Daily Fantasy Baseball Picks for FanDuel and DraftKings - 10/1/16

Welcome to Saturday baseball! We have a nice 15 game spread out slate on our hands with some aces and a few offenses in great spots to put up some runs. Make sure to check out our other articles as they will touch on more pitching options, tournament stacks and any weather concerns that may arise. Let's get into the top options at each position!
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PITCHER

Quick note: This isn't a normal day in baseball. There are two days left in the regular season, most teams' fates have been decided and as of this post about 60% of the games didn't even have a Vegas line. This is uncharted territory with tons of info missing. We'll do our best here, but late season MLB (especially today) is very dicey.

Jon Lester FD 10800 DK 11100
Opponent - CIN (Adleman) Park - @CIN
FD - 36.29 DK - 23.68
Jon Lester is going to start us off here, on a slate that doesn't really provide much in terms of pitching. There are a ton of teams in good offensive spots, but not many pitchers with the advantage. However, there are definitely a few, with one being Jon Lester. Lester and the Cubs will be taking on the Cincinnati Reds. The Reds are a horrible team and have sported the 9th worst wOBA in the league against lefties at .309. Lester on the other hand, has been great against both lefties and righties with a combined wOBA that sits under .305. While the ballpark is definitely a concern, it will not mater if Lester has his "stuff". He is pretty expensive on both sites, so it will be a sacrifice of a few bats if you decide you want to roster Lester. Lester is my top cash game play, though there is a plethora of other guys that are viable in tournaments.

Update: We had Jaime Garcia here but Wacha is starting. Yeesh, late season MLB

Strongly consider Clayton Kershaw of course though like I said at the beginning, pitching is super dicey here.

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CATCHER

Gary Sanchez FD 3600 DK 5000
Opponent - BAL (Miley) Park - @NYY
FD - 10.91 DK - 8.47
Gary Sanchez is going to start us off here at catcher, and will be taking on Wade Miley and the Orioles at home in hitter friendly Yankee Stadium. While Miley has been decent on the season, his numbers against righties are as bad as ever. In over120 innings, he has sported a .356 wOBA to go along with some pitiful peripherals and batted ball rates. Sanchez has already hit 20 homers since entering the majors and will look to make it 21 tonight against Miley. Yankee Stadium is certainly better for lefties, but still plays at an advantage for right handed batters. While he is expensive on both sites, I prefer him on FanDuel as he is cheaper and the scoring there is better set up for homers.
Welington Castillo FD 2800 DK 4300
Opponent - SD (Richard) Park - @ARI
FD - 10.77 DK - 8.33
The Diamondbacks, along with the Cubs, are going to be our top 2 offenses outside of Coors Field. The D-Backs are facing off with Clayton Richard, a left handed youngster that has struggled mightily against righties. Though his wOBA against righties is only a .332, his peripherals and underlying stats suggest it should be around .360. Castillo on the other hand, has been fantastic against lefties with a .341 wOBA dating back to 2013. Castillo is way too cheap on FanDuel, so I would have him as my top option there on both cash games and tournaments. On DraftKings, I would just pony up and play Sanchez.

FIRST BASE

Paul Goldschmidt FD 3900 DK 5500
Opponent - SD (Richard) Park - @ARI
FD - 13.97 DK - 10.94
We are going to go right back to the Diamondbacks here with Paul Goldschmidt. As mentioned, Clayton Richard has struggled against righties and will likely continue to do so throughout the rest of the season. While Castillo is good against lefties, Goldschmidt is on another level. Since 2014, Goldy has sported a .391 wOBA alongside a 41% hard contact rate and a 24% line drive rate. This game will take place in Chase Field, which is the 2nd best park in the league for both left handed and right handed power. Like Castillo, Goldschmidt is way too cheap on FanDuel. On FD, he is definitely my top option, but on DraftKings, he is right there with Rizzo, who we will touch on next.
Anthony Rizzo FD 4200 DK 5400
Opponent - CIN (Adleman) Park - @CIN
FD - 13.88 DK - 10.6
Anthony Rizzo is going to be the first Cubs bat we look at, though there will be more. Rizzo is one of the best hitters in the league against righties and he will take on a lackluster righty today. Timothy Adleman is aright handed youngster that has struggled against both lefties and righties. Rizzo has sported a .391 wOBA dating back to the start of 2014, to go along with some very strong peripherals and batted ball rates. The game will take place in the Great American Ballpark, which is a top 5 ballpark in the league for left handed power. We will touch on Tim Adleman some more in a bit, but just know that he is horrible, especially against lefties.

