RADIO
Good afternoon my fellow fantasy baseball fanatics. We're gathered here today to discuss the best and brightest stars of the Tuesday slate, which features every major league team in action. There is one game beginning at 6:05 EDT, and the Main slate will follow shortly after, starting at 7:05 and consisting of the remaining 14 games.
I jumped the gun a little there. We're actually going to look at Vegas lines that can (or should) be influential when making your lineups. From an over/under perspective (or projected run total standpoint, same difference), the most teams on the board are as follows: Nationals (5.7), Rockies (5.5), Diamondbacks (5.2), and the Angels, of all teams, at 4.6. The first two teams aren't surprising, seeing as they're playing in Coors, but the Angels being that high definitely caught my eye. From a favorites angle - which is helpful when trying to identify cash game pitchers (or the reverse, which pitchers to pick on), we have the Dodgers as massive -212 favorites, and then a pretty steep dropoff to the next tier, with the Orioles -147 and the Diamondbacks -133.
In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for FanDuel on 4/25/17. The DFS lineup picks will range from some of the elite players to mid-priced options, and of course value plays. Let's get to it, shall we?
Offensive Stacks
Washington Nationals versus German Marquez
This may seem like a fairly obvious one, but in good conscious, I cannot not recommend a play such as this, seeing as it has a chance to be a very lucrative decision. My interest in stacking the Nationals is much deeper than just being enticed by the Coors Field effect. This Nationals team is one of the very best offenses in the major leagues and they also get to face German Marquez. Marquez has just 20.1 innings of experience at the major league level, and it hasn't been pretty. He's allowed an opponent batting average of .328 with a 5.23 ERA and 1.65 WHIP. Those aren't the most advanced statistics, but there isn't much of a sample to go off here. On the Nationals side of the equation, there are tons of hitters with excellent splits against right-handed pitching. My favorite of the bunch are Trea Turner, Daniel Murphy, Bryce Harper and Adam Eaton.
Also Consider: Los Angeles Angels against Jesse Hahn
FanDuel DFS Pitchers
Clayton Kershaw - SP, at SFG ($12,700)
It's a steep price, but for daily fantasy regulars, you should be used to it by now. Kershaw is consistently expensive. And guess what? He consistently exceeds salary based expectations. The best pitcher on the planet has a pretty great matchup tonight against a reeling Giants offense in what is the best pitcher park on the board today. So far this season, he's been racking up strikeouts (10.6 K/9), keeping the ball in the yard (0.6 HR/9) and limiting base runners (0.72 WHIP). All of the aforementioned numbers bode well for using Kershaw in cash games. As does the Giants run projection of just 2.8. As for tournaments, you can make a case for using Kershaw, but to do so, you'll likely have to stack a team or two.
Also Consider: Wade Miley - SP, vs TB ($8,100) - GPP only; Danny Duffy - SP, at CWS ($9,700)
FanDuel DFS Infielders
Jason Castro - C, at TEX ($2,500)
He's struggled a little out of the gate this year, but a look at his splits should help convince you he's a solid buy-low option today. He's priced as such that an extra-base hit or two would allow him to get three or four times his price implied value. Dating back to last season, Castro showed good discipline against right-handers (.340 wOBA) and also displayed power upside with his .205 ISO split.
Also Consider: Chris Herrmann - C, vs SDP ($2,100)
Trey Mancini - 1B, vs TBR ($2,900)
Mancini is another excellently priced hitter that has a strong wOBA split and also possesses serious home run power - especially against right-handed pitching. He has been a monster this season, consistently beating his price implied value by an average of more than five FanDuel points per night, and he's crushed right-handers to the tune of a .706 ISO.
Also Consider: Mark Reynolds - 1B, vs WAS ($3,800)
Daniel Murphy - 2B, vs COL ($4,400)
I mentioned Murphy in my Nationals stack and I like him enough to deploy him even without his supporting cast. Murphy has strong splits (.408 wOBA, .253 ISO), gets a major park upgrade, hits very high in a strong lineup and happens to be facing the largely inexperienced German Marquez. He's worth paying up for tonight.
Also Consider: Brian Dozier - 2B, at TEX ($3,500)
Nolan Arenado - 3B, vs WAS ($$4,900)
Another steep price, but hopefully my value plays in the other parts of the infield and outfield will allow you to afford someone like Arenado. He possesses excellent splits, is playing in Coors, and his numbers are much stronger than anyone else at the position. For the past year, he owns a wOBA split just shy of 400 and an ISO split of nearly 300 at .285.
Also Consider: Anthony Rendon - 3B, at COL ($3,600)
Carlos Correa - SS, at CLE ($3,500)
Correa is starting to come alive, and I love him in this spot as an overlooked type. He could be a great pivot today in tournaments from the likes of some of the more expensive names. In reality, Correa possesses just as high of a ceiling as any shortstop - if not higher. Tonight, I like his .346 wOBA split and his spot in the middle of the order against the home run prone Josh Tomlin.
Also Consider: Trea Turner - SS, at COL ($4,500)
FanDuel DFS Outfielders
A.J. Pollock - OF, vs SDP ($3,900)
Pollock is yet another bat that is heating up - he's beat his salary implied value in four of his last five games - and has a salary that hasn't quite caught up to his production. That puts him in a great spot to exceed value, as does his matchup tonight against Clayton Richard. For the past year, Pollock owns a .327 wOBA and .286 ISO split against lefties.
Seth Smith - OF, vs TBR ($2,600)
Smith is my favorite value option today in the outfield. When facing right-handed pitching, Smith is usually slotted atop this powerful Orioles lineup, which is something to cherish in daily fantasy. He also possesses sneaky power, posting a .186 ISO split that is more than 110 points higher than his split against right-handed pitching.
Yasmany Tomas - OF, vs SDP ($3,200)
Tomas was one of the guys I avoided at all costs yesterday as the team faced a right-handed pitcher. Now that they're faced with the task of tackling a southpaw, I'm all aboard the Tomas train. He absolutely crushes lefties, and in the past year, owns a .427 wOBA and .302 ISO split.
Also Consider: Charlie Blackmon - OF, vs WAS ($4,600)
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