Daily Fantasy Baseball Picks for FanDuel, DraftStreet, and DraftKings 6/4/14

Daily Fantasy Baseball Picks for FanDuel, DraftStreet, and DraftKings 6/4/14

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Pitchers

Stephen Strasburg FanDuel 9900 DraftKings 11400 DraftStreet 21911
The guy is an actual monster. As in, I'm scared he might be hiding under my bed tonight. With 90 Ks in 75 IP, and facing the elderly and generally bad Phillies offense, Strasburg is easily the highest upside play for any format.

David Price FanDuel 9200 DraftKings 10500 DraftStreet 21789
A distant 2nd to Stras in my mind, but Price will still get a lot of run today. These aren't the Marlins of last year, but they can still strike out a ton, and Price can strike out a ton of guys. 90 Ks against 9 walks! Price is having one of his best peripheral seasons yet, and the bad luck has really eaten into what should be a phenomenal ERA. The guy price is facing has had the opposite luck, and has used a worse than pedestrian smoke and mirrors routine to eek out an excellent ERA. I love Price for the win, and all the goodies that come with it.

Josh Beckett FanDuel 7500 DraftKings 9600 DraftStreet 17004
If you are targeting a lot of expensive hitters today, you may want to consider one Josh Beckett. He's striking out nearly a guy per inning, he's facing what's left of John Danks, and in a terrific place to pitch. Now, there's real downside to playing Beckett. The White Sox have some guys who can really hit righties. But who cares? If you're targeting cheaper upside, Beckett makes a nice play.

Also considered: Tony Cingrani, but I like the guys above much better.

Catchers

Buster Posey FanDuel 3600 DraftKings 4300 DraftStreet 6533
When the Giants face a lefty, Posey inevitably tops the catcher charts. While he hasn't shown it this year, Posey is one of the true lefty-killers in the game. He's put together a near 1.000 OPS against lefties for his career, and while Cingrani is a nice pitcher - it really doesn't matter how nice you are against a bat of Posey's caliber.

Miguel Montero FanDuel 3200 DraftKings 4000 DraftStreet 5732
It's the moment Miguel Montero has been waiting for: a chance to face a mediocre right handed pitcher in Coors field. Montero is a pretty dramatic split guy, and Lyles is another guy whose ERA is not indicative of his true performance this year. Lyles is going to get chased in this one, and Montero should play a role.

Brian McCann FanDuel 3400 DraftKings 3800 DraftStreet 5805
Our projection system still isn't a believing in Jesse Chavez, and even if it were, the Yankees can stack lefty bats against a right-hander very effectively. McCann bats in the middle of the bomber squad, and in a very favorable home park.

Also considered: Victor Martinez, Jason Castro

First Basemen

Chris Davis FanDuel 3700 DraftKings 4500 DraftStreet 6079
Not exactly going out on a limb here. Davis faces the inexperienced Nick Martinez in Texas, and Nick Martinez might be the very least qualified pitcher in the majors at the moment. With 20 Ks against 17 walks in 39.1 IP, Martinez should pray that he happens to walk Davis. My guess is Davis will be spending a significant chunk of time happily trotting around the bases, hi-fiving base coaches.

Anthony Rizzo FanDuel 3400 DraftKings 4300 DraftStreet 7845
Diiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice-K!!!! He's back!! And he's on my beloved Mets! This is a moment too good to be true. Don't let me get carried away - let's focus on the stats. Rizzo has been stellar this year, walking a ton, and hitting for decent power. Dice-K is one of the walkingest pitchers that exists on planet earth who would be considered to pitch in a major league game. Tough to not put him first, but Davis' match-up is just that good.

Justin Morneau FanDuel 3400 DraftKings 4800 DraftStreet 8225
After Morneau cost me thousands last night, you might think I'd be hesitant to recommend him. Boy, would you be wrong. I never learn my lesson. Morneau crushes right handed pitching, and Collmenter is eminently crushable. The whole Colorado thing won't help, either. Collmenter will be around the plate, which will give Morneau plenty of opportunity to do Morneau things.

Also considered: Albert Pujols, Adan Dunn, David Ortiz

Second Basemen

Jason Kipnis FanDuel 2700 DraftKings 3900 DraftStreet 6459
Kipnis looks just fine to me in his return from injury, and he'll be facing someone named Brandon Workman in this game. I know that, as a daily fantasy sports analyst, I'm supposed to have scouted Workman in High School and have 20-80 scale grades on his Slurve, but I don't. All I know is what I see in his stat lines - a converted reliever who almost certainly doesn't have the stuff to stick in the majors at this point in his career.

Howie Kendrick FanDuel 2700 DraftKings 4500 DraftStreet 6190
This is essentially a condemnation of Jarred Cosart, whose 40 Ks against 30 BBs in 60 IP paints a picture of a man who is over-matched in the big leagues. Kendrick is the classic professional hitter, and he should spray line drives all over the damned place against Cosart's mediocre stuff.

