Daily Fantasy Baseball Picks for FanDuel, DraftKings, DraftDay and Draftster 8/29/14

Catchers

Miguel Montero - FD 2600 DK 4000 DD 8400 DFSTR 6600
I remain unmoved by the Miguel Montero hate that the daily fantasy sites seem to harbor for him. You're getting a lot of upside from this position for any price, and at these bargain prices, he's easily the top play on the board from my perspective given today's match-up. Christian Bergman is just not a major league pitcher, and Arizona's hitter friendly ballpark makes this a great spot.

Evan Gattis - FD 2900 DK 4000 DD 8850 DFSTR 3600
I can't give Gattis my very highest recommendation when he's facing a right handed pitcher, but again, if you're out there hunting upside, you could do a lot worse than the Braves' slugging catcher. Tom Koehler allows a decent amount of contact, and a player with Gattis' raw power only needs one ball in the zone to make your day.

Salvador Perez - FD 2700 DK 3900 DD 7400 DFSTR 5000
If Gattis and Montero are those crazy hot girls from college who you just know you should stay away from, but who always suck you into buying them a beer.. Perez is the girl you text on the way home from the bar. He's solid, reliable, and a decent reverse platoon split play against the occasionally erratic Salazar.

First Basemen

Mark Teixeira - FD 2800 DK 4000 DD 8900 DFSTR 3900
Our projection system has blessedly hates Buehrle all season long, and we've all watched his ERA climb more than half a point in the last month. The switch hitting Teixeira is the Yankee best positioned to take advantage of Buehrle and his determined approach to pitch in the zone regardless of whether or not he can hang there.

Edwin Encarnacion - FD 4000 DK 4700 DD 10950 DFSTR 5000
Wrote this for our Scorestreak post today, but it holds just as true here: "It’s easy to forget about guys who have missed a portion of the season, because their year to date counting stats don’t look all too impressive, but don’t make that mistake with Encarnacion. 27 homers in 422 PA is nothing to shrug off, and neither is the .394 wOBA. But E5′s raw talent isn’t all that’s driving this ranking. There’s also Chris Capuano. The 36 year old Yankee’s lefty is getting by this season, but he shouldn’t be able to fool a hitter of Encarnacion’s caliber. Could be a huge game."

Miguel Cabrera - FD 4100 DK 5500 DD 11400 DFSTR 5800
A public apology to Franklin Morales, or Christian Bergman, or anyone I've painted with the "worst pitcher in baseball" brush. That honor rests on one Scott Carroll's head. It shouldn’t surprise you that our projection system loves Miggy against Scott Carroll and his 50 Ks and 38 walks in 100 innings pitched this year. Combine that with a great hitter’s park, and I feel a little embarrassed even picturing these at bats.

Also considered: Adam Dunn

Second Basemen

Howie Kendrick - FD 2400 DK 3800 DD 7250 DFSTR 3000
This isn't going to be a popular opinion given who he is facing, but Kendrick is a legit plus in 4 offensive categories compared to other 2nd basemen, and he's posted a very nice .361 wOBA against left handed pitching this year. Is Lester good? Sure. But sometimes the price is just so good that only a couple pitchers in the game could dissuade me, and Lester ain't one of em.

Ian Kinsler - FD 3400 DK 4800 DD 9300 DFSTR 6800
Just that Scott Carroll thing again. Kinsler prefers lefties, but I mean, I am a right handed pitcher, and I doubt he'd mind hitting against me? At a position where there's such little authentic upside, I love Kinsler as part of a Detroit stack today.

3 way tie
Our projection system likes Baez, Kipnis, and Utley all about the same - so pick one that fits with your lineup the best and go from there. What? That's what I'm doing.

Shortstops

Jose Reyes - FD 3600 DK 4800 DD 9200 DFSTR 6500
The highest upside Shortstop of the night award goes to one of my favorite players ever. Some say Reyes has lost a step or two.. but against Capuano? I wouldn't be surprised to see a few fireworks.

Elvis Andrus - FD 2400 DK 3500 DD 7500 DFSTR 4200
Last night's game shows you exactly why our projection system spits out Andrus at the top of the shortstop list every night. He goes out there, gets on base with decent frequency, and gives his teammates a chance to turn his solid nights into very good nights. I'm expecting a true bludgeoning of Oberholtzer, and don't see any reason why Andrus couldn't get on base a couple of times in the meanwhile.

