MLB Daily Plays: Sun. May 11th

I know my mother will never read this, but I just wanted to thank her for being there through all the ups and downs this grinder has endured. My life has seen as many ebbs and flows as my bankroll does during the year, and I would like to thank her for being a rock to fall back on every time I go through the cold streaks of life. So here’s to my mother and to all the amazing mother’s out that inspire us to succeed and also pick us up when we don’t. Happy Mother’s Day everyone!

rg%20misc%20player%20dollar%20icon 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

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Clayton Kershaw – Kershaw gets matched up today at home against the San Francisco Giants. The Giants have some hitters that are tough on LHPs (Posey, Pence, Morse), but Kershaw is primed to reclaim his throne as the best SP in fantasy baseball. There have been grumblings about some lost velocity on his fastball, but this is no reason to avoid him. The lost velocity could be just that he is building up arm strength after a stint on the DL. I also looked at how successful Kershaw has been with fastballs clocked under 92MPH and his K% and B% are almost exactly the same as his fastballs clocked above 92MPH. The lost velocity is much ado about nothing. Get him in your lineups.

Cole Hamels – Hamels has been knocked around in his first two starts by the Blue Jays and the New York Mets. I expect Cole to bounce back from this slow start and begin to resemble the elite pitcher we know him to be. The Mets are one of the worst offenses in the majors and David Wright looks off at the plate right now. As a Mets fan, this is worrisome. The Mets are in the bottom 10 in MLB in runs scored and the top 10 in MLB in strikeouts. Hamels is the biggest bounce back candidate of the slate and makes for a great GPP pick if you want to come off Kershaw, but still throw a pitcher out there with great upside.

Jon Niese – This is NOT a homer pick. Even though I am a Mets fan, Niese is an under appreciated starting pitcher in real baseball and fantasy baseball. He has a match-up at home against the Phillies who are just average across the board against lefty hurlers. Niese is in the groove right now, as he has put up 12 or more Fanduel points in each of his last 4 starts. I would never recommend using both Hamels or Niese if your site uses two pitchers, since they square off against each other. I would also go with Hamels over Niese if choosing between the two, but Niese is on my radar as a contrarian play today because he will be scarcely owned, his price is cheap, and he has a shot at a win at home going against a team he is very familiar with.

Other pitchers to look at: Robbie Ray at minimum price on FD is a GPP only play and Chris Tillman against the Astros comes with risk and upside.

CATCHER

Salvador Perez – I don’t really like the catcher spot today. V-Mart has been priced out for me on FD and Posey has to deal with Kershaw. I ended up focusing on Perez because I will be using the aforementioned Clayton Kershaw and needed a few dollars in cap relief to fit him in. Perez has a great match-up against Mariner lefty, Elias. When I pull from the lower tier of catchers, I want a guy with power and upside in a good match-up who is hitting the ball well and is on the right side of his split. Perez meets all of those requirements and makes for a great target in all formats today.

Jonathan Lucroy – Lucroy is very cheap right now, coming in at just $2800 on Fanduel. He has started the year slow in the run production department, but he hits up in the order, is at home where the Brewers hit better as a team, and has a match-up against David Phelps of the Yankees who will be a candidate to stack against today. He looked great last night, so he may be starting to heat up.

Other Catchers to consider: Yadier Molina has seen a price decrease and faces off against Charlie Morton. Evan Gattis smells like a guy who might hit one out today and will be used by me in GPP lineups that I don’t have Perez or Lucroy in.

FIRST BASE

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Mike Napoli – Napoli is on my radar today as opposing batters are averaging .314 with an OPS of .832 against Texas pitcher Robbie Ross. The Sox will have their chances today against Ross and if Pedroia and Victorino have the games I expect them to have, then Napoli will spend the entire day batting with runners in scoring position. The lefty/righty splits are the same for Napoli, so this is a play about what I think the batters ahead of him will do and the opportunities he will get to deliver on his massive upside.

Freddie Freeman – Freeman has struggled for a few weeks, while battling a recurring eye issue that was aggravated when the Braves played the Mets at Citi Field a few weeks ago. His slump has caused a price decrease for a guy that was the hottest hitter in baseball to start the year. Freeman is also killing RHPs and has a match-up against Edwin Jackson who struggles against LHHs. All signs are pointing toward Freeman today.

Shout-out to Juan Francisco who is inexplicably just $2200 on FD. Use him in some GPPs until his price comes up to what it should be. Also, Votto should be in the picture today too.

SECOND BASE

Brian Dozier – I really want to test Robbie Ray today. He was a popular pick his last time out, because he was a minimum priced pitcher going against the Astros, while getting run support from a potent Tiger lineup. Ray is still a minimum priced pitcher on FD today, but he is going up against a Twins lineup that has been really good this year. Dozier has 8 homeruns already and Chris Colabello is tied for 4th in MLB in RBIs. Besides Dozier and Colabello, Plouffe can hit, Pinto can hit, and Mauer can hit (if he is healthy). The Twins have been a surprising source of fantasy goodness this year. If Ray can put together a solid game against this lineup, I will be shocked. Get some Twins in there today. Let’s put some pressure on this guy.

