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MLB Daily Fantasy Baseball Recommendations for 5/22/18

by Mike Barner 0 Comments

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

With several bad starting pitchers taking the mound Tuesday, there could be plenty of runs to come by across the majors. 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 5/22/18

Gerrit Cole vs. San Francisco Giants
Stadium – Minute Maid Park
FanDuel = $11,800
DraftKings = $12,900

It’s hard to argue against starting Cole regardless of who he is facing. To illustrate how great of a season he is having, his worst outing of the year came in his last start against the Angels. He didn’t exactly get hammered either, giving up three runs and recording seven strikeouts in five innings. Cole’s 1.75 ERA has been backed by a 1.95 FIP and he is getting a ton of strikeouts with a 13.6 K/9. He gets a great matchup Tuesday against the Giants, who have struck out the fourth-most times (455) in baseball this season.

Kevin Gausman vs. Chicago White Sox
Stadium – Guaranteed Rate Field
FanDuel = $8,300
DraftKings = $7,600

The Orioles always seem to be searching for reliable starting pitchers, but Gausman has been a bright spot for their rotation. His 3.88 ERA and 4.56 FIP aren’t great, but a lot of the damage against him came over two starts where he allowed a total of 12 runs. Outside of those two bad performances, he has allowed two runs or fewer in six of seven outings. The White Sox lineup still leaves a lot to be desired, scoring the second-fewest runs (168) in baseball. Gausman doesn’t have a ton of strikeout upside, but the price might be right to take a chance on him in tournament play.

CATCHER/FIRST BASE

MLB Daily Fantasy Baseball Recommendations for 5/22/18

Mark Reynolds vs. Eric Lauer, San Diego Padres
Stadium – Nationals Park
FanDuel = $3,700
DraftKings = $3,700

The Nationals lost their regular first baseman in Ryan Zimmerman (back), but they luckily still have great options at the position with Reynolds and Matt Adams. Reynolds has only played six games this season, but he’s made an immediate impact with four home runs. He’ll likely get the start against left-hander Eric Lauer, who has been terrible this year with an 8.14 ERA and 2.10 WHIP.

Matt Olson vs. Mike Leake, Seattle Mariners
Stadium – Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum
FanDuel = $3,400
DraftKings = $3,800

Olson continues to strike out way too much with a 29.5% strikeout rate. His power numbers are down too, but the good news is that he has a 50% hard-hit rate. He’s shown signs of coming out of his early slump as well, hitting 8-for-27 with three home runs and two doubles in his last seven games. He also has a .394 career wOBA against right-handers, leaving him as a cost-effective option with upside against Leake.

Others to consider: Josh Bell (first base) and John Hicks (catcher)

SECOND BASE

MLB Daily Fantasy Baseball Recommendations for 5/22/18

Jed Lowrie vs. Mike Leake, Seattle Mariners
Stadium – Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum
FanDuel = $4,000
DraftKings = $4,200

Lowrie has slowed down a bit after his hot start as he hasn’t hit a home run in his last nine games. He’s still hitting .288 in May with his BABIP at a more reasonable .327, which is good news for his value moving forward. Leake presents a prime stacking opportunity with his 6.00 ERA and 1.53 WHIP this season. Lowrie also excels against right-handers, following up his .353 wOBA against them last year with a .424 wOBA this season.

Starlin Castro vs. Zack Wheeler, New York Mets
Stadium – Citi Field
FanDuel = $3,200
DraftKings = $3,300

The Marlins rebuilding efforts have considerably weakened their lineup, resulting in them scoring the fewest runs in baseball so far. Castro has been one of their few bright spots, batting .296 in the early going. His power numbers are way down with only two home runs and he doesn’t get a lot of chances to drive in runs, which has resulted in only 20 RBI. He’s still someone to consider playing against Wheeler though, who has struggled to keep runners off base with a 1.55 WHIP through seven starts.

