Daily Fantasy Baseball Picks for ScoreStreak 7/5/14

DFSR has partnered with ScoreStreak: a new, innovative style of DFS play. Gone is the salary finagling, mixing and matching, and hair-pulling that goes into setting lineups. ScoreStreak simplifies the process in an easy-to-use interface. Employing a prop-pick style, ScoresStreak leagues are specific outcome dependent with three categories: Total Bases, Hits, and for pitchers, Strikeouts.

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Total Bases

Troy Tulowitzki
Haven't put him in these picks (that I can remember) but today is a great spot to buy. Dan Haren has reverse splits and is worse against righties over the long term. He also lets up a bunch of home runs in the right spot. That spot tonight is Coors Field. Tulo is a little better against lefties but that doesn't negate what he's done against righties this season. His 158 wRC+ and .972 OPS against righties are world beaters and I'll be taking him in my most total bases category for sure.

Hanley Ramirez
Two shortstops in this spot? Pigs flying? Could be the case. This is weird, but you've got two of the best offensive options in the game going in the best hitter's park in the game. Hanley gets de la Rosa pushed back from yesterday's start and he hammers southpaws. I'm all in on this game today.

Hits

Jose Altuve
He's one of the best little guys in the game at hitting lefties. (Just wanted to throw "little" in there for fun) He's had some Babip help for sure this season to inflate the .438 average against lefties but his career averages point to a guy who destroys this side of the split. Hector Santiago actually has reverse splits this season but Altuve's proclivity to this side more than negates that. He is a high contact guy who just refuses to take walks even if his small strike zone seems like it would lend itself to free passes.

Michael Brantley
Brantley has the same exact strike out and walk rate, and they are both crazy low. Each sit at about 8% which means he gets his bat on the ball like all of the time. It's nuts and Jeremy Guthrie isn't interested in striking out batters or walking them. See where this is headed? Brantley seems like a near lock to snag at least a hit today. I hate making proclamations like this, but the signs just point to him taking the wide turn at first.

Strikeouts

Gio Gonzalez
The Cubs actually aren't terrible against lefties in terms of hitting the ball. They rank in the top third of the league in team wOBA against that hand. But boy oh boy do they strike out a lot. Like a lot, a lot. Their K rate of 25.8% is by far the highest in the league against that hand. It's kind of crazy how much they go down on strikes. Gio's had his issues, but fanning guys hasn't been one of them. He strikes out more than a batter an inning and if you want to go upside for the 9 K's this is the place to start. Though I think I might play it safe and put him in the seven slot.

Felix Hernandez
The White Sox, like their crosstown brethren, are no slouches against righties. But like the Cubs, they K a lot. The 23% K-rate means that King Felix is in a solid spot to rack up some swings and misses. What I love about Hernandez this season is how he's kept his K rate in range with his career averages while cutting down on the walks allowing him to go later in games. Nice play for that middle range of strike outs but I don't think he hits the top marker.