Welcome back to another full day of Saturday baseball. There are six games in the early slate which kicks off at 1:05 pm et followed by nine games in the evening slate starting at 7:05 pm et.
If you are into pitching you will want to get some exposure to the early games as the two best options(Arrieta and Kluber) are both pitching at home Saturday afternoon. The evening slate has a bunch of risky guys in the mid tier giving it a GPP feel.
In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy baseball MLB lineup picks for FanDuel on 5/14/16. 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 FanDuel.
DFS Lineup Stacks to Target for FanDuel
Chicago Cubs vs. Jeff Locke(PIT)
The Cubs are a top 10 team against left handed pitching and get a great matchup vs. Jeff Locke on Saturday. Locke has struggled with control in 2016 as he is walking over five batters per nine innings while only maintaining a strikeout rate of 6.06 K/9. The Cubs have beatne up on both both right handed and left handed pitching and have scored the 3rd most runs(196) in the majors. The top plays in the lineup are switch hitter Dexter Fowler($4,000), Anthony Rizzo($4,800), Kris Bryant($4,400) and Ben Zobrist($4,100).
Arizona Diamonbacks vs. Jake Peavy(SF)
Jake Peavy has somehow managed to stick around the big leagues despite not being a very good pitcher. He has started the year 0-4 with a brutal 8.47 ERA and 13.7% HR/FB rate. Although the 4.85 xFIP suggests he is due for some regression that doesn't mean he will good. The Diamondbacks rank 9th in team wOBA vs. right handed pitching and while its a small sample size(2-3 games) many of the hitters have a nice history against Peavy. With there being multiple games with high totals the D Backs could be a lower owned option for GPP's tonight.
Also Consider - Toronto Blue Jays vs. Colby Lewis(TEX), Detroit Tigers vs. Mike Wright(BAL)
DFS Starting Pitchers to Consider for FanDuel
Corey Kluber (SP, CLE) $10,100
First of all, he is $1,900 cheaper than Arrieta and gets a much better matchup. The Indians are home to the Twins who rank 21st in team wOBA against right handed pitching and strike out 23% of the time. Kluber has been up and down this season with a 4.14 ERA but his 3.22 xFIP would suggest some positive regression coming his way. His strikeout rate(8.87 K/9) and walk rate(1.97 BB/9) is on par with his career average and he is producing more ground balls and less home runs than ever before. He is safe in all formats.
Aaron Nola (SP, PHI) $8,400
After an impressive debut in 2015 where he went 6-2 with a 3.59 ERA, he has improved in almost every area. He has increased his strikeout rate to 9.59 K/9 while lowering his walk rate to to 1.57 BB/9. After a rough start to the season he has now gone at six innings in four straight starts and has limited opponents to four earned runs while strikign out 26 and walking just five batters. He will get a home matchup vs. the Reds who rank 25th in team wOBA and strikeout over 22% of the time.
Carlos Martinez (SP, STL) $9,100
He is a risky option who should only be considered in GPP formats tonight. He left his last start with a respiratory ailment but claims he is good to go for his start Saturday. He gets a matchup in a hitters park and should get enough offense behind him as the Cardinals have a great matchup vs. Scott Kazmir. Martinez is in a great spot to pick up the win.
DFS Infielders to Consider for FanDuel
Welington Castillo (C, ARI) $3,200
He is one of the best hitting catchers in the league this season with a .384 wOBA and has added seven home runs and 19 runs batted in. He will get a favorable matchup on Saturday vs. Jake Peavy who is a extreme fly ball pitcher prone to giving up the long ball. Castillo is in a great spot to be the highest scoring catcher today.
Eric Hosmer (1B, KC) $3,900
Hosmer is an extremely consistent hitter who makes a fine play in any format today. He has produced a hit in all but three games dating back to April 10th and has maintained a .333 average and 158 wRC+ which is ranked 22nd in the league. He comes at a discount from the top options(Rizzo, Goldschmidt, Davis, Ortiz) and has a very similar floor.
Ben Zobrist (2B, CHC) $4,100
The Cubs were mentioned above in the stacks section and Ben Zobrist specifically makes a terrific play today. He is a switch hitter who has positive splits vs. left handed pitchers over his career and hits in a prime spot in the Cubs lineup. In his last 10 games he has accumulated 9.5+ FanDuel points in nine games. Another player safe in all formats or as a part of a middle of the order Cubs stack.
Troy Tulowitzki (SS, TOR) $2,800
He is starting to heat up after a poor start to the year and is still under priced on FanDuel compared to the rest of the industry. He is coming of a home run vs. the Rangers last night and now has long balls in two of his last three games with six runs batted in. It was only a matter of time before he broke out as he has been running with a very low .190 BABIP. Jump on board before the price normalizes.
Maikel Franco (3B, PHI) $2,600
Much like Tulo, Franco is slightly under priced for a player who comes with this much upside. While the average is low(.240) he has already picked up seven home runs and 19 runs batted in for a weak Phillies roster. He will get a favorable matchup vs. Tim Adleman who is making his third career start and has given up a home run in each of the first two starts.
DFS Outfielders to Consider for FanDuel
Charlie Blackmon (OF, COL) $4,500
Anytime there is a game at Coors Field you are going to want to target at least one outfielder in that game. Blackmon comes at a $500 discount from Yoenis Cespedes and has been playing much better as of late. He is coming off back to back three hit games and now has hits in 10 straight and 14 out of his last 16 games for the Rockies. Well worth the price tag vs. Logan Verrett tonight.
Jackie Bradley Jr. (OF, BOS) $3,900
It is a fairly high price to pay for a hitter in the bottom third of the batting order but it's hard to argue with the recent play. He extended his hit streak to 19 games last night with another multi hit game(six straight) and has pushed his average to .341 for the season. The Red Sox have been a great team to target offense on as they have scored 57 runs in their last five games.
Matt Holliday (OF, STL) $2,800
He has started to look like the Matt Holliday of old with nine hits in his last four games with three home runs and over 90 FanDuel points. He will be in a great spot to continue the hot play as he will be going up against the Scott Kazmire and the Dodgers on Saturday. In a limited sample size, Holliday has faced Kazmir nine times and picked up four hits two of which were home runs. He has hit right handed and left handed pitching pretty evenly throughout his career.
Also Consider - Aaron Hicks, Mookie Betts, Giancarlo Stanton
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