DFS Alerts
Good At Everything
Losing the Seattle-Minnesota game to weather has opened up third base. On FanDuel in particular, Jose Ramirez is too cheap for his skill set. He has power, he has speed, he bats 3rd for a loaded lineup and he has elite contact skills. Jason Hammel has nothing to get hitters like this out. He is a serviceable strike thrower, but guys like Ramirez can have their way with his inability to control batted balls.
Sunday's SEA-MIN game postponed due to inclement weather
The matchup between the Seattle Mariners and Minnesota Twins on Sunday afternoon has been postponed due to inclement weather. The teams have already announced that today’s previously scheduled game will be made up on Monday, May 14 at 6:10 pm local time, which is a mutual day off for both clubs.
As reported by: the Minnesota Twins via Twitter
Cheap Cleanup Hitter On High Octane Offense
There are always going to be some high end bats worth paying for, but I’m not sure that any of them clearly separate from each other on this slate. So, I’m going to lean towards saving some more salary, and getting Neil Walker, who has found his way into the cleanup spot today, following Gardner, Judge and Stanton in this Yankees lineup. In 2017, Walker showed strong plate skills with a 16.5% K rate and 12.5% walks and still hits the ball with some authority, posting a 23.7% line drive rate along with 39% fly balls and 34% hard hits. This right-field porch in Yankee Stadium should do him some favors this season, and with the likelihood of runners on base in front of him today, he looks too cheap.
Right-Handed Power In Play
Mike Fiers allows power to right-handed batters like nobody else. In 2017, he allowed 1.98 HR/9 and has a career mark of 1.49. He has moderate strikeout ability, and Jose Abreu is the White Sox bat with the best combination of power and contact. He sets up well against a fly ball pitcher and also gets to look forward to seeing a few at bats against an awful Tigers bullpen.
Lefty Woes
It’s not much of a secret anymore – Lance Lynn is terribad versus left handed hitters. For his career he’s allowed a .344 wOBA against and has posted a 17.7% strikeout rate, 12.7% walk rate and a 5.02 xFIP. Seager represents the cheapest way to roster a Seattle left handed hitter ($2,400 FD; $3,300 DK) and he should be presented with some valuable at bats as he continues to bat in the middle of the Mariners order.
Attack Here With Lefties
I don’t like the weather, but I love the Seattle lefties against Lance Lynn. Lynn was beyond awful against LHB last season with a 15.1% K rate, 13.8% BB and a 6.33 FIP. Kyle Seager is bizarrely cheap for this matchup. He makes contact, and he hits the ball hard and in the air. He has huge on base upside between his plate skills and Lynn’s poor control, and he has plenty of power upside with his 38% hard hits and 52% fly balls.
Stupid Cheap
Ben Zobrist is stupid cheap on FanDuel ($2,100). The switch hitter has been moving around the lineup for the Cubs a little bit but with any luck he’ll grab a top five spot in the order on Sunday against Chase Anderson at Miller Park. Zobrist has been better against left handed pitching throughout his career but still holds strong numbers against righties (113 wRC+, .166 ISO). Provided Zobrist gets a good spot in the order on Sunday, he’s a “lock and move on” option on FanDuel. He’s a strong play on DraftKings as well at $3,400 but there are more alternative routes to go on that site.
Go Cheap At Catcher
Despite liking Eduardo Rodriguez as a relatively low-priced, high upside option, I still like Ramos as a cheap way to approach the catcher position. Ramos has been batting in the middle of the order for the Rays when the opposition throws a lefty on the mound. Despite a poor start to the year, Ramos has pretty strong numbers against lefty pitching throughout his career (113 wRC+, .163 ISO).
