Leading Off

Scott Diamond got absolutely pounded by the Mets in his first start since going on the DL with an elbow issue. Diamond gave up eight hits, 4 earned runs (including a HR) and only struck out one. He is officially safe to ignore in all formats – including AL-only for the time being; although, you could find justification in a 16-team AL-only with a $1 bid on FAAB. In other news, Matt Harvey carried a no-hitter into the 7^th inning against the Twins, finished the game with 8 IP, 6K, 2H, 2 BB, and only 1 ER (a HR by Justin Morneau that broke up the no-hitter in the 7^th). It remains to be seen whether this is completely legit or not, but he’s sure making the fantasy community turn their heads.

Jose Fernandez was lights out again! Fernandez held the Phillies at bay, allowing no earned runs through 6 IP while striking out 5 and walking 2. Fernandez only gave up 2 hits as well. Fernandez also drove in a run on his first major league hit, as Cole Hamels carried a no-hitter into the fifth inning. The Marlins pen blew the win chance for Fernandez, but the fish won in the ninth inning 2-1 on a Chris Coghlan infield single that drove in an alert Placido Polanco who scored from second base.

Evan Longoria is still homer-less but patience is a virtue. Longoria is hitting .317 and slugging .317. However, his OBP is .425, so he’s taking a lot of walks. Patience at the plate eventually translates into power when the player in question has a lot of it. Jon Lester looked excellent against the Rays, tossing 7 innings of 5 hit ball, one earned run, five strikeouts, and only one walk. Boston won in extra’s 2-1. By the way, here’s some fun with small sample sizes. Daniel Nava is currently hitting .391/.483/.826 – that WILL NOT continue. Finally, Jacoby Ellsbury has five steals already despite a .286 OBP. We are seeing the same John Farrell that we saw in Toronto, and the Red Sox are running like crazy this year. Victorino and Ellsbury should be targeted for teams needing steals.

Kyuji Fujikawa was placed on the 15-day DL for the Cubs; Rafael Dolis was promoted from AAA. It’s a situation I would stay completely away from as neither Dolis, Shawn Camp, James Russell, or Carlos Marmol are skilled pitchers. Santiago Casilla of the San Francisco Giants got the save Saturday against this same Cubs team in a 3-2 win . It was a 2-inning outing and was likely due to the fact that Romo blew a save yesterday and threw quite a few pitches. This is likely nothing more than just a situational save for Casilla, but his peripherals are excellent as well, so if Romo has anymore blowups, Casilla could wind up with the job.

The Atlanta Braves beat the Washington Nationals 3-1 on Saturday despite the brilliance of Fredi Gonzalez, currently batting B.J. Upton and Jason Heyward in the #1 and #2 spot in the batting order. Yeah, yeah, what better option do they have while these guys struggle? (B.J. is hitting .105/.209/.184 and Heyward .086/.289/.171. Both of them are great buy-low candidates if you are in a league with panicky and impatient owners.

Chris Sale absolutely imploded Saturday, yielding eight hits, eight earned runs, while just striking three and walking two. He gave up a HR to Mark Reynolds, and one to Nick Swisher. Sale’s command looked off all day long, and this is just a small blip on a great resume for Sale. It’s worth noting however that his velocity had dropped considerably late last year, and it hasn’t quite rebounded to the number it was at early in 2012.

Nate McLouth continued his strong start to the season Saturday, going 3-5, raising his slash line to .294/.385/.382 to help lead the Orioles past the Yankees 5-3. The biggest news of all comes to owners in leagues that only require appearing in 1 game at a position to be eligible; Robinson Cano played shortstop for the ninth inning!

Prince Fielder homered for the second straight day, along with drawing two more walks. Fielder has a .436/.520/.846 slash line after starting the season hitting .167. Recent Oakland call-up Andy Parrino continues to stink, making Jemile Weeks a stealthy early add in AL-Only leagues. Also, rumor has it he’s played a little shortstop in the minors, so he could have extra positional eligibility too. The Tigers down the A’s 7-3

Adam Wainwright had an absolutely incredible day. Wain-O went 3-3 with 2 RBI and pitched a complete game shutout, recording 12 strikeouts while yielding only 4 hits. He did not walk a batter. Meanwhile, Yovani Gallardo got walloped, and is now 1-10 with a 6.83 ERA vs. the Cardinals.

Jose Bautista got a start at third-base Saturday, once again, like Robinson Cano, pleasing owners in 1-appearance leagues in a big way. Bautista could rack up a few more starts at the hot corner with the injury to Jose Reyes. Brett Lawrie is on his way back though so I highly doubt Bautista will record enough games (10) to qualify there in most leagues. Bautista hit a HR off James Shields to help lead the Jays past the Royals 3-2.

Draft Kings Daily Fantasy Team:

Today I will be playing in the MLB Daily Dollar as always! Here is my lineup

For my lineup today, I went very “past success” heavy.

Catcher: John Buck | $3,000 – Cheap, on fire, hits .444 off Kevin Correia

First Base: Prince Fielder | $5,100

Second Base: Ian Kinsler | $4,900: Brandon Maurer got tattooed by the Astros last time out. Kinsler is on fire; enough said

Third Base: David Wright | $4,600: If ever there was a mandatory start in Daily Fantasy, it’s David Wright vs. Kevin Correia. Wright hits a whopping .765 off Correia, with a 1.471 Slugging and a 2.235 OPS. ( 13-17 , 3 doubles, 3 HR, and even a SB).

Shortstop: Troy Tulowitzki | $5,000: Like Wright, Tulo is an absolute must-start today. Tulowitzki hits .533/.632/1.133 off San Diego starter Clayton Richard. He has not struck out in any of his 15 AB against Richard. (3 HR, 10 RBI, 4 walks)

Outfielders:

Matt Holliday | $4.800: Holliday is 4-8 against Marco Estrada, and the rest of the Cardinals hit Estrada pretty well too. He should get some hits and RBI, and if I get lucky, a HR.

Jayson Werth | $4,300: Okay, so most of these numbers probably come from back when Braves starter Paul Maholm wasn’t nearly as good as he is now, but none-the-less, Werth has a .357/.379/.607 triple slash against Maholm in 28 AB.

Andrew McCutchen | $4,900: Cutch’ has a .333/.556/.833 slash vs. Mat Latos, and Latos also gives up a lot of stolen bases.

That is my team for Sunday April 14^th! Good luck setting your @DraftKings lineups, and make sure to ask me anyway Daily Fantasy questions you might have on Twitter! @JoshKay_Fantasy