Daily Fantasy Baseball Picks for FanDuel, DraftKings, DraftDay and Draftster 9/25/14

Jonathan Lucroy - FD 2800 DK 4100 DD 8900 DFSTR 3900
With all due respect to "David Holmberg," if that is his real name, his sub 6 k/9 and 4.6+ ERA in AAA this year aren't exactly instilling a ton of confidence in me. Lucroy is an elite hitter for the catcher position, and you're getting him at a discount since he lacks eye-popping upside. Still, though - plenty of safety and a sound investment here, with more upside than you might think.

Salvador Perez - FD 2300 DK 3300 DD 6800 DFSTR 3600
While Jose Quintana is a fine pitcher, our projection system likes Perez regardless, thanks to his career .360 wOBA against left handed pitching. Perez has shown traces of upside with 16 homers this year, and while I don't think he'll dominate Quintana, a nice game is certainly in play here.

Everyone else
No one else going today has a favorable platoon match up, but you can make a price-based case for Evan Gattis or Carlos Ruiz.

First Basemen

Freddie Freeman - FD 3000 DK 4300 DD 9750 DFSTR 3100
Freeman makes for a great play when there's a right handed pitcher on the mound. I noted this in today's Scorestreak column, but Freeman has actually produced 64 extra base hits this year, which leaves him with a lot more upside than his 18 homers might suggest. His .389 wOBA against righties is no joke, either, and what's left of Ed Volquez shouldn't scare you away.

Mark Teixeira - FD 2200 DK 3300 DD 8600 DFSTR 3000
Our projection system has been a believer in Teixeira a lot recently, as his prices (esp. on FanDuel) have dipped to insulting levels. While he's not the player he once was, Tex can still put one in the bleachers (like he did last night) against a guy like Gausman, who has less than put away stuff.

Jose Abreu - FD 3600 DK 4800 DD 11200 DFSTR 4000
It's been an odd dry spell for the AL's sure-thing rookie of the year, but that only means better prices for us. Our projection system doesn't love the match-up with Shields, but Abreu has actually been one of the league's best hitters vs. righties or lefties this season. It's a risk, of course, but no 1B has the same upside as Abreu on this night in September.

Second Basemen

Asdrubal Cabrera - FD 2300 DK 3600 DD 7350 DFSTR 3700
Cabrera gets punished price wise for the perceived lack of upside, but his ability to do a little bit everything (except hit for huge power) actually gives him a high enough floor to where you can plug him in cheaply and pay up elsewhere. He won't win you the day by himself, but he's unlikely to lose it. I can see him scrounging on base against Wheeler and doing just enough damage to be a nice placeholder.

Ben Zobrist - FD 2800 DK 4400 DD 8900 DFSTR 6100
In the last few nights Zobrist has shown why you don't need light tower power to provide solid value for your daily fantasy baseball owner. Allen Webster has absolutely flailed in the majors this year with 31 Ks against 27 BBs in 51 IP, and an experienced hitter like Zobrist should be all over it.

Robinson Cano - FD 3000 DK 4700 DD 10150 DFSTR 4800
Man, this is sort of a tough call to make here, since Norris has electric stuff and this is the wrong side of a platoon. But guys like Norris who come up rarely are able to put away hitters of Cano's caliber right away. The price is just enticing enough to lead me to believe that Cano could pay value and more if Norris gets rattled.

Shortstops

Elvis Andrus - FD 2300 DK 3500 DD 7700 DFSTR 4100
Man, it's a disgusting day at the shortstop position. I've presented Andrus to you in the past as a guy to plug in who could help you escape the shortstop position without a total dud, and I'm afraid I have to offer him as my top recommendation for that exact purpose tonight. Andrus is relatively platoon neutral, and Hammel is showing some signs of wear. Batting at the top of that Texas order means something, and you can count me among the folks hoping that Andrus just gets on base to make something happen.

Other people who play the shortstop position and are alive:
I typed in 3 names before hastily deleting them in embarrassment. But after long review, I just can't offer any of them to you as a primary pick in good conscience. So, you get Andrus. If you want to go against the grain, consider grabbing Jose Reyes (in the early games), or Xander Bogaerts against Jeremy Hellickson.

Third Basemen

Evan Longoria - FD 3300 DK 4900 DD 9700 DFSTR 4900
With 3 extra base hits and an assortment of counting stats in the last week, Longoria has been some semblance of the self he was when he was one of the best producing fantasy third basemen in the game. While I'm still concerned for his long term game, I am not concerned in taking him against the aforementioned and flailing Allen Webster.

Adrian Beltre - FD 3400 DK 4600 DD 9850 DFSTR 7200
Beltre and the Rangers knocked Hammel around last time they faced him, and while it wasn't Beltre's best game ever, he is capable of a monster on any given night. Beltre is unmistakably better against left handed pitching, but on a night where there's a dearth of 3B star power, you could do a lot worse than taking a guy with a .366 wOBA in a great hitters' park.

Aramis Ramirez - FD 2700 DK 3600 DD 7750 DFSTR 3000
If early games are your thing, I like Ramirez against "Holmberg" (if that is his real name) for the same reasons I liked Lucroy.

Outfielders

Coco Crisp - FD 3000 DK 3900 DD 8150 DFSTR 3000
Crisp has provided value for his daily fantasy baseball owners this year by doing a bit of everything. He's got a tiny bit of power, plenty of speed, and lots of on base ability. Facing the tattered remains of Colby Lewis in Texas will mean more opportunity to do everything he does. Which is good.

Justin Upton - FD 2900 DK 3800 DD 9400 DFSTR 3000
It was nice to see Upton get back on track with a bomb last night. I'm honestly puzzled about the regression in his K rate, but the good news tonight is that he'll face a guy who lost his strike out ability long ago. If Volquez is near the plate, Upton will get to put those shiny tools on display.

Bryce Harper - FD 2900 DK 3500 DD 8500 DFSTR 3000
Your standard-issue high risk high reward play. I can't say why Harper's true 80 power hasn't been on display this season, but our projection system is betting on its return whenever Harper gets around to it. A favorable lefty/righty match-up with Wheeler could be just the trick.

Yoenis Cespedes - FD 3200 DK 4400 DD 9150 DFSTR 3900
Cespedes has been a reverse platoon split guy this year, and seems to be seeing the ball well recently. His high effort approach actually leads to a fairly high floor (if not quite as high a ceiling as we anticipated), and he'll be facing Jeremy Hellickson. Hellickson struck out A dude in his last outing - as in 1 guy. Not believing in Hellickson a bit, and I think Cespedes can hit him.

Brett Gardner - FD 2800 DK 4200 DD 7800 DFSTR 5800
With 17 homers and 21 steals, Brett Gardner is still a nice upside play, if not in the way it looked like he'd be early on in his career. For all of his talent, Kevin Gausman hasn't quite figured out how to put all of his tools together, and Yankee stadium isn't exactly a friendly place to pitch.

Wil Myers - FD 2200 DK 3500 DD 7100 DFSTR 3000
A minimum salary play that suggests the movable object (Myers) will be able to topple the stoppable force (Webster). Myers' talent always means there is upside in play, though I remain baffled as to why we haven't seen it this year.
 

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