MLB GPP Plays: Friday, June 3rd
Every Tuesday and Friday I am going to give you my top tournament plays for all Daily Fantasy Baseball GPPs (guaranteed prize pool). GPPs are a general term used across the industry for your big money tournaments.
GPPs are very different from your cash games and you use a different strategy with them. In our GPPs we are not interested in safe plays, since GPPs are all about UPSIDE. We want players who can explode, as all-or-nothing type players can become GPP gold, and your value players are just as important as your star players. You need your players to have huge nights in order to take down these big tournaments.
My goal is to provide players who will be under-owned and have that big game upside you are looking for. I will also try to find as much value as I possibly can. Now, let’s get to the MLB GPP plays!
STARTING PITCHERS
Noah Syndergaard, New York Mets – What else can we say about Noah Syndergaard? The guy has been a beast all season long (1.84 ERA), pitching deep into games and racking up plenty of strikeouts (32.9% strikeout rate) and groundballs (57% groundball rate) along the way. Opponents are only hitting .223 off of him and neither lefties nor righties have a wOBA above .266 against him. I expect Thor to dominate the Miami Marlins tonight and he should be low percentage owned with most fantasy owners not willing to pay up in large field tournaments.
Vince Velasquez, Philadelphia Phillies – After an incredible start to the 2016 season, Vince Velasquez has been very inconsistent. Despite the inconsistencies, the Phillies’ young right-hander continues to dial up the Ks, producing 67 punch-outs in 57 IP. The strikeouts should keep coming for Velasquez tonight as the Milwaukee Brewers are whiffing 26.7% of the time against right-handed pitching, which leads Major League Baseball. Velasquez makes a terrific high upside play in tournaments this evening.
Jake Odorizzi, Tampa Bay Rays – Jake Odorizzi has been a tough pitcher to hit throughout his career and he is in a great spot tonight. The 26-year-old hurler had no-hit stuff in his last outing and he has raised his strikeout rate in recent performances (13 Ks in his last 12 IP). The Minnesota Twins have not had a very good offense this season and they are striking out 23% of the time versus right-handed pitching. Making matters worse, they are without their top slugger in Miguel Sano who is currently on the DL. Odorizzi has big potential in this matchup and I do not see him being all the popular in GPPs.
Other Pitchers to Target – David Price, Drew Pomeranz, Kenta Maeda, Yu Darvish
CATCHER
Stephen Vogt, Oakland A’s – Doug Fister has always been a hittable pitcher and lefties are really abusing him this season (.307 BAA, .396 wOBA). Stephen Vogt is swinging a hot stick with hits in eight consecutive games, including six hits in his last three contests. Vogt is not only very reasonably priced across the industry, he is also hitting in the middle of the Oakland A’s lineup in a very hitter-friendly environment. Considering all of the above, Vogt makes an outstanding play in tournaments.
Derek Norris, San Diego Padres – Derek Norris had a big game last night and he continues to be very productive against southpaws with a career .366 wOBA. Look for Norris and the San Diego Padres to beat up on Colorado Rockies’ lefty Chris Rusin tonight.
Other Catchers to Target – Brian McCann, Buster Posey, Wilson Ramos
FIRST BASE
Chris Davis, Baltimore Orioles – Nathan Eovaldi has looked very sharp this season, but his inability to get left-handed hitters out will keep him from taking the next step. The 26-year-old American has allowed a .353 wOBA and a 37.9% hard-hit rate to lefties in 2016. Crush Davis has double-dong potential in this plus matchup.
Wil Myers, San Diego Padres – Myers is smoking hot at the plate, generating eight hits in his last four games, including two doubles, a home run and five RBIs. Petco Park has looked like Coors Field the last couple of nights and I would not be surprised to see the San Diego Padres score double-digit runs again tonight against Chris Rusin and that weak Colorado Rockies bullpen. The Friars are once again a sneaky late night stack and Myers should be a big part of that.
Other First Basemen to Target – Miguel Cabrera, David Ortiz, Ryan Zimmerman, Adrian Gonzalez
SECOND BASE
Ian Kinsler, Detroit Tigers – Carlos Rodon is a very talented young pitcher, but he has struggled with his control this season and right-handed batters have teed off on him (.351 wOBA). Ian Kinsler is a lefty killer (career .383 wOBA) and he should be in line for a big game tonight.
