Daily Fantasy Baseball Picks for FanDuel, DraftStreet, and DraftKings for 5/7/14

Daily Fantasy Baseball Picks for FanDuel, DraftStreet, and DraftKings for 5/7/14

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Pitchers

Danny Salazar FanDuel 7300 DraftKings 7400 DraftStreet 17841
For my money, grabbing Salazar against the Twins is a coup. Nolasco has been God awful, the Twins had a sub-700 OPS against righties last year, and while Salazar has had some ERA problems, most of that has been bad luck. His xFIP has been 3.55 - and if he delivers on that against the Twins, he's in line for a beauty of a game.

James Shields FanDuel 8600 DraftKings 10700 DraftStreet 21094
My guess? The rest of the industry is going to give you big game James as the #1 overall pitcher on the board today. And with good reason. He's been phenomenal this year, and is facing San Diego in Petco. Shields is a very safe play against the league's worst offense in the league's best pitcher's park.

Rick Porcello FanDuel 6800 DraftKings 8100 DraftStreet 16665
Little kid Ricky has been excellent this year, and the numbers actually show he was this pitcher last year as well. With a 3.19 xFIP in 2013 and a 3.05 xFIP in 2014, Porcello appears to be turning into the pitcher scouts hoped he'd be. He's facing the Astros, who already suck, and he gets to face one of the MLB's worst in Peacock. Very solid play.

Also considered: Zack Wheeler, Tim Lincecum.

Catchers

Alex Avila FanDuel 3100 DraftKings 3100 DraftStreet 5997
Avila never took off as the superstar people hoped he'd be because of his performance against left handed pitching. Against righties, though? He's got a solid 122 wRC+. And this counts good righties, and guys like Brad Peacock as well. Great play today.

Jason Castro FanDuel 3200 DraftKings 4000 DraftStreet 4606
Speaking of platoon split guys. Yeesh. Castro has a startling 44 wRC+ against left handers, but a 122 wRC+ against righties. He'd leapfrog Avila based on price, but Porcello is a much better pitcher than Peacock.

A big mish-mash after these two - I like D'Arnaud, Victor Martinez, Carlos Ruiz, and John Jaso (if he plays) similarly.

First Basemen

Mark Teixeira FanDuel 3700 DraftKings 4900 DraftStreet 9523
Tex has been on fire recently, and draws a terrific matchup in Hector Santiago. Santiago has two strikes against him here - first, he has been a mess this year with a worse than 2:1 K:BB ratio. Second, he is a left hander, and Teixeira has a career 143 wRC+ against lefties. Terrific spot.

David Ortiz FanDuel 3700 DraftKings 4900 DraftStreet 7934
Don't be too concerned about Ortiz's relatively slow start - a lot of that is fueled by a .246 BABIP (off his .304 career number). Boost those slash stats by 60 a piece and Papi is having another terrific year. While Leake has good control, that won't matter for Ortiz - who should have the ball in play, and hard, early and often.

Joey Votto FanDuel 3800 DraftKings 4700 DraftStreet 6209
With his nearly 20% walk rate (yes, he walks in almost 1 out of every 5 at bats), Votto is just about the worst possible match-up for the right handed, Peavy, who is walking nearly 6 guys per 9 innings this year. Expecting a huuuuuge day here.

Also considered - Justin Morneau, Allen Craig, Nick Swisher

Second Basemen

Ben Zobrist FanDuel 3400 DraftKings 3800 DraftStreet 6469
Largely due to the fact that Zobrist is a terrific hitter. He's had a little cold streak recently, but who cares? Norris is a basically league average pitcher, and Ben is great. Zobrist, in case you are wondering, is essentially platoon neutral.

Robinson Cano FanDuel 3800 DraftKings 5000 DraftStreet 7179
Cano is a great hitter regardless of who he is facing, and especially against right-handers. I get that Cano hasn't been Cano yet this year, but it's too early to make any sweeping declarations about him.

Brian Roberts FanDuel 2600 DraftKings 3100 DraftStreet 6060
I don't think Roberts' speed & on base based game is going to be too badly effected by the Angels' terrible park, and while B-rob is actually a reverse platoon split guy, Santiago's ineffectiveness as a start should mitigate that concern.

Also considered: Jedd Gyorko.

