Daily Fantasy Baseball Picks for FanDuel and DraftKings - 9/11/16

 

Welcome to Sunday baseball! We have an 11 game main slate on our hands with some aces and a few offenses in great spots to put up some runs. Make sure to check out our other articles as they will touch on more pitching options, tournament stacks and any weather concerns that may arise. Let's get into the top options at each position!

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PITCHER

Corey Kluber FD 10700 DK 13400
Opponent - MIN (Berrios) Park - @MIN
FD - 40.33 DK - 26.42

Corey Kluber is going to start us off at the pitcher position tonight, as he usually does when he takes the mound. Kluber is one of the best pitchers in the league and he has been for about 4 seasons now. Thus far in 2016, Kluber has sported a .263 wOBA that is supported by all of his peripherals and batted ball rates. He will be taking on the Minnesota Twins, who have been a below average team against righties. In nearly 4000 at-bats, the Twins have struck out 22% of the time against righties and have only walked 8% of the time. While Kluber is definitely an appealing option, it is going to be hard to ignore Luke Weaver. That being said, I expect Kluber to go a bit under owned here and I could see him having a huge game. The game will be played in Target Field, which is definitely an advantage for Kluber. While he is extremely expensive, he is a fantastic GPP play on all sites.

Luke Weaver FD 7000 DK 4800
Opponent - MIL (Davies) Park - @STL
FD - 37.25 DK - 24.42

First of all, on DraftKings, just plug in Weaver. He is a ridiculous $4800 and is one of the 5 best pitchers on the slate. Over on FanDuel however, he is priced at $7000, but is definitely in play. Weaver and the Cardinals will be taking on the Milwaukee Brewers, the worst team in the league against righties. While they don't have the worst wOBA, they strikeout 26% of the time and hold a very low hard contact rate. Luke Weaver on the other hand, has entered into the majors and shown his true colors very fast. Weaver is a big prospect and the fact that he is dominating is no surprise to me. I saw him pitch during spring training and he looked like a legitimate ace out there. While that might be a bit of an exaggeration, you get the point. Weaver makes for a fantastic play in both cash games and tournaments, on all sites.

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CATCHER

Brian McCann FD 3000 DK 4400
Opponent - TB (Andriese) Park - @NYY
FD - 10.78 DK - 8.09

When the Yankees are at home, you always have to take a look at Brian McCann. McCann pulls the ball more than anyone else in the league and uses the short porch to an extreme advantage. He is taking on a young righty tonight in Matt Andriese, who will likely struggle a bit here. McCann has held a +.330 wOBA against righties for the past 5 seasons and has always shown a bunch of power, even late in the season. While I definitely prefer Ramos in cash games, I give the slight edge to McCann in tournaments. He has 2 homer upside and actually flashes that a few times per season. While he is extremely pricey on DK, he is only $3K on FD.

Wilson Ramos FD 3400 DK 3800
Opponent - PHI (Morgan) Park - @WSH
FD - 12.04 DK - 9.27

Wilson Ramos and the Washington Nationals are in a great spot tonight as they will face off with one of the worst southpaws in the league, Adam Morgan. Morgan has been absolutely atrocious against right handed hitters since the start of the season with a .356 wOBA that is backed up by plenty of peripherals and batted ball rates. Wilson Ramos on the other hand, has been fantastic against lefties over the past few seasons with a .351 wOBA and a 34.8% hard contact rate. Ramos makes for a great play in all formats due to his style of play. He certainly has home run upside, but is very consistent at the same time.

FIRST BASE

Joey Votto FD 4000 DK 5100
Opponent - PIT (Vogelsong) Park - @PIT
FD - 11.5 DK - 8.82

First base is actually kind of rough today, though there are definitely more than a few guys to consider. After sifting through the list, I ended up with Joey Votto as my favorite, mostly due to the match up. Vogelsong has a long history of giving up the long-ball and it certainly appears to still aim him this season. Votto has been one of the best hitters in the league against righties for about 5 seasons and has not slowed up at all this year. While the ballpark isn't tremendous, Votto is not reliant on power and can score fantasy points in a ton of different ways. I am a big fan of Votto in both formats, though he is very pricey on both sites.

Mitch Moreland FD 3200 DK 3600
Opponent - LAA (Weaver) Park - @LAA

If you are looking for a pure tournament play with a ton of upside, take a look at Mitch Moreland. While Moreland is far from a pure hitter, he has a ton of power in his bat and can unleash it at any time. He has taken over for Prince Fielder and has actually been pretty good over the last month or so. He will be taking on Jered Weaver, who is gar past his prime. He is now throwing an 82 MPH fastball and lacks both deception and movement. That explains the .380 wOBA against lefties, yikes. While the Angels Stadium is obviously tough, Moreland has more than enough power to turn on one at only 82 MPH.
FD - 9.34 DK - 7.1

SECOND BASE

Rougned Odor FD 3700 DK 5000
Opponent - LAA (Weaver) Park - @LAA
FD - 10.72 DK - 8.68

We are going to go right back to the Rangers lineup and take a look at Rougned Odor as our top option at second. Odor is another guy with a ton of power, though he is definitely more of a pure hitter than Moreland is. Odor is very highly priced on both sites, and rightfully so. He has destroyed right handed pitching over the last 365 days with a .371 wOBA to go along with a phenomenal 34% hard contact rate. Like I just mentioned, Jered Weaver is atrocious and is someone we should be picking on every single time he takes the hill. Like almost every one, Odor is a lot higher price on DraftKings, which makes him a better cash play on FD and GPP play on DraftKings.

