MLB Daily Fantasy Helper: Thursday 5/28/15
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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
Corey Kluber – The biggest ace on the mound tonight is Kluber, who's allowed just two earned runs over his last three games (25 innings pitched). The righty will face a Seattle lineup that ranks 23rd in wOBA against right-handers, striking out at a 22.0% rate, which is sixth worst in baseball. Kluber has the strikeout upside, is capable of going deep into games and, despite being on the road, is one of the heaviest favorites on the night.
Alternative Option: AJ Burnett
Cost-Effective Pitcher
Ian Kennedy – The Pirates' lineup has some big bats, but they've also been underperforming this year. Pittsburgh is middle-of-the-pack in terms of K rate against right-handed pitching this season and, as a team, they rank 18th in wOBA. And while Kenndy has a FIP that's well above his career average thanks to an insanely high home run rate, there's some reason to be into him tonight. His batted ball profile looks relatively similar to previous seasons, and his strikeouts per nine average is still right at his career norm. Really, it looks like the home runs are giving him a deal of trouble, and if he can limit those, he can be a good DFS option. It's a high-risk, high-reward investment.
Alternative Option: Chris Heston
High-Cost Hitter
Mike Trout - Buck Farmer is making his season debut for the Tigers tonight thanks to a Kyle Lobstein injury, meaning Angels bats are in play. Last year, Farmer pitched just 9.1 innings and threw to a 5.81 FIP, though things are looking better in AAA this year, where he's got a sub-3.00 FIP. It's a righty-righty matchup for Trout, but his career wOBA has been better against right-handers, so don't think too deeply about the lack of platoon advantage. Trout is the top batter on our board tonight.
Miguel Cabrera - Yeah, I know -- real ballsy for me to place the two best bats in the game in our high-cost hitter section today. But there's reason for it -- both are in decent spots considering the small slate. Miggy has the pltoon advantage tonight against CJ Wilson, and although Cabrera can hit both righties and lefties, he certainly prefers southpaws. Wilson has pretty extreme splits over his career -- lefties are hitting to just a .255 wOBA, while righties are at .322. I wouldn't get close to potential lefty Tiger bats, but I'd definitely trot out Miggy and some of the other strong righties in Detroit's lineup tonight.
Alternative Option: Freddie Freeman
Cost-Effective Hitters
Kole Calhoun - Calhoun has a nice price tag considering his bat, and gets the aforementioned Buck Farmer tonight. Unlike Trout, though, Calhoun has the platoon advantage on Farmer. Though his wOBA is only four points higher against righties, Calhoun gets a lot more power, hitting to a .176 ISO over his career. The Angels should be able to score some runs (Vegas thinks they'll be north of four), and Calhoun should be part of that.
Brian McCann - McCann is still reasonably priced on FanDuel -- as are a lot of bats, admittedly -- and he gets a righty matchup tonight against Kendall Graveman. Graveman's pitched 22.1 innings this year and has a poor 5.16 FIP, higher than his near 5.00 FIP over his career. There's not a huge sample size to make a strong claim, but lefties have hit to a .389 wOBA against him over his short career, and McCann, of course, hits righties well. In a short slate, you could do worse here.
