Daily Fantasy MLB Baseball Picks for FanDuel and DraftKings – 5/28/16 (Early Slate)

It's Memorial Day weekend and we start things off with Saturday's 15 game split slate, this article will cover the early games only - there will be another post to cover the late games. There are a handful of aces on the mound or, as usual, you can choose to load up on higher priced bats and attack one of the many favorable match ups.  Where should you look? That's why we're here to help. Let's get to our picks for tomorrow's early slate. When you're done reading the article be sure to check back for our secondary articles (Stacks, Pitchers, News and Weather Report) published throughout the day. Good luck!

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PITCHER

Danny Salazar FD 9500 DK 9600
Opponent - BAL (Urias) Park - @CLE
FD - 36.36 DK - 20.86

Danny Salazar is off to a great start in 2016 with a 2.32 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP through his first nine starts. He did struggle last time out against Boston, but they have been crushing everyone lately.  Even in that start, Salazar still put up six strikeouts in just 4.1 innings of work and has recorded 11.1 K's/9  as well as a .181 BAA this year. He takes on the Orioles who are in the top-10 of MLB in strikeouts while the Indians are the second biggest favorite on the early slate in a game with a favorable over/under to roster a pitcher.

Kyle Hendricks FD 8000 DK 8700
Opponent - PHI (Eickhoff) Park - @CHC
FD - 31.78 DK - 17.2

Speaking of the Cubs, that brings us to Kyle Hendricks. Hendricks has pitched much better than his 2-4 record shows, indicated by a career best .218 BAA as well as the second best BB/9 (2.33) among the Cubs starters. He has also been much better in his four starts at home with a 1-1 record and 2.28 ERA. Also, venturing towards the obvious, Hendricks gets to pitch against the Phillies, ranking 23rd in MLB with a team .238 average. Philadelphia is 2-5 in their last seven games, four of which had their offense rack up two or less runs.

Strongly consider Michael Pineda

CATCHER

Buster Posey FD 4000 DK 5100
Opponent - COL (Butler) Park - @COL
FD - 14.23 DK - 10.98
Update: With Butler pitching Posey is still in play with a slight bump down for the split. Buster Posey at Coors Field against a lefty - it probably seems obvious, but it has to be mentioned. Posey is batting .314 in the last two seasons against southpaws, including a .503 SLG % and a .371 wOBA. On the other hand, Chris Rusin has been going back-and-forth between starting and the bullpen in 2016. The lefty has an ERA close to five at home in 2016 as well as allowing a .285 BAA against right handed hitters.

Stephen Vogt FD 2500 DK 2700
Opponent - DET (Boyd) Park - @OAK
FD - 8.96 DK - 6.92
Stephen Vogt sees Mike Pelfrey Saturday afternoon, the fantasy pitcher we all love to pick on. Before last night's game, Vogt is hitting close to .300 with a slugging percentage of .458 with one homer and five RBI. Pelfrey has given up two homers in each of his last two starts, including five days ago against the Phillies in which he surrendered 11 hits and four runs over six innings  The matchup, form, and price all look good for Vogt. Update: With the lefty Boyd going today, Josh Phegley replaces Vogt on the value list

FIRST BASE

Chris Carter FD 3200 DK 3900
Opponent - CIN (Simon) Park - @MIL
FD - 11.98 DK - 8.99

Chris Carter is sixth in MLB with 13 homers in 2016, as well as ranking in the top-15 in slugging, and faces Alfredo Simon along with his monstrous 10.16 ERA. Carter maintains his power in righty-righty match ups with 26 homers and a .489 SLG % over the last two seasons. Simon has surrendered 15 runs in his last two starts and the Brewers are getting their second look at him this season.

Joey Votto FD 3300 DK 4100
Opponent - MIL (Anderson) Park - @MIL
FD - 11.91 DK - 9.09

OK, the other side of the game in Milwaukee is also favorable for hitters. Joey Votto absolutely crushes right handed pitching with a .944 OPS and .401 wOBA. Votto has struggled as of late which makes me included to limit his exposure to tournament lineups. But the match up is too good. The Reds are also getting their second look at Anderson - Votto drew three walks in that game. Anderson has been taken deep at least once in all of his last seven starts for a total of 12 homers.

Update: Brandon Belt moves way up the list with Butler starting instead of Rusin

SECOND BASE

Joe Panik FD 3400 DK 4900
Opponent - COL (Butler) Park - @COL
FD - 13.07 DK - 10.47
Update: With Butler pitching Panik gets a bump for the platoon. Back to Colorado because...well, it's Colorado with Rusin on the mound. Joe Panik average is on the rise after a .308 week at the dish thanks to a very good series against the Cubs. Our projection system loves Panik and pairing his recent success with Coors Field against Rusin could make the second baseman an important piece of a Giants stack.

