Daily Fantasy MLB Baseball Picks for FanDuel, DraftKings, Victiv, and Yahoo 8/9/15

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, Victiv, and Yahoo.

 

Pitchers

Corey Kluber - FD 11000 DK 10600 Victiv Yahoo
Opponent- Min (Hughes) R Park- @Cle
Some will give you Scherzer against the road-hapless Rockies, some will give you Archer against the Mets in a nice pitcher's park. I don't blame them. But I'm here to give you Cleveland's ace. While his ERA might not scream ace - his 2.89 xFIP is tied with Scherzer for 9th best in the majors, and his match-up today gives him the best upside of any of the aces going, from where I'm sitting. The Twins have the 7th worst wOBA in the league against right handed pitching, and the 9th highest strike-out percentage. Kluber will also be facing Phil Hughes, who hasn't struck out more than 5 batters in a game since April 24th. Oof. I like Kluber specifically for 50/50s and double-ups, but don't mind him in big tourneys if you can find good value in the cheaper position players today.

Shelby Miller - FD 8300 DK 8800 Victiv Yahoo
Opponent- Mia (Hand) L Park- @Atl
You say slump, I say buying opportunity. As always, this is baseball. We can't go crazy over a few tough games while ignoring the greater track record. While Miller is running hot when it comes to ERA as compared to xFIP, he has flashed strike-out-per-inning stuff in the right match-ups this season. The Miami Marlins are one such match-up. They are dead last in the majors when it comes to wOBA against right handed pitching, giving Miller one of the highest floors on a points per dollar basis today. And then there's Brad Hand. His 4.58 career xFIP is downright awful, and while some of that is because the Fish called him up way too early, he's still a sub 6 K/9 guy who has also struggled with control at times. I don't mind this play at all if you have a bunch of big dollar hitters you like today.

Max Scherzer - FD 12300 DK 13200 Victiv Yahoo
Opponent- Col (Flande) L Park- @Was
So, this is a really weird spot in some ways. On one hand, Scherzer is obviously an ace's ace, especially for fantasy purposes. On the other hand, the Rockies have the best wOBA against right handed pitching in the majors this season. But, if you have three hands, you will also see that the Rockies have a sub .300 wOBA on the road this season, and have struck out a staggering 24% of the time in road plate appearances. Yohan Flande is still likely a below average pitcher at the major league level as well. On huge slates like this you can often find a lot of cheap position player options, and while I like Kluber better on a points per dollar basis, our projection system has Scherzer as the highest overall points scorer at the position. I figured it was only right to let you know.

 

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Catchers

Yasmani Grandal - FD 3300 DK 3400 Victiv 4700 Yahoo 16
Opponent- Pit (Morton) R Park- @Pit
The 26 year old catcher has a .912 OPS in 272 plate appearances against right handed pitching this season, as well as all 15 of his home runs. That's great for any position, and it's positively elite for a catcher. I could probably stomach Grandal at a price 10% higher, so this feels like a buying opportunity against the slightly below league average Charlie Morton. It's somewhat tough to guess what a guy is going to do against a knuckle-baller, but I love Grandal here.

Wilson Ramos - FD 2200 DK 3200 Victiv 4200 Yahoo 13
Opponent- Col (Flande) L Park- @Was
Well, Flande was bumped to Sunday, so this write-up from yesterday's picks stands for today! Enjoy it once again!

Wilson Ramos has hit the ball well recently, and has a similarly great righty/lefty match-up with fringe big-leaguer Yohan Flande. Flande had a FIP of 7 in AAA before the Rockies saw fit to call him up, and while he's getting by with a heavy dose of grounders so far, Ramos should be able to put a bunch of balls in play today. At these bargain basement prices, you don't need him to do a whole lot to justify these prices. Strictly a 50/50 or double-up play, but I'll certainly sprinkle him in there to offset Norris' potential downside.

Victor Martinez - FD 2800 DK 3400 Victiv 5100 Yahoo 14
Opponent- Bos (Owens) L Park- @Det
Some say Martinez has lost a step or two, and those people are absolutely correct. But, like a lot of aging players, he's fallen apart on the bad side of his platoon while maintaining his production on the good side. Martinez has a .900 OPS against left handed pitching this season, and he'll be facing a run-hot Henry Owens, who rode a .233 BABIP allowed in AAA to an undeserved major league chance. I think the Tigers will generally smoke him, and that Martinez will wind up with a fine points per dollar performance here.

