Daily Fantasy MLB Baseball Picks for FanDuel and DraftKings - 4/24/16

 

Welcome to Sunday baseball! I hope you guys used some of yesterday's picks to your advantage and had a profitable Saturday. We have a pretty interesting slate here with a ton of bad pitchers and not too many high-end options to choose from. Let's hop into the analysis! Make sure to tune into the updates article as it will touch on any breaking news as well as any weather concerns.

LA Dodgers @ Colorado Rockies

With so many juicy match-ups to get into, let's just get this one out of the way. We have Jordan Lyles on the mound for the Rockies and Alex Wood for the Dodgers. Both of these guys struggle mightily against the other handedness and will be great pitchers to attack. Lyles has a career .356 wOBA against lefties which puts every single left handed Dodgers bat in play here. On the Rockies side, Alex Wood gave up a .343 wOBA and a 30% hard hit rate to righties. Therefore, the Rockies righties are in a great spot and will likely get to Wood early and often. To summarize, the Rockies and Dodgers bats are all in great spots. However, there are a ton of great bats on this slate and certainly some spots to pivot. Let's get into those.

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PITCHER

Stephen Strasburg FD 11600 DK 11500
Opponent - MIN (Duffey) Park - @WSH
FD - 43.47 DK - 24.58

Strasburg will take the mound and do his best to follow up the Tanner "Cy" Roark performance from yesterday. The Twins have been horrible thus far into the season and I don't see them turning it around against a dominant righty in Strasburg. Strasburg has looked good this season with 3 quality starts and nearly a strikeout per inning. The Twins will likely trot out a bunch of righties and the lefties will not have too much power. This is a great spot for Strasburg to deliver a 4th straight quality start.

Jason Hammel FD 8200 DK 7900
Opponent - CIN (Simon) Park - @CIN
FD - 31.57 DK - 16.82

While the Reds got their bats going last night, they have been very cold over the past week or so. Jason Hammel has pitched very well this year with 3 straight good games. Hammel has been very good with cubs with a combined wOBA of .298 and a soft contact rate of 22%. With a moderate price tag around the industry, Hammel offers a very strong pivot off of Stephen Strasburg. I prefer Hammel in cash games as his upside doesn't lie anywhere near Strasburg.

Jerad Eickhoff FD 7300 DK 8500
Opponent - MIL (Peralta) Park - @MIL
FD - 29.69 DK - 15.78

Eickhoff is another pitcher that has started off the year tremendously with 2 straight dominant starts. The Brewers have struggled against righties and I project this lineup to finish bottom 5 against righties at the end of the year. In his short major league career, Eickhoff has been dominant against righties with a .209 wOBA and 2.99 xFIP. With all of the best Brewers bats coming from the right side, Eickhoff is in a terrific spot. I look for him to come out and produce another solid start for the Phillies.

Consider - Drew Smyly, Mike Leake

CATCHER

Make sure these guys are in the lineup. Catchers tend to take Sunday as their day off if the game is early.

Miguel Montero FD 2700 DK 3300
Opponent - CIN (Simon) Park - @CIN
FD - 10.6 DK - 8.31

Miguel Montero returned to the lineup yesterday and remained the same hitter with a couple hits and some hard hit balls. Montero has hit righties well with a 120+ wRC in 3 straight years. Alfredo Simon on the other hand, has been atrocious against lefties with a .369 wOBA and 16 homers given up in 2015. This ballpark will not help Simon as it ranked as the 4th best for lefty power last year.

Russell Martin FD 2600 DK 4000
Opponent - OAK (Surkamp) Park - @TOR
FD - 10.76 DK - 8.37

Russell Martin seems to be in play day in and day out due to this lineup being so lethal. It is very difficult to not consider him when it seems like every game he comes up with guys in scoring position multiple times. Surkamp is a lefty that has struggled against righties throughout his career with a .367 wOBA. Surkamp is going to have some trouble here and Martin will have some great RBI opportunities.

Consider - Stephen Vogt, Buster Posey

 

FIRST BASE

Anthony Rizzo FD 4600 DK 5200
Opponent - CIN (Simon) Park - @CIN
FD - 14.99 DK - 11.64

Anthony Rizzo is my favorite play on this slate, including the Dodgers and Rockies in Coors Field. As mentioned above, Simon is an absolute gas can against lefties and has trouble keeping the ball in play. Rizzo is one of the absolute best hitters in baseball against righties as evidenced by his 34% hard hit rate. In 2015, Rizzo hit righties to the tune of a .384 wOBA and 145 wRC+. His peripherals suggest he will only improve with a .272 BABIP. Rizzo is my prediction for home run of the night.

Carlos Santana FD 3100 DK 3800
Opponent - DET (Greene) Park - @DET
FD - 11.51 DK - 8.9

Santana has dug himself out of his cold streak since being moved into the leadoff role 2 games ago. Santana is a switch hitter who hits both sides of the plate equally well. Shane Greene is a pitcher who scares nobody as evidenced by his lousy .425 wOBA against lefties in 2015. Santana should be able to get on base and be driven by the big bats behind him.

