Daily Fantasy Baseball Picks for FanDuel, DraftKings, DraftDay and StarStreet Late Games 8/7/14

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Pitchers

Late Games
Jon Lester - FD 9800 DK 11000 DD 20100 SS 30200
A LOT to love about Lester today. First there's the fact that the Twins are the 7th easiest team in the league to strike out. Next is that he'll be facing off against one Yohan Pino. Last is that he's gone from a tough hitter's park to a great pitcher's park. And he's just pretty damned good. For me, Lester is the highest upside and lowest risk of the day.

Collin McHugh - FD 7200 DK 8400 DD 16600 SS 23000
McHugh came back in late July and put up two pretty darned good fantasy starts that would have been even better had his team been able to put up a win. He's still got the excellent K potential, and facing the Phillies is an added bonus. They're in the top half of the league in terms of how easy they are to strike out, and have been in the bottom 5 of team wOBA all season. Added bonus for McHugh? His opposing starter, Roberto Hernandez, is one of the very worst pitchers to take the ball every 5 days in the majors. I'm thinking he's got a good chance to snag that illusive win.

Early Games
Jordan Zimmermann - FD 8900 DK 9400 DD 17850 SS 28500
There's not a lot to choose from in the early slate, so let me make a brief case for Zimmermann. The guy's simply in his prime - striking out more guys than ever, and walking fewer. The Mets are downright hopeless when it comes to hitting, and their best hitter (Wright) hasn't made contact against a right handed pitcher in what feels like a million years.

Also considered: Homer Bailey

Catchers

Late Games
Devin Mesoraco - FD 3400 DK 4100 DD 9250 SS 8300
Mesoraco is having an insane break out this year, and while it's BABIP fueled, a lot of it is more than legit. His career line against left handers is terrific, and his line this year is even better. Any time you can get a catcher with a .367 career wOBA against a mediocre lefty whom the league seems to be figuring out, I'm ready to take a shot.

Miguel Montero - FD 2500 DK 3700 DD 7800 SS 5400
Montero hasn't delivered much recently, but a lot of his lackluster season line is due to his performance against left handers. He's still got a .798 OPS against right handers, which is actually pretty great for a catcher. Jeremy Guthrie is an ideal play for basically any left handed hitter, but struggling ones like Montero seem to have the most to gain against a guy who can't get a strike out.

Early Games
Brian McCann - FD 2900 DK 3800 DD 7650 SS 5700
If you must play the fairly lousy early slate, I wouldn't be shy about playing a lot of Yankees and Rick Porcello. Porcello is calling up images of his rookie season - bad peripherals, and decent ERA. We know how that turned out last time. I think he goes pumpkin on everyone again, and I don't' see why the Yankees couldn't be at the head of that charge.

Also considered: Wilin Rosario, Salvador Perez

First Basemen

Late Games
Brandon Moss - FD 3200 DK 4100 DD 8800 SS 7400
Moss is a classic platoon guy - dominating right handed pitching to the tune of a .360 wOBA while being pretty mediocre against lefties. Yohan Pino has flashed some decent peripherals early into his major league career, but that 29% ground ball rate isn't going to do him any favors against the upper-cutting Moss.

Mark Reynolds - FD 2700 DK 3800 DD 8000 SS 5600
Let's get the dirt out of the way - Reynolds' season long line is pretty gruesome, and the strike out rate makes him tough to watch. But! He's been terribly unlucky this year, running a BABIP .57 points below his career norms, and the power is as good as ever. In this match-up he'll see Jake Peavy's reduced stuff, and Reynolds is just fine against right handed pitchers. It's clearly a boom or bust play, but I think the chance of a boom makes it worth it.

Also considered: Adam LaRoche, Chris Davis

Early Games
Mark Teixeira - FD 3100 DK 4200 DD 9350 SS 6900
Justin Morneau - FD 3100 DK 4300 DD 9350 SS 7000
Morneau has a monster match-up in Kyle Hendricks, and while Teixeira is having an off year, a lot of that is tied up in some awful BABIP luck (he's running 60 points off his career norms). 1B is rather loaded in the early slate, all things considered.

Second Basemen

Late Games
Robinson Cano - FD 3600 DK 4800 DD 10750 SS 8500
Poor Roberto Hernandez - he does whatever he can to be the worst pitcher in baseball, and then Scott Carroll comes along and ruins everything. Holy God, this guy simply can't pitch. 45 Ks and 29 BB in 82 innings pitched!! Hard to even look at. Cano is definitely not having a banner year, but Scott Carroll is just the guy who can get a season back on track.

Chase Utley - FD 3200 DK 4200 DD 9200 SS 7300
While Utley is not what he used to be as a fantasy player, he can still do plenty to justify a pretty reasonable price. And while McHugh is having a break out year, the lefty-heavy Phillies could still put a run or two on the board, especially in their favorable home park. His .793 OPS this year against righties is nothing to sneeze at for a second baseman, and on a day where 2b is pretty thin, Utley could pay off.

Also considered: Jason Kipnis

Early Games
Ian Kinsler - FD 3400 DK 4500 DD 9000 SS 7400
Kinsler prefers left handers, but Shane Greene just isn't ready to take on this Tiger's lineup. The dude had a 4.61 ERA in AAA this year, and hasn't done anything in the majors to show that he's worthy of this call up.

