Daily Fantasy MLB Baseball Picks for FanDuel and DraftKings 6/15/15 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 and Draftster.   Pitchers Masahiro Tanaka - FD 9600 DK 10600 Welp, Tanaka seems no worse for the wear after going down for a while there. He's averaged 17.5 fantasy points on FanDuel in his last two starts, and he's just cutting down batters while flashing his trademark terrific control. And boy, there's a lot to like about grabbing him against the Marlins today. They have the third lowest wOBA against right handed pitching this year, along with the 11th highest strike out rate. Miami is a fantastic place to pitch. He'll be opposed by the league average (at best) Tom Koehler. From top to bottom, Tanaka seems like both the safest play and the play with the highest upside. Trevor Bauer - FD 8400 DK 7800 In Bauer you're taking a serious step back in terms of safety, but you're also saving $1,200 worth of salary to apply to a stronger set of hitters to work with. Bauer showed his inherent risk in his last start, getting chased only and leaving fantasy owners hanging. But in the 5 starts before that? He was elite. He averaged 15 fantasy points per start, touching double digit strike outs in 2 of those games. On Monday, he'll have his highest upside matchup of the season - the Chicago Cubs. The Cubs taking a solid shot at going wire to wire with the league's worst K rate of the millenium against right handed pitching (a staggering 25.4%). They're in the bottom half of the league in wOBA as well. The fly in Bauer's ointment is Jake Arrieta - he's been elite in his own right this season, and a win might be tricky. But you're grabbing Bauer primarily for upside, here, so I say shoot for the moon. Carlos Rodon - FD 7200 DK 6500 If you want to go way off board in a big tournament, Rodon is intriguing. The young lefty has nearly a strikeout per inning this season, and while he's been pretty wild, we're trying to take a shot at greatness here. The Pirates have allowed greatness to no shortage of lefties this season - managing just the 3rd worst wOBA while putting together the...

Daily Fantasy MLB Baseball Picks for FanDuel and DraftKings 6/14/15 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 and Draftster.   Pitchers Max Scherzer - FD 11400 DK 11700 It's a fine day to pay up for some pitching, as is often the case on slates this size. In Scherzer you can get a guy with cream of the crop peripherals (10.35 K/9 and 1.35 BB/9) with a phenomenal match-up. It really doesn't get a whole heck of a lot better than that. Against right handed pitching, the Brewers have struck out with the 6th highest frequency of any team in the majors while compiling the 8th worst wOBA. They also happen to be starting the erratic Taylor Jungmann, who has a FIP north of 4 in AAA over the course of the last two years. This is a mismatch like you read about, and as odd as it is to say about a guy this expensive, I can see playing Scherzer in all formats. Cole Hamels - FD 9700 DK 10800 Hamels is an interesting guy today for much the same reasons that Scherzer is. He's not as good as Mad Max, but his 3:1 K:BB ratio and strikeout-per-inning stuff are plenty elite. He also has arguably an even better match-up. Against left handed pitching, the Pirates have the 4th highest K% and the 5th worst wOBA in the major leagues. He gets dinged a little bit because Burnett can still deal a little bit, but Hamels has arguably as much upside as Scherzer at a slightly discounted price. I can see playing him in all formats as well, though taking Scherzer in 50/50s will be awfully tempting. Jon Lester - FD 9000 DK 8600 Lester has taken a little step back from a peripheral standpoint this season, but it really is the littlest of steps. His 3.20 xFIP (compared to last season's 3.10) is still elite, and his lousy luck has been the major cause of his deflated ERA. His .344 BABIP allowed is .041 points higher than his career levels, and he's stranding 2.5% fewer runners as well. Taken as a whole, this kinda luck will eat your ERA up in a hurry. In this game Lester will square off against the Cincinnati Reds, who are quite frankly not the best...

