Daily Fantasy Baseball Picks for FanDuel, DraftKings, DraftDay and Draftster 8/24/14

Catchers

Wilin Rosario - FD 3100 DK 3700 DD 7700 DFSTR 3500
Rosario has been on a horrific bender for a while, but most of that damage is against righties. He's still crushed left handed pitching for a .404 wOBA this year, and Brad Hand's 48 Ks and 32 BBs in 79 IP aren't going to fly under Colorado skies.

Miguel Montero - FD 2400 DK 3400 DD 8300 DFSTR 5500
The price has bottomed out for Montero, mark my words. Our projection system has been asking us to trot him out there with great frequency, and if you followed the picks I wrote on Thursday night, it paid off with a monster night on a near minimum salary. While Kennedy is a much tougher pitcher, the price still remains a joke, just not so much a joke that it can unseat Rosario against a terrible lefty at home.

Wilson Ramos - FD 2900 DK 3800 DD 8950 DFSTR 4800
Give me either of the two guys above, but if you're in the mood for safety, Ramos might be your guy. He's a high batting average guy for the position, and Vogelsong allows a lot of contact. I'm picturing solid, but unspectacular.

First Basemen

Jose Abreu - FD 3800 DK 5000 DD 12450 DFSTR 9700
I mean, I know I only write the picks 2 nights a week, but this is somehow the first time I get to recommend Abreu. The White Sox sensation has murdered left handed pitching for a near 1k OPS this year. While Capuano hasn't been utterly terrible this year, the idea of him serving up offerings to Abreu in Yankees stadium makes me blush.

Ryan Howard - FD 2800 DK 3700 DD 8150 DFSTR 5000
I love recommending Howard, because it reminds me of when my friend Dan Van Hise and I got into a disagreement about whether or not his contract was a good one. With just 2-3 years remaining at more than $20,000,000 per year, I suppose the jury is still out on the Phils' .678 OPS bat-first first baseman. Damn, I started trashing Howard again. Here's the thing! Masterson has allowed an incredibly awful .402 wOBA to left handed hitting this year. That number really couldn't be worse. He basically turns every hitter into Joey Votto. Howard isn't his old self, but he can pummel underhand offerings from the right side of the plate.

Brandon Moss - FD 3000 DK 4100 DD 7.838 DFSTR 4300
Moss' .351 wOBA against right handers for his career is solid, and while I don't mind Weaver, he's clearly on the decline. I'm not in love with the play, and I'll almost definitely just be playing Abreu, but there's a real case to be made if you want to dodge Abreu but Howard looks too risky.

Also considered: Mark Teixeira, Kendrys Morales, Matt Adams

Second Basemen

Daniel Murphy - FD 3100 DK 3500 DD 7850 DFSTR 3000
I hesitate to put someone forth with such limited upside in the top slot, but Murphy is just so darned safe against a useless pitcher like Correia that I feel he deserves special consideration. The combination of Murph's approach against righties and Correia's complete inability to strike anyone out pleases me greatly.

Ian Kinsler - FD 3100 DK 4300 DD 9200 DFSTR 6600
Kinsler is another guy who our projection system has stuck with, and if you took our recommendations from 2 days ago, he paid off for you as well. Kyle Gibson is basically Kevin Correia with a stronger pedigree, but his major league performance of 78 Ks and 40 BBs in 139 IP is just awful.

Howie Kendrick - FD 2600 DK 3900 DD 7.161 DFSTR 5100
I am not sure why the DFS sites hate Kendrick so much, but I don't. Sure, he's not really a home run guy or a stolen base threat, but the dude just hammers line drives, and gathers enough RBI and R to more than pay this insulting price and then some. I've loved Kazmir since the Mets traded him away for effing Victor Zambrano, but we're looking at the price here above anything else.