Jean Segura - FD 2400 DK 2700 DD 7400 DFSTR 5000
He's basically a very poor man's Andrus at this point, but he seems to be seeing the ball well recently, and the speed actually does give him some upside on any given day. And given how fast he is, his .263 BABIP on the season is far more a reflection of bad luck than a declining skill set. I actually think there's a good amount of safety and upside here.

Third Basemen

Adrian Beltre - FD 3200 DK 4500 DD 9800 DFSTR 7500
Beltre is the clear guy for me at 3B today. You can invest a lot of money in a guy who has a wOBA north of .400 against left handed pitchers, against a left handed pitcher who is solidly worse than league average. Great supporting cast, good hitters' park - Beltre is a cut above the rest.

Aramis Ramirez - FD 3300 DK 3900 DD 9050 DFSTR 6500
Our projection system seems to really love Ramirez against these pitch to contact types. His high effort, high BABIP swing gives him a nice shot at counting stat upside on any given day, and while I certainly prefer Beltre, I think Ramirez actually provides a decent amount of safety for what you need to pay to get him.

Todd Frazier - FD 3000 DK 4400 DD 9800 DFSTR 3800
On any given night, Frazier is arguably the highest upside 3B going. With 2 steals again last night, he shows you exactly why he winds up in these picks columns night after night. Now with 22 homers and 19 steals over the course of this season, he provides a power/speed combination that you really can't get from anyone else at the position. Whatever Volquez looked like he might be some day, he has settled in to being a below average and pretty unexciting pitcher. His 103 Ks in 151 IP are pretty bad, and the 55 walks that go with them pretty much rule out any hope at real effectiveness. I think Frazier takes advantage.

Outfielders

Jose Bautista - FD 3800 DK 4900 DD 11300 DFSTR 7600
While a lot of Blue Jays are great plays today, Bautista is a guy you need to play regardless of whether you decide to stack them or or not. His .453 wOBA against lefties is world-beating, and it doesn't even look like a fluke. He sees the ball. He crushes the ball. Highest upside perhaps of any player in the bigs tonight.

Ryan Braun - FD 3700 DK 4800 DD 11150 DFSTR 7300
With 2 big games last week, there's no doubt in my mind that Braun can still produce MVP level upside. And if he's going to do it, it's going to be against guys like Vogelsong, who attempt to live in the zone. San Fran isn't the greatest place for power hitters, but it depresses left handed power considerably more, and don't be shocked if you seen Braun put one over the fence tonight.

Angel Pagan - FD 2500 DK 3900 DD 7800 DFSTR 5000
Hopefully you didn't laugh too hard when we gave you Pagan last night, because all he did was go out and put up a 3/4 night with a steal and a run scored (as of this writing). Not bad for a near minimum salary guy! Well, the system likes Pagan again tonight against fast Wily Peralta. And it's not a condemnation of Peralta, who is mostly fine - it's just that Pagan is a legitimately tough out for right handed pitchers, and the daily fantasy sites seemed determine to troll me and not price Pagan appropriately.

Mark Trumbo - FD 3000 DK 4200 DD 8050 DFSTR 3300
It speaks to how crappy the Diamondbacks are that Trumbo is only the second 'Back to make the picks today, but here he is. And I mean, Trumbo has been no great shakes this year himself - but what we're seeing here is an opportunity to save some cash by playing a guy who has as high a raw points upside as any outfielder going. Christian Bergman is not the type of pitcher that has contributed to Trumbo's bad year, and as hole-y as his swing is, he's always been able to crush weak pitching.

Billy Hamilton - FD 3200 DK 4600 DD 8500 DFSTR 4200
Jay Bruce - FD 3200 DK 4200 DD 7800 DFSTR 3000
I seem to recommend these two every time the Reds face a righty, but I'd like to extra-recommend them against Volquez and the Pirates. Volquez doesn't strike anyone out, which really plays into the wheelhouse of both of these guys. While they'll beat you in different ways, they both struggle most against high strikeout pitchers. And it will only take 1 Volquez walk of Hamilton to pay his price.

Nelson Cruz - FD 3300 DK 4900 DD 10150 DFSTR 5700
My goodness, poor Trevor May. 13 BBs in 14 innings pitched, with just 7 strike outs? Not the way he or the Twins envisioned it, I imagine. But here he is. If he brings that weak sauce against one of the games most explosive power talents, Cruz owners could be awfully hapy, awfully quickly.

Also considered: Curtis Granderson, Bryce Harper

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