MLB GPP vs. H2H Plays: April 15th
In this article I am going to give you my strategies in baseball for building a winning lineup for all game types, including 50/50s/double-ups/head-to-head and GPPs (guaranteed prize pool tournaments). I will break down each game type and my strategies involved.
Part 1 – 50/50s/Double-ups/Head-to-Head AKA (Cash Games)
When playing 50-50s/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.
Starting Pitchers
Stephen Strasburg – Strasburg is one of the premier strikeout pitchers in baseball and tonight he will face the Marlins in Miami. The Marlins are still a weak hitting club that strikes out a lot and I like his chances to throw another gem in a great pitchers park. Strasburg should be safe for a win and a pile of Ks tonight.
Anibal Sanchez – PLAY POSTPONED Sanchez was lights out at home last season posting a 2.70 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, with 110 Ks in 93.1 IP and only allowed a .217 BAA. Anibal is a safe bet for a strong game tonight with a win and plenty of strikeouts.
Other Starting Pitchers I like – Shelby Miller and Garrett Richards
Catchers
Yadier Molina – Molina is the most reliable catcher for cash games. Yaddy is off to a great start, hitting .340 with 3 homers and 9 RBIs. Molina is also hitting .571 off of Estrada in his career through 21 at-bats.
A.J. Pierzynski – A.J. Returns home to face Erik Johnson and his awful 2014 numbers. Johnson is allowing LHB to hit .529 with a .636 OBP in two starts. Pierzynski is hitting .314 this year and makes a safe value catcher play.
Other Catchers I like – Buster Posey, Wilin Rosario and Salvador Perez
First Basemen
Edwin Encarnacion – Encarnacion finally broke out in Camden Yards Sunday with 3 hits, including 2 doubles. Edwin has been one of the most consistent first baseman over the last two years and I expect him to hit his first homerun of the season off of “Gas Can” Phil Hughes tonight.
Adrian Gonzlaez – Gonzalez is on fire! He has 8 hits in his last 4 games and has homered in each as well. I expect him to stay hot against Tim Lincecum tonight and perhaps keep that home run streak alive. We all know “The Freak” can fall apart at any time and is extremely homer prone.
James Loney – Loney is a professional hitter. Whether he is facing a righty/lefty, at home or away, he just hits. He is underpriced on most sites and makes a great cash game value play. In his career Loney is hitting .368 with a .419 OBP in Camden Yards.
I also like – Chris Davis, Paul Goldschmidt, David Ortiz, Matt Adams, Adam Lind and Brandon Belt
Second Basemen
Chase Utley – Utley is the hottest hitter in MLB right now, batting .489, with a .549 OBP and a .587 WOBA. Pass on Chase at your own risk.
Matt Carpenter – Carpenter is an on-base machine and is always a safe 2B play for cash games. Carpenter lead the league in runs scored last season with 126. He has a .407 OBP this season and when the Cardinals score runs, Carpenter leads the way.
Shortstops
Hanley Ramirez – If you want a safe choice at SS you pay up for Hanley Ramirez or Troy Tulowitzki. Tonight I am on Hanley facing Timmy Lincecum. Ramirez is one the best hitters in MLB regardless of position and is always capable of a monster game.
Ian Desmond – Desmond is starting to heat up with hits in 5 of 6 games and has a nice combination of power and speed. Tonight I expect him to keep rolling against the Marlins’ Tom Koehler.
Third Basemen
David Wright – Wright is off to a slow start, so we get him tonight at discounted price. Wright is a hitting machine and can also steal a base. I love his match-up with Bronson Arroyo tonight, Arroyo pitches in the band box known as Chase Field and he is always one of the league leaders in homeruns allowed.
Nolan Arenado – Arenado is grooving at the plate with 8 hits in his last 5 games. Tonight he will face LHP Robbie Erlin, in 2013 Arenado hit .296 with a .349 OBP VS LHP.
Outfielders
Shin-Soo Choo – Any time Choo faces a RHP he is in play. The fact he is at home and facing Beavan tonight almost makes him a must play. Look for Choo and his .441 OBP to have a big night.
Alex Rios – Rios is also in a great spot tonight facing Blake Beavan in Arlington. He brings to the table a great combination of power and speed and I think he has a multi-hit game tonight and hopefully one of those hits leaves the yard.
Torii Hunter – PLAY POSTPONED Any time you hit in front of MVP Miguel Cabrera you are going to see great pitches and the last two seasons Torii has smashed those pitches. He is capable of a multi-homer game and he hit .333 at home last year with a .353 OBP.
Mike Morse – Morse is off to a great start with a .350 BA, .409 OBP, 2 homers and 10 RBIs so far this season. Morse will hit for average and power and is rarely owned. He faces Josh Beckett at home tonight and Beckett (2013 ERA 5.16) is no longer the pitcher he used to be.
Other Outfielders I like – Jacoby Ellsbury, Jayson Werth, Carlos Beltran, Melky Cabrera, Carl Crawford, Angel Pagan, Nick Markakis, and Norichika Aoki
Part 2 – GPP Plays
GPPs are a whole new ball game. You need guys to have huge nights. GPP tournaments are all about upside. All-or-nothing players can become GPP gold, while value players are just as important as your star players.