Shortstops

Late Games
Hanley Ramirez - FD 3600 DK 4500 DD 10050 SS 8100
Ramirez is having a solid, if unspectacular season by his standards, but it's still a very nice fantasy season for a shortstop. 12 homers and 12 steals puts him solidly in the top of the shortstops this year in both categories, and he's gone beast mode on lefties for a .412 wOBA this year. CJ Wilson wouldn't be a great match-up under normal circumstances, but his wildness is manifesting not only in walks, but hard hit balls as well.

Jimmy Rollins - FD 3000 DK 4200 DD 8600 SS 7700
Rollins is having an unlucky BABIP year, but he's having a great fantasy season without any qualifiers. 15 homers and 22 steals at this time of year is fantastic, and he doesn't need to do a lot to provide dynamite value on these bargain prices against McHugh.

Early Games
Starlin Castro - FD 3300 DK 4700 DD 8500 SS 6600
There's only one guy I'll consider in the early slate - Starlin Castro. It's a renaissance year for Castro, who has posted his best wOBA since 2011. The real crime of the day is that I can't play more guys against Yohan Flande. The guy has been terrible so far this year, and it might be the only year we ever have the privilege of picking players against him in the major leagues. Come on FanDuel! Where are my minor league daily fantasy baseball games!

Third Basemen

Late Games
Todd Frazier - FD 3000 DK 4200 DD 9100 SS 7500
Frazier is a fantasy beast. 20 HRs and 16 steals from the 3B slot is terrific, and his wOBA vs. lefties is .26 points better against lefties than righties. For upside and safety, I'm not looking much past Frazier today.

Kyle Seager - FD 3000 DK 3900 DD 8600 SS 7200
Like the other Mariners lefties, Seager should greatly benefit from the Scott Carroll sweepstakes today. His .380 wOBA against right handers is elite, and the price is right as well (especially on FanDuel). If you like Seager over Frazier I wouldn't blame you - both guys are great plays.

Lonnie Chisenhall - FD 2900 DK 4000 DD 7500 SS 6600
It's a break out season for Chisenhall, and his career .331 wOBA against right handed pitching doesn't speak to the skills he's flashed so far this year. The walks are up, the strikeouts are down, and the power he showed in AAA last year is translating nicely. Homer Bailey isn't a pushover, but I wouldn't be surprised if Chisenhall puts together a solid performance.

Early Games
It hurts my stomach to think about playing any 3B in the early games. David Wright? Chase Headley? Yuck.

Outfielders

Late Games
Nelson Cruz - FD 3300 DK 4100 DD 9350 SS 7900
Cruz is a literal, real life monster when it comes to crushing left handed pitching. A .419 wOBA and a .983 OPS. What's left of JA Happ's left arm is going to need a healthy dose of luck to sneak anything past Cruz - his 77 Ks against 38 BBs in 96 innings isn't going to cut it against a hitter of Cruz's caliber.

Yasiel Puig - FD 3700 DK 4800 DD 12000 SS 9200
While our projection system doesn't think Wilson is quite dead yet, it's checking for a pulse. Puig is somehow exceeding his unfathomable rookie campaign, and a lot of that comes from his ability to own left handed pitching. The Dodgers' righty heavy lineup should also give Puig a lot of opportunity to pile on the counting stats.

Coco Crisp - FD 3300 DK 4300 DD 8800 SS 7400
With more walks than Ks this year, acceptable power, and good speed, Crisp brings a nice safe package to the table atop the league's best offense. Yohan Pino hasn't been awful this year, but "not being awful" shouldn't take him too far against an As offense that has come up roses all season long, giving Crisp some excellent run scoring opportunities.

Jose Bautista - FD 4300 DK 5300 DD 11150 SS 9600
Bautista has been a lot better against left handed pitchers this year, but he's actually relatively platoon neutral over the course of his career, which is why our projection system loves him against the hapless Miguel Gonzalez tonight. I don't mean to pile superlatives on top of Jose Bautista, but I would be more than happy to facilitate him fathering children for me to raise.

Also considered: Oscar Taveras, Alex Gordon

Early Games
Carlos Gonzalez - FD 3500 DK 4400 DD 9700 SS 7000
Charlie Blackmon - FD 2900 DK 4300 DD 9850 SS 7500
Corey Dickerson - FD 3400 DK 4100 DD 7850 SS 7600

Easy write-up here - the Rockies are set to destroy Kyle Hendricks in Coors. It might not be pretty, and if it isn't the Rockies stellar outfielders will likely play a huge role.

Jacoby Ellsbury - FD 3800 DK 4400 DD 9500 SS 7800
Same write-up here as for McCann. A stack featuring the Yankees lefties could pay dividends in the early state, especially if your going for separation against the teams that play the Rockies guys.

Curtis Granderson - FD 2800 DK 3800 DD 7900 SS 6500
This basically comes down to the Grandy Man's ability to hit right handed pitching. It's a less than ideal match-up to be sure, but you have to play somebody in the early games, and there's definite upside here.

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