 

First base

Paul Goldschmidt - FD 3900 DK 5600 Victiv 5800 Yahoo 20
Opponent- Cin (Desclafani) R Park- @Ari
It's tough to get this much money in at this high of a multiplier as far as our projection system is concerned, so I'll be looking to deploy Goldschmidt wherever I can. While it's true that Goldschmidt is better against left handed pitching, the man still has a 1K OPS against right handed pitching as well, and that gets even better when he hits at home. Meanwhile, Anthony Desclafani is the chairman of the "just a guy" club. He was drafted as a "polished" college pitcher, and has been something less than spectacular at every stop along the way. Can he eat innings? Sure. But he can also get eaten alive by one of the best hitters on Earth.

Adrian Gonzalez - FD 3500 DK 3900 Victiv 5200 Yahoo
Opponent- Pit (Morton) R Park- @Pit
Through almost 1,700 right handed batters faced in the majors, Charlie Morton has allowed nearly a .400 OBP and an .860 OPS. That is terrible. Meanwhile, Gonzalez has slowed down considerably from his early season MVP candidacy, but he still has a .926 OPS against right handed pitching this season and 20 of his 22 homers. I love this spot for both safety and upside.

Ryan Zimmerman - FD 2600 DK 3700 Victiv 4500 Yahoo 14
Opponent- Col (Flande) L Park- @Was
Another retread from yesterday's picks, since I loved him against Flande then, I love him now!

Our projection system has been calling for a steady hand on Zimmerman as his price has descended, and he's demonstrated the meaning of the word "value play" in the last week. He's scored more than 3 FanDuel fantasy points in 5 of his last 8 games - a result that you'd be more than happy with in a 50/50 or double-up. He's been about .090 points better against left handed pitching during his career, and taking him against a below league average left hander like Yohan Flande feels like a very safe bet.

 

Second base

Anthony Rendon - FD 3000 DK 3600 Victiv 5200 Yahoo
Opponent- Col (Flande) L Park- @Was
Sorry, this is the last one - but our projection system really does love him against Flande. Here's what I wrote:

Yep, you're spotting a trend! It's Nationals' right-hander day. Rendon, like the other Nats going today, has been dramatically better against left handed pitching during his career. He's a high floor play with a 13.8%:8.7% K%:B%, and even if he doesn't cut a classic upside profile, you don't necessarily need rockin' upside from the second base position in your 50/50s. I've given you the case against Flande already, but I think he'll have a very tough time with a polished hitter like Rendon.

Dee Gordon - FD 3100 DK 4100 Victiv 4900 Yahoo 17
Opponent- Atl (Miller) r Park- @Atl
Sure, I like Shelby Miller fine today, but if you want upside at the second base position, I'm kinda loving Gordon. He's one of the fastest men in the game, and only needs to get on base once to pay this price off. While he's been better against lefties this season, most of that is BABIP fueled, and he's actually been .050 OPS points better against right handed pitching for his career. This one is only for large tournaments (the other options here are much safer), but he could really go off for sure.

Kolten Wong - FD 2800 DK 3700 Victiv 4800 Yahoo 15
Opponent- Mil (Nelson) R Park- @Mil
Wong was a top pick of ours last night, and didn't pay it off. But he did what we expected - put the ball in play over and over and let the baseball Gods do the rest. The Gods failed him this time, but that's stupid baseball for you! Wong has an .811 OPS against right handed pitching this season, and his 11 steals and 11 homers are both in the top 6 in the league at the second base position. What you really love here though is the price - if you're going to pay up for top tier pitching, every buck counts, and grabbing a solid hitter on the good side of his platoon for $2,800 usually can't be terrible.

 

Shortstop

Jimmy Rollins - FD 3000 DK 3200 Victiv 4500 Yahoo 15
Opponent- Pit (Morton) R Park- @Pit
Back in the leadoff spot, Rollins has posted a positive fantasy score in 9 straight games, along with two very nice games in that time. Yes, J-Roll is older than old, but with 11 homers and 9 steals, he's still what passes for an upside play at shortstop. And leading off really raises his floor dramatically - the extra at bats and good line-up mates really help. I'll take him in any format and feel happy about getting away from a terrible position with a good player.

Jhonny Peralta - FD 2800 DK 3800 Victiv 5000 Yahoo 15
Opponent- Mil (Nelson) R Park- @Mil
Yep, back to Peralta once again. He's got the third highest wOBA of any short-stop in the majors, and the 2nd most homers. And you can get him for a very affordable price. Jimmy Nelson isn't a terrible pitcher, and the platoon split situation here isn't perfect, but Peralta has been fine against right handed pitching this season, and I don't mind this play at all.