SECOND BASE

Ryan Schimpf FD 3400 DK 3900
Opponent - ARI (Bradley) Park - @ARI
FD - 9.87 DK - 7.57
Second base is a pretty weak position today. Schimpf is going to come in as our top option on the slate, and will be taking on a young righty in Archie Bradley. While Bradley has been decent, he has definitely struggled against lefties. Since 2015, Bradley has given up a .330 wOBA against lefties. The game will be played in Chase Field, which is a top ballpark in the league for left handed power, only behind Coors Field. Schimpf is not cheap on either site, so he will likely be lower owned. IF La Stella is in the lineup, he will likely be my cash game guy. However, if he isn't, I will pivot to Schimpf in both cash games and tournaments.
Thomas La Stella FD 2100 DK 3400
Opponent - CIN (Adleman) Park - @CIN
FD - 6.4 DK - 4.97
First of all, make sure he is in the lineup. I expect him to be in the lineup as the Cubs are winding down the season and are facing off with a righty that struggles against left handed hitters. La Stella is actually a pretty good hitter against right handed pitching. Since the start f 2015, La Stella has sported a .336 wOBA alongside some very nice peripherals and batted ball rates. Like most guys, he is expensive on DraftKings and way too cheap on FanDuel. If he is in the lineup, he becomes almost a must play for me on FanDuel. The ballpark is definitely a positive, and La Stella does have a bit of power upside, though that is not how he plays his game. he will likely get a hit or two and there will hopefully be some guys on base beforehand.

SHORTSTOP

Orlando Arcia FD 3000 DK 3200
Opponent - COL (Anderson) Park - @COL
FD - 6.65 DK - 5.69
Going to be easy targeting Coors today with some of the value we are likely to get in other games and lineups as teams limp (or sprint) towards the playoffs. Arcia isn't a top of the order guy, but he's cheap all things considered and has speed upside even in the power park. There's just a little pop in the bat as well with the four home runs this season. Arcia is a Coors play plain and simple.

Javier Baez FD 2900 DK 3900
Opponent - CIN (Adleman) Park - @CIN
FD - 9.41 DK - 7.63
Javier Baez is the last Cubs bat we are going to look at here, though I could of definitely listed guys like Kris Bryant and Dexter Fowler. Let's touch on Tim Adleman a bit here He has sported a .341 wOBA against lefties, though his peripherals say that it should be around .365. Baez on the other hand, has been very good this season against both righties and lefties. Against righties, he has ported a .339 wOBA and has also hit 60% of his homers against them. The game will be played in Great American Ballpark, which is a huge upgrade for a guy like Baez that does rely on power to an extent. Baez makes for an excellent play on both FanDuel and DraftKings, though I prefer him on FanDuel in tournaments.

THIRD BASE

Nolan Arenado FD 4300 DK 5100
Opponent - MIL (Peralta) Park - @COL
FD - 16.05 DK - 12.17
Arenado is one of the few Rockies you can trust away from Coors so when he's back in the friendly confines of the home park, you are good to go with his power. I think the FanDuel price is simply too low for his upside and he's a platoon neutral hitter for his career. Better against righties this year, Arenado is coming to the end of his best season yet with 41 home runs and an OPS in the mid .900's.

Yangervis Solarte FD 2700 DK 3900
Opponent - ARI (Bradley) Park - @ARI
FD - 9.39 DK - 7.26
If we aren't paying for Coors, I think it's fine to pay for Chase Field. It doesn't have quite the power upside of that launching pad in Denver, but it's well above league average in terms of power and the Padres have been working with some of their higher implied run totals of the season. Solarte's put up a respectable .812 OPS this season even working in the pitcher's haven of Petco so when he gets a park upgrade we can lock and load him. I especially like the FD price but he's cheaper on DK as well.

OUTFIELD

Carlos Gonzalez FD 3900 DK 5100
Opponent - MIL (Peralta) Park - @COL
FD - 16.29 DK - 12.52
David Dahl FD 3700 DK 5000
Opponent - MIL (Peralta) Park - @COL
FD - 12.55 DK - 10.44
Have we mentioned the Coors theme yet? I don't have time to scroll back up and check. On such an uncertain day in MLB I'm fine just jamming home as many bats from this game as possible, especially on the Colorado side of things. Both Cargo and Dahl have solid power upside hitting in the middle of the order and Dahl adds a hint of speed as well to the mix. Neither breaks the bank for you especially if you run some value at starting pitcher today.

Yasmany Tomas FD 2700 DK 4800
Opponent - SD (Richard) Park - @ARI
FD - 10.06 DK - 8.02
Wow, the Diamondbacks are really expensive on DraftKings. If you are strictly playing over there, I do not mind the fade. However, it is the exact opposite on FanDuel. They are way too cheap and I recommend getting plenty of exposure in both cash games and lefties. Like Castillo and Goldschmidt, Tomas is a huge power bat against lefties and has a ton of upside in Chase Field. Tomas will likely be under owned with all of the offenses in good spots, so he is a spectacular play on tournaments on both sites. He was scratched yesterday so make sure to check lineups before lock.

Travis Jankowski FD 2200 DK 3400
Opponent - ARI (Bradley) Park - @ARI
FD - 8.24 DK - 7.66
Manuel Margot FD 2900 DK 2800
Opponent - ARI (Bradley) Park - @ARI
FD - 6.7 DK - 5.35
If these two guys are hitting 1-2 at the top of the order again then I love rolling them for cash games, especially Jankowski who's priced like a punt on FanDuel. He was a chalkier play last night and I suspect that's the case again here against Bradley. Both can fly on the base paths and have crazy speed upside if they get on base.

Consider Twins bats against James Shields today.

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