MLB Daily Fantasy Helper: Thursday 6/25/15
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, a place where over $300,000,000 will be won this baseball season. 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
Jacob deGrom – deGrom should be worth his price tag today even though he's the top-dollar option on DraftKings at $10,100. The Brewers rank just 25th in the league in wRC+ against righties (91) and have posted a wOBA of just .308 against them, too. deGrom is posting an ERA of 2.34 so far this year (but his xFIP is 2.92). Plus, Miller Park isn't necessarily a great spot for a pitcher, but deGrom is good enough and the Brewers have struggled enough that he's our top option today in terms of sheer fantasy points.
Alternative Options: Jon Lester
Cost-Effective Pitcher
Chris Heston - Heston will cost you only $7,500 on DraftKings, and that's a pretty good deal for a guy with an xFIP of 3.33 against the San Diego Padres. The Padres own a wRC+ of just 89 against righties on the year, which ranks 28th in the Majors. Their wOBA (.295) ranks 29th. Without scraping the bottom of the barrel, Heston is one of our top pitcher values on the day.
Alternative Options: Carlos Frias, Taylor Jungmann
High-Cost Hitters
A.J. Pollock - Pollock's teammate, Paul Goldschmidt is actually our top-projected point-getter today, which isn't a surprise, but Pollock is projected to rack up just 0.04 fewer DraftKings points despite the $1,500 savings he provides at "just" $4,800 today. Odds are that he'll be hitting in front of Goldy anyway, so he's a way to get exposure to Goldschmidt at a lower price.
Anthony Rizzo - Given the Coors bump and the matchup against Jorge de la Rosa, Goldschmidt could be a popular way to go at first base. For that reason, Rizzo at $5,300 on DraftKings could be a nice tournament pivot. He's close enough in price to Goldschmidt that others will probably try to pay up for him, leaving Rizzo, our sixth-highest projected hitter, underowned.
Alternative Options: Manny Machado, Josh Reddick
Cost-Effective Hitters
Chris Parmelee - Parmelee is hitting second in the lineup against Eduardo Rodriguez, and at just $3,100 on DraftKings, he makes a solid play despite the lefty-lefty matchup. In terms of value, Parmelee, who has 7 and 11 DraftKings points in his last two games, is projected to be the sixth-best option on the slate today.
Ruben Tejada - Shortstop is always a hard position to fill -- if you aren't spending up for Troy Tulowitzki. Tulo, of course, is one of our top options on the day, but Tejada is worth a look if you want to save salary and avoid the obvious play at shortstop. Tejada is hitting second today in front of the always-dangerous-against-righties Lucas Duda and costs just $2,800 on DraftKings. That makes Tejada one of our best value bats today.
Alternative Option: Kike Hernandez, Chris Coghlan