Also considered: Chase Utley

Shortstops

Josh Rutledge - FD 2500 DK 2800 DD 6400 DFSTR 3000
Rutledge let me down on Friday, but he'll have a hard time doing that against Brad Hand today. Brad Hand is like, so damned bad. Come on, Josh. You're right handed! It's Coors Field! It's Brad Hand! Just let me brilliant punt play work for once, Fantasy Gods.

Jimmy Rollins - FD 3000 DK 3900 DD 8550 DFSTR 5300
He's my upside play of the day at short. 15 homers and 26 steals is elite production for any position, much less the offensive wasteland that is SS in 2014. Masterson's inability to get out left handed hitters should mesh well with Rollins as well, since he's always preferred hitting from the left side of the plate.

Elvis Andrus - FD 2500 DK 3700 DD 7700 DFSTR 3400
Obligatory Elvis Andrus as the 3rd most interesting shortstop post. I recommended him as an unsexy and safe play on Thursday, and he didn't disappoint, posting a very solid 3.5 fantasy points on Fanduel on his bargain salary. I expect much the same out of him in this contest - Vargas should get rocked, and Andrus is probably good for a handful of solid at bats and the possible accompanying production.

Also considered: Asdrubal Cabrera

Third Basemen

 
Adrian Beltre - FD 3200 DK 4600 DD 9650 DFSTR 8200
Jason Vargas has been extremely lucky in the ERA department this year (an ERA nearly a full run better than his xFIP), and Beltre has been up to his typical lefty-slaughter routine this year. No chance Vargas escapes the Texas heat with anything other than a bludgeoning, and I think Beltre leads the charge.

Aramis Ramirez - FD 3100 DK 4000 DD 8600 DFSTR 5500
Our projection system completely hates Vance Worley. Moreso than I do personally. But I'm a man to trust projections, so here I am. I'll explain the ranking here by saying that Ramirez has less of a platoon split than most sluggers his size, and I think he's line for a solid outing in this game.

Kyle Seager - FD 3200 DK 4600 DD 9150 DFSTR 5900
Webster's short major league career has been a total mess - fully as many Ks as BBs, and really no signs of life whatsoever. He wasn't even great in the minors this year. Enter Kyle Seager - underrated professional hitter. His .385 wOBA against right handers this year is terrific, and I'm not spooked by his home-road splits. Those look a lot more like clustering to me.

Also considered: David Wright

Outfielders

Curtis Granderson - FD 2500 DK 3400 DD 7750 DFSTR 4100
Another guy our projection system loved Thursday night, and another guy who delivered a homer. The Grandy Man, for all of his glaring faults, can still barrel up a right handed offering. The real sell here is that Correia basically wipes out Granderson's strike out risk, which makes him the play of the day, for me.

Ryan Braun - FD 3700 DK 4800 DD 11050 DFSTR 7300
Not a whole lot that needs to be said here, except that you're getting a potential superduper star at less than a superduper star price, and our projection system thinks he has more duper left in him than most do. It's been paying off recently - let's hope that continues.

Billy Hamilton - FD 3200 DK 4500 DD 8850 DFSTR 10300
Jay Bruce - FD 3300 DK 4500 DD 8650 DFSTR 7200
The Reds lefties get the nod any time a right hander shows up on the mound, because both suck so heartily against left handed pitching, leaving their prices nice and depressed when the good side of the pitching platoon comes around. If pressed, I'll take the electric steals upside of Hamilton over the light tower power of Bruce, if only because Hamilton's best tool shows up more frequently.

Marcell Ozuna - FD 2900 DK 4800 DD 8550 DFSTR 14100
Our projection system has celebrated the talents of Marcell Ozuna all season long, and his price just can't stay this depressed while he's going off like this. With a homer in each of his last 3 games, Ozuna brings sky-high ceiling at a very affordable price, and facing Christian Bergman in Coors isn't doing anything to make me think the party will end today.

Also considered: Bryce Harper, Gerardo Parra, Mark Trumbo, Khris Davis, Yasiel Puig, Nelson Cruz

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