Author Archive

Daily Fantasy Baseball 2015: Best DraftKings MLB Pitcher Picks for May 12

It is a packed Tuesday-night MLB slate, and it is even more crowded when you consider the myriad options on the daily fantasy baseball board among starting pitchers. There doesn’t look like there is much to choose between them, but we take our stab at outlining the best DraftKings pitcher picks for May 12.

 

Top Picks

Chris Archer, Tampa Bay Rays ($8,300)

His scoreless streak evolved into a two-start slump, but Archer has the most DraftKings points per game to date, among the arms on the board, because of his strikeout totals. The pitch counts get high quickly with the whiffs, but those are the fastest way to score fantasy points, too. We will say a quality start and seven strikeouts is a good baseline. Not bad for the price.

 

A.J. Burnett, Pittsburgh Pirates ($8,200)

The veteran has gotten off to a great start this season with his 1.66 ERA, but we are going to stick with the strategy of lining up our arms against the bottom-feeding Philadelphia Phillies. They are last in runs scored, last in home runs, last in on-base percentage, slugging percentage and therefore OPS. Burnett is the safest play on the board.

 

Ranking the Premium Guys

  1. Chris Sale, Chicago White Sox ($9,400)—The matchup against the Milwaukee Brewers is enticing, but he just hasn’t been pitching well enough to justify the price.
  2. Stephen Strasburg, Washington Nationals ($9,200)—He has been underperforming this season, even if the strikeouts are still there. We would like this shoulder/back issue flush itself out before you trust your top dollars on him. 
  3. Jake Arrieta, Chicago Cubs ($8,600)—The 2014 breakout had gotten off to a great start, but like the two above him here, he has been mediocre at best the past two outings. We like the matchup against a fairly threat-less New York Mets offense, but we would put our top dollars more on the bigger arms above.

 

Best of the Bargains

Noah Syndergaard, New York Mets ($7,200)

The big, power right-hander makes his major league debut against the Cubs and comes to us at a fairly significant price for a sight-unseen rookie. We will say, though, the juice is worth the squeeze, particularly in his strikeout potential. His stuff profiles to be at least a strikeout-per-inning pitcher, and the unfamiliarity against a young Cubs lineup could get him a pretty snappy debut.

 

Collin McHugh, Houston Astros ($7,400)

We are not sold on McHugh‘s pure stuff, but we are going to miss out on opportunities in daily fantasy if we keep saying that. McHugh is following up on his 2014 breakthrough with a strong start to the season and is facing that weak San Francisco Giants offense that is 29th in runs scored. We understand Houston is a hitter’s park, but this is a strangely discounted price otherwise.

 

Shot in the Dark

Kyle Gibson, Minnesota Twins ($5,700)

We don’t have complete confidence that Gibson’s 17-inning scoreless streak is going to make it out of his start against the Detroit Tigers alive, but you have to pay attention to what he has put together of late. Gibson’s price remains low amid this hot streak because he is not a strikeout pitcher, but he has posted three consecutive quality starts. He should get another one here at a near-basement price.


DraftKings is hosting one-day MLB contests! Claim your free entry by clicking on the link and making a first-time deposit!

Eric Mack, one of the giants among fantasy writers, is the Fantasy Football Lead Writer for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter, where you can ask him endless questions about your team, rip him for his content and even challenge him to a head-to-head fantasy game.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com


Daily Fantasy Baseball 2015: Best DraftKings MLB Pitcher Picks for May 5

Tuesday night features the fullest slate of daily fantasy baseball, which makes it one of our favorite nights of the week to play. Forget Cinco de Mayo, there should be a lot of “fish” in the sea at DraftKings, too. We help you rake with our best MLB pitcher picks for May 5.

 

Premium Ace Plays

Zack Greinke, Los Angeles Dodgers ($9,800)

The Milwaukee Brewers might have won in Craig Counsell’s managerial debut, but the warts that got the previous manager fired remain. Greinke (4-0, 1.93 ERA) figures to post another quality-start victory here. The Brewers rank 30th in on-base percentage and 27th in batting average and runs scored. Oh, and Greinke just happens to be pretty good, too.

 

Shelby Miller, Atlanta Braves ($8,200)

He is not quite in the ace category, but we feel Miller is going to eventually rise to that distinction. He has posted three consecutive quality starts and is coming off nine strikeouts against the Cincinnati Reds. The Philadelphia Phillies are 29th in runs scored and dead last in slugging percentage and OPS. This one looks tasty.

