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Daily Fantasy Leagues - Fanduel Lineup Picks (4/22)
- Please check the posted lineups and weather forecasts for each game before finalizing your lineup.
SP: Erasmo Ramirez vs. HOU (vs. Collin McHugh) ($4500)
I’m sure people are excited to see this name. I’m not going to try and convince you that Erasmo is a great pitcher. That said, he’s much better than he’s shown so far this year. I think a lot of his struggles are attributable to his difficulty in getting a first-pitch strike. Last year he did this 59.2% of the time (59.9% for his career). This year, he’s at 51.2%. I’m not going to chalk this all up to randomness/small sample size since his walks have been up too. Still, I think he’s a good bet to improve on these numbers against the free-swinging Astros. Erasmo’s numbers also may appear more horrendous than they actually are (still horrendous, just to a lesser degree) because he’s faced some tough lineups this year: @Tex, vs. OAK, @OAK, and @LAA.
This year, the Astros have struck out against RHP in 26.6% of their plate appearances (leading the league). I think Erasmo will rack-up some strikeouts in this game. Also, E-Ram has the great fortune of squaring off against a weak starting pitcher. Don’t let FanDuel fool you into thinking Scott Feldman is starting (that’s who they have starting as of 11:53pm Monday). Feldman was placed on the DL, and former Rockies great Collin McHugh is getting the call. I like Erasmo for the price in this juicy matchup. This will allow you to go on a fun little spending spree with your hitters.
If you (understandably) can’t stomach a ride on the Erasmo rollercoaster, I’d recommend Johnny Cueto (vs. PIT) ($7500) pitching at spacious PNC park against the strikeout happy Pirates. To be honest though, there are a lots of great aces taking the mound tonight, so it should be easy to find someone you like.
C: Buster Posey @ COL (vs. Franklin Morales, LHP) ($3200)
Whenever Posey is facing a mediocre or bad LHP, he will find his way into my lineup. You’ll also probably read this exact sentence from me (assuming you’re one of my dozens of dedicated followers): “Over the last two years, Posey has the third-highest OPS and wOBA in baseball (trailing only Andrew McCutchen and Ryan Braun).” Posey is a beast against LHP and he plays a weak position. It would be great to get that kind of production from your 1B, where there are plenty of viable options. Posey is only $3200 facing a bad LHP at the hitters’ paradise of Coors Field. If Posey starts, he’s a “must own” guy.
2B: Robinson Cano vs. HOU (Collin McHugh, RHP) ($3800)
I’m all about trying to find “value” at positions so I can spend heavily elsewhere. I think Cano is worth the hit to the pocketbook tonight. Many of the other elite second base options have much tougher opponents (Utley vs. Ryu, Kinsler vs. Sale, Kipnis vs. Shields, etc.). He’s going to face a weak right-hander who’s likely to get knocked out early. That Astros bullpen is a complete wreck. Cano and the Mariners offense should score some runs tomorrow. Alternatively, I like Anthony Rendon vs. Skaggs (LAA) ($3100) if you can’t afford Robbie.
OF: Hunter Pence vs. COL (Frankline Morales, LHP) ($3100)
I like Pence pretty much for the same reasons I like Posey. Pence isn’t as spectacular as Posey against LHP, but he showed signs of breaking out of his slow start last night. He’s facing a bad LHP with very rough platoon splits against RHHs. He’s playing in Coors Field. Like the Mariners against McHugh, I like the Giants to score a lot of runs in this matchup-- that’s called "going out on a limb."
OF: Jayson Werth vs. LAA (vs. Tyler Skaggs, LHP) ($3100)
Werth is one of the best hitters on Earth since the beginning of last season. He’s facing a decent but inconsistent pitcher in Skaggs. Skaggs has struggled much more mightily against RHHs than LHHs in his career. He’s also very prone to the long ball. For $3100, I’ll gladly pick up Werth over spending an additional $1K+ on one of the highest priced outfielders.
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