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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 Saturday May 2nd.
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 Saturday’s Review
Last Saturday we played the $75K MLB Squeeze. Here is how we did:
Entry: $2
Winnings: $10
For the Season: +$6
Pick Highlights: Going expensive with Adam Wainwright on the mound looked like it would pay off until he hurt his achilles after four innings giving us a short start and no chance for a win. No matter though, outfield picks Matt Holliday and Carlos Gonzalez both went deep and sleeper of the day pick Andre Ethier led this team in points, adding another home run and racking up a 12.75 point day.
Relationship Status: "First round on me tonight"
Offense to Target for FanDuel DFS
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 Wade Miley takes the mound for the Red Sox. Yankees right handed hitters should be taking aim at the Green Monster early and often as Miley has a propensity to give up homers to righties. Miley hasn't thrown well early in the season and on a warm spring night in Fenway I expect his struggles to continue.
DFS Starting Pitchers To Consider for FanDuel
Jake Arrieta (SP, CHC) - $9,800
Arrieta has developed into a bonafide ace over the past year and faces a Milwaukee Brewers lineup tonight that has been downright pitiful in the first month of the season. The Brew Crew are third worst in the league in runs per game and sixth in the league in team strikeouts. Vegas loves the Cubbies today, giving them the best odds to win on the moneyline at -181. You should get seven strong out of Arrieta with a good number of K's and a win by day's end.
Miguel Gonzalez (SP, BAL) - $7,600
There aren't a ton of cheap options that I'd like to use at pitcher today, so Miguel Gonzalez is about as low as I'm willing to go. Gonzalez had a 2.19 ERA after the All-Star break last year and has shown flashes of that pitching ability this season as well. He's not a strikeout artist, but he faces off against Tampa Bay today who has struck out more than everyone in the league other than the Astros. Chris Archer is a worthy opponent on the mound for the Rays, but I think Gonzalez can get deep enough into this game to give himself a shot at a win.
DFS Infielders To Consider for FanDuel
Buster Posey (C, SFG) - $3,500
I don't see anyone on the catcher's list that I'd use today other than Posey. I know it's a steep price to pay, but the other catcher matchups don't jump out. Posey crushes lefties to the tune of a .329 career average and he faces one today in the Angels Hector Santiago.
Albert Pujols (1B, LAA) - $3,000
Pujols is clearly not the player he used to be and he's been dinged up of late with a hamstring issue, but all signs point to him returning to the lineup today (keep your eye on this though if you use him). The return would be just in time as he faces off against Tim Hudson who he has hammered throughout his career. Pujols has 3 career home runs off Hudson and has hit .438 against him in 32 at-bats. At this point in his career, Pujols tends to struggle with power pitchers, something Hudson is not, so I expect the Pujols vs. Hudson career trends to continue.
Dustin Pedroia (2B, BOS) - $2,900
At this point Pedroia is averaging 2.74 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
Matt Holliday (OF, STL) – $3,700
Holliday's price is starting to rise, so this may be the last weekend we get to automatically slot him in here. Holliday is putting up upper echelon outfield numbers. Holliday is hitting a scorching hot .357 and is one of the most consistent players in the game. He hits today's opposing starter, Francisco Liriano, to the tune of a .389 average in 18 career at-bats. Like Pedroia, Holliday remains a lock for all of my lineups.
Matt Kemp (OF, SD) – $3,700
Matt Kemp is back. I might be a little late to this party, but he has looked great thus far, hitting .330 on the year and producing runs in the middle of the revamped San Diego lineup. While Petco Park will continue to suffocate his power numbers a bit, expect more of the hot start today from Kemp. He faces off with Jorge De La Rosa, who is mysteriously much worse away from Coors Field as I outlined last week in the Offense to Target section. Kemp mashes against De La Rosa, hitting .415 with 3 homers in 41 career at-bats.
FanDuel Sleeper Value of the Day
Andre Ethier (OF, LAD) – $2,700
I'm going back to the well here for the second week in a row. With Carl Crawford and Yasiel Puig on the DL right now Ethier is a must play for as long as his price remains below $3,000. He helped me win last week and I expect much of the same with him facing off with Jeremy Hellickson tonight.
My DFS Lineup on FanDuel
Today's slate has many options as you can play early, afternoon, and late games only as well as the all day slate. I'm going to do something a little different and play in the Early Only $600 MLB Quintuple Up.
MLB & DFS Chat Room
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