 

Ranking the Aces

  1. Zack Greinke, Dodgers ($9,800)
  2. Shelby Miller, Braves ($8,200)
  3. Andrew Cashner, San Diego Padres ($9,000)
  4. Stephen Strasburg, Washington Nationals ($10,200)
  5. Garrett Richards, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim ($9,500)

 

Mid-Range Best Picks

Michael Pineda, New York Yankees ($7,600)

He will be facing the No. 1 offensive team in baseball in the Toronto Blue Jays, but Pineda is one of the pitchers we will be considering a DFS ace by season’s end. Pineda handled the Jays in his first start of the season, and we expect he will be quality with a strikeout per inning here. His price is still in a buy position.

  • Bartolo Colon, New York Mets ($7,500)

 

Bargain Options

James Paxton, Seattle Mariners ($7,000)

After a bad spring training and a rough stretch in mid-April, Paxton has righted himself. He’s struck out 14 batters in his past two starts and is facing an Angels lineup that is struggling at the plate, save for Mike Trout, of course. The Angels rank 29th in average and OPS. Paxton is coming to us at a nice price still.

 

Jesse Chavez, Oakland Athletics ($6,300)

He is $1,300 cheaper than his past start, which wasn’t a good one. The plus side is he is stretched out as a starter and should settle in with some consistent production as a DFS bargain in the short-term. The Minnesota Twins offense isn’t performing badly, but it shouldn’t scare you either. We like Chavez as a bargain working in the pitcher’s park, too.

  • Rick Porcello, Boston Red Sox ($6,600)
  • Jeff Locke, Pittsburgh Pirates ($6,100)

DraftKings is hosting one-day MLB contests! Claim your free entry by clicking on the link and making a first-time deposit!

Eric Mack, one of the giants among fantasy writers, is the Fantasy Football Lead Writer for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter, where you can ask him endless questions about your team, rip him for his content and even challenge him to a head-to-head fantasy game.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com


Daily Fantasy Baseball 2015: MLB DraftKings Studs and Duds for Monday, May 4

It is a daily fantasy baseball night for MLB aces with Felix Hernandez ($12,200) and Clayton Kershaw ($12,000) potentially sucking up your DraftKings budgets. You have to be judicious with the rest of your roster, so we outline the studs to slot and duds to not for Monday, May 4.

 

Pitchers

Studs You Don’t Need Analysis to Play

  1. Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers ($12,000)
  2. Madison Bumgarner, San Francisco Giants ($10,400)
  3. Felix Hernandez, Seattle Mariners ($12,200)

 

Mid-Level Studs

Dallas Keuchel, Houston Astros ($8,000)

He doesn’t rack up a lot of strikeouts, but he is pitching like an ace now that he is smack dab in his prime at age 27. The price is still low because of the modest strikeout totals and the fact that he is working in a pitcher’s park. The good news is the Texas Rangers are dead last in baseball in hits and average, 29th in slugging percentage and 26th in runs.

 

Jordan Zimmermann, Washington Nationals ($8,800)

His contract year is off to an inauspicious start, but he showed signs last time out, fanning a season-high seven. Despite the modest numbers to date, Zimmermann has pitched four out of five quality starts. His price is not quite in a true bargain position, but he is someone who is going to get hot and be much tougher to slot down the road.

  • Jake Odorizzi, Tampa Bay Rays ($7,100)
  • Ross Detwiler, Texas Rangers ($4,200)
  • Chase Whitley, New York Yankees ($4,000)

 

Pitching Dud

Tyson Ross, San Diego Padres ($9,100)

His strikeout rate is certainly intriguing in DFS and his matchup against the Giants is tempting, but until he manages his walk total and pitch counts to get deep into games, you’re putting good money at risk. You would be spending money on strikeouts, pitcher’s park and matchup here. You should prefer to spend it on a victory.

 

Hitting Studs

OF Matt Holliday, St. Louis Cardinals ($4,400)

He has cooled off of late, but now is a great time to buy for a market correction. He is 0-for-May after a hot start in April, but facing the Chicago Cubs’ Travis Wood ($7,200) should re-ignite Holliday. The Cardinals outfielder is hitting .375 (15-for-40) with four homers and four doubles off Wood.