Daily Fantasy MLB Baseball Picks for FanDuel and DraftKings 6/12/15 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 and Draftster.   Pitchers Clayton Kershaw - FD 12000 DK 12800 We have you Kershaw in a competitive slate the last time around, and he was the play of the day by a mile. Today? Our projection system likes him better than it did the last time around. Petco is a phenomenal place to pitch, and Odrisamer Despaigne is barely a major league quality pitcher, making a win even more likely for Kershaw than usual. And then there are the Friars themselves - they've struck out with the 7th highest frequency against opposing lefties this season, and are in the bottom half of the league in terms of their wOBA vs. southpaws. All in all, it's a great way to spend a whole heck of a lot in your cash games. Felix Hernandez - FD 11800 DK 11300 It's sort of a cop-out to recommend both Felix and Kershaw, but Hernandez also represents a great way to invest a significant chunk of salary. The Astros have struck out at the 2nd highest rate of any team in the majors (and would be the worst team in almost every season in major league history), and Brett Oberholzer is not a guy who rates as very likely to challenge the King for the win. So, lots to like here. I just happen to like Kershaw better. Madison Bumgarner - FD 10600 DK 10200 Spoiler alert - it sure looks like a day to spend up on the mound. Bumgarner has been phenomenal again this season, lowering his already elite BB rate and keeping a high (if not quite as high) K rate to go with it. The Diamondbacks aren't the greatest match-up in the world for a left handed starter, but my guess is that playing in San Fran can offset some of their power, leaving Bumgarner with a fine spot. This isn't a huge upside play to me, but I think it's awfully safe. Some upside, big tournament plays: Mike Fiers, Yordano Ventura. Also considered: If you play the 4pm slate, I really love Cueto. The Cubs are the worst in the league when it comes to striking out against RHP, and Cueto should crush them.  ...

Daily Fantasy MLB Baseball Picks for FanDuel and DraftKings 6/11/15 Full disclaimer - this is a pretty set of slates, but there are two of them, and I won't be doing full intensive writeups for each. 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 and Draftster. Pitchers Early Slate Andrew Cashner - FD 7900 DK 8500 Oy, the early slate is just less than ideal if you want to try and find a good pitcher with a good match-up. Hell, it's not easy to find either. Cashner, however, meets one of those criterion. With his peripherals, he's amassed a very respectable 3.38 xFIP, which trails his ERA by 7/10 of a point. He's still a little better than a K per inning guy, and the walks are relatively under control. The only thing that makes him less than a home run play here is that the Braves are a very low upside match-up. They have the 3rd best strike-out rate vs. right handers in the league, and are pretty much middle of the pack in terms of wOBA. Cashner gets bonus points in my book because Teheran has been so horrible, though, so he might be in a good spot for a win here. Late Slate Just so we're on the same page - I may just pass on this slate altogether. The pitching is that damned bad. But, there are a couple of guys our projection system "likes," so I guess I'll pass them along. Garrett Richards - FD 8600 DK 8900 Richards is what passes as a double up in the late slate. So, you've been warned. The word out of Angels' camp is that Richards isn't feeling the effects of injury, but his decreased K rate and increase BB rate has me wondering. What I like here, though, is the match-up. The Rays have the 6th worst wOBA against right handed pitching in the league, it's a great park to pitch in, and Alex Colome has had plenty of his own struggles. I like Richards as a favorite for the win, and while I don't really feel great about it, I'm not sure you've got tons of other great options here. Tsuyoshi Wada - FD 6300 DK 6800 I think our system liked Wada the last time he pitched, and that was one of the epic fail/guaranteed loss plays of the season, so I understand if your enthusiasm is tempered. Still, there's...

Daily Fantasy MLB Baseball Picks for FanDuel, DraftKings and Draftster 6/7/15 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 and Draftster.   Pitchers Mike Fiers - FD 7800 DK 8100 He's not the kind of guy that usually headlines our picks article, but give me a moment to explain. Fiers' peripheral credentials are excellent - his 69 Ks against 19 BBs in 57 innings are excellent, and if he wasn't sporting a BABIP .070 points higher than his career levels, one can imagine he'd be having a great ERA season as well. But this recommendation goes far beyond Fiers' own track record, and involves the gentlemen he'll be pitching against. The Twins are arguably the best match-up for a right handed pitcher in the major leagues, sporting the league's 2nd worst wOBA and 5th highest strike out rate. Throw in a great match-up with Mike Pelfrey (whose awful peripherals won't prop up that ERA much longer), and a win looks like a real possibility as well. I love Fiers in all formats.   Johnny Cueto - FD 10500 DK 9600 If you are looking to spend up, perhaps because Fiers doesn't pass your "cash game" sniff test, Cueto is the logical choice. The Padres are just a step behind the Twins when it comes to futility against right handed pitching - they've amassed the league's 7th highest strike out rate while managing just the 6th highest wOBA. Now, those numbers should be higher outside of Petco, but the point still remains - they don't love hitting right handers. Odrisamer Despaigne is just a step above Mike Pelfrey in terms of pitching ability, which is to say he's pretty darned bad. Nothing to see over Cueto's way at the moment - he's got his classic fantastic K rate paired with an elite walk rate, and is cutting down batters, business as usual. A great play in cash games, and a fine play in big tournaments, too. Jordan Zimmermann - FD 9200 DK 8700 Zimmermann has taken a real step back in terms of K rate this year, and to be honest, I'll probably play the above two guys instead. But people like options, so here's options! Zimmermann's K rate has ticked upward recently, and the Cubs have struck out at the very highest rate (26.2%!)...