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Daily fantasy baseball leagues (DFS) are becoming the thing to do, and here at RotoBaller we are excited to help our users build their bankrolls. I’ll be covering FanDuel lineup picks, sleepers and general advice every Saturday and Sunday. I’ll also be putting my money where my mouth is by entering my final lineup (at the bottom of the article) into one of FanDuel’s many daily fantasy contests, so that RotoBaller users can compete against me.
My goal with these DFS picks, as always, is to try to choose players who will outperform their expectations. These players can be high-cost players, or they can be sleepers, but we are always looking for players that have a chance to return the greatest value. Additionally, since the weekends generally have many afternoon and night games, I’ll make an effort to distribute my picks to cover all the timeslots going forward so that if you are playing an afternoon/night only league this article will still be useful. So, without further ado, my picks for Sunday, May 3rd.
Editor’s Note: RotoBaller’s Premium DFS Lineup Picks & Tools help you get an edge for your FanDuel lineups with exclusive access to DFS tools and expert lineup picks. Also our DFS batters vs. pitchers tool helps you analyze today’s matchups and make optimal lineup decisions.
Last Sunday’s Review
Last Sunday we played the $75K MLB Squeeze. Here is how we did:
Entry: $2
Winnings: $0
Sundays For the Season: -$4
Pick Highlights: Gio Gonzalez let me down. He got his strikeouts as I expected (8), but gave up six earned runs meaning no win for Gio. The rest of the lineup performed admirably, but the risk of playing Buster Posey and Carlos Gonzalez at Coors on a potentially rainy day didn't pay off as the game got cancelled and I took a double bagel on those two players. Lesson learned.
Relationship Status: “Let's learn from this and grow”
Offense to Target for FanDuel
New York Yankees – Vegas has the over/under line set at 9/9.5 for this game depending on where you are looking. The game is in the run-friendly Fenway park tonight and Joe Kelly takes the mound for the Red Sox.
Boston Red Sox - For the same reasons as above. The Sox get Adam Warren tonight. I expect this to be one of those classic Yankees Sox 4.5 hour 15+ total runs games.
DFS Starting Pitchers To Consider for FanDuel
Jarred Cosart (SP, MIA) - $7,400
Cosart has pitched well thus far this year, posting a 2.49 ERA in over 25 innings and grabbing a win along the way. He doesn't strike out many batters, but he has the best chance in the league for a win today according to the Vegas odds (Miami is -190 on the moneyline versus Philladelphia).
J.A. Happ (SP, SEA) - $7,300
Happ has pitched brilliantly this year, mostly due to a soft schedule, but the results are all that matters. He's gotten two early season wins to go along with his 2.30 ERA. In his last two starts he put up 18.66 points against Texas on the road and 14.33 points against Houston at home. He gets Houston again today, the most strikeout prone team in baseball. Seven innings with as many K's sounds about right to me.
DFS Infielders To Consider for FanDuel
Victor Martinez (C, DET) - $3,300
Martinez has struggled thus far this season, but Tigers/2015/05/01/detroit-tigers-victor-martinez/26753573/">reports from Detroit indicate that he is getting healthier and is close to turning things around. Today he faces off against Jeremy Guthrie. In 34 career at-bats, Martinez is hitting Guthrie to the tune of a .353 average. Seeing Guthrie is just what Martinez needs to get going.
Dustin Pedroia (2B, BOS) - $2,900
At this point Pedroia is averaging 2.85 FanDuel points per game and yet 17 second basemen are priced as high or higher than him. Of those 17 second basemen, Pedroia is averaging more points per game than 12 of them, a list that includes Robinson Cano and Ian Kinsler. Like I’ve said in past weeks, until the price is adjusted, I’ll be using Pedroia every chance I get.
DFS Outfielders To Consider for FanDuel
Adam Jones (OF, BAL) - $4,000
For a guy that has ripped the cover off the ball thus far this year, Jones certainly seems undervalued. His 3.82 points per game ranks fourth among outfielders, yet he is outside of the top 10 as far as price goes. He sits at $4,000, the same as Andrew McCutchen (slow start, 2.08 ppg), Carlos Gomez (DL stint, 2.50 ppg) and Justin Upton (in Petco today, 3.29 ppg).
Brett Gardner (OF, NYY) - $3,300
Gardner doesn't hit the long ball, so it always feels as if he isn't capable of giving you the monster 2 HR 5 RBI day. Even so, he's remarkably consistent, a terror on the basepaths, and is hitting a career high .319 through the first month of the season. You aren't going to get the 15 point day out of him, but he's going to get on base and make some things happen tonight against Joe Kelly and the Red Sox.
FanDuel Sleeper Value of the Day
Seth Smith (OF, SEA) - $2,300
Poor Seth Smith. After spending his first four full seasons in Coors Field he's moved on to the Oakland Coliseum, Petco Park, and Safeco Field, all of which are places where home runs go to die. Nonetheless, he's on the road today facing Houston's right handed throwing Roberto Hernandez (the artist formally known as Fausto Carmona). Smith generally hits leadoff against righties meaning plenty of at-bats and chances to set up the rest of the Mariners lineup.
My DFS Lineup on FanDuel
Today I’ll be playing in the $15K MLB Squeeze which starts at 1:08 pm EST. Remember to check your lineups throughout the day. You never want to get a goose egg for a guy that didn’t play.
