Boston Red Sox's David Ortiz follows through on a home run off Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Nathan Karns during the fifth inning of a baseball game Wednesday, April 22, 2015, in St. Petersburg, Fla. Catching for the Rays is Rene Rivera. (AP Photo/O'Meara)
Welcome back to another mid week edition of our daily fantasy baseball picks. With only three games in the early slate we are going to turn our attention to the 12 game main slate for the following picks. The main slate lacks elite pitching options but is filled with a ton of value in the mid tier giving us a ton of flexibility with our bats tonight. As always be sure to check out our other Stacks, Pitchers, News, Weather Report articles that are released in the morning and throughout the day on the site.
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Opponent - MIN (Santana) Park - @MIN
FD - 34.39 DK - 21.78
Kicking off the night on the mound is Dallas Keuchel. After one of his worst starts of the season against the Tigers, he came out firing last start with a complete game shutout vs. the Rangers. Outside of that one bad start, Keuchel has rebounded from a slow start to the year limiting opponents to two earned runs or less in seven of his last nine starts. He makes up for his average K rate(7.66 K/9) with an elite 57.7% ground ball rate. Keuchel should get a bump in the K's tonight as the Twins strikeout 8th most(23.4%) vs. left handed pitching.
Opponent - LAA (Nolasco) Park - @CHC
FD - 30.14 DK - 19.35
Another highly rated play tonight is Jason Hammel and it makes sense for a few reasons. The Cubs lead the major leagues with 69 wins and come into this matchup with Angels as huge -220 home favorites. On FanDuel, where wins are very important, he is the top play for cash games and even makes on DraftKings in any format with his low $8K price tag. Hammel has been red hot lately winning four straight starts and has limited opponents to two earned runs or less in five straight starts. The Angels don't pack a lot of punch throughout their lineup and if Hammel get work around Trout, he should have another start where he exceeds value in DFS.
Opponent - COL (De La Rosa) Park - @TEX
FD - 11.32 DK - 8.83
After day off on Tuesday afternoon Lucroy will be back behind the plate for the Rangers and makes an excellent play. Since joining the Rangers Lucroy has picked up hits in four of his six games and shown great power with three home runs. He has shown the ability to hit left handed pitching throughout his career with a .298 average and gets a favorable matchup vs. the Rockies tonight. De La Rosa has been pitching better as of late but also getting really lucky. Since mid July he has been pitching to a 4.13 ERA and much worse 5.68 xFIP to go with a brutal 4.13 K/9 and BB/9 rate. That is gross. All the Rangers right handed bats please.
Opponent - BAL (Gallardo) Park - @OAK
FD - 9.2 DK - 7.14
At the time of writing this article the projection system is in love with Stephen Vogt tonight. He is a lefty batter who comes into tonight with some big splits hitting .278 vs. right handed pitching with all nine of his home runs this year. He has been a consistent option for cash games this season at a second tier price that allows some flexibility at other strong positions. Vogt is in a nice spot tonight vs. Yovani Gallardo who is a borderline major league option with a 5.42 xFIP and disgusting 4.85 BB/9 rate. This game could easily be one of the highest scoring of the night making Vogt a terrific value option.
Opponent - OAK (Detwiler) Park - @OAK
FD - 10.28 DK - 7.94
While I prefer Vogt on FanDuel at a lower price it will be hard to ignore Wieters on DraftKings as a punt play at just $2,800. He has positive splits vs. left handed pitching for his career with a batting average that is 20 points higher than against righties. The matchup is also favorable as he will face Ross Detwiler who will be making his first start of the season after seven relief appearances. In those 4.2 IP, which is a small sample size, he has a 6.19 xFIP and has only struck out three while walking four batters.
Opponent - NYY (Eovaldi) Park - @BOS
FD - 14.75 DK - 11.1
It was Dustin Pedroia providing all the offense the Red Sox needed last night against Luis Severino as they beat the Yankees 5-3 to stay in the race for the AL East. They will get another great matchup on Wednesday to do some damage as the Yankees will start struggling Nathan Eovaldi. In his last two starts he has pitched 13 innings and given up just eight hits but four of them have been big mistakes that were taken deep resulting in Yankee and Eovaldi losses. David Ortiz makes an elite play in this matchup with huge power upside as he is back home and in his comfortable DH role.
