MLB Daily Fantasy Helper: Saturday 5/7/16
The beauty of daily fantasy baseball is that the top targets are different each and every day. Whether it's the right-handed catcher who destroys left-handed pitching or the mid-range hurler facing a depleted lineup, you're not going to find yourself using the same assets time after time.
While this breaks up the monotony, it can make it hard to decide which players are primed to succeed on a given day. We can help bridge that gap.
In addition to our custom optimal lineups, you can check out our batting and pitching heat maps, which show the pieces in the best spot to succeed on that slate. Put on the finishing touches with our games and lineups page to see who's hitting where and what the weather looks like, and you'll have yourself a snazzy looking team to put up some big point totals.
If you need help getting started on that trek, here are some of the top options on the board today. This article is for the main slate, which starts at 7:05 PM ET.
Pitchers to Target
High-Priced Pitcher
Chris Sale (FanDuel Price: $12,000) - Sale has been absolutely untouchable this season, posting a 1.66 ERA and 0.81 WHIP, while winning each start he's made. According to Vegas, Sale has the best chance of any pitcher to win tonight against Ervin Santana, and he is projected to hold the Twins to just 2.9 runs. Minnesota has ranked 23rd in wOBA against lefties this season, and their strikeout rate of 24.3 percent is the sixth-highest in the Majors. It's hard to fit him in your lineups, but Sale is the best pitcher on the slate, bar none.
Value Pitcher
Bartolo Colon ($8,100) - If you can't stomach spending $12,000 on a pitcher, Colon comes in at a nice discount in a terrific matchup. Colon has been steady on the year, maintaining a 2.56 ERA. He is often thought of as a safe option with little upside, but he was able to post 57 FanDuel points in his last game -- an eight inning shutout victory over the Braves, in which he posted a season-high seven strikeouts. He gets another favorable matchup tonight against San Diego at Petco. The Padres had the third-lowest wOBA against righties last season, and they rank 29th this season. Their strikeout rate of 25.6 percent against righties is the third-highest in the league and offers some additional upside for Colon. Do everything you can to fit Sale in, but don't be disappointed if you land on Colon, as he offers possibly the highest floor per dollar.
Hitters to Target
High-Priced Options
Joey Votto ($3,600) - A matchup with the Brewers' pathetic pitching staff has been exactly what the Reds have needed to get their bats going. The Reds have scored 14 runs in the first two games of the series, and Votto has averaged 21.7 FanDuel points. Cincinnati once again has one of the highest implied team totals on the slate today, as Vegas expects them to get to Jimmy Nelson for 4.4 runs. Nelson, a righty, struggles against lefties, and Votto has posted improved numbers against righties in his career. He should again be the most popular first base option tonight.
Jay Bruce ($3,600) - Similar to Votto, Bruce will benefit from the matchup with Nelson and the high implied run total. Bruce has piled up 31.9 FanDuel points in the first two games of the series and should continue to be effective with another susceptible righty on the mound. Bruce has hit .429 in 14 career at bats against Nelson with two homers. While batter-versus-pitcher (BvP) stats are hardly indicative of future production, they can be used to offer evidence that the batter matches up well with that type of a pitcher, as Bruce does tonight.
Christian Yelich ($3,500) - Yelich is really heating up at the plate and has a home run in three of his past four games. He looks to keep his hot streak going tonight against right-hander Jeremy Hellickson. Hellickson posted a 4.14 SIERA last season and has struggled with lefties throughout his career. Yelich, a lefty, absolutely crushes right-handed pitching and is always worth targeting when he gets on a hot streak like this.
Value Hitters
David Peralta ($3,000) - Peralta has shown signs of breaking out of his slump recently, collecting three hits last night after homering on Wednesday. He gets another vulnerable right-handed pitcher in Julio Teheran, who posted a 4.28 SIERA last season and allowed lefties to post a .507 slugging percentage against him. Peralta has posted impressive splits against righties in his career, and is severely underpriced considering his upside in this matchup.
Stephen Vogt ($2,700) - Vogt was a popular value play yesterday, but this game ended up being postponed. He gets the same matchup today, against right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez. Jimenez has a career 4.08 SIERA and has been hit very hard this season -- ranking in the top 15 in hard-hit rate and the bottom 15 in soft-hit rate. The result has been a 5.20 ERA, which was boosted by a six run implosion in his last start. Vogt hits righties much better throughout his career and will be hitting in the middle of the order for the Athletics, who have the fourth-highest implied team total on the slate. He's the best dollar for dollar play at catcher today.
Corey Dickerson ($2,500) - Dickerson broke out of an 0-for-23 slump with a three-run homer last night and looks to build on that tonight against Jered Weaver. Weaver, a righty, posted a slate-high 4.88 SIERA last season. This season, he has a 5.70 SIERA and is bringing in his fastball at an average of 82.3 miles per hour. Dickerson has hit finesse pitchers like Weaver much better in his career, posting a .614 slugging percentage against them. He has also hit right-handers much better. The Rays are projected for 4.2 runs against Weaver, and Dickerson should be a big part of reaching that total.