 

1B Adrian Gonzalez, Los Angeles Dodgers ($4,200)

You shouldn’t need a reason to start a hitter against the Milwaukee Brewers’ Kyle Lohse ($6,900). The fact that it is “A-Gone” at a decent price should make this an easy play. Gonzalez has just 14 at-bats off Lohse, but he hasn’t needed many chances to rack up seven hits, three doubles and two homers off him (.500).

 

C Yadier Molina, St. Louis Cardinals ($3,400)

Yet another slumping Cardinals veteran who has great career numbers off Wood. Molina has hit .395 (15-for-38) with three homers and four doubles off the Cub. You have to love Molina’s near-basement price because of his slump, too.

 

OF Justin Upton, San Diego Padres ($3,800)

It is rare you can get a slugger the caliber of Upton at this price, but it is caused by his opposing starter, Bumgarner, working in a pitcher’s park (San Francisco). We like Upton against lefties (.919 career OPS, per Baseball-Reference.com), and it is partially the reason he has hit an ace like Bumgarner to a .407 clip (11-for-27).

 

Hitting Duds

1B Albert Pujols, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim ($3,800)

The price might be tempting, but he is not off to a good start, and he is even worse against King Felix, hitting just .205 (8-for-39) in his career off the ace. Pujols has a mini six-game hitting streak going, but it is going to end here.

 

C Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins ($4,500)

He is a much cooler play when his price is under $4,000. He doesn’t hit for the power that DFS players need. There are too many more intriguing names and prices on the board.

 

SS Jimmy Rollins, Los Angeles Dodgers ($3,500)

Stick a fork in him; he’s done. Rollins took an 0-for-5 Sunday and is hitting .145 in his past 10 games and just .176 on the season. We don’t care how low the price is right now. Rollins is a waste of money. Even Lohse gets him out with ease (.194, 7-for-36). Ouch.

 

SS Elvis Andrus, Texas Rangers ($4,000)

We don’t understand this price. Andrus is performing like an all-glove, no-hit shortstop (.224). You don’t need to see the numbers against Astros ace Keuchel either. We will give them to you anyway: .194, 6-for-31 with no extra-base hits.


DraftKings is hosting one-day MLB contests! Claim your free entry by clicking on the link and making a first-time deposit!

Eric Mack, one of the giants among fantasy writers, is the Fantasy Football Lead Writer for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter, where you can ask him endless questions about your team, rip him for his content and even challenge him to a head-to-head fantasy game.


Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com


Daily Fantasy Baseball 2015: Best DraftKings MLB Pitcher Picks for May 1

It isn’t a full-house day of daily fantasy baseball aces Friday night, but whenever Matt Harvey and Max Scherzer are toeing the slab on a full MLB slate, you have to consider them among the best DraftKings pitcher picks. You might not be able to afford both, unless you’re really clever with your hitters, so we weigh the best alternatives behind them for May 1.

 

No-Brainer Aces

Matt Harvey, New York Mets ($11,200)

Harvey has been every bit the ace he was before surgery, and the Mets even showed an interest in pushing him in an important early series, going 8.2 innings and 107 pitches against the New York Yankees last time out. He has had an extra day of rest because of a temporary six-man Mets rotation, so he should be a full go against New York’s key NL East rivals Friday night, the Washington Nationals. The only drawback here is his opposing pitcher.

 

Max Scherzer, Washington Nationals ($12,000)

Scherzer‘s thumb injury is fine to make the start, according to Chelsea Janes of The Washington Post. The price should have you more worried. He costs the premium of three solid hitters, with the similar production of Harvey. He has mostly been untouchable, though. The Mets lineup shouldn’t scare you, so if you can find bargain hitters to start these two aces, go for it.

 

The Good

Scott Kazmir, Oakland Athletics ($7,400)

DraftKings prices are heavily impacted by what park the pitcher is pitching in. There is no other way to explain the fact Kazmir (2-0, 0.99 ERA) is $1,100 cheaper than his past start. Kazmir allowed just one hit in seven shutout innings against the Texas Rangers in his first start of the season, striking out 10.

That Rangers offense is not productive, ranking 30th in hits, average and slugging percentage and 26th in runs, home runs and RBI. Kazmir should be your first choice if you cannot afford those top two aces.