Robinson Cano – Oh how Cano must miss that short right field porch in Yankee stadium. All the skills are still there for Robbie and the homers will come. But right now he isn’t producing power numbers at the elite rate we are accustomed to from him. That being said, Guthrie has given up 7 homers already this year to LHHs and could serve one up to Cano today. Cano’s price is reasonable, his match-up is good, and his ownership percentage should be lower than normal. Put all that together and you have a guy I will be buying a bit of today, especially in GPPs.

As much as I love Dozier and Cano today, 2B offers some great punt plays in order to make room for Kershaw. The punts to consider are: Skip Schumaker, Jedd Gyorko and Gordon Beckham. I prefer Gyorko of the bunch.

THIRD BASE

Evan Longoria – I truly hate the 3B position today. Donaldson has slowed down and is matched against Gio. Arenado is priced out for me on Fanduel. Beltre is too hot and cold right now, but could be a consideration if you wanted to pick on Lackey. This lands me on Longo if I want to spend on a high priced bat at the position (and I do). He is under 4K now on Fanduel and the Rays will have their chances against Tomlin who sports a road ERA in the mid 5’s since 2011. If you want to pick on Tomlin today, start with Longo and build around him in your Rays stack.

Danny Valencia – If I am not paying for Longo (and I probably am), the other options (Arenado, Chavez, Wright, Seager, Carpenter) to consider are close enough to Longo in price that they don’t really make sense to me. Considering the position as a whole, it will be Longo or punt for me and not much in between. Valencia is a completely different hitter against LHPs and goes up against another lefty in Elias today from the Mariners. Safeco Field hurts his overall upside, but he is a minimum priced player at a position I am not fond of in a plus match-up. For that reason he is on my radar, but make sure he is in the lineup before you use him.

Other punt to consider: Chris Johnson who has been hitting better lately and hits in the middle of a Braves lineup that can score runs in bunches. Johnson is the safer of the two punts when it comes to cash games plays, and I have him as a coin flip with Valencia.

SHORTSTOP

Jose Reyes – Tulo is priced out for me. Hanley is completely lost at the plate. Alexei Ramirez is over-priced on most sites. Rollins isn’t doing it for me today. Put that all together and my shortstop of the day is the hot hitting Jose Reyes. Reyes is one of the streakiest hitters of this generation and he can carry an entire offense for weeks, when he gets red hot. Until his price reflects his recent surge in production, get him in your lineup.

Elvis Andrus – Elvis is starting to pick it up, finally. He is at his best when he is hitting doubles, drawing walks, stealing bases and scoring runs. We have finally seen signs of life from him lately and his price is down enough that if you wanted to come off Reyes, Andrus would be the next best option and offers enough savings to make a significant upgrade elsewhere in your lineup.

OUTFIELD

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Giancarlo Stanton – Man, this dude is scary. He is one of the only hitters in baseball that can hit homers easily in every park. His power is legit, and when he makes good contact with the ball, few hit it further or harder than Stanton. He is going to cost you a hefty sum, but if you are building a lineup around Hamels, or a mid-priced pitcher, you should be starting it with Stanton. I will have him in some GPPs without a doubt. Robbie Erlin is a middle of the road lefty that I profiled a few weeks ago in his match-up against Buster Posey. He grades out as a 3 or 4 starter at best, with a fastball that tops out in the low 90s with some decent breaking stuff. Stanton has double dong potential, and his match-up only increases his chances of having a big day.

Melky Cabrera – Melky’s price is still too low on a lot of sites. Most notably, Draftday, where he was priced under 8K to start the weekend! He is not the same weak hitter I remember from his Yankees days. He makes great contact, sprays line drives and just looks solid on both sides of the plate. He is a better LHH, so the splits are also in his favor today and the Jays dominate with their sticks at home. His power numbers have slowed down since his unsustainable start this year, but he is a safe player with 4 hit upside every time he is in the lineup.

Shane Victorino – Victorino is a better RHH, and I expect him and Pedroia to give Robbie Ross trouble. I have a sneaking suspicion that he will find his way into a lot of my cash games.

Gerardo Parra – Parra is a cheap player that is usually well owned in double ups when he is facing weak righties. His price is kept down because he struggles against LHPs. He is one of the safest cash game plays in these situations, so get him in there as a cap saver, so you can fit some bigger bats and better pitchers.

Other OFs to consider: Chris Colabello against Robbie Ray if you think the Twins can get to him.
Alejandro De Aza as part of a White Sox stack against Chase Anderson or as a cheap cash games play. David Dejesus is a great hitter to target against RHPs and one I will certainly have a share of.

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About the Author

iconfantasyJoe
iconfantasyJoe

iConFantasyJoe has been playing Fantasy Sports since 1999 and Daily Fantasy Sports since 2011. iConJoe is the former #1 ranked full season fantasy football player on RTSports, a prominent fantasy sports website, and is currently ranked 12th overall for them. His success in full season Fantasy Sports, combined with the steady profit he has made in DFS, is what gives him an edge on the competition and makes him a versatile expert in DFS. iCon Joe has run fantasy sports websites, is a gamer who loves to play Xbox, and a social media addict who wants to become famous on Instagram one day. Connect with him on Twitter @iConFantasyJoe.