Starting Pitchers
Cliff Lee – With so many great pitching options tonight, Lee might get overlooked. I know this game will be played in a band box against a solid Atlanta squad, but we are talking GPPs here. Atlanta is a team that strikes out a ton and Lee is a stud strikeout pitcher. Lee has owned the Braves over the years and makes a great GPP play tonight.
Masahiro Tanaka – PLAY POSTPONED Tanaka has been outstanding in his first two starts, striking out 18 in 14 IP. Tonight he will face a weak hitting Cubs team that strikes out a lot. This is a superb GPP match-up. Look for Tanaka to once again reach double digit Ks.
Yordano Ventura – Ventura was fantastic in his first start VS a tough TB team, going 6 strong innings and striking out 6. The kid has electric stuff and will be a K machine. He faces the Astros tonight which is a match made in heaven. Ventura is extremely cheap, and I would not be surprised if he ends up being the best pitcher tonight.
I also like Brandon Morrow
Catchers
Victor Martinez – PLAY POSTPONED Martinez will see plenty of RBI opportunities batting behind MVP Miguel Cabrera. Victor has hits in 5 of his last 6 games and is hitting .556 against McAllister in 9 at-bats.
Dioner Navarro – Navarro continues to swing a hot bat and will bat in the heart of the Blue Jays order. The Jays will face Phil Hughes who is extremely homer prone, giving up 59 homers in the last two seasons combined.
Other catchers I like – Miguel Montero, Russell Martin and Mike Zunino
First Basemen
Prince Fielder – Fielder is batting a measly .176 with zero homeruns this year. Now I am not a huge Prince Fielder fan, but this is ridiculous, the guy is still a very good hitter. Blake Beavan is not a good pitcher and Fielder is way overdue, I say he and the Rangers break out tonight in a big way. Fielder will not be highly owned thanks to his bad start and is capable of a multi-homer game.
Billy Butler – Butler like Fielder is another very good hitter off to a terrible start. Butler will face Lucas Harrell in a hitters park tonight and Harrell may be the worst starting pitcher in baseball sporting an 11.05 ERA. At his price, Butler makes a great value play.
Other first baseman I like – Brandon Moss, Adam Lind and Lucas Duda
Second Basemen
Anthony Rendon – With the fantastic start Chase Utley is having most have not noticed how good Rendon has been. Rendon who leads off now for the Nationals is batting .346 with a .382 OBP, and 9 of his18 hits have gone for extra bases.
Omar Infante – If you are looking to punt 2B, have a look at Infante. Like Butler, Infante will face a bad pitcher in a great hitters spark. Infante has also gone 5/6 off of Harrell in his career.
Other second baseman I like – Aaron Hill, Kolten Wong and Jedd Gyorko
Third Basemen
*Pedro Alvarez * – Any time Alvarez is facing a RHP he is in play and capable of a multi-homer game. Tonight he will face Mike Leake in a great hitter’s park and Leake has allowed 70 home runs over his last 3 seasons.
Chase Headley – I don’t think much of RHP Juan Nicasio. Headley is a much better hitter from the left side of the plate and is starting to heat up. He is capable of a multi- homer game, even in Petco.
Other third baseman I like – Aramis Ramirez, Pablo Sandoval, Nick Castellanos, and Brett Lawrie
Shortstops
Elvis Andrus – I really like Andrus tonight as I think the Rangers finally score some runs, and Andrus will be heavily involved. He may not hit many home runs, but once on base, he will steal and score runs. I expect a multi-hit game from Andrus tonight.
Everth Cabrera – Similar to Andrus, Cabrera is not a homerun threat, however he will run like crazy once on base and score some runs. He faces Juan Nicasio and his career 4.57 ERA. I expect a multi-hit game from Cabrera as well.
Other shortstops I like – Jimmy Rollins and Ruben Tejada
Outfielders
Jose Bautista – Joey Bats looks like the hitter from 2011, he is no longer swinging at bad pitches and has already walked 16 times this season. His .225 BA is more an indication of bad luck as he has hit some rockets for outs, however he does have a .446 OBP to go along with 5 homers. I expect a big game from him VS Phil Hughes tonight.
Yasiel Puig – Puig has yet to really get going in 2014, but he has a ton of GPP upside. Tonight he will face Lincecum and I think he will break out in a big way. Because of his slow start, Puig is not likely to be highly owned and was 4/8 off of Lincecum last season.
Corey Hart – Hart missed all of 2013 due to injury and will likely not be on too many rosters tonight. Corey crushes LHP and will face LHP Robbie Ross in Arlington tonight. Hart had 30 homeruns in his last healthy season (2012) and has multi-homer upside. The Mariners have him hitting clean up behind Cano and he has a great chance to bust out of his slump tonight.
Daniel Nava – Nava will likely be leading off tonight against Erik Johnson and his 9.58 ERA. Nava has really struggled this year but tonight he has a great chance to break out. Nava is a much better hitter from the left side and U.S. Cellular Field is a band box.
Other Outfielders I like – Matt Kemp, Mark Trumbo, Colby Rasmus and Travis Snider