Others to consider: Gleyber Torres and Dee Gordon

THIRD BASE

MLB Daily Fantasy Baseball Recommendations for 5/22/18

Anthony Rendon vs. Eric Lauer, San Diego Padres
Stadium – Nationals Park
FanDuel = $3,800
DraftKings = $3,900

With Lauer taking the mound for the Padres, filling your lineup with Nationals’ hitters could pay off. Rendon has been limited to 27 games due to injury this season and has yet to get into a groove with only a .248 average. He’s been a bit unlucky with a .259 BABIP and he still isn’t striking out much, so expect him to turn things around soon. With a 186 wRC+ against lefties last year, he could be in line for a breakout performance Tuesday.

Colin Moran vs. Matt Harvey, Cincinnati Reds
Stadium – Great American Ball Park
FanDuel = $2,800
DraftKings = $3,500

Moran doesn’t hit for a lot of power, but he is batting .286 and only has 15.8% strikeout rate. He does a great job getting on base in general as well with a .381 OBP. Not only does he have a .359 wOBA against righties this year, but he gets a great matchup against a struggling one in Harvey. If you don’t want to pay up for Rendon, Moran is an excellent budget-friendly option.

Others to consider: Mike Moustakas and Travis Shaw

SHORTSTOP

MLB Daily Fantasy Baseball Recommendations for 5/22/18

Trea Turner vs. Eric Lauer, San Diego Padres
Stadium – Nationals Park
FanDuel = $4,400
DraftKings = $4,800

Lauer has held lefties to a .260 wOBA in his brief time in the majors this season, but righties have had a ton of success with a .472 wOBA. As we continue to look for righties to stack against him, Turner leads the way as one of the best options available at shortstop. He is only hitting .246 in May, but a lot of that has to do with his abnormally low .234 BABIP. He does have five home runs this month, so don’t hesitate to add him to your entry.

Marcus Semien vs. Mike Leake, Seattle Mariners
Stadium – Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum
FanDuel = $3,400
DraftKings = $4,000

Semien has been one of the Athletics most consistent hitters of late, recording at least two hits in six of his last 10 games. He’s not just slapping singles either, recording two home runs and two doubles during that same stretch. He doesn’t get the lefty/righty advantage against Leake, but Leake hasn’t exactly been lights out against righties this year, allowing a .387 wOBA.

Others to consider: Xander Bogaerts and Jean Segura

OUTFIELD

MLB Daily Fantasy Baseball Recommendations for 5/22/18

Mookie Betts vs. Jake Faria, Tampa Bay Rays
Stadium – Tropicana Field
FanDuel = $5,400
DraftKings = $6,000

Unless Betts is facing one of the truly elite pitchers in baseball, you can pretty much make a case for playing him every day. There are a ton of crazy stats showing that he is off to one of the best starts we have seen in a long time, including his .365 average, 15 home runs and 48 runs scored in 43 games. Just as impressive is that he has almost as many walks (20) as he does strikeouts (21). Don’t expect Faria to be able to slow him down.

Corey Dickerson vs. Matt Harvey, Cincinnati Reds
Stadium – Great American Ball Park
FanDuel = $3,500
DraftKings = $3,900

After moving on from franchise player Andrew McCutchen, Dickerson has proven to be a prudent addition for the Pirates. He made his first All-Star team last year and is off to a great start, batting .307 with five home runs and 29 RBI. He has hit at least 33 doubles in back-to-back seasons and is on pace to reach that feat again this year with 14 doubles already. Harvey allowed a .426 wOBA against lefties last year and hasn’t been much better by allowing a .397 wOBA to them this season.

Austin Meadows vs. Matt Harvey, Cincinnati Reds
Stadium – Great American Ball Park
FanDuel = $2,700
DraftKings = $4,100

Rounding out our trio of Pirates’ lefties to play against Harvey, the up-and-coming Meadows checks in as a viable cheap option, especially on FanDuel. He went 5-for-11 with a home run in his first three games against the Padres after posting a .294 average in Triple-A. With a career .292 average during his time in the minor leagues, his future is certainly bright. It’s unclear if he’s going to stick around once Starling Marte (oblique) returns, but that’s of no concern Tuesday.