Opponent - KC (Kennedy) Park - @KC
FD - 10.76 DK - 8.24
After a very slow start to the season Abreu has turned it around over the last month and a half. Since July 1st he is slashing .308/.364/.458 with a 122 wRC+. He has also shown us the power we have come to expect after back to back 30+ HR/100+ RBI seasons with three bombs in his last four starts going into Tuesday evening. He will face off against Ian Kennedy who comes with some strikeout upside but also has a 4.37 xFIP and is prone to giving up the long ball with a 16.5% HR/FB rate.
Opponent - CIN (DeSclafani) Park - @STL
FD - 11.87 DK - 8.97
With regular first basemen Matt Adams struggling , Brandon Moss has been making starts at first and hitting cleanup for the Cardinals. Since returning to the lineup Moss has recorded eight hits in his first seven games with a home run and .517 Slugging %. The Cardinals are -160 favorites in a game with a early 8.5 total and if they hit Moss at cleanup again, he makes a great play GPP play. Stay tuned for news and lineups on Wednesday. Note that Moss is only available at the OF position on FanDuel and both on DraftKings.
Opponent - TB (Snell) Park - @TOR
FD - 9.83 DK - 7.86
The second base position is a great spot to pay down tonight and take the safety with some leadoff hitters. We start with Devon Travis today who has been the hottest player at the position lately. Since being moved to the leadoff spot on August 1st he is slashing .417/.432/.778 with three home runs and an impressive 225 wRC+. If he continues to hit leadoff, and all indications are he is staying put, he makes an elite play in all formats.
Opponent - SD (Jackson) Park - @PIT
FD - 10.15 DK - 8.57
When looking at the projections for tomorrow Harrison comes in even higher on a PTS/$ basis. He has spent the last four games in the leadoff role for the Pirates and it sure helped him get out of a slump as he has recorded six hits including his first home run since June 19th. He comes at a much better value today as the price has yet to catch up on either site making him a great salary relief option in any format.
Opponent - PHI (Hellickson) Park - @LAD
FD - 10.29 DK - 8.08
Our third and final leadoff hitter at the position and cheapest option on FanDuel tonight. Utley, at the ripe age of 37 years old, is still providing value in the majors with eight home runs, 33 RBI and 54 runs scored. This pick is more about the narrative factor for me tonight as he is once again facing the Phillies in which he spent 13 seasons with. You will definitely want to check the lineups prior to locking in your lineup as he has spent a few games hitting 9th for the Dodgers which would totally kill all value.
Opponent - NYY (Eovaldi) Park - @BOS
FD - 11.25 DK - 9.03
Bogaerts kicks off the shortstop position and should be well rested after receiving a much needed day off on Tuesday. It's hopefully just what he needs to get back on track after struggling over the past week. The cold stretch has helped bring his price way down to the low $4K level on DraftKings making him an elite play with big upside. The Red Sox are early -170 favorites in the second highest total of the day and if Bogaerts is back in the three hole he will get plenty of opportunities to crush his value tonight.
Opponent - TB (Snell) Park - @TOR
FD - 11.31 DK - 8.62
The Jays let us down last night as they left runners on base in crucial situations. We are going back to well tonight as the projections rate the Jays, especially the infield, very high once again. The Jays, who crush left handed pitching(.342/114 wRC+ last two seasons), will face youngster Blake Snell. He has been impressive in his early major league career with a 9.16 K/9 rate but a 4.442 BB/9 rate and 4.14 xFIP suggest he is due for some regression. The middle of the Jays order should once again have plenty of opportunities to cash in vs. a lefty if Snell puts runners on base for free. Tulo's best value comes on DraftKings where he has seen a large salary drop.
Opponent - COL (De La Rosa) Park - @TEX
FD - 8.74 DK - 7.59
With Tulo being my top value play at the position on DraftKings, I much prefer Andrus on FanDuel under $3K tonight. Not only is he consistent right now(hits in 7 of 9 games since July 30th), he also has very strong splits against southpaws with a .372 wOBA and 129 wRC+ vs. left handed pitching this season. De La Rosa has been bad at home this year(5.06 ERA/.344 wOBA against) but has been even worse on the road(6.10 ERA/375 wOBA against) and Globe Life Park is not a friendly park in to pitch in.