Fringe Salary Relief w/a Side of Risk
Eduardo Rodriguez is more of a fringe salary relief option on DraftKings ($8,100 – #7 priced SP) but he represents strong value on FanDuel ($7,000 – #11 priced SP). ERod does come with some risk as Sunday will represent his first start of the season as he returns from the DL off a knee injury. I see some sources stretching Rodriguez all the way out to 100 pitches for his debut start but I think it’s likelier he sits in the low 80’s, which would obviously hurt his upside some. With that said, Eduardo gets a premier strikeout matchup against the Tampa Rays with a premier pitchers ump behind the plate in Bill Miller. Rodriguez finished 2017 with a 25.8% strikeout rate and season long projections have him in a similar neighborhood for 2018. ERod does waste pitches from time-to-time but I still see this as a spot where the southpaw can put 5-6 innings in the books, rack up over a strikeout per inning, and record the win.
New York, New York
Luke Weaver stands out as the top salary relief option at the pitcher position on Sunday but since we already have two write-ups on the fella I figured it would be more useful to touch on a couple of other guys. Jordan Montgomery is one of those guys as he comes in priced as the #9 SP on FanDuel and the #12 option on DraftKings. Season long projections have Montgomery sitting in the low-to-mid 20’s in terms of strikeout rate and those rates could get a boost today with Ben May, a favorable pitcher’s ump, behind the plate. Yankee Stadium is certainly better for hitters but low temps (40’s throughout the game) combined with relatively strong winds blowing left to right should help the southpaw limit HR damage in this spot.
One Bad Start Doesn't Justify This Salary
If Weaver can pitch at even 80% of what he did last season, this salary is an absolute steal. Yes, the first start was not good, but his velocity looks normal and it’s more likely that one 5-inning game is an outlier, rather than 101 strong career innings being the outlier. Weaver’s 2017 numbers would make him the #1 pitcher on this slate, and there is just no reason why he should have this extreme of a salary drop-off compared to the rest of the field. Arizona on the road against right-handed pitching is not a matchup we need to avoid. There is some risk associated with everyone outside of Morton today, so I’ll just take the guy with the most obvious points per dollar upside.
Start With The Safest Option
I can definitely make the case that Morton is overpriced for his upside relative to the field on DK/FDRFT, but he is the only pitcher on this slate who has no real reason for concern. He piles up strikeouts against left-handed batters and gets ground balls and soft contact from right-handed batters. You have to go back 23 starts to find the last time he allowed more than four earned runs in a game. He gets a great matchup at home against a low power opponent. There is no reason not to start your cash lineups with him, and while he may not win a tournament for you by himself, he is not going to lose it for you either.
Top Point-Per-Dollar Play On The Slate?
Taijuan Walker is not a pitcher I normally go out of my way to pick on, but Dexter Fowler is just too cheap to fade today. Fowler continues to hit at the top of the lineup for the St. Louis Cardinals and contributes across the board offensively. Considering his low salary and lineup spot, Fowler may just be the top-point-dollar play on the slate, making him a key building block in your cash game lineup this afternoon.
Big Potential Today For This Stud 3B
Chase Anderson really struggled last time out, allowing eight hits and four earned runs (including three home runs) over his four innings of work, and I think we see the Chicago Cubs bats get to him again today in this hitter friendly environment. Something else to keep in mind is that Anderson has been a reverse splits pitcher throughout his career (surrendering a .354 wOBA to RHB over the last two seasons), which certainly favors Kris Bryant. The Cubs Third Baseman is off to a great start in 2018, and he should see plenty of RBI opportunities today in this plus matchup. Oh, and if you believe in BVP, Bryant has also hit the Milwaukee Brewers right hander hard (6/15 with a double and three homers) in a small sample size.
Multi-Hit/Run Upside at a Moderate Price
The New York Yankees are an offense we want to target this afternoon, however, with all their steep price tags it can be difficult to fit them, which is why I am looking to Brett Gardner. The Yankees leadoff hitter got off to a slow start, but he has been money recently, reaching base seven times in his last two games. Mike Wright might be the worst pitcher on the slate (5.85 ERA and a 16.6% strikeout rate in his career), which should lead to another big game from this Yankees offense. With a moderate price tag and multi hit/run upside, Gardner makes an excellent addition to your cash game lineup.