Daily Fantasy MLB Baseball Picks for FanDuel and DraftKings - 4/16/16

 

The weekend is back and that means a fun Saturday split slate. Pitching wise, we have some aces and gas cans on both slates. I hope everyone had a great and profitable week. Let's get right to the weekend fun!

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PITCHER

Early Slate

Jake Arrieta FD 11900 DK 10300
Opponent - COL (Bergman) Park - @CHC
FD - 42.96 DK - 23.78

Arrieta has already proven last year was no fluke and he will be looking to defend his Cy Young title this year. This match-up is a terrific one against Colorado, as the Rockies have always struggled on the road coming out of Coors Field. Their offense is very exploitable as only a few of their players would be great bats on other teams. Arrieta will find plenty of strikeouts in this lineup with guys like Mark Reynolds, Ben Paulsen, Trevor Story and even Carlos Gonzalez. Arrieta has exhibited a wOBA under .245 to both righties and lefties, while his peripherals have not shown any sign of decline.

Adam Wainwright FD 8900 DK 9100
Opponent - CIN (Finnegan) Park - @STL
FD - 37.41 DK - 19.9

While Wainwright is not nearly as exciting of a pitcher as he used to be, he is still an ace with great upside against the lineup. Wainwright has a career combined wOBA of .241, which is extremely good. This Reds lineup is one I like to target as their best hitters are strikeout prone, with the exception of Votto. If Wainwright has his off speed pitches moving, he will be in line for a spectacular start. I prefer Wainwright in tournaments as this Reds team does have some guys with the ability to spoil a start with 1 swing.

Evening Slate

Max Scherzer FD 11500 DK 13100
Opponent - PHI (Nola) Park - @PHI
FD - 44.94 DK - 25.9

Scherzer is in a great against a weak Philadelphia Phillies offense. Scherzer is certainly the option on the main slate and I will personally have a very hard time getting off of him. The Phillies are a great team to target as they provide strikeouts without the power risk. Scherzer has exhibited a combined wOBA under .250 the past 2 season and will likely keep that going throughout this season. Plug Scherzer into your cash games and move on.

Consider - Shelby Miller

CATCHER

Early Slate

Stephen Vogt FD 2400 DK 3400
Opponent - KC (Young) Park - @OAK
FD - 10.86 DK - 8.69

Stephen Vogt will be taking on the ever so elusive Chris Young today. Young is a pitcher who is very tough to gauge as his headline stats are somewhat good and his peripherals say he should be one of the worst pitchers in the league. I look for Young to finally regress this year and be a reliever by July. I look for that to start today and Vogt will be right in the middle of the lineup. Vogt had a 128 wRC+ against righties last year and will likely improve this year. On the other hand, Chris Young gave up a .320 wOBA to lefties.

Consider - Miguel Montero

Evening Slate

Jonathan Lucroy FD 3100 DK 3400
Opponent - PIT (Niese) Park - @PIT
FD - 8.72 DK - 7.02

Jon Niese is back on the mound which means 1 thing. Brewers righties. Niese has struggled over the course of his career with a .338 wOBA against righties. On the contrary, Lucroy has hit lefties very well with a 131 wRC+. I look for Lucroy to be in the middle of the lineup and will likely have some great RBI opportunities.

Consider - A.J. Pierzynski

 

FIRST BASE

Early Slate

Anthony Rizzo FD 4400 DK 5400
Opponent - COL (Bergman) Park - @CHC
FD - 12.42 DK - 9.69

Here is the first of many Cubs. The Cubs are in a terrific spot against Christian Bergman who has sported a career .360 wOBA. Rizzo is the best bat in the lineup and is a must if you are going to stack the Cubs. Rizzo exhibited a 145 wRC+ last season against righties and will only improve with age. I look for the Cubs to have a huge day and for Rizzo to be right in the middle of it.

Albert Pujols FD 3000 DK 4400
Opponent - MIN (Nolasco) Park - @MIN
FD - 10.91 DK - 8.62

While Pujols has declined greatly over the past couple years, he is still a hitter with power hitting behind Mike Trout. Pujols has always hitter righties well and hit 29 of his 40 home runs against them last year. Nolasco has been pitiful against righties over the last 2 years as shown by his .377 wOBA. I love Pujols in tournaments as he definitely has multiple homer upside.

Evening Slate

Chris Davis FD 4200 DK 4900
Opponent - TEX (Lewis) Park - @TEX
FD - 15.1 DK - 11.69

Chris Davis is coming off a season where he struggled early and still put up 47 home runs. Colby Lewis is going to have a very difficult time keeping Davis out of the seats today. Lewis gave up a .324 wOBA to lefties last season while his peripherals suggested it should be around .362. I expect Davis to get a hold of one today and send it flying.

Freddie Freeman FD 2900 DK 4600
Opponent - MIA (Koehler) Park - @MIA
FD - 11.02 DK - 8.72

Freddie Freeman is just too cheap around the industry for how good of a hitter he is. While he is on a horrible team, his talent will single-handedly put up good enough numbers to produce. Tom Koehler gave up a .334 wOBA to lefties last season. Freeman on the other hand has smashed righties in his career with a 150 wRC+ in 2015. I do prefer Freeman in cash games as his ceiling is not as high as most 1st baseman.