Brandon Phillips FD 2600 DK 3500
Opponent - MIL (Anderson) Park - @MIL
FD - 9.08 DK - 7.49
Brandon Phillips went yard against Chase Anderson earlier this month in a game in which he went 2-for-3 with a homer and a double. Phillips has hits in back-to-back games and hopefully seeing Anderson will be another step in the veteran getting back into form. Phillips has better splits against lefties but he still holds a solid .280 average versus right handers. This last bit is just a personal hunch, but it's been a little while since he's attempted a stolen base (3 SB in 2016) so my gut, no stats behind this, says he's due for one.

SHORTSTOP

Brandon Crawford FD 3800 DK 5400
Opponent - COL (Butler) Park - @COL
FD - 12.21 DK - 9.6
Update: With Butler pitching Crawford gets a bump for the platoon. So, I have a hunch how the stack article tomorrow is going. Let's just quickly rattle off Crawford's stats over the last seven games and skip the repetition of the pitching/ballpark. During that span, Crawford is hitting .333, slugging .542, and totaled six RBI. He has been hitting in bunches, recording five multi-hit games in his last nine outings.

Javier Baez FD 2200 DK 3300
Opponent - PHI (Eickhoff) Park - @CHC
FD - 10.15 DK - 8.18
Javier Baez went 2-for-4 yesterday against the Phillies and remains very affordable, especially on FanDuel. The Cubs are the biggest favorite, according to Vegas, on Saturday and Baez is a cheap way to get in on their starting lineup. Baez has limited exposure against righties in his young career but our projection system loves the potential pts/$ value.

THIRD BASE

Aaron Hill FD 2200 DK 2700
Opponent - CIN (Simon) Park - @MIL
FD - 9.43 DK - 7.51
The price tag and match up are tasty for Aaron Hill. Oh, and at the time of writing this Hill has already gone twice tonight against the Reds. He has also been rock solid for over a month with an average over .300 including hits in four straight games and five of his last six. Hill has actually fared better against right handers in 2016 with a .272 batting average and .764 OPS. Considering what he costs, my lineups will probably have a heavy dose of Hill.

Matt Duffy FD 3300 DK 4700
Opponent - COL (Butler) Park - @COL
FD - 12.78 DK - 10.5
Update: With Butler pitching Duffy gets a bump for the platoon. Giants! Giants! Help us....Did you get the Little Giants reference, or did I just show my age? Duffy is part of the San Francisco contingent that our projection system is simply all over. Duffy has been scalding the ball as of late as he rode a six game hitting streak into last night. He looks to be settling into his second full season in the Bigs and for many of the reasons listed in the Posey/Panik/Crawford write ups, he warrants plenty of consideration on this late.

Update: With Boy pitching, Danny Valencia looks a lot better facing the lefty

OUTFIELD

Rajai Davis FD 3600 DK 4000
Opponent - BAL (Urias) Park - @CLE
FD - 11.08 DK - 9.97
It might seem like somewhat of an overpay but hear me out. You don't have to pay a ton for pitching today, the Rockies are fine to get away from facing Bumgarner and you can't play only Giants in your lineup. Good enough reasons? No? Well Davis is facing a lefty in Julio Urias and the Indians project for the third most runs on the slate at 4.8. Davis is vastly better against lefties for his career and should be in the leadoff slot today.

Kirk Nieuwenhuis FD 2500 DK 3500
Opponent - CIN (Simon) Park - @MIL
FD - 10.57 DK - 8.46
Well, let's just continue to pick on poor Alfredo Simon. Actually, who cares, I just want points. Kirk Nieuwenhuis did get a hit last time he saw Simon. I like Flores more than Nieuwenhuis but despite recent struggles the latter is capable of going deep or stealing a base and is a viable part of a Brewers stack.

Khris Davis FD 3100 DK 3900
Opponent - DET (Boyd) Park - @OAK
FD - 10.6 DK - 8.14
Update: With Boyd pitching Davis gets a bump for the platoon. Woo! Two more chance to go against Mike Pelfrey with the final picks. Let's start with Khris Davis who has a hit in three straight games and is slugging at .649 over the last two weeks. Oh, and Davis demolishes righties with 30 homers in just over 450 plate appearances as well as an .821 OPS and .349 wOBA. For good reason, the fantasy community loves to play guys against Pelfrey so I expect Davis' ownership to be up on Saturday.

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