MLB Daily Plays: Fri May 9th
Happy Friday Grinders! Hopefully you’ve all been enjoying the nice heat wave that is finally coming through my neck of the woods and making it feel like an early summer outside! The MLB daily fantasy action is heating up too and as always we have a huge slate of tournaments across the industry tonight. That means you’re here for some picks, so let’s get right to business.
Player Pricing Note: Daily Plays will help you find valuable plays each day/week across the MLB, NBA , NFL and NHL. Just keep in mind that players’ prices vary from site-to-site. To check the price of a player for the site that you play on, make sure to click on the $ dollar-sign icon next to a player’s name for a list of their prices on each site.
STARTING PITCHER
Jose Fernandez – In my time of writing up picks here at RG, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more obvious play than this. If you need an explanation of why Jose Fernandez is a good pick tonight, you might want to rethink your strategies. He’s facing a Padres offense that has scored more than four runs exactly twice in the last four weeks. He’s facing a Padres offense that scored one run against Jacob Turner lastnight — on a home run by the pitcher Ian Kennedy. He’s facing a Padres offense that has Seth Smith batting third. He’s facing a Padres offense that is averaging 2.55 runs per game on the season. Oh, and let’s not forget that Jose Fernandez is flat-out filthy on the mound. He’s capable of a no-hitter with 15 K’s anytime he goes out there, and Vegas has the total at this game sitting at 5 1/2, a total you rarely see these days. Picking him tonight is as safe as it gets, and ever will get, in daily fantasy baseball. Of course, there’s an off chance that he gives up 4 runs, and that’s the beauty of this game!
Michael Wacha – There are a lot of strikeouts in the Pirates lineup, especially against right handed pitching. This plays right into Wacha’s style, and Wacha is a guy that will get overlooked by a lot of folks with all the aces on the mound tonight. I know, a lot of players will attribute this to Cardinal bias and anti-Pirate bias on my end, but it’s time to face some facts here. The first is Wacha’s sizzling 10.63 K/9 rate, which is on par with top-tier strikeout pitchers in baseball. The second is the fact that the Pirates offense simply overperformed last year and did not add anyone of note this year. They have the third worst record in the National League, and they simply aren’t that good. I’ll stand by my comments all season that 2013 was a fluke. Wacha’s a great low-end ace tonight.
Jason Vargas – I do have an affinity for Vargas in general, but at his discounted prices on some sites I really like him tonight. Seattle always struggles against left-handed pitching because they have so many lefty bats, and they didn’t hit Danny Duffy well at all lastnight. Vargas is a better overall pitcher than Duffy is and I expect similar success for Vargas today. On some sites, he’s basically a steal at his current price tag and has nice upside for GPP’s.
CATCHER
Buster Posey – The Giants face another lefty tonight, which puts Posey squarely in play as the #1 catcher on the board, especially since that lefty is none other than Paul Maholm. He’s simply not that good and won’t miss any bats. If you need to pay up for catcher tonight, just insert Posey and build your team comfortably from there.
Brian McCann – If you don’t want to pay up for a guy like Posey tonight, I have zero qualms about taking a super-cheap Brian McCann. He doesn’t have great career splits against Gallardo and hasn’t hit well to start this season, but he’s still in the middle of a decent lineup and he’s available at a nice price tag on a lot of DFS sites tonight. At a position that’s basically Posey-or-punt on a lot of nights, there’s some merit in taking the discount and still getting a top-end catcher. His bat will come around, and it’s very possible that happens tonight.
FIRST BASE
Miguel Cabrera – Miguel Cabrera drools like Pavlov’s dog when he sees Phil Hughes. I don’t care if you are a BvP guy or not. You have to recognize his insane 15-for-28 mark against Hughes with 9 of those hits going for extra bases. The splits are absolutely mind boggling, and Miggy’s pretty good at baseball in general. No matter what your strategy is, it would be wise to have some exposure to the Tigers’ slugger tonight.
Joey Votto – Is there a star player that has been quieter so far this season than Joey Votto? His .263 average is well below his career level and has been a big part of the reason why the Reds offense has scuffled out of the gates. They’ve tried several things to get it going and Votto in the #2 hole appears to be their long-term approach. I don’t necessarily agree with that especially given the decline in Brandon Phillips, but it will get Votto a few extra at bats over the course of the season. I think their offense will find a gear on this homestand against the Rockies questionable pitching staff. Votto is super cheap for his standards on almost every site and I think he’s a great — and somewhat contrarian — play tonight.
