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Sam Nedimyer highlights the top daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for 5/2/16. These are the top value and sleeper plays for your DraftKings MLB DFS lineups.
Baseball is my one true love. There’s nothing quite like going to the park on a Sunday afternoon, soaking in some Rays, and watching two teams play the game that I love. But last night, Home Box Office, or HBO, if you will, may have stolen my heart in the form of Game of Thrones. Sunday, May 1st will go down in history as one of my favorite scene in television history. [SPOILER ALERT] “You know nothing, Jon Snow.” And it’s only episode two!!
In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy baseball MLB lineup picks for DraftKings on 5/2/16. The DFS lineup picks will range from high-priced to low-priced options and identify options who will out-perform their expectations, including sleepers and value plays on DraftKings.
Without further ado, here are the picks.
DFS Lineup Stacks to Target on DraftKings
Texas Rangers vs. R.A. Dickey (RHP)
The stacks do not look too appealing on Monday. The best bet looks like a mini-stack of left-handed bats going up against Dickey. The veteran knuckleballer has been hit hard this season, as his fastball has lost some pop and he is relying on the knuckle now more than he ever has in a season. Part of his ballooned 6.75 ERA can be attributed to some bad luck. He is yielding a career-high .353 BABIP, 72 points above his career average, and an absurd number of base runners are not being stranded. At some point these numbers will stabilize, but it doesn’t look to be any time soon.
San Francisco Giants vs. Brandon Finnegan (LHP)
Though most of San Francisco’s best bats are swinging from the left side of the plate, the team as a whole does own the league’s fifth-highest batting average and the eight-highest weighted run creation against left-handed pitchers. Finnegan has looked decent for most of this year, but he has yet to go a complete seven innings. Look for the Giants hitters to extend some at-bats and get to Finnegan early.
DFS Starting Pitchers to Consider on DraftKings
Johnny Cueto, SF at CIN - $10,800
Cueto returns to his old stomping grounds coming off easily his best start in a Giants uniform. This could be a tricky one, though. As bad as the Reds offense has been this season, most of their troubles are due to weak contact off their bats. My money is on Cueto continuing the Reds’ woes, though.
Gerrit Cole, PIT vs. CHC - $9,400
Rostering a pitcher going up against the Cubs is not necessarily the smartest of ideas, even for someone like Cole. His track record over the last two seasons has not exactly been stellar against the big, bad Cubbies. Cole has sensational stuff, however, and it hard to pass up at $9.4k no matter who he will face.
If you are feeling lucky, give Royals starter Edinson Volquez ($7,300) a start against the Washington Nationals..
DFS Infielders to Consider on DraftKings
Catcher (C)
Salvador Perez, KC vs. WAS - $2,700
Sally has seen Gio Gonzalez six times in his career. Five of those six at bats have gone for hits. Now I’m not one to rely heavily on BvP numbers, but clearly the dude likes something from Gio. Perez has struggled mightily against lefties this season, but he does own solid career numbers against southpaws so at some point his numbers will reverse.
First Base (1B)
Prince Fielder, TEX at TEX - $3,900
This is what it feels like, when [Blue Jays] cry. Sorry. I had to throw in a Prince reference. RIP.
Also consider Mitch Moreland ($3,500) in that same game.
Second Base (2B)
Jemile Weeks, SD vs. COL - $2,000
It’s either pay up for the big boys (Jose Altuve, Neil Walker) or spend as little as possible for a starter that should see three or more at-bats. With Yangervis Solarte and Cory Spangenberg both on the DL, Weeks offers intriguing value as DraftKings does not penalize for outs. Punt time at second.
Shortstop (SS)
Carlos Correa, HOU vs. MIN - $4,200
Twins starter Jose Berrios has about as high a ceiling as anyone in the majors. However, he has only been truly pitching for just a few years, so he is going to have some growing pains over this season and possiblf more. And it doesn’t get any more painful than the monster that is Carlos Correa.
Also, Jonathan Villar ($3,600) has been as hot as anyone over the last week.
Third Base (3B)
Maikel Franco, PHI at STL - $3,600
Through 27.2 innings this year, Wainwright has looked a shell of himself. He is yielding his highest HR/FB% rate since his rookie year, is setting career lows in strikeout and walk rates (the bad kind of low for walks, as in high amount), and his ERA is north of a touchdown. Eventually he will get it right. But the Phillies, led by Maikel Franco and Co., have been surprisingly solid to start the year. The magic continues Monday night.
DFS Outfielders to Consider on DraftKings
Hunter Pence, SF at CIN - $4,800
Hunter Pence pours his cereal milk first. Hunter Pence can’t parallel park. Hunter Pence likes the Godfather Part III. Hunter Pence hates puppies. Hunter Pence puts ketchup on his hot dog. Whatever Hunter Pence may or may not be, he is primed to punish Finnegan Monday night.
Starling Marte, PIT vs CHC - $4,300
Finally, we are beginning to see the awesome raw ability of Starling Marte. He has always had five tools, but his ridiculous swing and miss rate had plagued most of his young career. Now, the phenom is showing more patience at the plate, leading to more walks and better pitches to pumel. Just about everyday, he is a homerun and stolen base threat.
Jose Bautista, TOR vs. TEX - $4,100
At $4,100, Joey Bats is the ninth-most expensive outfielder on the board. He is ranked third on the Rotoballer hitter tool, behind Bryce Harper and Mike Trout. This one seems like a pretty safe selection.
Dexter Fowler, CHC at PIT - $3,900
Fowler just crushes the Pirates. It doesn’t matter if Cole is on the hill or not, somehow the dude always gets on base and drives in runs. Expect more of the same at PNC on Monday.
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