Fantasy Baseball

2013 Fantasy Baseball Daily Fix: May 18th 2013

Daily Fantasy Baseball Fix

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: LAD @ ATL – Scattered T-Storms (60% chance of rain at game time)

Wind Factors of Note:

Not very egregiously windy days tomorrow in baseball, however, Detroit @ Tex should be a normal scoring game thanks to 15 mph winds blowing in from right field (should depress left field power a bit)

Here is my team:

Pitcher: Jordan Zimmerman | $9,100 @ SD – Zimmerman has been simply outstanding all season and even better in a recent stretch against the powerhouse Braves, Reds, and Tigers. During that stretch, Zimmerman tossed 24 innings, allowed 10 hits, one earned run, and owns a 19:3 K:BB ratio.

Pitcher: Tommy Milone | $8,500 vs. KC – Tommy Milone has turned into an excellent spot-starter at home, and a must-avoid at all costs on the road. He brings his 2.63 ERA at home in 2013 into this weekend, and against the very left-handed Kansas City Royals (Moustakas, Hosmer, Alex Gordon) he’s a sneaky start.

Other options: Without a doubt, A.J. Burnett ($10,600 vs. HOU) must be mentioned as an excellent choice. – Notice the hefty price tag however.

Catcher: Yadier Molina | $3.900 vs. MIL: Marco Estrada is going to get hammered again by the Cardinals tomorrow, that can be taken to the bank. In the middle of all of that, should be Yadier Molina. Molina hits .533 with a .267 ISO against Estrada in 15 career at-bats.

Other options: Wilin Rosario ($4,900) Rosario destroys Lincecum in his career in just 11 at-bats, Rosario hits .455/.600/.909 against him. Most importantly, Rosario has four walks against Lincecum, and Rosario NEVER takes walks. At Coors field, he’s gold.

First Base: Matt Adams | $3,300 vs. MIL: Adams has been mostly pinch-hitting this season but there’s no denying his talent. He last started last week against Colorado. Beltran has been sitting once per week, and he’s 1-8 against Estrada in his career. It would be likely that Beltran receives a day off, Craig moves to the OF, and Adams plays first base. Adams is 2-3 vs. Estrada with a HR.

Other options: Eric Hosmer ($3,300) @ OAK: Hosmer has been miserable, but he has a HR off Milone in just two career at-bats. Hosmer is a reasonable emergency choice should Adams not get the call to start.

Second Base: Matt Carpenter | $3,800 vs. MIL: Carpenter has just been amazing for the Cardinals this year. The utility man has a .371 OBP so far and hitting at the top of the prodigious Cardinals lineup. As previously stated, Estrada should get roughed up.

Third Base: Adrian Beltre | $5,200 vs. TEX: In a small sample, Beltre hits .667 against Anibal Sanchez. Beltre has also been destroying the baseball as of late – .406 OBP, three home-runs, eight RBI, and eight runs scored over his last seven games.

Shortstop: Jean Segura | $3,500 @ STL: Quite simply, Segura is a monster, and he should be on every single daily fantasy team until his price rises.

Outfield: Jon Jay | $3,700 vs. MIL: Jay has gone back to his old self in May, tearing the cover off the ball and hitting .400 since the calendar turned. He’s also hit a couple bombs in May as well, and Marco Estrada loves serving those up on a silver platter. Jay has a .467 OBP in 12 career at-bats against Estrada.

Outfield: Norichika Aoki | $3,700 @ STL: Aoki, much like Jon Jay, has been excellent since the page turned on the calendar. Aoki has a robust .466 OBP in his last 15 days. Better yet, he has four multi-hit games in his past five games. Three of those multi-hit games were 3-hit games.

Outfield: Matt Holliday | $5,000 vs. MIL: Holliday is only hitting .268 on the young season. However, he hits well against Estrada in his career. He hits .500/.571/.833 in 12 career at-bats against the home-run serving righty.

Other options: Hunter Pence | $4,700 @ COL: Pence seems to be finding his peak skills from the Astros, especially the speed, as he has seven steals so far this season to go with his seven home runs and .290 batting average. In Coors field, he should do some damage.

 News and Notes from Friday night in baseball:

Eric Chavez went 4-5 with a HR and 2 RBI on Friday, with the HR coming off suddenly regressing Marlins starter Kevin Slowey (whom is now droppable in leagues you picked him up to spot-start him in). The Diamondbacks were victorious 9-2. I’m still not buying into Eric Chavez, who is likely just enjoying a hot streak. I’d leave him on the waiver wire in 10 and 12-team mixed leagues.

Juan Pierre stole another base to increase his total to 13, and if you need steals, he’s a must-add. Just try and ignore his current .236/.291/.293 slash line. Pierre is up to 52.7% ownership in ESPN.com standard 10-team mixed leagues.

Jeremy Hellickson got lambasted once again, this time to the Baltimore Orioles. Helix gave up eight earned runs in 7.2 innings pitched. Amusingly, he picked up the win as Jason Hammel was just as awful, and he only lasted 4.1 innings. Sigh. This one stings, because I loved Hellickson heading into the season, and I have to admit I just dropped him in my Fantasy Sports Writers Association League over Kevin Gausmann of the Orioles (in order to activate a DL player). Hellickson’s fastball has just been brutal. Hitters are batting .328 with a .358 ISO against his fastball, which is absolutely absurd. Until Hellickson raises his strikeout rate, he’s not useful in 12-team and 10-team mixed leagues while his fastball struggles like this.

More news from the Rays game, in which they won 12-10, Kelly Johnson is absolutely back. He homered again (6th of the season) as part of a 3-5 night, and his batting .276/.353/.483 now on the year. Johnson is still available in 21.3% of ESPN.com standard 10-team leagues.

Yuniesky Betancourt went 0-4 last night, and this is only fantasy relevant because he is absolutely an atrocious baseball player. For reasons unknown to human civilization, Betancourt is still owned in 77.3% of 10-team ESPN leagues. That numbers should be zero %. Seriously. In other news from the 7-6 victory for the St. Louis Cardinals over the Brewers, Wily Peralta got knocked around. He gave up six earned runs and his ERA now sits at an eye-gouging 5.94.

Disabled List Player Updates and other Injury stuff:

Ian Kinsler was scratched from Friday’s lineup with bruised ribs, according to Anthony Andro of Fox Sports Southwest. Leury Garcia started in his place and went 1-4.

Joe Mauer was held out of Friday’s game with back stiffness according to Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com. Ryan Doumit started at catcher and went 0-3 with a walk.

Stephen Drew appeared to injure his lower back after he hit a two-out double in the eighth inning (according to WEEI.com). If you own him in deep leagues, be weary of this when setting your lineups Monday (if it’s a weekly league). Also, along with Drew getting dinged up, there are reports that the sky is blue.

Michael Cuddyer is eligible to return off the DL on May 24th but is highly unlikely to be ready. However, he has reported that he is feeling better. He’s a good candidate to regress off his hot streak. In fact, this is the type of injury that should concern his fantasy owners for the long-term.

After injuring his ankle on Thursday night, Kansas City Outfielder Jarrod Dyson has officially gone on the DL and is expected to miss 2-4 weeks according to the Kansas City Star. This isn’t fantasy relevant in and of itself, but it should mean more playing time for Lorenzo Cain, whom had been hitting leadoff when Dyson was out of the lineup. However, David Lough, hit leadoff Friday night and went 2-4 with a double. He’s fantasy irrelevant.

Good luck Saturday in your @DraftKings Daily Games!

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