Daily Fantasy Baseball Picks for FanDuel, DraftKings and DraftStreet 4/6/14

Sundays are just the best days aren't they? Baseball all day. Ignoring your wife and kids. Pretending Mondays don't exist. Just perfect. Full slate of games going down today. Let's get to it.

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A little note about baseball picks

If you're coming over from basketball - welcome. If you're a lifelong fantasy baseball player, welcome. I want to give a quick heads up about how we are going to do our baseball picks.

Unlike basketball, contextual information matters very little baseball. Guys rarely take days off, and "playing well recently" means almost nothing. Playing time hardly ever changes (unlike in basketball where guys can increase their opportunities by 50% on a coach's whim), and when it does, it's fairly obvious.

So, we're going to be giving picks each day without huge write-ups. The only thing that changes about a player in a given day (for the most part) is the park he's playing in and the pitcher he is facing. Most of the other stuff is noise, unless a player has drastically changed his position in the lineup. For pitchers, all that really matters is who they are facing, which park, and if they've been recently injured.

We cool?

Let's do it.

Pitchers

Justin Masterson FanDuel 7000 DraftKings 8300 DraftStreet 17585
Masterson make a great play across the industry today because he has big game potential at reduced prices. He obliterates right-handers, but is weak against lefties. Not sure if you've seen the Twins lineup recently, but they don't have good hitters from either side of the plate.

Jered Weaver FanDuel 7300 DraftKings 9400 DraftStreet 18703
Weaver has the good fortune of facing the Astros who are essentially losing on purpose. Priceis nowhere near where it should be considering the opponent (even if they've looked punchy at times). On FanDuel he especially gives you salary relief with ace-ish upside.

A.J. Burnett FanDuel 6900 DraftKings 9200
He's a little steep on DraftStreet but everywhere else you can fire him off on the K upside. Cubs aren't stacked through the lineup and I always like targeting NL pitchers when its close because they get a free out in the ninth hole.

Ian Kennedy FanDuel 5700 DraftKings 7800
Isn't good in real life, but in DFS you can roster him because of the Marlins. DraftStreet price corrects for opponent so I'm not doing it there, but Kennedy looks great on FanDuel. Andrew Cashner was averaging a K an inning last night against the Fish. Kennedy should get some too.

Taylor Jordan DraftStreet 7130
The Braves can K more than a normal team and this is exactly the kind of pitcher you should target on DraftStreet. Cheap, some upside, not a ton of downside if he can go five or so innings.

 

Catchers

Wilin Rosario FanDuel 3500 DraftKings 4500 DraftStreet 6216
Assuming he sat yesterday in anticipation of crushing today. Wilin mashed lefties to the tune of a 900 OPS last season and gets to square up against Wade Miley.

Dioner Navarro FanDuel 2400 DraftKings 2600 DraftStreet 5041
Catcher is tough today so in a pinch I'm going cheap. Navarro should get the ABs against Sabathia. Dioner is significantly better against lefties in his career and make a decent option on a weak day for the position.

 

First Basemen

Jose Abreu FanDuel 3400 DraftKings 4200 DraftStreet 6546
He can hit. Of that there is no denying. And though he gets a tough matchup in James Shields today, I'm liking his chances at these prices. Industry prices will catch up soon, but they haven't yet.

David Ortiz FanDuel 4200 DraftKings 4500 DraftStreet 7735
Another guy who took yesterday off but should be in for big things today. Gallardo can give up the long ball and Papi is a top play today.

Ryan Howard FanDuel 3300 DraftKings 4100 DraftStreet 7024
You want to target the long ball in DFS and Howard can really only do that. He sucks at everything else. Enter Carlos Villanueva, hopefully with a tailwind blowing out to right in Wrigley.

 

Second Basemen

DJ LeMahieu FanDuel 2200 DraftKings 3700 DraftStreet 4519
If he's playing everyday he should get the nod on a Rockies squad that can turn the lineup over quickly. Wade Miley could struggle in Coors tomorrow and DJ is a nice option if you're looking to stack this game.

Aaron Hill FanDuel 3600 DraftKings 4100 DraftStreet 7287
Speaking of Coors, Hill gets to hit there again today, this time against left Brett Anderson. Anderson is a bit of wildcard with so many injuries in his past. I'll take this matchup on the splits and the park.

 

Shortstops

Troy Tulowitzki FanDuel 4400 DraftKings 4800 DraftStreet 6791
Why players need rest six days into the season I'm not sure. But Tulo sat yesterday and should be fully "rested" for today. He'll be teeing off against Miley and is a fantastic price on DraftStreet.

Jean Segura FanDuel 3700 DraftKings 4200 DraftStreet 4489
Segura hit lefties to the tune of an 865 OPS last year. Lester isn't a pushover but I don't think he's an ace either. I'll be targeting Segura because I think most others will be all over Tulo, making Jean a contrarian option.

Chris Owings FanDuel 2900 DraftKings 2800 DraftStreet 4369
Another guy I'm targeting on ballpark and matchup. Owings is no All-Star, but he's playing and this could be a game in which the D-Backs are able to turn the lineup over an extra time or two.

 

Third Basemen

Martin Prado FanDuel 3000 DraftKings 3700 DraftStreet 6260
Loved him yesterday and even said I thought he was criminally under-owned considering the ballpark and the matchup. Plus he was hitting clean up. He didn't disappoint going 2-4 with a run and an RBI. Comes at great prices again today.

Aramis Ramirez FanDuel 3500 DraftKings 4100 DraftStreet 7417
Been crushing to start the season and our system has a combination of kind-of-disliking Lester/ knowing that Aramis mashed to the tune of 900 OPS against lefties last year. I think stacking the Brewers isn't something others will doing today, but could pay off.

 

Outfielders

Mark Trumbo FanDuel 3800 DraftKings 4400 DraftStreet 8067
Gave me a Trumb-boner last night when I had him just about everywhere. Should be in line for another solid game tonight against the lefty Anderson and in that cool Rocky mountain air.

Christian Yelich FanDuel 3200 DraftKings 4300 DraftStreet 5574
Very cheap. Average pitcher on the hill. Nothing about Yelich screams sexy (except that he shares a surname with Lorde who is good looking I think but I'm not sure). Regardless, give him a try today.

Khris Davis FanDuel 2800 DraftKings 4100 DraftStreet 5006
Continuing that Brewers theme. I'll admit that I'm a bit surprised by how much our system likes the Brewers/ dislikes Lester. But he was worse against righties last year and the Brew crew is getting a bump because of it.

Jose Bautista FanDuel 4900 DraftKings 4500 DraftStreet 7094
Price is steep, but Sabathia got absolutely shelled by the Astros a week ago and Bautista is better than any two Astros put together. Literally. Like take any two Astro guys and have them stand on each other's shoulders or something. Bautista still better.*
*deep analysis

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