Shortstops

Derek Jeter FanDuel 2700 DraftKings 3400 DraftStreet 5746
Still cashin' dem checks against left handers - Jeter faces a struggling one in Santiago. Like other non-power hitters, Jeter shouldn't be too terribly effected by bad hitter's park, and I think he'll pay this # and then some today.

Chris Owings FanDuel 2500 DraftKings 2700 DraftStreet 4172
A startling reverse platoon split guy - arguably the biggest I've ever encountered. Owings has a mind-boggling .529 OPS against left handers, but a terrific .819 OPS against right handers. Wily Peralta has absolutely been good this year, but I am liking Owings as a cheap option.

Asdrubal Cabrera FanDuel 2700 DraftKings 3700 DraftStreet 4835
It's BABIP regression day here on DFSR! Cabrera's .253 BABIP doesn't make sense. He's a career .311 guy. I love him at these bargain prices against the currently terrible Ricky Nolasco.

Also considered: Elvis Andrus, Ian Desmond

Third Basemen

Carlos Santana FanDuel 3100 DraftKings 4600 DraftStreet 6892
Say it with me: Carlos Santana is running terribly this year. He isn't going to finish the season with a .150 Babip (which is .124 off of his career number). He seems to be seeing the ball great, is walking a ton, and is still making good contact when he does put the ball in play. Ricky Nolasco is a wonderful matchup, and I believe Santana will have a fine outing - especially since his comrades get to face Nolasco as well.

David Wright FanDuel 3800 DraftKings 5000 DraftStreet 5894
What Wright will miss out on by facing a righty, he will make up for in that righty being Koehler. Don't let the smooth ERA fool you, Tom Koehler has been a joke this year, with 24 Ks against 16 walks in 37 innings. The patient Wright should turn him into minced meat. While it has to suck to bat in a lineup that only features cardboard cutouts of baseball players instead of real ones, Wright should still have a great game.

Adrian Beltre FanDuel 3800 DraftKings 4800 DraftStreet 7272
Beltre dusts lefties, and De La Rosa is far from a dynamite one. Texas is a great place to hit. Yada yada.

Outfielders

Christian Yelich FanDuel 3000 DraftKings 4100 DraftStreet 6811
Yelich should just cut out the middle man and send his paychecks directly towards my bills, cuz the dude has been money this year. While Wheeler is a promising young pitcher, Yelich is in the bigs specifically to hit right handed pitching, and his 143 wRC+ number against right handers is a huge get for these prices.

Alfonso Soriano FanDuel 3300 DraftKings 4200 DraftStreet 6335
Enter another lefty crusher. Soriano has always been better against left handed pitchers, but this year's been ridiculous. With a .998 against left handed pitching, and a .554 OPS against right handed pitching, Soriano is the ultimate platoon guy. Huge edge for smart players here - his price is still depressed due to how his #s against righties are dragging him down.

Matt Joyce FanDuel 2900 DraftKings 3800 DraftStreet 5247
Joyce gets his run when the team faces right handers, and he makes the most of it. Facing the league average Norris at home makes Matt an attractive play.

Carlos Gonzalez FanDuel 4300 DraftKings 5700 DraftStreet 8691
It's sometimes tough to take Rockies away from home, but Texas is the next best thing. Gonzo should have no problems hitting in the warm Arlington air, and I'm guessing he'll put one or two up in the air against Lewis.

Gerardo Parra FanDuel 2600 DraftKings 3600 DraftStreet 5112
I hate to just give you platoon numbers for every guy, but Gerardo is another very example of their power. For a low price, you can get a guy who is better than league average against an up and coming pitcher.

Marlon Byrd FanDuel 3500 DraftKings 4200 DraftStreet 6836
Byrd has been quietly super-playable this year, especially against left handers. I'm just not buying the BUEHRLE JUST GETS THE JOB DONE narrative, and am expecting a nice game for the Philly righty.

Coco Crisp FanDuel 3300 DraftKings 4500 DraftStreet 6952
Just wanted to throw him on the bottom of the list in spite of the matchup. Here's the thing about Crisp - he's tough to strike out, and can generate a lot of value on his own via SBs. Just saying - if you are looking for a contrarian play, he might be a guy to look at.

Also considered: Alex Gordon, David Dejesus, Mike Carp

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