Daniel Murphy FanDuel 3000 DraftKings 4400 DraftStreet 6939
Not exactly an upside play, but Murphy is pretty damned reliable, and he's inexpensive as well. Murphy boasts a 114 wRC+ against right handers in his career, and this current version of Edwin Jackson is basically league average. This last piece is going to sound like a joke, but it isn't - I'm seriously worried that Murphy's bad back will act up while he has to watch the painfully slow Matsuzaka work on Cubs hitters. Be warned.

Also considered: Brandon Phillips

Shortstops

Jose Reyes FanDuel 3800 DraftKings 4900 DraftStreet 7305
Reyes is a platoon neutral guy for his career, and while Porcello has shown signs of life this year, his pitch-to-contact approach should give Reyes plenty of opportunity to put balls in play and use those incredible wheels of his.

Starlin Castro FanDuel 2700 DraftKings 3800 DraftStreet 6140
Castro prefers lefties, but, DICE-K!!!! Castro is having a modest bounce-back season, but is still priced like the helpless sack of manure he was last year. He's going to hit some balls hard off of Matsuzaka.

Jean Segura FanDuel 2800 DraftKings 4000 DraftStreet 6372
Segura is a steady reverse-platoon split guy, with a wRC+ 10 points higher against righties than lefties. And Nolasco isn't just any old righty. He's a bad one. A very bad one.

Also considered: Hanley Ramirez, Troy Tulowitzki

Third Basemen

Manny Machado FanDuel 3100 DraftKings 3800 DraftStreet 6811
I get that Machado is worse against right handers, but young, raw hitters tend to build their lines against other young pitchers that are cutting their teeth. It's a terrific place to hit, and Machado is still the same human being who absolutely tore the league to shreds in his rookie campaign. I'm targeting a stellar performance here.

Evan Longoria FanDuel 3400 DraftKings 4100 DraftStreet 6817
I've got no excuses for Longoria's performance this year. No stats to hand-wave away his ridiculously lousy line. But I'll say this: Tom Koehler sucks. And Longoria faces him in this game. In truth, 3b is a mess today, and I make this pick pretty grudgingly.

A bunch of dudes:
God, do I hate 3B today. Here are a bunch of dudes who could be good - Mike Olt (Matsuzaka!), Alberto Callaspo, Kelly Johnson, Brett Lawrie.

Outfielders

Shin-Soo Choo FanDuel 3700 DraftKings 4600 DraftStreet 7191
Shin-Soo is a literal walk machine, and Bud Norris has been known to hand out the free pass. Norris has also mysteriously lost his strike out ability - which makes for a terrific match-up for Shin-Soo in his home park. Did I freak you out by calling him Shin-Soo? Good. It was on purpose.

Carlos Gonzalez FanDuel 3700 DraftKings 5200 DraftStreet 8759
I'm privately worried that something is going on with Cargo, but the price just leaves so much damned upside that I can't ignore him. Especially against Josh Collmenter, and especially at home. (Update: Cargo was predictably hurt in last night's game. Big bump for Corey Dickerson tonight.)

Adam Jones FanDuel 3200 DraftKings 4200 DraftStreet 7115
Doug Norrie of DFSR fame told me Jones was a "must play" as we were setting lineups last night, and I guffawed in his face. I had just picked Jones the night before, you see, but a "must-play?" Phaw. Stop the hyperbole, Mr. Norrie. Well, Jones scored a zillion fantasy points and was on every winning lineup. Go me! He'll square off against Nick Martinez, and his mates should be on base as well. Another terrific spot. But a must play? Phaw.

Billy Hamilton FanDuel 3100 DraftKings 3800 DraftStreet 5321
Hey, here's one I got right! This is a dream match-up for the raw Hamilton, who is prone to strike-outs and weak contact. Vogelsong will allow Hamilton to put the ball in play, which gives Hamilton a sort of "safe upside" that you won't really find elsewhere.

Austin Jackson FanDuel 2600 DraftKings 3700 DraftStreet 4518
Jackson is another reverse platoon split guy, and while Tricky Dickey can still shut a team down on occasion, I'm thinking the disciplined Tigers' offense will give him more than he's bargained for. I think Jackson will be on the clean up crew for those big bats in front of him.

Matt Holliday FanDuel 3300 DraftKings 4800 DraftStreet 5307
There isn't tremendous upside here, but Holliday has still been pretty steady even with his power outage. The system is less than impressed with Vargas, and thinks the Cards will be all over him.

Curtis Granderson FanDuel 3000 DraftKings 3800 DraftStreet 4552
Granderson is simultaneously capable of the ugliest swings in baseball and the most exciting ones. His lefty/righty splits are some of the most dramatic in all of baseball among regular players, with a 41 point difference in his wRC+ between the two. He'll face Edwin Jackson in a park that can give up homers to lefties, and I think Granderson has significant upside in this game.

Also considered: Hunter Pence, Nick Markakis, Allen Craig, Coco Crisp, Jacoby Ellsbury

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