The Cubs are clearly the top play tonight with their 6+ implied run total but I wanted to give you a secondary option to get away from the chalk. I am leaning in the Cardinals tonight who just finished off a three-game sweep of the Rockies outscoring them 21-9. Tonight they welcome another NL West team in the Diamondbacks who will be throwing Zack Godley to the mound. He had an excellent start to the season holding opponents to three earned runs or less in his first 11 starts but has been stumbling a bit lately. He has given up 10 earned runs over his last two starts despite showing some big K upside. The BABIP suggests he will regress back to normal but on a small slate, I will take a shot with a hot team and cold pitcher.

Top Players to Stack – Matt Carpenter, Paul DeJong, Jedd Gyorko, Tommy Pham