Chicago White Sox Jose Abreu connects for a two run double off Oakland Athletics' Pat Venditte in the fourth inning of a spring training baseball game Sunday, March 8, 2015, in Mesa, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)
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There are a lot of good pitchers going on this summer Sunday.
Jose Fernandez - FD 10700 DK 12300 Victiv Yahoo
Opponent- SD (Shields) R Park- @Mia
Though he's a little expensive, with some of the hitter values on the docket to day, I think you are fitting him into lineups without too much of an issue. Fernandez has put up ridiculous peripherals since coming back from the DL with a 10.41 K/9 coupled with a walk rate well under two per nine. That's along with a 2.49 xFIP and all of a sudden you see he's just a legit ace. Not that we didn't know it, but worth mentioning. The Padres are a bottom-feeding team against righties with a 21% K rate against righties and this game going down in Miami only helps Jose's case. He could be in a for a monster line against a lineup that's very righty heavy.
Jordan Zimmermann - FD 8300 DK 7700 Victiv Yahoo 44
Opponent- NYM (Syndergaard) r Park- @NYM
He makes for an interesting stand along play on a site like FanDuel or a great a pairing on DK where he's coming very cheap. Zimmermann isn't a strikeout stud though he makes up for some (not all) of it by limiting the walks. This is simply a price play for me because the Mets aren't a great hitting squad and Citi Field depresses power to lefty hitters. The Mets do strike out around 20% of the time so there's a slight boost in K expectation for Zimm. Don't love him facing Thor but do like the salaries and the matchup.
James Shields - FD 8900 DK 8200 Victiv Yahoo 49
Opponent- Mia (Fernandez) R Park- @Mia
His price has dropped some over the short terms thanks to some less-than-stellar outings. I don't have a great way to explain those away so I won't bother. What I do know is he's facing the very worst team in the league against right-handed pitching this season. The Marlins are garbage in this split and the ballpark helps Shields (much in the same way it helps his opponent Fernandez). Sure the win expectation again is down because of the opposing pitching matchup. But Shields could stand to see nice value today because of the price drop and the opponent.
Consider Jaime Garcia on FanDuel and Hisashi Iwakuma on DraftKings
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Lot to like at catcher today which isn't something I usually say.
Yasmani Grandal - FD 3100 DK 3300 Victiv 4600 Yahoo 15
Opponent- LAA (Rucinski) R Park- @Lad
Facing righties is definitely the better side of his split. He's hit over an .840 OPS during the last two seasons with a fantastic 14% walk rate. That kind of on base ability isn't seen much out of the catcher spot. That, plus hitting around sixth in the order bodes well for him in this matchup. I like Grandal from a price point as he won't break the bank for you.
Jonathan Lucroy - FD 2800 DK 3400 Victiv 4900 Yahoo 16
Opponent- Chc (Richard) L Park- @Mil
He's only slightly above average against lefties over the last couple of season, something I for some reason find disconcerting. It's not like I all of my righties to kill lefties, but it does make me feel good when it happens. Clayton Richard hasn't had a stellar major league career and the prospects aren't looking bright. Lucroy is still in a situation, hitting second in the order, in which the plate appearance expectation plays a big part in determining his daily success. Keep playing him at these prices.
Evan Gattis - FD 3100 DK 3700 Victiv 4800 Yahoo 15
Opponent- Ari (Ray) L Park- @Hou
Houston plays up power as well as any park to righties and this is just part of the reason you can get on Gattis in tournaments today. I don't suggest him as a safe play by any means. But he's got power upside against the lefty Ray. Nice price for a two true outcome kind of guy.
Remember that love I had for catcher? It's kind of the opposite for first base. There's a lot to hate here.
Adrian Gonzalez - FD 3500 DK 3800 Victiv 5300 Yahoo
Opponent- LAA (Rucinski) R Park- @Lad
I don't know a ton about Drew Rucinski though the track doesn't look amazing. It's always hard to get a solid handle on pitchers like this without too much major league experience. Gonzalez has seen a steady price decline since tearing the world on fire early in the season. But he's been solid over the last two months for sure. Gonzalez has put up nice numbers in June and July with an OPS close to .900. This is still a fine area to buy on him, especially on DraftKings.
Jose Abreu - FD 4200 DK 4700 Victiv 5600 Yahoo 19
Opponent- NYY (Nova) R Park- @Cws
You know us. And if you know us then you know that you know we love Abreu. Like love him, love him. It's getting creepy. And I'm not one to look at ten game logs as definitive samples of future performance, but man this dude's recent performance is something to behold. He's gone yard in four of the last ten and is just putting on a power display. Against Ivan Nova in a hitter's park like U.S. Cellular and you've got another day of power expectation. Let's keep running him out there.
Jose Altuve - FD 4200 DK 4600 Victiv 5400 Yahoo 20
Opponent- Ari (Ray) L Park- @Hou
He's pricey for sure, but the little man hits lefties as good as anyone in the business (of hitting lefties, an interesting business model for sure). Over the last couple of seasons, Altuve has had a great amount of luck in this split, but that doesn't go all the way to explaining how good he is in this platoon. His .911 OPS against lefties is made even more impressive when you realize it doesn't involve any great amount of power. He's a tough strikeout and makes a solid cash game play because his floor is rather high. Weird to spend this much on a non-power hitter, but if you're looking to keep it consistent he's the man.