Consider - Jose Abreu, Ryan Howard
 

SECOND BASE

Ben Zobrist FD 3100 DK 4200
Opponent - CIN (Simon) Park - @CIN
FD - 11.86 DK - 9.32

It seems like the Cubs are in play every day. They are. This lineup is just so good and will rarely completely disappoint you. This is one of the best match ups they could possibly have against Alfredo Simon, a pitcher who should be in AAA at best. Zobrist hits righties better than he does lefties and should be able to capitalize here.

Jason Kipnis FD 3400 DK 4100
Opponent - DET (Greene) Park - @DET
FD - 12.51 DK - 10

Kipnis has been hitting 2nd behind Santana and will likely do so here. As mentioned above, Shane Greene exhibited a .425 wOBA to lefties last year, the worst in the league among qualified pitchers. While he may not be that horrid, he is far below league average. Kipnis gives you plenty of upside with power and speed in the 2 spot. A mini Santana-Kipnis stack is certainly in play.

Consider - Scooter Gennett, Jose Altuve
 

SHORTSTOP

Troy Tulowitzki FD 3100 DK 4300
Opponent - OAK (Surkamp) Park - @TOR
FD - 11.75 DK - 9.21

TULO! Tulowitzki finally showed his power yesterday that we all know and love. Who is ready for a Tulo explosion? I know I certainly am, especially at these stellar prices around the industry. Tulowitzki has been one of the absolute best hitters in the league against lefties over the past 3 years with a .396 wOBA. Make sure you hop on this train before Tulowitzki is back to $4000. There is a difference between chasing points and getting on a player that is in a terrific spot a night after a big game.

Freddy Galvis FD 2800 DK 3300
Opponent - MIL (Peralta) Park - @MIL
FD - 10.02 DK - 8.12

Freddy Galvis and the Phillies are going to be a very under owned stack that has a ton of upside. While Wily Peralta is an average pitcher, he leaves a lot to be desired in the home run category. I am not going to sit here and pretend Galvis is some kind of great hitters. He is a pretty bad hitter. However, if he can get on base, steal a bag and get driven in, he provides plenty of upside and safety. Peralta gave up over 1 HR/9 last year which gives Galvis some power potential.

Consider - Carlos Correa, Jordy Mercer
 

THIRD BASE

Todd Frazier FD 3800 DK 4100
Opponent - TEX (Holland) Park - @CHW
FD - 11.86 DK - 9.31

Todd Frazier has had a huge week with 3 homers in his last 5 games. Here he will be taking on an average lefty in Derek Holland. Holland has struggled against righties with a .360 wOBA and 10 homers given up in only 48 innings. Frazier has hit lefties better over the course of his career with a 120+ wRC+ in each year. I look for Frazier to get some good looks at a few fastballs today.

David Freese FD 2700 DK 3400
Opponent - ARI (Ray) Park - @ARI
FD - 9.64 DK - 7.68

David Freese will likely be hitting 3rd and this pick is contingent on that. Robbie Ray is a southpaw who has struggled a bit vs righties with a career .331 wOBA. Freese has hit lefties much better over the course of his career with a .359 wOBA. I expect these Pirates to wake up in a match up with a lefty in Chase Field.

Consider - Maikel Franco, Josh Donaldson
 

OUTFIELD

Andrew McCutchen FD 4400 DK 4500
Opponent - ARI (Ray) Park - @ARI
FD - 12.98 DK - 10.21
Starling Marte FD 4000 DK 4500
Opponent - ARI (Ray) Park - @ARI
FD - 11.9 DK - 9.57

Here are another 2 righty pirates bats. I am expecting the Pirates to go under owned and for these guys to rake against a lefty. As mentioned directly above, Robbie Ray is a lefty who has struggled to contain righties in all facets. These two guys seem to work together and if one is hot, the other is as well. If the Pirates can do what I expect here, it will be a long night for the Diamondbacks and a long sweat for your Pirates stack.

Jason Heyward FD 3600 DK 4200
Opponent - CIN (Simon) Park - @CIN
FD - 14.49 DK - 11.44

Heyward is going to hit a home run sooner or later. While he isn't necessarily a power hitter, he has some pop in his bat. Simon offers up a great opportunity for just that. As mentioned above a few times, Simon struggles mightily against lefties. Heyward also gives you some stolen base upside as well with Simon being one of the worst in the league at holding runners.

Jose Bautista FD 4400 DK 4500
Opponent - OAK (Surkamp) Park - @TOR
FD - 14.35 DK - 11.04

Jose Bautista is going to be facing off with a bad lefty at home in the Rogers Centre. In 2015, Bautista exhibited a .363 wOBA against lefties with his peripherals suggesting even better. Bautista is in a 6 game HR drought which may be broken here. As mentioned above, Surkamp has struggled against righties over the course of his entire career and there is no reason to think that will change against one of the best lineups in baseball.

Consider - Bryce Harper, Michael Conforto, Josh Reddick

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