Alcides Escobar - FD 2200 DK 3500 Victiv 4400 Yahoo 14
Opponent- CWS (Quintana) L Park- @KC
If you don't mind being bored to tears, Alcides Escobar makes for a low-upside, low-cost version of Rollins. He still bats leadoff for the Royals (I check before every write-up, just in case), and has some real hitters who can do damage hitting behind him. Quintana is a fine pitcher, but this is just a matter of sheer points per dollar value. If he's going to get 4-5 plate appearances, it's just hard for a high-contact hitter to not provide some value from the position. If you spend up in your 50/50s and double-ups at pitcher, he's a good guy to grab to apply some savings to higher upside positions.

 

Third base

Todd Frazier - FD 3100 DK 4600 Victiv 5300 Yahoo 16
Opponent- Ari (Corbin) L Park- @Ari
Another day, another lefty for Todd Frazier to massacre. Frazier has blasted a Ruthian 11 homers in 109 plate appearances against left handed pitching this season en route to a .972 OPS, and you can get him for $3,100 on FanDuel? Why on Earth are you considering anyone else? I won't. I believe in Patrick Corbin as a solid young pitcher, but the price here is low enough that taking Todd in a great hitter's park kind of feels like a no-brainer.

Kris Bryant - FD 3100 DK 4100 Victiv 4800 Yahoo 17
Opponent- SF (Peavy) R Park- @Chc
I chickened out on Bryant yesterday, listing him 2nd at the position for his slate where our projection system liked him best. I don't know what to say, except that I'm sorry. I mean, this just can't be a double-up play - Bryant's 30%+ K rate this season means he'll have some truly terrible games. But, like what happened on Saturday, he only needs to barrel up one ball with his true 80 power to be a good play at the position. If we liked him against Cain, we really like him against Peavy - but it's only a play for large tournaments, to me.

The cheap guys you can consider if you hate money and don't want to play Frazier: I'm kidding. But if you want to save up a few bucks, Aramis Ramirez looks like a good double-up play, and Jake Lamb is pretty interesting for upside (if he plays).

 

Outfield

Starling Marte - FD 2900 DK 4000 Victiv 5000 Yahoo 18
Opponent- Lad (Wood) L Park- @Pit
With a .933 OPS against left handers for his career, the Pirates' 26 year old outfielder can fairly be called a lefty crusher. With 13 homers and 21 stolen bases, he's a big upside guy as well. Now, Alex Wood is a fine young pitcher, but at a sub $3,000 price on FanDuel, the value is too good to pass up from where I'm sitting.

Mike Trout - FD 4900 DK 5500 Victiv 6200 Yahoo 23
Opponent- Bal (Gonzalez) R Park- @ana
I like him way worse than Goldschmidt on a points per dollar basis, but if you can afford to grab two big money guys, Trout looks like a fine play as well. Trout's been equally devastating to right and left handed pitching this season (better than a 1.000 OPS against both), but has been .050 OPS points better against right handed pitching for his career. Miguel Gonzalez is your text-book below league average pitcher. His 4.40 career xFIP has barely been enough to keep him in the majors, and you can bet that Mike Trout will be excited for this one.

Adam Jones - FD 3000 DK 3700 Victiv 5400 Yahoo 15
Opponent- LAA (Weaver) R Park- @Ana
Jones has been about .050 OPS points better against right handed pitching for his career, making him one of the rare reverse platoon split guys in baseball. If you've not been following Jered Weaver's work recently, you've missed out on a lot. He's gone from one of baseball's highest profile pitchers to one of its very worst almost overnight. He's one of 3 qualifying major league pitchers with an xFIP (4.80) higher than his K/9 (4.56). A great spot for a 50/50 or double-up, with not a ton of upside in a nice pitcher's park.

Rajai Davis - FD 2400 DK 3200 Victiv 4100 Yahoo 7
Opponent- Bos (Owens) L Park- @Det
Joc Pederson - FD 2600 DK 3700 Victiv 4400 Yahoo 13
Opponent- Pit (Morton) R Park- @Pit
Josh Reddick - FD 2400 DK 3600 Victiv 4300 Yahoo 11
Opponent- Mil (Fiers) r Park- @Oak
All three in good platoon situations against less than great pitchers for super affordable prices. All are great for upside from where I'm sitting, with Davis likely being the safest for your 50/50 purposes.

A zillion cheap guys: Way, way too many to list. If you want those, grab a free three day trial of our projection system.

 
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