Opponent - TEX (Perez) Park - @TEX
FD - 12 DK - 9.22
A small slump helped bring his price way down on FanDuel recently and it has once again dipped below the $4K mark. This brings Arenado into elite territory tonight as he faces off against a southpaw. So far in 2016 he is sporting a .407 wOBA and 139 wRC+ vs. left handed pitching and Martin Perez should help pad those stats tonight. Perez somehow still has a job with a minuscule 4.33 K/9 rate and high 3.75 BB/9 rate which has pushed his xFIP to 4.88 on the season. Getting exposure to both sides of this game is a great way to go as it has the highest total on the slate and Arenado is by far the Rockies top option.
Opponent - COL (De La Rosa) Park - @TEX
FD - 12.59 DK - 9.65
Sticking with the highest game total on the slate we have a great third base option if you can't afford Arenado or Donaldson tonight. As I mentioned with Lucroy and Andrus, the pitching matchup is in the Rangers favor tonight vs. Jorge De La Rosa who is one of the worst pitchers on the slate. The 37 year old Beltre continues to mash left handed pitching with a .395 wOBA and 145 wRC+ this season and comes into tonight with three straight multi hit games. He is a safe play in all formats.
Opponent - CLE (Tomlin) Park - @WSH
FD - 14.56 DK - 11.23
I know I said I was going to concentrate on the main slate but I have to give you one play that could be a tourny crusher today. And I can't wait to mention him on the podcast in the morning to get Doug's reaction. Haha. Harper has sat out since Saturday with neck pain and if he is back in the lineup I would consider playing an all day slate where he will be very low owned. He has burned everyone but he is still an elite hitter with huge upside. Let the Hump Day fun begin with some Harper exposure. Make Baseball Great Again!
Opponent - SD (Jackson) Park - @PIT
FD - 12.34 DK - 9.64
The price is starting to creep up there with McCutchen but there is still some room for value, especially in this matchup on Wednesday. The Pirates are big favorites and have a team total approaching 5 runs vs. Edwin Jackson making his 5th start since being added to the rotation. His first four starts haven't gone too smooth as he is only striking out around 4.5 batters per nine while walking over 3.5 per nine which has resulted in a 5.25 xFIP. Consider McCutchen a safe play in all formats.
Opponent - TB (Snell) Park - @TOR
FD - 14.43 DK - 10.89
After missing over a month on the disabled list Joey Bats has been showing signs that he ready to go on a tear and build on his awful .221 average. Since August 2nd he has hits in six of eight games including two doubles and two home runs. He will continue to get plenty of opportunities to drive in runs with Devon Travis having moved into that leadoff role for the Jays. Bautista always comes with a nice floor when matching up against pitchers that lack control as he has a high 16.5% walk rate with huge power in Donaldson, Encarnacion, Saunders and Tulo behind him.
Opponent - CHW (Quintana) Park - @KC
FD - 9.76 DK - 8.16
It has been somewhat of a disappointing season for Cain who struggled early on and eventually hit the disabled list in late June. After returning he went hitless in his first three games but since has hits in six of his last seven. The Royals are playing it safe with his health down the stretch but if he is in the lineup against the White Sox can definitely do some damage at a value price on both sites. He has absolutely destroyed left handed pitching this season with a .438 wOBA and 179 wRC+.
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View Comments
Vogt is a left handed hitter so those aren't reverse splits, but he does seem like a nice play regardless. Personally I'll pass on Keuchel @MIN, good prices for him though if you trust him In this road matchup.
Ervin for erwin
As much as Kuechel has improved, I just can't do it against the Twins. That offense has been a juggernaut over the past two weeks and there's no sign yet of it slowing down. Every pitcher I've rostered against them gets rocked. I do like Hammel though, and I might put Santana out there against Houston. That offense has been non-existent lately.
harper, cain, Cutch in cash games? nah
Goldschmidt @ only $4k on DraftKings vs Colon, what a steal for one of the best hitters in baseball. Will be in every one of my lineups.