Daily Fantasy MLB Baseball Picks for FanDuel, DraftKings and Draftster 4/15/15 - Early Slate

Ready to make the leap and get access to the exclusive projection system that produces these picks? Sign up now and get a free 3 day trial to our lineup construction tool for FanDuel, DraftKings and Draftster.

Pitcher

Trevor Bauer - FD 8400 DK 7300 DFSTR 7200
Though I'll make some picks against him later down in this write up, Bauer has probably the best chance to exceed his salary from the mound today. He's no one's control freak but the K upside is there. Take his first game of the season when he struck out 11 but walked 5 in only six innings. That's a lot of batters not hitting the ball for both good and bad. White Sox aren't a bad offensive team but they certainly aren't great. Ballpark helps him some here too. The pitching is very tough on this slate which makes all of the hitters look great. But in terms of safety I will take Bauer (and that might be the only time I say that all season).

Dan Haren - FD 7500 DK 6900 DFSTR 6600
Doesn't have quite the upside of Bauer because the strikeouts won't be there. But Haren has a fine enough matchup against the now-depleted Braves. He needs to really be perfect because the points will come from eating up innings rather than mowing down batters. For me it's Haren and Bauer today as I'll be avoiding Gio in Fenway.

Catcher

Wilson Ramos - FD 3000 DK 4300 DFSTR 6000
Wade Miley wasn't particularly good against any hand last season, but he was slightly worse against righties. Ramos was an extreme splits guy last season (thanks to some Babip) and dude put up an OPS over .800 against southpaws. This is a nice ballpark for righty hitters and you will see a bunch of Nats stacks out there today.

Robinson Chirinos - FD 2200 DK 3800 DFSTR 4600
Think he'll see the start against the lefty today. Had a huge game last night with a home run and five RBIs. Our system doesn't know this of course, just makes you feel warm and fuzzy knowing he can do it.

First Base

Ryan Zimmerman - FD 3500 DK 4600 DFSTR 6500
He's tagged lefty pitching for his career with an OPS close to .900 and just a general fascination with making southpaws very uncomfortable. Zimmerman's move to first base has diminished some of his fantasy value as he used to be a superb hot corner option and is now merely just a guy. But the price reflects his new journey to the middle and the price is right against Miley in Fenway.

Adam Laroche - FD 3200 DK 3700 DFSTR 6100
Can only ever really be considered when he's facing a righty. When that's the case though he is firmly in play. I know I wrote up Bauer before, but Laroche can be real patient against righty pitching with an 11% BB rate for his career. That could give a wild man like Bauer some fits.

Second Base

Dustin Pedroia - FD 3400 DK 4100 DFSTR 6600
He's put together some nice games to start the season as he looks recovered from the writs problems that plagued him last season. Is against the best pitcher on the slate, but Gio can get wild and Pedroia is very difficult to strike out. Dustin's career wOBA is .374 against lefties and he's still affordable in spots.

Rougned Odor - FD 2900 DK 4100 DFSTR 6000
Got into the leadoff spot last night and made the most of it by getting on base, stealing a bag, knocking in a run and scoring. All around good game and he should stick for at least the next couple of games. The price hasn't met that kind of opportunity at all. Worse side of the split but should see at bats.

Shortstop

Erick Aybar - FD 3000 DK 4500 DFSTR 3100
This pick looks a heck of a lot better if he's hitting leadoff again tonight. Kole Calhoun coming back would knock Aybar down in the order some, but Aybar would still rate out as a top shortstop play even hitting sixth considering the matchup against Ranaudo. As a switch hitter Aybar is platoon neutral for his career though his numbers are below league average in this respect. But he's a shortstop and we know the drill there.

Mike Aviles - FD 2500 DK 3400 DFSTR 5300
Hit second in the lineup against the lefty yesterday and I think you see him in the same spot today. Both of these shortstops are in the picks mainly because of batting order so if one gets knocked down, go with the guy batting higher. Aviles is much better against lefties for his career.

Third Base

Adrian Beltre - FD 3700 DK 5300 DFSTR 7100
Hitting lefty pitching is what this guy was born to do. And he's fulfilling his destiny. Last season was more of the same with a .984 OPS and crazy .421 wOBA. Dude just lives to rake on lefties. The Ballpark in Arlington boosts power in all directions and you are most likely going to see a bunch of runs get put up in this game.

Martin Prado - FD 3000 DK 3800 DFSTR 5700
Really like Prado if you are looking to save just a bit today. Though it's a bit more even for his career, last season saw an extreme split in favor of hitting lefties. His OPS was more than .300 points higher hitting against that hand. That's about a big a range as you'll ever see in an everyday player. It was a little bit of luck on both sides, but still paints a picture of what kind of hitter he's becoming.

Outfield

Warning: Outfield is just stacked on this slate. Going to be some tough decisions.
Giancarlo Stanton - FD 4600 DK 5200 DFSTR 7000
Did you see what this guy did to lefty pitching last season? He tagged southpaws with a 193 wRC+ and ridiculous .287 ISO. Eric Stults is one of the worst lefty pitchers around and the only thing that pauses me on Giancarlo is that there are so many other good options in this position tonight.

Jayson Werth - FD 3400 DK 5100 DFSTR 3100
WErth made his return to the lineup yesterday which is just in time for this matchup today. He'll be playing in a ballpark that is about league average in terms of righty home runs but more than makes up for it in righty doubles. Werth is a lefty killer for his career and last season put up a .933 OPS in that split. Faces Wade Miley in a very advantageous situation.

Kole Calhoun - FD 3500 DK 5300 DFSTR 3100
Matt Joyce - FD 2500 DK 4200 DFSTR 3100
Mike Trout - FD 5500 DK 6300 DFSTR 3100
This could make a great stack if Calhoun were to return. If not, Joyce is coming very cheap and was a big cash game play last night. That should happen again today leaving salary wiggle room for guys like Trout and Stanton. All three of these guys (Trout included) are better against righty pitching and Anthony Ranaudo isn't any good. Great hitter's park for sure in Arlington and the decisions are tough in the outfield.

Melky Cabrera - FD 2700 DK 4100 DFSTR 6600
Our system rates him out high (especially on FD) because the price simply is where it should be considering his spot in the batting order. Melky had a 128 wRC+ against righties last season (ballpark helped) with a .358 wOBA. Trevor Bauer came out of the gate hot but I just love the FanDuel price on Melky too much.

Be sure to try out a free 3-day trial to the projection system that helps produce these picks for the MLB! And check out our free MLB ebook below.

s