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JB's top MLB daily fantasy baseball starting pitchers for FanDuel, DraftKings on 5/22/16. Top value and sleeper picks for DFS and seasonal fantasy baseball streamers
Welcome, RotoBallers. We have have the usual full Sunday slate today, with plenty of intriguing pitching options, including a mythological norse god. The weather looks safe across the board, save one game. For the brave few who were looking at using pitchers from the PIT vs. COL game, keep an eye on the possible thunderstorms in Pittsburgh.
In this article, I’ll be providing you with the top starting pitcher streamers for daily fantasy baseball (DFS) and for seasonal leagues for 5/22/16. These streamers will range from high-priced / high-ownership options to low-priced / low-ownership options, and will be sleepers and value picks for your cash games and GPPs on DraftKings and FanDuel, and also for seasonal leagues with daily lineups.
There'll be three main sections of this article: our Pitcher Matchups Tool’s top plays, my value plays, and pitchers to fade. I highly recommend you check out the Daily Pitcher Matchups Ratings tool - it's an extremely useful tool for daily fantasy or seasonal streaming for finding the diamonds in the rough. Anyways, let's get rowdy.
Daily Pitcher Matchup Ratings Tool Top Plays
Max Scherzer, WAS versus Miami Marlins
FanDuel: $10,500/ DraftKings: $12,900
Scherzer's 11.73 K/9 is the highest of any pitcher on todays slate. Unfortunately he has been much too generous with the long ball, allowing a 21.3 HR/FB% and 2.01 HR/9, which has led to an ERA north of 4.00. Scherzer has also been getting hammered by left handed hitters, allowing 18 R, 8 HR, and a .435 wOBA which all rank near the worst among qualified starters.
Justin Bour, Derek Dietrich, and Christian Yelich (if healthy) all pose a serious threat to Scherzer today, along with the usual long ball threats from Giancarlo Stanton and Marcell Ozuna. Back on April 21, Scherzer allowed five runs in five innings, striking out only three against this same Marlins team in the same ballpark. Scherzer is capable of having a historic outing any given day, but for the price you need to pay to own him today, I would prefer a safer route.
Noah Syndergaard, NYM versus Milwaukee Brewers
FanDuel: $11,800 / DraftKings: $13,300
If you have not noticed, Syndergaard is freakin unbelievable. In 2016, the 23 year old owns a 1.95 FIP, 0.99 WHIP, and 10.97 K/9. He has thrown more pitches over 100 mph than any other pitcher this season, plus he possesses a slider that has been clocked at 95 mph. Just straight up filthy.
Today he draws a match-up with the Milwaukee Brewers who own the fourth most SO against RHP this year. Add in the fact that Ryan Braun has been sidelined while nursing stiffness in his surgically repaired back, and you have a no brainer pick. Thor is the most expensive for a reason, and will be heavily owned today.
JB’s Value Plays of the Day
Kenta Maeda, LAD versus San Diego Padres
FanDuel: $9,100/ DraftKings: $10,600
Maeda faced the Padres for his first MLB start back on April 6th. He threw six scoreless innings, allowing only five hits and striking out four. He draws the same match-up again today, and against RHP, these Padres currently rank 29th in runs scored, 30th in OPS, and 28th in SO.
Maeda's slider is currently ranked as the second most effective in the league among starters, according to FanGraphs, and he has thrown it more than any other pitcher. The Padres couldn't figure it out the first go-around, and their numbers don't lead me to believe they will have much success against Maeda today, either.
Marcus Stroman, TOR versus Minnesota Twins
FanDuel: $7,800/ DraftKings: $8,700
Stroman is my GPP play of the day, based on his low prices and his high ceiling. Against RHP, the Twins rank 26th in OPS and 29th in SO this season. Besides his start against the Red Sox, who everyone is struggling against, Stroman is coming off of his first dud of 2016. Of course it was against a Rays team that was already seeing him for the third time this year.
Stroman's 61.3 GB% ranks second best among starters, and among the top 20 GB%, he also owns the second lowest LD%. The Twins are a fly-ball heavy team, which Stroman could really use to his advantage to generate weak contact if he can keep the ball down in the zone. The other side of this coin is why I am staying away from him in cash games today.
Starting Pitchers to Fade in Daily Fantasy Baseball
Jordan Zimmermann, DET versus Tampa Bay Rays
FanDuel: $9,700/ DraftKings: $10,000
Over his first five starts in 2016, Zimmermann allowed only two R and one HR. Over his last three starts, he has allowed 13 R and four HR. This is not the Rays offense we saw during the first month of the season, either. Over the last seven days, they have scored the second most runs in the league, and hit the second most HR.
Zimmermann's ERA, FPPG, and match-up may look enticing on paper today, but this is absolutely a trap game. Stroman is a very similar type of pitcher, with a better match-up, but costs you $2,000 less.
Zack Greinke, ARI versus St. Louis Cardinals
FanDuel: $9,900/ DraftKings: $8,300
How a man with an ERA above 5.00 still costs almost $10K is beyond me. The Cardinals have scored the second most runs against RHP this season, with the second highest BA (.285). On April 25th of this year, the Cards shelled Greinke with seven runs on 11 hits, while only striking out twice. While he has pitched better since that outing, I have not seen enough improvement to instill any confidence in him at all for today's bout.
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