 

Anthony Desclafani, Cincinnati Reds ($7,700)

He was touched up for five runs last time out, but four of those were unearned and he has a 1.04 ERA on the season. His price has jumped on those numbers, but we still believe he’s the third-best play on the board, especially against a middlin‘ Atlanta Braves lineup to face in a pitcher’s park.

 

Jose Quintana, Chicago White Sox ($7,200)

He has run hot and cold alternately in starts this season. It is his turn to get beat up again, but we just cannot see that happening against the Minnesota Twins. That lineup should not scare anyone. They rank 29th with just 12 homers, which is just a few more than Nelson Cruz and Hanley Ramirez have themselves (10). Quintana looks like a pretty safe play.

 

Lance Lynn, St. Louis Cardinals ($8,300)

We love Lynn, but we have to move him down the list a bit here because of his sketchy history against the Pittsburgh Pirates’ bats. His career 4.71 ERA in 15 games against the Pirates is higher than any other opponent he has made more than three starts against, per Baseball-Reference.com. He is pitching at home and coming off a bad outing, so we figure he will overcome and perform well for us here.

 

Top Bargain Arms

Chris Tillman, Baltimore Orioles ($6,100)

Take out Tillman’s two starts against the mashing Toronto Blue Jays (0-2, 18.00), he has pitched fairly well (2-0). One of those victories came at the expense of the Tampa Bay Rays, too. He held them to just a solo homer in his first start of the season. Tillman is a strikeout pitcher who just needs to manage his walks to turn his season around. We figure he will be good for a quality start victory here.

 

Justin Masterson, Boston Red Sox ($6,000)

Masterson has just one bad start and three fairly good ones thus far in his return to the Red Sox. Sure, it is the New York Yankees he is facing, but the start is at home and these are not the Yankees of the Derek Jeter era. Masterson‘s price is intriguing, especially if you slot Harvey or Scherzer and need a cheaper second arm.


DraftKings is hosting one-day MLB contests! Claim your free entry by clicking on the link and making a first-time deposit!

 

Eric Mack, one of the giants among fantasy writers, is the Fantasy Football Lead Writer for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter, where you can ask him endless questions about your team, rip him for his content and even challenge him to a head-to-head fantasy game.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com


Daily Fantasy Baseball 2015: Best MLB Position Player Picks for Friday, April 24

Baseball games might be won with great pitching in MLB, but daily fantasy tournaments are won by having the right hitters against those pitchers. Anyone can score fantasy points with their starting pitchers, especially if you are slotting Friday night’s aces like Felix Hernandez ($11,300) or Zack Greinke ($10,100).

The trick is finding the hits—specifically the home runs. We give you the best position-player picks for April 24.

 

Infielders

C Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins ($3,400)

Sure, he is not a homer threat—power is what you should be looking for in your daily fantasy baseball hitters—but Mauer is an elite hitter you can get as a serious bargain. Sure, Mauer’s low price is a function of facing stingy Seattle Mariners ace Hernandezwho is the No. 1-priced pitcher on the board.

But Mauer doesn’t have the historical numbers most hitters have against one of baseball’s elite aces. He is Ted Williams against King Felix, hitting .378 (14-for-37) with two homers, four doubles and seven RBI. This is a sneaky good play.

  • Salvador Perez, Kansas City Royals ($3,700)
  • Kurt Suzuki, Minnesota Twins ($2,800)

 

1B Adrian Gonzalez, Los Angeles Dodgers ($4,300)

This is just stealing money. “A-Gone” had a little mini-slump that has dropped his price, but he homered Thursday night, and our famed mantra in daily fantasy baseball is sluggers do “50 percent of their damage in 25 percent of the season.” Meaning: They are streaky.

Gonzalez is ready to streak back to hot, especially when you consider the slugger leads all of Friday night’s hitters against their opposing pitcher with four career homers off him, per BaseballSavant.com. Gonzalez is 9-for-25 off Andrew Cashner ($8,100). This is a no-brainer play at that price.

  • Chris Davis, Baltimore Orioles ($4,400)
  • Anthony Rizzo, Chicago Cubs ($4,800)

 

2B Dustin Pedroia, Boston Red Sox ($4,200)

Pedroia is not off to particularly great start in terms of his average, but the power has been there. He already has four homers on the season. There are not a lot of second basemen we truly love Friday night, so we will go with one of the tried and true at a reasonable price.

