Daily Fantasy MLB Baseball Picks for FanDuel, DraftKings and Draftster 5/18/15

Full disclaimer - this is a massive slate, and there's no way I could ever possibly list every decent play today. So, I'll do my best in highlighting whom I believe to be the elite plays. If you want the rest? Go ahead 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.

Pitchers

Corey Kluber - FD 9800 DK 10100
There are three aces going on the mound today. I am not going to recommend all three because I don't think that's necessarily helpful. What I will do is choose one and make the case for him over the other two. I'll take Kluber here over Sale and Harvey and it isn't because of his last unheard of last game. Our system doesn't know that he K'd 18 guys in eight innings, in one of the best pitching performances of all time. We don't feed it that game-by-game info, though I will say from a narrative perspective, it makes him a hell of a lot easier to pick. No, our system likes him because it still sees him as underpriced on both sites thanks to some early season struggles. For all intents and purposes, he is the same guy who won the Cy Young last season, striking out almost 11 batters per nine and keeping the walks to a minimum. Early season Babip and LOB% numbers have the ERA higher than it should be and because of it the price hasn't caught up. He's an ace and is still priced a little low.

John Lackey - FD 8100 DK 8200
Won't produce monster K numbers, and has a tough win expectation because he's facing Matt Harvey, but Lackey does have the advantage of facing the Mets' batting order. New York ranks right near the bottom of the league against righty arms with a team OPS of only .637. They strike out about 20% of the time, which isn't atrocious, but are just generally a weaker hitting bunch especially at the bottom of the order. Lackey won't destroy his price, but I don't see him getting blown up in this one.

Mike Fiers - FD 7400 DK 8600
For the price, the strikeout upside is very much there. It's a tough matchup against the Tigers, but no one else in this price range has the K upside of Fiers. He is striking out more than 12 batters per nine and his xFIP is a run and a half lower than his ERA. Strictly a tournament play, but there's a chance he blows it out of the box.
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Catchers

Evan Gattis - FD 3300 DK 3700
On the short slate I'll have Gattis is almost all of my lineups at catcher. He is a lefty splits guy and is significantly better in that platoon. Over the last season plus he has an OPS over .800 against southpaws and though the K rate is a little high, the power upside is very real. Like the ballpark for righty power and Drew Pomeranz isn't necessarily a guy we avoid.

Wilin Rosario - FD 3500 DK 3300
Michael McKenry - FD 2800 DK 2900
Hate the matchup against Hamels, but with so many power arms going on this slate, it is going to be tough to avoid them completely. If left with choosing between tough options, I'll take these guys facing a lefty in Coors. Again, they don't rate out spectacularly, but this is one way to go if you don't roster Gattis.

First base

Chris Carter - FD 3000 DK 4100
Definitely going to see some Astros on this list today. With Carter you know what you are getting. He is a three true outcome type guy and there can be a lot of pain in rostering someone with that skill set. But there is tremendous power upside as well. He is above average against lefty pitching over the last year with a 120 wRC+. First base in general is a tough nut to crack today. Carter isn't the safest guy in the world because he K's so freaking much, but I do like the matchup.

Lucas Duda - FD 3000 DK 3900
I know I mentioned Lackey in with the pitchers, but that doesn't mean we need to avoid all of the Mets' bats. As I said, first base doesn't have a lot going for it today. Duda's an okay enough hitter who's power is a bit down this season mostly because his LD% is way up and the HR/FB is down. The truth is probably somewhere in the middle and because Lackey isn't a big K guy there is more a chance Duda has the ball in play.

Consider Ryan Howard only because of Coors.

Second base

Chase Utley - FD 3000 DK 4000
We've been writing about Utley for awhile now as a guy whose price is in the basement because of an insanely low Babip. That is starting to creep back around just in time for a visit to Coors. His price has jumped some because sites are getting wise about correcting for the Mile High air, but his hasn't come up enough thanks to the early season woes. Jordan Lyles produces ground balls which has been Utley's issue this season, but getting a top of the order hitter in Coors on the cheaper side is almost too good to pass up.

Jose Altuve - FD 4600 DK 4800
He's really expensive, but I still don't mind him on this slate as a safer play. It is very difficult for lefties to strike him out as he goes down on strikes only about 9% of the time in that split. He has a great contact rate and is a safe play whenever facing a lefty. Still like Utley more dollar-for-dollar but Altuve is a nice option if end up going cheaper with pitching.

Shortstop

Shortstop is a total and complete wasteland. Making a case for any of these guys is next to impossible.
Troy Tulowitzki - FD 4500 DK 4100
He's hurt and didn't play over the weekend. And he's facing Cole Hamels which is no great shakes. So not exactly the most robust way to approach the position. But Tulo's price has really come down over the short term, he's infinitely better facing lefties (one of the best in the game) and is again playing in Coors. For those reasons I think you can take a chance on him if he's in the lineup. Also consider that the rest of the position today can barely hit, is facing a big arm, or both.

Freddy Galvis - FD 3300 DK 4100
Playing in Coors. That's all I've got for you.

Third base

Maikel Franco - FD 2200 DK 3800
He hit in the middle of the order yesterday for the Phillies and I suspect he's there to stay after being called up. The Phillies' top prospect is here to stay in the majors and brings with him some real power. This is a righty-righty matchup, but the big news on Franco is the price is coming very low especially on FanDuel. Makes the perfect upside punt play in Coors against Lyles who doesn't K enough batters. That's Franco's weakness so it's good to lower the strikeout expectation.

Aramis Ramirez - FD 2900 DK 3900
The thing about Kyle Lobstein is that he's awful. Lobstein strikes out only four batters per nine innings and walks more than three. He has an xFIP in the mid 4's and an elevated GB% is probably the only thing keeping him in the majors. Aramis is still coming cheaper across the board and this is a guy with a .942 OPS and .407 wOBA against lefties over the last season and change.

Outfield

George Springer - FD 3700 DK 4700
Like many of his Astro brethren, Springer is a strikeout fiend. Dude seems to live going down on strikes. His 30% K rate is about the highest in the league. But it isn't all bad. He walks nearly 15% of the time and is actually running super bad on the balls he actually puts into play with a .217 Babip. He's another Astro righty I won't mind having today as long as I'm mentally prepared for him to swing and miss a bunch, because he also has very nice power.

Carlos Gomez - FD 4000 DK 5000
Ryan Braun - FD 4000 DK 4900
Khris Davis - FD 2800 DK 4100
Like I said with Aramis Ramirez, Kyle Lobstein is pretty bad. This three-headed righty, OF monster could give Lobstein some trouble today and none of them break the bank on you, at least on FanDuel. Gets a little closer with the prices on DraftKings considering you are probably going to roster two power arms on this slate. That being said, they are facing one of the worst pitchers going today and there is a big advantage in that considering the rest of the slate of arms.

Christian Yelich - FD 2900 DK 4000
Liked him a lot more when he was hitting leadoff, but even in the fifth hole I think you can take him today against Rubby de la Rosa as a somewhat off-board play.

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