RADIO
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 April 12th.
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.
Offense to Target for FanDuel DFS
Baltimore Orioles - Baltimore travels to division rival Boston today for a 4:05 start and brings some hot bats with them. The O's crushed Yankees pitching in a recent series and now they move on to Fenway where the over/under of today's game (8.5) is the highest in the league. Baltimore will be squaring off against Clay Buchholz today, who just gave up 9 earned runs in 3+ innings the last time out. The Red Sox "ace" has a 5.48 ERA going back to the beginning of last season and I expect the O's get to him early and often.
DFS Starting Pitchers To Consider for FanDuel
Jordan Zimmermann (SP, WAS) - $9,900
Zimmermann has gotten off to a slow start for the Nationals and the team hasn't done much better. However, the Nationals were projected by almost everyone to be the best regular season team this season and what better way to turn a slow start around than to play the supposed worst team in the league, the Phillies. The Phils have scored the second lowest amount of runs in all of baseball (26) so expect Zimmermann to not only lock them down, but to also get a win at the end of the day.
C.J. Wilson (SP, LAA) - $8,000
If your looking for a more risky proposition at your SP spot to save some money, look toward Wilson. Wilson has thrown one gem this year (8 innings of shutout ball against Seattle) and one dud (giving up 6 earned in 5.2 innings to Kansas City). Wilson isn't a strikeout guy anymore, but he's in Houston today, playing the second most strikeout prone team in the league right now. The ballpark isn't necessarily great for Wilson's skill set, but I think 7+ strikeouts with a chance to get the win is well within reach.
DFS Infielders To Consider for FanDuel
Adrian Gonzalez (1B, LAD) - $5,300
Nothing to see here, still the hottest hitter in baseball.
Yadier Molina (C, STL) - $3,000
I've been using Molina almost every chance I get this week. The entire Cardinals lineup is producing and while Molina had a down year last season, it seems like he's regained some of his 2013 form at the plate. He's faced today's opposing starter, Homer Bailey, many times throughout his career, registering 33 at-bats and hitting .333 with three home runs in those chances.
Dan Uggla (2B, WAS) - $2,200
Talk about a super cheap option. Uggla is hitting sixth today for the Washington Nationals and has a great history off of opposing starter Aaron Harang. In 27 career at-bats, Uggla is hitting .333 with 2 homers. If your looking to cut some cost in the infield, Uggla is a great risk/reward guy today.
DFS Outfielders To Consider for FanDuel
Andrew McCutchen (OF, PIT) - $4,700
Of all of the high valued outfielders I like McCutchen the most today. McCutchen crushes Kyle Lohse for his career to the tune of a .318 batting average and 3 HR in 44 career at-bats. Not to mention, McCutchen and Lohse just went head to head again last weekend, resulting in a 2 for 5 day from McCutchen at the plate which included a 6th inning homer off of Lohse. Expect more of the same today.
Matt Holliday (OF, STL) - $3,600
Holliday is being criminally undervalued in FanDuel right now. His price point is in the Chris Coghlan, Steve Pearce, Charlie Blackmon range, but meanwhile Holliday is putting up upper echelon outfield numbers. The Cardinals are clicking on offense thus far, allowing for Holliday to come to the plate in run producing situations and Holliday has answered the call. Holliday is hitting a scorching hot .344 and even though he hasn't gone deep yet he has still produced six RBI in nine games. The long balls will come and Holliday will remain a consistently good value throughout the season.
Austin Jackson (OF, SEA) - $2,600
Jackson has been a disappointment thus far, hitting just .205 with no power and getting caught on his only steal attempt. That changes today when Jackson goes up against Colby Lewis who he has a career .393 batting average against in 28 career at-bats.
FanDuel Sleeper Value of the Day
Devon Travis (2B, TOR) - $2,800
I normally don't like to trust rookies in fantasy, but it's hard to deny what Travis has done so far. He's hit three home runs already and knocked in 12 runs for the Jays in the early season. He's also added nine runs himself, a number that figures to only go up as he's been moved into the leadoff spot against Atlanta for the second straight day. If Travis can establish himself as The Jays' leadoff guy, he's going to find himself trotting around the bases often with Edwin Encarnacion or Jose Bautista not far behind.
My DFS Lineup on FanDuel
Today I’ll be playing in the $60K MLB Squeeze ($2 entry) which starts at 1:05 pm EST and includes only the early slate of games. I won't be able to adjust my lineup for the late slate, otherwise I'd be playing an all-day format like normal.
MLB & DFS Chat Room
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