MLB Daily Fantasy Helper: Tuesday 5/5/15
If you’ve never played daily fantasy baseball before, it’s time to start. Unlike traditional leagues, you’re able to select the players you want on that specific day only, giving you a different squad to root for each and every day.
And while there are many platforms to play daily fantasy baseball on, one of our favorites is from our partners over at DraftKings.com. Never played over there before? It’s time for that to change. Sign up now and use our optimal lineups here at numberFire.com to crush the competition. You won’t regret it.
As for today's lineups -- those can be found here. The information below is to help you understand why particular players are being picked, because we don't want you going into the things completely blind. We want to help you. Keep in mind, however, that things often change up until the games start, so make sure you're refreshing the optimal lineups as close to the start of games as possible.
Top Pitchers
High-Cost Pitcher
Stephen Strasburg – You don't want to use Strasburg, I know. But his 4.60 ERA really isn't a good indicator of how good he's been given an absurdly high .402 BABIP despite a similar batted ball profile as last year. His strikeout per nine rate is still in pretty good shape, and he's facing a team tonight that's striking out at the eighth-highest rate against right-handers. Putting it all together, he still makes for a strong play. And he's our top option at pitcher.
Alternative Options: Zack Greinke
Cost-Effective Pitcher
Jeff Locke – If you want some cap relief -- or a pitcher to throw into a GPP -- Locke isn't a terrible option. There's a chance for thunderstorms in Pittsburgh tonight, but if the game goes, Locke could be in store for a good outing against a Reds lineup that will see an unfavorable park shift while playing at PNC. Against lefties this year, the Reds are striking out at a 23.1% rate, a bottom 10 number, while their wOBA is pretty middle of the road. Locke will have the platoon advantage against Joey Votto and Jay Bruce, too, which is a plus. Locke's got a 4.76 ERA, so his numbers don't look great at a quick glance, but a high BABIP and 2.43 FIP give us reason to believe he'll regress.
Alternative Option: Garrett Richards
Top Hitters
High-Cost Hitters
Paul Goldschmidt - (This blurb is from yesterday, but the game was suspended so it still fits today.) It's going to be very difficult to fit Goldy into your lineup if you're using a high-priced pitcher, because his cost ($6,100 on FanDuel, $5,700 on DraftKings) is pretty absurd. But there's a reason for it. He faces Tyler Matzek, a lefty, at Coors Field tonight. Goldschmidt has a career .432 wOBA against lefties (!!!), and his ISO is .285 in the split, too. The combination in Coors is drool-worthy. Just make sure the game happens, as the weather looks questionable right now.
Josh Reddick - Reddick's been hitting the ball well for Oakland, and enters tonight with an impressive 12-game hit streak. And in 20 games this year, Reddick's failed to get a hit in just four of them. He gets the platoon advantage against Trevor May -- May doesn't have extreme splits, but he has just straight-up ugly numbers -- and Reddick, meanwhile, sees relatively good splits against right-handers. His cost has climbed, but he -- along with a lot of the Oakland bats -- is well worth it tonight.
Alternative Option: Stephen Vogt
Cost-Effective Hitters
Marwin Gonzalez - The Astros lineup wasn't great last night, but don't let that push you away from them tonight against lefty Wandy Rodriguez and his 5.70 FIP. Wandy is much better against left-handers than right-handers, which helps Gonzalez, who's hit right-handers far better throughout his brief career. The Astros are expected to score some runs according to Vegas, and Marwin is a way to get cheap exposure to the lineup.
Carlos Beltran - Beltran's price has dropped pretty significantly, making him a punt play on FanDuel and a cheap option on DraftKings. Marco Estrada will be on the mound against the Yankees, and the righty has been pretty solid to start the year in limited action as a reliever. But over his career, he's surrendered a .313 and .314 wOBA to righties and lefties, respectively, and he has a 4.11 FIP. As a switch hitter, Beltran doesn't see huge splits at all, so the matchup here is pretty even. The reason you may want to use him is obvious: cost.
Alternative Option: A.J. Pierzynski