Others to consider: Mike Trout and Joey Gallo

MLB Daily Fantasy Baseball Recommendations for 3/30/18

by Mike Barner 0 Comments

*Mike Barner — @rotomikebarner*

MLB Daily Fantasy Baseball Recommendations for 3/30/18

Earlybird special! Use Code PAMLB10 at checkout

The thrill of Opening Day has come and gone, but there is still plenty of excitement for Friday’s slate of MLB games 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 3/30/18

Max Scherzer vs. Cincinnati Reds
Stadium – Great American Ball Park
FanDuel = $11,100
DraftKings = $12,700

The first game of this series was scheduled for Thursday but was pushed back a day due to rain. This leaves a unique opportunity to use one of the elite pitchers in all of baseball on the second day of the season. Scherzer was terrific on his way to winning the Cy Young Award in 2017, finishing with a 2.51 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, and 12 K/9. He’s one of the most dominant strikeout pitchers in all of baseball, recording a K/9 of at least 10.1 in six straight seasons. The Reds have one of the best hitters in baseball in Joey Votto, but their overall lineup is not overly impressive. Look for Scherzer to start off the season on the right foot with another excellent outing Friday.

Blake Snell vs. Red Sox
Stadium – Tropicana Field
FanDuel = $6,700
DraftKings = $6,800

Snell has had control problems in his brief major league career, but he showed signs of improvement over the second half of the season, walking just 25 batters in 77.1 innings. His numbers improved, as a result, recording a 3.49 ERA and 1.13 WHIP during that stretch. Snell has also been a much better pitcher at home, posting a 3.20 ERA and 9.7 K/9 at Tropicana Field in his career. The Red Sox lineup is no cake walk, but Snell has strikeout upside and might be worth taking a chance on at this cheap price in tournament play.

OFFENSIVE STACKS

MLB Daily Fantasy Baseball Recommendations for 3/30/18

Chicago Cubs vs. Caleb Smith (Miami Marlins)
Stadium – Marlins Park

The sad state of affairs for the Marlins starting rotation leads Smith to start their second game of the season. He’s pitched only 18.2 innings in the majors during his career, posting a 7.71 ERA and 1.66 WHIP. At 26 years old, Smith is not a hot rising prospect either. He’s not a big strikeout pitcher, recording an 8.5 K/9 during his minor league career. The Cubs already mashed the Marlins for eight runs on Opening Day, so don’t be surprised if they have another offensive explosion Friday.

Players to consider stacking: Kris Bryant, Wilson Contreras, Addison Russell

Houston Astros vs. Doug Fister (Texas Rangers)
Stadium – Globe Life Park in Arlington

Fister has had a fine career, but he’s not much more than a journeyman starter at this point. He appeared in 18 games for the Red Sox last year, finishing with a 4.88 ERA and 1.38 WHIP. He had an 8.3 K/9, but don’t expect that to hold up this year as his career K/9 is only 6.2. The Astros have one of the most potent lineups in the league, which could spell disaster for Fister on Friday. Make sure to take advantage for your entry.

Players to consider stacking: Carlos Correa, George Springer, Brian McCann

SPLIT KINGS

This season we’ll dive even deeper into the matchups to provide you with some hitters that have favorable splits each day. All areas that will be considered are splits against certain teams, starting pitchers, home and road games, and success against either right-handed or left-handed pitchers. Outside of the favorable offensive stacks already discussed, these hitters could also help you create a winning lineup.

MLB Daily Fantasy Baseball Recommendations for 3/30/18

Freddie Freeman, 1B, Atlanta Braves
FanDuel = $4,400
DraftKings = $4,500

Freeman wasted no time getting off to a hot start this season, going 1-for-2 with a home run, two RBI, three runs and three walks Thursday. Friday brings a matchup against right-handed starter Nick Pivetta, who had a 6.02 ERA and 1.51 WHIP last season. Freeman also mashes right-handed pitching, batting .303 with a .531 slugging percentage against them in his career.

Khris Davis, OF, Oakland Athletics
FanDuel = $3,200
DraftKings = $4,100

Davis also started off the 2018 season in style, going 2-for-5 with a home run and four RBI Thursday. He’s an elite power bat, hitting at least 42 homers in back-to-back seasons. He’s had success against Friday’s starter Tyler Skaggs, posting four hits, one home run, three RBI and one walk in eight career plate appearances against him. Skaggs also gave up 13 home runs in just 85 innings last year, which could be troublesome against Davis.