SECOND BASE
Omar Infante – The middle infield spots are decent spots to punt tonight in order to fit some of the ace pitchers that are going tonight onto your rosters. Brandon Maurer has had little to no success at the big league level, so Infante makes sense as a mid-level play at second base. He’ll be in the middle of most Royals damage with his #2 spot in the batting order, and he’s generally good for a hit or two on most nights against poor opposing pitchers. There’s not fabulous upside here but he’s a solid overall play especially in cash games.
2PM EDIT – The Royals are reporting that Infante will remain out of the lineup tonight. Look to some of their other cheap bats for value against Maurer. Alex Gordon is a decent option as is Valencia filling in for Infante.
Ben Zobrist – The early May version of Ben Zobrist is one of my favorite targets in DFS baseball. He has a track record of hitting, bats leadoff in a solid lineup, and is underpriced because of an early slump. These guys will pay off for you if you target them long-term (see: Adam Jones on Wednesday) and patience is a virtue here. Zobrist makes a solid play tonight against the talented but erratic Corey Kluber who is coming off a dominant start on Sunday but faces a much stiffer test in the Rays bats today.
THIRD BASE
Adrian Beltre – He was very highly owned lastnight and left owners disappointed, and this is a fine night to go back to the well. The Rangers are still playing at home in their hitter-friendly park, and Beltre should see some pitches to hit against the suddenly hittable Clay Buchholz. His HR upside makes him a great play for all types of contests tonight.
Josh Donaldson – Although I like Fister as a low-end play this evening on sites where he is cheap, I can’t argue against Donaldson. His recent slump has decreased his price and we all know what he is capable of when he gets hot. He has hits in both his lifetime at-bats against Fister and hits in the middle of an occasionally potent lineup. Picking him is more about the relative value of his price tag than anything else this evening, and I think that’s a sound strategy to use with a hitter of his caliber.
SHORTSTOP
Asdrubal Cabrera – I’m all about taking value plays at shortstop tonight. It’s a safe night to avoid Tulo with his high price tag and tough matchup, and I’ll also be avoiding Hanley Ramirez since the Dodgers face a pitcher that traditionally pitches very well against them in Madison Bumgarner. Therefore, I suggest value hunting at this thin position. Although Odorizzi is a very talented young pitcher, he’s been hit hard at the major league level and the Indians offense is starting to show some signs of life. Cabrera had four hits including his 2nd HR of the season yesterday and makes a fine option tonight at a still-discounted price.
Ian Desmond – Milone has been absolutely dreadful this year and gets crushed by decent right-handed bats. Though Desmond has struggled so far this season, he’s still a potent weapon in the Washington offense and it would make sense for the Washington right-handed batters to have solid nights this evening. He could also hit a little higher in the lineup than usual thanks to the friendly matchup. He’s another solid price-based play.
OUTFIELD
Adam Jones – The Orioles have kept him in the cleanup spot despite his early season slump and it paid off with his big game the other night. I’m surprised that his price has not yet risen back up on most sites, but take advantage while you still can. A big hot streak is possibly in the works here, as Jones is in a great spot in the middle of a potent lineup. Scott Feldman strikes nobody out (9 K’s in 26 innings) and his early season success is nothing more than a mirage. I really like the Orioles bats as some sneaky plays tonight and they are my favorite stack for GPP’s.
Jason Heyward – When searching for good mid-range plays, it’s always nice to target a guy with home run potential and somewhat of a track record at the big league level. When you see a guy like this that’s facing a questionable opposing pitcher, it makes a nice target on any given night. Those items fit Jason Heyward to a T this evening, and I love targeting his left-handed bat against Jason Hammel. He’s 6-for-8 lifetime against the Cubs righty and should be a solid mid-range option especially if he’s still in the leadoff spot.
Curtis Granderson – The scuffling free agent signing has been frustrating to own for much of the early season, but a lot of times we get sucked in by his HR potential. He gets the nod as another BvP special tonight as he has a .415 career average against Roberto Hernandez with 3 home runs in 41 at bats. He will get it going soon and hopefully facing a pitcher that he has teed off against in the past will help him out. Hitting in the Mets offense in a pitcher friendly park isn’t the most desirable place to be, but as long as he’s batting cleanup and facing this pitcher tonight I like his odds.
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