2013 Fantasy Baseball Daily Fix: June 11th 2013
Today I will be playing the Daily Dollar (great for beginners) If you are new to @DraftKings Daily Fantasy Baseball, you can claim your Deposit Bonus here!
Before I get into my @DraftKings team of the day, here are some weather notes for tomorrow’s games. –Note rain percentages aren’t definitive and are best used as a reminder to check the weather status again on game-day before selecting a player from that game.
Potential rain concerns:
STL @ NYM: There are scattered showers expected at a 40% rate before the game, and 20% during the game.
Wind Factors:
DET @ KC: 20 mph winds are projected during tomorrow’s game that blow directly out to left field. This should really help right handed power hitters that pull the ball quite frequently. With Wade Davis prone to giving up home runs, it could be a great day to start plenty of Tigers.
Here is my team:
Pitcher: Bartolo Colon | $7,000 vs. NYY: Our lovable “Big Fat Bartolo Colon” faces off against the Yankees in the O.Co Coliseum in Oakland today. Colon has been essentially the same pitcher he was last year that enabled him to record a 3.43 ERA. Colon has once again been limiting walks at an insane clip. His seemingly unsustainable 1.36 BB/9 last year has dipped down to 0.70/9 this year, or to put that in better perspective, he has walked exactly six batters in 77.1 innings pitched! We love his chances at home against an aging New York lineup, albeit loaded with lefties.
Pitcher: Chien-Ming Wang | $5,000 @ CWS: Who? Yes, the former Yankee sinker-baller is starting for the Blue Jays today against the very right handed Chicago White Sox. Wang has a career wOBA against righties of .293 (.347 vs. lefties), so he clearly has some platoon splits. The White Sox struggle against right handed pitchers, so Wang is a great roll of the dice start today.
Catcher: Jason Castro | $4,200 @ SEA: Castro kills right handed pitching (hitting .294/.351/.529 vs. RHP this year) and who better to have Castro face than soft tossing righty Aaron Harang. While Harang has been impressive in K:BB ratio in the 45 major league innings he’s thrown this year (20% strikeout rate, and 4.4% walk rate), he’s struggled with homers, giving up 1.97 home runs per nine innings pitched.
First Baseman: Freddie Freeman | $4,600 @ SD: Freeman has been sensational this season. He faces Andrew Cashner a favorite of many fantasy analysts. Cashner however, has had a mixed bag of success in the majors this season. He’s amassed good strikeout to walk totals in 63.2 innings, but he’s had a problem with home runs, allowing eight already. Expect Freeman to come through with at least a couple doubles and a handful of RBI.
Second Base: Neil Walker | $3,400 vs. SF: Walker has had excellent success in a small sample against Tim Lincecum, the Giants starter. Walker is 2-4 with a home run and a double against Lincecum in his career in addition to two walks and no strikeouts. Walker has been cold lately, but he’s prone to streakiness. He ended May with a 7-12 performance in a series against the Tigers with two home runs and a stolen base.
Third Base: Miguel Cabrera | $6,900 @ KC: As stated earlier, Cabrera gets to face off against Wade Davis in what will be rough pitching conditions. The twenty mile per hour winds should definitely aid Miggy the Masher in his quest to smash the hopes of Kansas City fans.
Shortstop: Everth Cabrera | $3,800 vs. ATL: The hottest shortstop in baseball, Cabrera continues to post insane stat lines every single night. Over his last 30 days, Cabrera has a .409 on base percentage with 18 stolen bases.
Outfield: Carlos Gonzalez | $6,900 vs. WSH: Dan Haren has been walloped by the home run ball this season. In 2011, arguably Haren’s most recent healthy season, he gave up 20 home runs in 238.1 innings. In 67.2 innings in 2013, Haren has given up 15 already. CarGo hits .389/.476/.1000 against Haren in 18 career at-bats. He has three home runs and two doubles off him, and that even ranges back to Haren’s days with the Diamondbacks, when he was much better. If CarGo doesn’t go deep off Haren, we will be shocked.
Outfield: Ben Zobrist | $3,800 vs. BOS: Zobrist has been without a doubt the Rays hottest hitter recently, and perhaps one of the hottest hitters in baseball. Over his past seven games Zobrist has been amazing with a slash line of .481/.548/.741. He should keep the ball rolling against Red Sox lefty Jon Lester, who has struggled, giving up an average of four runs per start over his last four starts.
Outfield: Jay Bruce | $4,200 @ CHC: Bruce is 4-13 against Cubs righty Matt Garza with a slash line of .308/.357/.846 in 14 plate appearances (one walk against four strikeouts). Bruce has been scary good over the last 30 days, with a .287/.333/.564 slash line.
Monday News and Notes:
Giancarlo Stanton returned to the Marlins lineup on Monday, going 1-4 against the Brewers.
John Lackey and Alex Cobb both got tagged hard in the Red Sox battle with the Rays at Tropicana Field. The game was a classic, starting off with a 6-0 lead for the Sox before Cobb induced an out. Lackey gave up four earned and departed with a chance for the win. Ultimately Loney hit a home run late to bring the Rays within 1, and then Andrew Bailey blew it in the ninth. Evan Longoria grounded out with the bases loaded and no outs, with the Sox getting the force at home plate. The Sox then scored two in the tenth only to see the Rays tie it up again. The Sox ultimately won in 14 innings in a game that was an instant classic.
Jeremy Guthrie threw 6.1 strong innings against the Tigers, turning in a quality start and lowering his ERA to 3.60 on the season. Guthrie did give up a home run, but still did enough to help the Royals win, bringing him to 7-3 on the season. Victor Martinez went 0-4 and is now sporting a .287 on base percentage.