Zack Cozart, 3B, Los Angeles Angels
FanDuel = $3,000
DraftKings = $4,000

Cozart made a good first impression with his new team Thursday, going 3-for-6 with a home run and a double. He is coming off the best season of his career in 2017 when he hit .297, but that was partly inflated by his abnormally high .312 BABIP. He crushed left-handed pitching last season, batting .337 with a .633 slugging percentage. He gets to face Athletics’ lefty Sean Manaea on Friday.

Corey Dickerson, OF, Pittsburgh Pirates
FanDuel = $2,600
DraftKings = $4,000

Dickerson had an excellent season in 2017, batting .282 with 27 home runs and 62 RBI as he made his first All-Star team. The Rays moved on from several key pieces of their offense in the offseason, ultimately landing Dickerson with the Pirates. He gets to face Jordan Zimmermann on Friday, who posted an unsightly 6.08 ERA and 1.55 WHIP last season. He’s not a strikeout pitcher either with a career 5.8 K/9. Dickerson hits right-handed pitchers particularly well, with 24 of his 27 home runs coming against them last year.

DraftKings FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks for August 18, 2017

by Chris Durell 0 Comments

*Chris Durell*

DraftKings / FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks for August 18, 2017

Welcome for another big Friday in daily fantasy baseball. With one afternoon matchup(TOR @ CHC) it leaves us with a big 14-game slate starting at 7:05 p.m. ET tonight. Let’s take a look at a couple of the top pitching and stacking options.

Starting Pitchers

DraftKings FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks - Max Scherzer - Washington Nationals - Lineup Lab

Max Scherzer
Opponent – @SD
Park – Petco Park(Pitchers Park)
Vegas Favorite (WSH – 198)
Vegas Total (7.0)

The price is steep, especially on DraftKings where he has reached the $14K mark once again but Max clearly has the best matchup and most upside of any pitcher tonight. He and the Nats will travel to Petco Park to take on the Padres who have scored a league low 466 runs this season and also rank 27th in wOBA and 26th in wRC+ vs. right-handed pitching with a 25% strikeout rate. Scherzer is currently the leading CY Young candidate in the National League and is running a career-high 12.35 K/9 rate and is second to only Kershaw with a 2.25 ERA on the season. On a full slate, there will be more than enough value plays to fit Scherzer in your lineups in all formats.

Matt Moore
Opponent – vs. PHI
Park – AT&T Park(Pitchers Park)
Vegas Favorite (SF -150)
Vegas Total (8.0)

I won’t be considering Moore on FanDuel in the mid $7K range but on DraftKings he makes an excellent SP2 at $5K if you are planning on using a lot of Scherzer and still want some bats in your lineup. The combination keeps you under $20K for your pitching staff and allows you an average of $3,862 for the remaining eight spots in your lineup. I am definitely not suggesting he is a safe play with a 5.71 ERA and 4.92 but with has shown more K upside lately(16 K’s last two starts) and has picked up double-digit DK points in seven of his last 10 starts, scoring 20+ in two of them. Not bad for just $5K.

Top Stacks

DraftKings FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks - Corey Dickerson - Tampa Bay Rays - Lineuplab

There are a lot of different ways to go tonight and I really think that helps spread the ownership out quite a bit. The Coors Field ownership is definitely helped by the fact there are two CY Young candidates on the mound (Scherzer & Kluber) in great matchups and are priced as such. I prefer the Rockies who are currently projected to score almost seven runs as they face-off with Matt Garza who doesn’t miss bats(6.05 K/9) and has struggled this year with a 4.38 ERA and even worse 4.97 xFIP. The Brewers are also on my radar despite the second half struggles as they come at a discount and very well could fall outside the Top 3 in ownership. The team I project to push the Rockies for the top owned team tonight is the Texas Rangers who have been on fire this week winning four straight games while scoring 37 runs (9.3 per game) with 10 long balls. They are also a team I will run multiple variations as they are loaded with power throughout the lineup. For value tonight, I love the Tampa Bay Rays left-handed bats (Corey Dickerson, Logan Morrison, Lucas Duda, Brad Miller) going up against their old teammate, Erasmo Ramirez who has been much worse vs. lefties(.357 wOBA vs .281 wOBA vs RH).