Jurickson Profar, Texas Rangers – Jurickson Profar has looked terrific since being called-up to the Show this season. The Texas Rangers’ two-bagger has registered hits in all six games, including four of the multi-hit variety. Despite a tough matchup against Taijuan Walker, Profar makes an excellent inexpensive play at the keystone position tonight.
Other Second Basemen to Target – Jose Altuve, Daniel Murphy, Jason Kipnis, Dustin Pedroia, Adam Rosales
THIRD BASE
Anthony Rendon, Washington Nationals – Rendon has finally started to show some offensive life recently. The former first round pick has compiled four multi-hit games in his last six contests. He has also been hitting for power recently, producing six extra-base hits in his last 10-games. Brandon Finnegan has not pitched all that bad this season, but too many walks and home runs allowed have led to a 4.14 ERA. The Cincinnati Reds’ young lefty has also had trouble pitching deep into games, which means we should see plenty of the Reds atrocious bullpen. Look for another multi-hit effort from Rendon in this game.
Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankees – Rodriguez is certainly declining, but he still has plenty of thump in that bat of his. He remains a cheap source of power, especially in the band box known as Camden Yards. It is also worth nothing that A-Rod has hit Chris Tillman well in his career (6-16, .375 BA with four homers and nine RBIs).
Other Third Basemen to Target – Manny Machado (where eligible), Nolan Arenado, Travis Shaw, Jung-Ho Kang, Nick Castellanos
SHORTSTOP
Xander Bogaerts, Boston Red Sox – Xander Bogaerts is currently riding a 26-game hitting streak and he has become one of the best all around hitters in baseball. The 23-year-old phenom is a multi-hit machine and he contributes across the board offensively. Hitting the knuckleball can be a difficult task, but Bogaerts has had very little trouble (.361 BA in 36 ABs VS R.A. Dickey). Look for Bogaerts to extend his hitting streak to 27 games tonight with another multi-hit performance.
Danny Espinosa, Washington Nationals – Danny Espinosa is a streaky hitter and he is starting to heat up. The Washington Nationals’ super utility player has gone deep in back-to-back games and he now has four homers in his last eight contests. Espinosa is best unleashed against left-handed pitching (career .340 wOBA) and he makes a great punt option at this weak position.
Other Shortstops to Target – Manny Machado, Carlos Correa, Corey Seager, Brad Miller
OUTFIELDERS
Pittsburgh Pirates Outfield – Jered Weaver has been absolutely awful this season. He owns a 5.40 ERA, a .311 BAA and he has already given up 12 long-balls this year. The 33-year-old declining veteran has been hammered by hitters from both sides on the plate in 2016 and I think we see more of the same tonight at PNC Park. All three of Andrew McCutchen, Starling Marte and Gregory Polanco are in play assuming they make the lineup.
Odubel Herrera, Philadelphia Phillies – We all know that Milwaukee Brewers’ right-hander Slippin’ Jimmy Nelson struggles to retire lefties and I expect Odubel Herrera to smack him around tonight at Citizens Bank Park. Herrera continues to rake against right-handed pitching (.336 BA, .398 wOBA) and he can simply do it all offensively. The Philadelphia Phillies are not an attractive team to stack, but Herrera makes a great one-off play in tournaments.
Michael Conforto, New York Mets – Tom Koehler has been an average pitcher throughout his ho-hum career, but in 2016 lefties have hit him extremely hard (.303 BAA, .376 wOBA). Michael Conforto has cooled off a bit after a very strong start and that should keep his ownership down this evening. Despite his recent slump, the 23-year-old future star still owns a .405 wOBA versus right-handed pitching and I think we see him break out in a big way tonight.
Corey Dickerson, Tampa Bay Rays – Ricky Nolasco has pitched surprisingly well this season, which is not saying much considering his 5.28 ERA. At the end of the day, this is always an arm we can pick on in GPPs. Corey Dickerson destroys right-handed pitching (career .387 wOBA) and he has multi-homer upside at Target Field tonight.
Other Outfielders to Target – Yoenis Cespedes, J.D. Martinez, Jayson Werth, Matt Kemp, Colby Rasmus, Michael Taylor