  • Jose Altuve, Houston Astros ($4,800)
  • Asdrubal Cabrera, Tampa Bay Rays ($3,300)
  • Ian Kinsler, Detroit Tigers ($3,900)

 

3B Josh Donaldson, Toronto Blue Jays ($4,200)

We cannot understand the value in Donaldson. Not only is he one of the best fantasy players at third base, if not in all of baseball at any position, but he is also off to a great start this season, hitting .349 with a .400 OBP and a .635 SLG. Oh, and he just happens to have four homers in his past six games and hit one Thursday. Um, yeah, play this guy in all lineups.

What is dragging his price down? Drew Smyly ($7,800) making a start in his return from the DL? Donaldson is 4-for-6 with two doubles, a homer and a steal off the lefty. The only reason he does not show up in the Tableau data visualization above is because he has too few at-bats in his career against his opposing pitcher (we took eight as a minimum).

DraftKings‘ game-makers have Donaldson’s price way, way wrong here.

  • Chris Johnson, Atlanta Braves ($4,200)
  • Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers ($5,000)

 

SS Clint Barmes, San Diego Padres ($2,600)

He is not the Padres’ regular starting shortstop, Alexi Amarista ($2,700) is, but Barmes would be a great play—and a great way to squeeze King Felix ($11,300) into your lineup. You will have to wait until the West Coast lineup to come out, though, to make sure Barmes is even starting. If he does, you get a hitter who is hitting .438 (7-for-16) against Los Angeles Dodgers starter Greinke

Barmes, who homered as a pinch-hitter in his last appearance in a game earlier this week, is a nice contrarian play against that ace, because of his bargain price and his matchup history.

  • Starlin Castro, Chicago Cubs ($3,900)
  • Jhonny Peralta, St. Louis Cardinals ($4,000)
  • Asdrubal Cabrera, Tampa Bay Rays ($3,300)

 

Outfielders

Justin Upton, San Diego Padres ($4,100)

Here is a rare $1,400 cost shave one series later. Upton was priced at $5,500 in Colorado’s Coors Field. Against Greinke in Dodger Stadium, he is a huge bargain. That price doesn’t account for the fact Upton has owned the veteran right-handed ace to the tune of .471 (8-for-17) with a homer, triple and two doubles. We will take it.

 

Giancarlo Stanton, Miami Marlins ($4,800)

He might be tough to afford if you’re going with Hernandez and/or Greinke, but he is the premium hitter play of the night. Stanton is on one of his power tears, hitting all four of his season’s homers in his past seven games, including two in the past three. Stanton also has three career homers off Washington Nationals starting pitcher Jordan Zimmermann ($8,300), who is not off to a great start this season.

 

Chris Carter, Houston Astros ($4,100)

If you believe us when we say sluggers are streaky, you have to get on board with Carter here. He is certainly due, having hit .122 in his first 14 games. In the past two games, though, he is 3-for-7 with his first homer of the season. He is ready to erupt, and just in time to face a left-hander. Perfect!

It is not just any left-hander either. It is Scott Kazmir ($8,500), against which he is hitting .357 (5-for-14) with a pair of doubles and five walks to just one strikeout.

  • Bryce Harper, Washington Nationals ($4,400)
  • Yasiel Puig, Los Angeles Dodgers ($4,400)
  • Jorge Soler, Chicago Cubs ($4,400)
  • Curtis Granderson, New York Mets ($3,900)

DraftKings is hosting one-day MLB contests! Claim your free entry by clicking on the link and making a first-time deposit!

Eric Mack, one of the giants among fantasy writers, is the Fantasy Football Lead Writer for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter, where you can ask him endless questions about your team, rip him for his content and even challenge him to a head-to-head fantasy game.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com


Eric Mack’s Fantasy Baseball Rankings 2014

Bleacher Report didn’t ask for my opinion on the 2014 Fantasy Baseball Rankings, but my readers did. So, here they are by position.

This slideshow outlines the rankings I used to select my 2014 Tout Wars team in New York City on Saturday, March 22 at the Sirius/XM studio.

Here are the Tout Wars official results from the AL-only, NL-only, 15-team mixed and online draft leagues. Also, a collection of the Touts review their teams here.

Begin Slideshow


Copyright © 1996-2010 Kuzul. All rights reserved.
iDream theme by Templates Next | Powered by WordPress