Matt Carpenter FD 4300 DK 4300
Opponent - MIL (Davies) Park - @STL
FD - 12.26 DK - 9.42

Matt Carpenter comes in more expensive than Odor on FD, but much cheaper on DK. Carpenter is one of the best pure hitters in the league against right handed pitching and not a single righty in the league has a clear advantage on him, let alone Zach Davies. While Davis is worse against righties, he hasn't been necessarily "good" against lefties either, as evident by his .326 wOBA. The Cardinals are my favorite team on the day and it is a good idea to get the best hitter in the lineup you expect to have a big night. On FanDuel, I will go with Rougned Odor. On DraftKings, I am going with Carpenter as he is cheaper and opens up other possibilities.

SHORTSTOP

Jhonny Peralta FD 2900 DK 3000
Opponent - MIL (Davies) Park - @STL
FD - 9.72 DK - 7.51

Were going to go right back to the Cardinals here with Jhonny Peralta. While Peralta is definitely past his prime, he still hits righties very well and has a ton of power in his bat. The Cardinals opposing pitchers, Zach Davies, has been bad against right handers. Over the course of  76 innings, Davies has given up a 33.9% hard contact rate to go along with a 23% line drive rate. The above average wOBA is a huge misconception and he is not nearly that good of a pitcher. While Busch Stadium is far from ideal, Peralta has enough power in his bat to get it done. While the shortstop position is very slim, I am still restricting my Peralta shares to tournaments, and leaving the cash games for the next guy.

Jordy Mercer FD 2600 DK 3500
Opponent - CIN (Finnegan) Park - @PIT
FD - 8.71 DK - 6.82

Jordy Mercer used to be a guy that was insanely highly owned against lefties, but that is no longer the case. He is now overlooked, yet he is the same player. He is still the same hitters that hit lefties to a .400 wOBA in 2014-15. He is still the same guy that absolutely demolishes lefties. He faces a pretty horrible one today in Brandon Finnegan. Finnegan has given up the most homers in the league to righties, and there is no reason to think that trend ends here. Mercer is in play in both tournaments and cash games, a she is cheap enough on both sites where it really won't hurt you too bad.

THIRD BASE

Danny Valencia FD 2900 DK 4000
Opponent - SEA (Paxton) Park - @OAK
FD - 10.22 DK - 7.89

Danny Valencia against a lefty, it's really that simple. Valencia is a well-known left handed masher and I see no reason to think tonight is a special occasion. He will step in against a southpaw and do work as long as he gets some pitches to hit. While Paxton is not a guy I tend to necessarily target, I see an exception with Valencia as I could definitely see him hitting a solo homer off of Paxton and him going with a clean slate outside of that. While the park is definitely a negative factor, Valencia has shown his ability to hit homers here as almost half of them are in the Oakland Coliseum. Valencia is a great play in all formats and while he is much higher priced on DK, I love him on both sites.

Justin Turner FD 3300 DK 4600
Opponent - MIA (Urena) Park - @MIA
FD - 10.87 DK - 8.47

Justin Turner is a guy that goes consistently overlooked, yet produces night in and night out. The Dodgers are in Miami and will be taking on Jose Urena, a right handed youngster that is still acclimating to the major league ecosystem. Until he develops and matures, I am comfortable targeting guys against him, especially right handers. Turner has sported  a.363 wOBA against righties dating back to 2-15 and those numbers are absolutely legit. While a home run is going to be tough, I could see a multi hit and and RBI game on the horizon.

OUTFIELD

Andrew McCutchen FD 3400 DK 3400
Opponent - CIN (Finnegan) Park - @PIT
FD - 12.82 DK - 10.11

McCutchen is going to lead us off here in the outfield and he is probably my favorite tournament option on the entire main slate. He has been going completely overlooked and I have seen some recent trends that suggest he is returning to his old form. McCutchen has demolished left handed pitching over the last 5 seasons with a .402 wOBA to go along with impeccable peripherals and batted ball rates. Finnegan, as mentioned, is horrible against righties and given up a ton of home runs. I look for Cutch to connect with one tonight and that is why he is my homer pick of the night.

Mike Trout FD 4300 DK 5600
Opponent - TEX (Lewis) Park - @LAA
FD - 14.12 DK - 11.2
Kole Calhoun FD 3200 DK 3500
Opponent - TEX (Lewis) Park - @LAA
FD - 11.18 DK - 8.69

The only and only duo tonight comes with the combo of Mike Trout and Kole Calhoun. While these are the first Angels bats mentioned, they make for a very interesting stack option as the offer a ton of cheap prices to go along with some nice upside. Both Mike Trout and Calhoun have sported wOBA's over .370 against righties and both of these guys are definitely legitimate. The Rangers will be tossing out Colby Lewis, one of our favorite guys to target. Lewis is a guy that struggles big time against both lefties and righties, and there is no reason to think he has suddenly changed that at the ripe age of 109.

Stephen Piscotty FD 3700 DK 3700
Opponent - MIL (Davies) Park - @STL
FD - 10.99 DK - 8.61

We are going to finish up the article with one of out favorite offenses, the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cards are in a fantastic spot tonight as they are facing a guy in Zach Davies that has been extremely lucky against both sides of the plate. The guy we are looking at here, Stephen Piscotty, is a right hander that hits righties extremely well with a .343 wOBA along with very strong peripherals and batted ball rates. While I definitely prefer Trout or  McCutchen, I could see myself playing all 3 in a tournament with a cheap pitcher.

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