Daily Fantasy MLB: Head-to-Head vs. GPP (09/20/13)
In this article I am going to give you my picks in baseball for building a winning lineup for all game types, including 50/50’s/double-ups/Head-to-Head and GPP’s. These picks are based on the winning strategies article for all game types. Before breaking into specific picks, I suggest taking a look at my general strategy piece for MLB: Winning Strategies for Daily Fantasy Baseball: Head-to-Head & 50/50 vs. GPPs
Part 1: 50/50’s, Double-ups, Head-to-Head
When playing 50-50’s/double-ups or Head-to-Head, you want guaranteed points. This is not where you roll the dice on all or nothing players. The idea is to simply produce a solid, well balanced team. It may not be explosive, but it doesn’t matter whether you finish in first place or not, you just need to cash.
Pitchers
Max Scherzer – Mad Max is your best bet of the night especially if you play on a site where the win is heavily awarded.
Cole Hamels – Since the all-star break Hamels has an ERA of 2.54 and a WHIP of 1.03 He faces the Mets who led the NL in strikeouts.
Catchers
Victor Martinez – V-Mart is hitting .310 at home and .314 against righties. Today he faces Rienzo and his 5.04 ERA at home.
Yadier Molina – Stud hitting catcher, at a discounted price, facing Johnny Hellweg? This is too good to pass up.
First Base
Paul Goldschmidt – Goldy in Coors field….sign me up.
David Ortiz – Big Papi always seems to put points on the board. Tonight he is home to Esmil Rogers who is allowing lefties to hit .291 off of him.
Kendrys Morales – Morales is cheap and hits much better from the left side of the plate, especially for power. He is capable of a ‘double dong’ night and faces rookie RH Matt Shoemaker tonight.
Second Base
Dustin Pedroia – Dustin is a much better hitter at home. He is also 5-10 with two 2B off of Rogers.
Matt Carpenter – He facing Johnny Hellweg, say no more.
Omar Infante – Infante is very quietly having a great season. He is hitting .319 at home and .325 against righties. He should enjoy success against Rienzo.
Howie Kendrick – Love his value tonight. Cheap and facing Ramirez at home.
Shortstop
Troy Tulowitzki – Tulo finally broke out of his slump. He is home facing an average righty, enjoy the discounted price.
Jimmy Rollins – J-Roll is a guy I use quite often. He is always cheap and capable of a jack and a bag combo meal. Tonight he faces Dice-K.
Third Base
Miguel Cabrera – Miggy is always a great play if you can afford him. At home VS an awful pitcher is just a bonus.
Kyle Seager – Seager has been cold of late, but facing a rookie pitcher at home will change that quickly.
Outfield
Matt Holliday – Holliday is as hot as anyone in baseball right now and has a very tasty match-up tonight.
Carlos Beltran – I know, I am picking on Hellweg. You should too.
Ben Zobrist – Zobrist is another guy who hits much better left-handed. Tonight he faces Hammel at home who he is 5/9 off of with a 2B and HR.
Part 2: GPP’s
GPP’s are a whole new ball game. You need guys to have huge nights, GPP’s are all about upside. All or nothing players can become GPP gold. Value players are just as important as your star players.
Pitchers
Jon Lester – Lester has been excellent since the all-star break with 2.38 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and 62 K’s in 75.2 IP. He also pitches much better at home and has owned the Jays over his career. Lester has huge GPP potential at a decent price.
Bartolo Colon – Colon is home to the AAA Twins. In Colon’s last 3 starts he has an ERA of 1.13, a WHIP of 1.21 and 17 Ks in 19 IP.
Catchers
Wilson Ramos – Ramos has been very hot of late and is 3-3 with a bomb VS Turner. He is one of a few catchers capable of a big GPP night.
Nick Hundley – If you want to punt catcher, try out Hundley. He is dirt cheap and home to Volquez tonight. Edison loves to serve up that long ball.
First Base
Darrin Ruf – Ruf has been struggling lately but has massive upside, especially when he is at home to Dice-K.
I find 1B fairly weak tonight. So I will mention that I think Paul Goldschmidt and Kendrys Morales have HUGE upside tonight. I love them both. They are listed above in Part 1.
Second Base
Chase Utley – He is hitting .352 in Sept and facing Dice-K, love it!
David Descalso – Descalso doesn’t always start but when he does he seems to produce. As you know the Cards are in a great position to go off tonight and if Descalso plays, how can you pass at his price?
Kelly Johnson – Another cheap 2B capable of a huge day, but make sure he is in the lineup. Johnson is hitting .296 off Hammel with 2 bombs.
Shortstop
Ian Desmond – Desmond is hot and has hit Turner to the tune of .429
Stephen Drew – Drew is a nice GPP play anytime he is at home facing a RH.
Third Base
David Freese – Freese is extremely cheap everywhere and faces punching bag Johnny Hellweg. Freese is the kind of guy that can have a monster game.
Josh Donaldson – Josh is facing lousy lefty Andrew Albers at home tonight. Donaldson hits .335 against lefties. How do you not love this play?
Outfield
Josh Hamilton – Josh is the ultimate boom or bust player. I only use him against bad RH pitching and tonight is that night. He is 3/6 with a bomb off Ramirez.
Domonic Brown – Brown is starting to heat up and when he does he hits homers in bunches. On the flip side Dice K gives up homers in bunches.
Raul Ibanez –Ibanez is 53 years old and will likely homer tonight off Shoemaker.
Andy Dirks & Roger Bernadina – I love cheap guys who have the ability to hit a bomb or steal a bag. They both have great match-ups tonight.
Teams To Consider Stacking
Washington Nationals – The Nats are at home to Jacob Tuner. In his last 3 games Turner has an ERA of 6.14 and a WHIP of 1.91. Pretty much everyone in the Nats lineup has hit Turner hard.
St. Louis Cardinals – The Cardinals are in Miller park to face Johnny Hellweg. The Cards are always capable of putting up a lot of runs and Hellweg is awful. It doesn’t get much worse than an 8.31 ERA and 2.22 WHIP.
Colorado Rockies – Unless they are facing a stud ace, the Rockies are always stackable in Coors field.
Oakland Athletics – The A’s are on fire and face lefty Andrew Albers at home. Albers has a 6.39 ERA and 1.66 WHIP in his last 3 games.
Detroit Tigers – The Tigers are a scary hitting team especially at home. Tonight they are at home to Andre Rienzo, who has been getting his face punched in on a regular basis. He has given up 16 runs in his last 19 innings. Stack away.
Boston Red Sox – They are always stackable at home to a bad pitcher. The best part about the Red Sox is they just keep pouring it on, even when up a pile of runs and they rarely pull their starters.