 

SECOND BASE

Early Slate

Ben Zobrist FD 3100 DK 4500
Opponent - COL (Bergman) Park - @CHC
FD - 9.79 DK - 7.75

Here is the 2nd of many Cubs, Ben Zobrist. Zobrist is going to be a staple in this article this year due to a few factors. For one, he is a switch hitter and always has the splits advantage. Second, he is in the middle of a lethal Cubs lineup what will likely put up the most runs in the league this season. Zobrist will be hitting as a righty today and has hit better as one over the course of his career as evidenced by his 156 wRC+ in 2015. I look for Zobrist to get involved today and pay off his price easily.

Consider - Neil Walker

Evening Slate

Dee Gordon FD 3800 DK 4700
Opponent - ATL (Norris) Park - @MIA
FD - 11.86 DK - 9.9

Dee "Flash" Gordon has certainly lived up to his nickname thus far with a very strong 2015 season and a hot start to this year. Gordon will be taking on a weak righty in Bud Norris who struggles to keep lefties off first base, Once Dee Gordon gets on first, we all know what happens. Norris gave up a putrid .385 wOBA to lefties last year and has not shown any signs of improvement. I am comfortable with Gordon in both cash game and tournaments as he can score points in a multitude of different ways.

Consider - Rougned Odor

 

SHORTSTOP

Early Slate

Addison Russell FD 2700 DK 3600
Opponent - COL (Bergman) Park - @CHC
FD - 13.22 DK - 10.5

Shortstop is a pretty weak position in the early slate, which is why Russell is going to be in 100% of my lineups. As mentioned above, Bergman has struggled harshly against both lefties and righties in his career. Russell and Bergman have a combined wOBA of .322. Russell has plenty of upside with stolen base and home run upside.

Consider - Alcides Escobar (cash game safety)

Evening Slate

Carlos Correa FD 4600 DK 4500
Opponent - DET (Verlander) Park - @HOU
FD - 11.24 DK - 8.92

Correa has been the highest priced shortstop all year and has not disappointed too often. While Verlander is not a pitcher I target too much, this is the exact scenario I like to. Verlander struggles early in the year against righties with power. That is exactly what we have here in this match-up. My bold prediction of the day is Correa hitting one into the Crawford boxes.

Consider - J.J. Hardy (GPP)

 

THIRD BASE

Early Slate

Kris Bryant FD 4600 DK 5300
Opponent - COL (Bergman) Park - @CHC
FD - 17.78 DK - 13.87

Are you tired of me talking about the Cubs and how great they are? Considering I'm a Cubs fan, I am not. You will certainly not be either when they have 6 runs in the 3rd inning. I am honestly not using any bias here as the Cubs are in a prime spot to produce. As mentioned above, Bergman is a bad pitcher and the Cubs lineup is lethal at home. Plug 'em in!

Consider - Travis Shaw

Evening Slate

Manny Machado FD 4700 DK 4800
Opponent - TEX (Lewis) Park - @TEX
FD - 13.77 DK - 10.94

Manny Machado is another young superstar and will only improve for the next few years. Machado has actually hit righties better throughout his young career. While Lewis has been worse against lefties, he is no Nolan Ryan against righties by any means. Lewis has exhibited a career .317 wOBA to righties and he will only get worse considering he is about to turn 37.

Consider - Anthony Rendon

 

OUTFIELD

Early Slate

Josh Reddick FD 3100 DK 4000
Opponent - KC (Young) Park - @OAK
FD - 12.22 DK - 9.76
Chris Coghlan FD 2000 DK 3300
Opponent - KC (Young) Park - @OAK
FD - 12.07 DK - 9.62

Chris Coghlan and Josh Reddick are very similar hitters as both are lefty power hitters who are great against righties with below average curveballs. Chris Young fits that mold as his curveball measured a -.2 on pitch F/X last season. Both Coghlan and Reddick hit righties well last year as shown by their 120+ wRC+. You can be comfortable playing the Athletics lefties in both cash games and tournaments.

Miguel Sano FD 3100 DK 4400
Opponent - LAA (Weaver) Park - @MIN
FD - 12.94 DK - 10.06

Sano has been horrible to begin the season but we have to believe he's going to turn it around very soon. Sano has been better against righties in his short career with a 154 wRC+. Weaver has a fastball around 88 MPH at this point which may be the exact thing that gets Sano going. Sano hit fast balls well last season with 12 of his 18 home runs coming off them.

Consider - Jorge Soler, Franklin Gutierrez, Nelson Cruz

Evening Slate

Adam Jones FD 3100 DK 4400
Opponent - TEX (Lewis) Park - @TEX
FD - 12.25 DK - 9.8

Adam Jones i coming off of a quality game and will look to carry it over to tonight against Colby Lewis. As mentioned above, Lewis is an exploitable pitcher who struggles against anyone with 2 eyes. Jones is moving into a great stadium with a short wall in left. Look for Jones to get into some great RBI and run scoring opportunities. I am comfortable using Jones in all formats as he is safe and has great upside.

Ryan Braun FD 4000 DK 4700
Opponent - PIT (Niese) Park - @PIT
FD - 10.68 DK - 8.54
Domingo Santana FD 3000 DK 3400
Opponent - PIT (Niese) Park - @PIT
FD - 10.1 DK - 8.01

Both of these guys are righties with great power upside against a pitcher who struggles to keep the ball in the park. The Brewers present a great team to stack as Niese is great at putting some guys on base and giving up a bomb. One of these 2 guys could certainly be the bomb while the other one is one base. Braun and Santana have both hit lefties well with Santana sporting a 157 wRC+ and Braun a 158. I prefer these guys in tournaments as both are reliant on power.

Consider - George Springer, Christian Yelich

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