Joe Panik - FD 2700 DK 3900 Victiv 4500 Yahoo 14
Opponent- Tex (Perez) L Park- @Tex
Looking to go a little cheaper? Panik is a guy that fits the bill and helps maneuver those salary pieces around. He's not a guy we write a ton about mostly because outside of a Giants' stack, there are times he's a bit pricey for the production. But he's put together a very solid .800 OPS season and has been well above average against lefty pitching over the last couple of seasons. Panik is very difficult to K in this split and faces Martin Perez who's bee n a little taste of hot garbage in just twelve innings this season. I suspect Panik is a popular play today, especially in a hitter's park.
Jhonny Peralta - FD 2900 DK 4100 Victiv 4600 Yahoo 15
Opponent- Col (Flande) L Park- @Stl
Don't love a lot of what's happening at shortstop today (really any day in which Tulo doesn't lead the picks). But Peralta's a fine enough dude to go with against the lefty Flande. Even with a subpar BABIP thanks to his slow podding nature, Peralta still performs well against lefty pitching over the last couple of seasons. He's a favorite to put up numbers against Yohan Flande who while not terrible, doesn't dial up enough K's to pose any real threat. Peralta makes for a nice and easy play at the right prices.
Jean Segura - FD 2200 DK 3400 Victiv 4400 Yahoo 14
Opponent- Chc (Richard) L Park- @Mil
Can you tell I'm digging deep here? I think it gets weird after Peralta and I'm not so willing to recommend anyone beyond him. That being said, I think you can go Segura even near the bottom of the order. Coming damn near free and facing a lefty in a hitter's park. Look I'm not going to go out and make him a must play, but our system likes him for the price.
Evan Longoria - FD 2900 DK 3700 Victiv 5100 Yahoo 17
Opponent- Bos (Miley) L Park- @Bos
James spit out a million tons of love about Longoria in lefty splits and I am with him there. Though he's far from the superstar we thought we'd get over the long term just a few years ago. Alas, things don't always work out the way we expected. But this isn't to say Longoria's dead, rather he's just somewhat of a specialist now. He's still tuning up southpaws to a .911 OPS this season and face Wade Miley today, a mid range pitcher with mediocre peripherals. Price is still very much based on his struggle with righties so we are buying at a discount.
Mike Moustakas - FD 2200 DK 3500 Victiv 4200 Yahoo 13
Opponent- Tor (Dickey) R Park- @Tor
Total punt play prices on FanDuel and cheap as hell on DraftKings (assuming Hell is cheap, which it probably isn't but whatever). Moustakas is putting up his numbers against right handers this season and really struggling against the opposite split. This kind of disparity keeps the salary in check because he can't bust it out against lefties. That helps and going in a hitter's park against R.A. Dickey is just the kind of matchup we can grab some value on.
Consider Kyle Seager
Nice day to go cheap at outfield.
Carlos Gomez - FD 3500 DK 4100 Victiv 5300 Yahoo
Opponent- Ari (Ray) L Park- @Hou
As long as he sticks at second in the order and is in these kinds of matchups, in this park, at these prices? Then this is a massive deal for Gomez. I always like when good players get traded to contenders at the deadline. Not that I necessarily think it has any statistical value, but it's just a nice story. And today he's slotted in the two hole against an average righty in a park that helps righty power. This is game on and I'll be stacking some Astros for sure.
Joc Pederson - FD 2700 DK 3600 Victiv 4500 Yahoo 13
Opponent- LAA (Rucinski) R Park- @Lad
At what point does a guy like me decide enough is enough? Before or after Don Mattingly? Joc's been out of the lineup for the last couple of days because of big struggles at the plate. With his kind of batter profile, it's reasonable to expect these kinds of slumps. He's not a slap hitter and when the long ball isn't going and the walks are down, everything can look bad. I think the price is still in the buy zone and outward projections look good. I know it doesn't feel amazing, but I very much think this is a bargain.
Gregory Polanco - FD 2700 DK 3900 Victiv 4800 Yahoo 17
Opponent- Cin (Sampson) R Park- @Cin
He's been a popular play on FanDuel and DraftKings over the last couple of days and for good reason. Polanco's been entrenched in the lead off spot for quite a while now, but that hasn't had the price climbing at all. It's weird in a way, I keep expecting the salary to jump with the opportunity and the speed, but that hasn't really happened. I don't totally get it and he's coming nearly free on DraftKings where the price makes almost no sense.
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View Comments
Followed your predictions for 2 days now lost my entire bankroll! Hope your predictions are better than this.
Sorry to hear that. Though if you played Jose Fernandez (top pick) with almost any combo of some of the hitters we had, that seemed like enough for most cash games. Surprised to hear about that result.
Additionally, there is a bankroll management piece that comes into play with any game of this nature. We hope to add some strategy guides that will address how to avoid that scenario.