MLB Daily Fantasy Helper: Friday 8/14/15
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 if you'd like, you can use our optimal lineups here at numberFire.com to crush the competition.
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 – Despite earning just a 7-12 record, Kluber has been one of the best fantasy commodities in all of baseball this season. He's earned an impressive 2.55 FIP and 2.89 SIERA while striking out the eighth most batters per nine innings among all starters at 9.75. He also leads the majors in innings pitched at 171.2. Tonight, the Indians' ace gets the pleasure of facing off against a Twins' squad who has struggled to hit right-handed pitching all season long. Minnesota ranks just 24th in the league in wOBA (.302), 25th in wRC+ (90) and strike out at the eighth highest rate in all of baseball (20.7%) against right-handed pitching this season. Even with the likes of Max Scherzer, David Price and Dallas Keuchel taking the hill, Kluber is our number one overall projected pitcher on the board tonight.
Alternative Options: Max Scherzer, Dallas Keuchel
Cost-Effective Pitcher
Ubaldo Jimenez – After trading away some major pieces at the trade deadline, the Athletics have been reeling as of late. In fact, they have arguably been the worst offensive team in baseball during the second half of this season. Oakland ranks 29th in wRC+ (75), 27th in ISO (.119) and dead last in all of baseball in wOBA (.275) since the All-Star break. That means, with the Athletics traveling to Baltimore, Orioles' starter Jimenez makes an interesting play tonight. Jimenez has been pretty solid throughout the season, earning a 3.55 xFIP and 3.66 SIERA while striking out a very respectable 8.29 batters per nine innings. Although tonight's 8.5 over/under is not ideal, the Orioles are -180 favorites and, given how terrible the Athletics have been, Jimenez can provide some decent cap relief at just $7,600 on FanDuel and $7,800 on DraftKings.
Alternative Option: Jaime Garcia
Top Hitters
High-Cost Hitters
Ryan Braun – With the bottom-feeding Phillies' Adam Morgan coming to town, Milwaukee is one of my favorite lineups to target tonight. Especially any right-handed Brewers. The Phillies' rookie southpaw comes into tonight with an abysmal 5.37 FIP and 5.49 xFIP while allowing a .371 wOBA against righties through his first eight starts of the season. This bodes incredibly well for Braun who has absolutely destroyed left-handed pitching this season, posting a .410 wOBA, .247 ISO and .960 OPS against southpaws on the year. The Brewers are -165 favorites in a game that vegas expects to be one of the highest scoring games on the slate, which means Braun should have plenty of opportunities to drive in runs. Do not hesitate to plug the Brewers' star into your lineups in all formats tonight.
Bryce Harper – Harper has been one of the best hitters in baseball all season long. In fact, the Nationals' slugger actually leads all qualified hitters in wOBA (.461), wRC+ (199), ISO (.311) and OPS (1.101) on the year. Despite amassing a .428 wOBA, .248 ISO and 1.000 OPS against lefties, Harper has done even more damage against right-handed pitching this season. The Nationals' outfielder has put up a massive .475 wOBA, .339 ISO and 1.146 OPS against right-handers this season. Not too shabby. Given those outrageous numbers, I think it's fair to say that Harper is in play any time he is matched up with a righty. That said, I like him even more than usual tonight given his matchup with Matt Cain. Cain has given up a whopping .421 wOBA to left-handed batters this season with a horrific 5.76 FIP and 6.32 xFIP. Harper may be expensive tonight, but he is worth every penny.
Alternative Option: Paul Goldschmidt, Justin Upton
Cost-Effective Hitters
David Peralta – Peralta is expected to return to the Diamondbacks' lineup tonight after missing a few days with a minor quad injury and draws an excellent matchup in his return. The Diamondbacks get a matchup with Braves' starter Julio Teheran tonight, who has posted a 5.03 FIP and 4.55 xFIP against left-handed batters this season. Meanwhile, Peralta has destroyed right-handed pitching this season, earning a .388 wOBA, .239 ISO and .914 OPS against righties this season. The Diamondbacks' outfielder is definitely in play on all platforms tonight, but is an absolute steal on DraftKings at just $3,300.
Jedd Gyorko – I would be remiss if I did not mention that there is a game taking place at Coors Field tonight. The Padres will be traveling to Colorado to take on the Rockies, which means fantasy value galore. While pretty much all batters from this game are in play, Gyorko is my favorite value out of Coors tonight. The Padres' infielder has done very well against left-handed pitching this season, amassing a .354 wOBA and .156 ISO against southpaws on the year. While those numbers aren't as mind-boggling as Harper's, Gyorko's matchup with Yohan Flande and his 5.06 FIP against right-handed batters certainly gives him a major boost, not to mention the fact that this game will take place at the most hitter-friendly park in the bigs. Gyorko is an elite value play in all formats tonight, especially at just $3,100 on FanDuel.
Alternative Option: Kyle Seager, Derek Norris
