DFS Alerts
NYM Best Bang For Your Buck!
Jhoulys Chacin is by no means a gas can, and I rarely stack against him, but he has always struggled to retire left handed hitters (allowing a career .337wOBA and a 32.4% hard hit rate VS LHB), and that has certainly been the case in 2018 (surrendering a .446 wOBA and a 40% hard hit rate VS LHB), albeit in a small sample size. The point is, he lacks the stuff to get lefties out, and we should continue to attack him with hitters from the left side of the plate. The New York Mets have a few lefties we can roster today, and Jay Bruce (and his multi homer potential) is the best bang for your buck.
Ray(s) of Value
With so much of our salary allocated to starting pitching we’re likely going to have to go cheap at one of our OF positions. The Rays outfielders are the top cheap outfield options with Kiermaier leading the way of the bunch. The Rays will square off against Ben Lively on Sunday and the consensus on Lively is that he’s….not very good. Rays outfielders don’t give you a whole lot of pop but they all do have some speed which could come into play on Sunday as Phillies backstop Andrew Knapp posted a -2 rSB (stolen base runs saved) in his first season in the Big Leagues last year.
Multi-Hit/Run Upside at a Discounted Price
Ben Lively is a below average pitcher, and yet another arm we can pick on this afternoon. Lively has been hit hard throughout his career, with lefties doing most of the damage (.375 wOBA), and with the way he has started 2018, I expect that trend to continue. The Tampa Bay Rays have a hefty implied run total on todays slate, and plenty of value in their lineup, with Denard Span and Kevin Kiemaier leading the way. Both Span and Kiermaier are inexpensive to purchase and provide you with multi-hit/run upside.
Other tagged players: Denard Span Favorite Stack of the Slate
The Angels may have the best offense in baseball right now and I for one will continue riding them.. They are hittting 20 points higher than any other team and these six players have absolutely punished lefties throughout their careers. Since 2016 all of these players have an ISO over .220 vs lefties. It might surprise you that Marte and Cozart top the list at .276 and .275 respectively. I will be playing four and five-man stacks of this bunch and will make sure to have plenty of exposure to each of the big six.
Other tagged players: Justin Upton, Ian Kinsler, Zack Cozart, Albert Pujols, Jefry Marte
If This Game Plays, This Player Is An Excellent Point-Per-Dollar Option
Francisco Liriano is a fly ball, homer prone pitcher, and he has had all kinds of issues with right handed hitters over the last couple of seasons. In 2016, Liriano allowed a .339 wOBA along with a 34.9% hard hit rate and a 12.3% walk rate to righties. In 2017, we saw more of the same, as the Detroit Tigers southpaw surrendered a .374 wOBA , 33.2% hard hit rate and a 14.2 % walk rate. In other words, we can expect more of the same going forward. The Yankees big bats should be popular today, and for good reason, but do not sleep on the inexpensive Aaron Hicks, who is coming off a two homer game.
Awful Matchup But Still Too Cheap
I hate taking pitchers against the Red Sox. They don’t strike out (just 17.9 percent against righties last year) and have some serious pop in a very deep lineup. On the flip side we have Bundy, who I think is taking the leap. He has been excellent this year in some tough matchups, striking out 25 in 20 innings while only allowing three runs. At his current price across the industry I am willing to overlook the matchup and just bet on the talent of this young stud. It’s not ideal, but Bundy is a potentially excellent salary saving option on this slate.
Another Good Spot For This Phenom
I love watching this kid play, and today I will be riding him in DFS instead of just watching him as a fan. With the questionable weather in so many spots I wanted to attack pitching, I am pivoting over to Ohtani, who I think may end up as the highest scoring pitcher on the day. Coming off a one-hit, 12-K performance, Ohtani gets a Royals team that is certainly nothing to be afraid of. They strike out a little less than we’d like (right at 20% vs lefties last year) but they also don’t have a lot of power (.141 ISO last season) and outside of the middle of the order, it’s hard to see them doing a lot of damage here. At -222 to win, Ohtani and the Angels are the biggest favorites on the slate in games we expect to play clean. Load up on Ohtani and the Angel bats today.
Washington Righties
You’re going to want some exposure to Washington right handed hitters and Ryan Zimmerman is the most cost effective way to get that exposure. On FanDuel, playing both Bour + Zimmerman is a strong approach that allows you to pay up for starting pitcher and still have $3,000+/per player remaining for the rest of your roster spots. Unfortunately on DraftKings you’re only able to play one of the two and Bour is $900 cheaper there making him the preferred option.
Cheap Multi-Positional Eligibility
STL @ CIN is one of the games we’re going to have to keep an eye on in terms of weather but if the game does play it has some of the strongest hitting options of the slate. Carpenter’s price and multi-positional eligibility (2B/3B) make him a cash game staple on DraftKings if this game plays and he’s still a strong option on FanDuel despite a heftier price tag.
Much Needed Salary Relief
This Rays offense is one of the worst in the league, but they are also facing a bad pitcher in Ben Lively. Lively has a career SIERA of 5.05 at the major league level to go along with a woeful 15% strikeout rate. There’s potential here. A Rays stack in GPP formats could help you fit two ace pitchers on DraftKings or FantasyDraft, and that’s the primary appeal here. One-off plays can also work as salary savers in cash games. Even though he is off to a poor start, Kevin Kiermaier checks in as my favorite. He did have a pair of hits including a double last night, so perhaps he is ready to break out of the early season funk.
Attacking an Extreme Splits Pitcher
When you factor in everything, the Mets are my favorite offense to target today. This is particularly true for the left-handed hitters, who draw a great matchup against Chacin. We saw Chacin trend toward extreme splits last year, as he allowed a hard hit rate that was 10% higher for lefties compared to righties, and his wOBA difference was about 60 points. We are dealing with a small sample size so far this year, but Chacin has allowed a .445 wOBA against lefties so far this year, and he has five walks compared to just one strikeout against them. Michael Conforto and Jay Bruce are arguably two of the top overall plays on the board,
The Best Hitter in the Game
Of course, we can’t forget about Mike Trout. He’s the best hitter in baseball and hit a long home run off Jakob Junis last night. Junis had not allowed a run in his first two starts. Now, Trout has a great matchup against a young lefty in Skoglund. The Kansas City starter has control issues and really struggles against RHBs. That’s not a good combination. Trout is a lock in cash games today as the top hitter on the board.
The Top of the Sunday Ace Pile
This is a fine spot for Syndergaard. The Brewers are missing Christian Yelich right now and might also be missing Ryan Braun today after he left last night’s game early. Syndergaard most importantly is 100% healthy again, and he has the ability to dominate on a nightly basis. The strikeouts should be there, and this matchup might be better than it would generally look on paper. There are plenty of swings and misses available in this Brewers lineup, and we might see a watered-down version of it today.
Sunday’s TOR-CLE game has been postponed due to rain
The matchup between the Toronto Blue Jays and Cleveland Indians on Sunday afternoon has been postponed due to rain. The teams have already announced that today’s previously scheduled game will be made up on May 3rd as part of a traditional doubleheader. Players from this matchup will not accrue fantasy points on today’s slates across the industry, so be sure to remove them from lineups as soon as possible.
As reported by: the Cleveland Indians via Twitter
One of the Only Viable Cheap Pitchers
This might finally be the breakout season we have been waiting for. We are dealing with a small sample size so far, but he has looked dominant at times with an 11.25 K/9 through three starts. He generated a ton of swings and misses with his slider in his last start against the Jays. Everything points to him being a logical option if you are looking to save a bit of salary, with the only negative being that he has to face the dangerous Red Sox.