DraftKings MLB Daily Fantasy Helper: Friday 4/24/15
Now that the NBA's regular season is over, why not change it up a bit and play daily fantasy baseball over on DraftKings.com?
DraftKings has contests going on each night where you can win real cash prizes. And with a nice slate tonight in baseball, it's the perfect chance to join and play.
Not sure who to select? Don't worry, we've got you covered with tonight's optimal lineup.
Be sure to check out our optimal lineups prior to games starting to ensure each player is in his team's lineup.
| Player | Position | Projected FP | Cost | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Felix Hernandez | SP | 1000 | 11300.00 | 1.79 |
| Garrett Richards | SP | 19.87 | 9500.00 | 2.09 |
| Buster Posey | 1B/C | 11.28 | 5000.00 | 2.26 |
| Albert Pujols | 1B | 9.62 | 4300.00 | 2.24 |
| Josh Harrison | 3B/OF | 9.86 | 4300.00 | 2.29 |
| Alcides Escobar | SS | 8.7 | 4000.00 | 2.18 |
| Nick Hundley | C | 8.36 | 3600.00 | 2.32 |
| Martin Prado | 2B/3B | 7.53 | 3400.00 | 2.21 |
| David DeJesus | OF | 6.59 | 2600.00 | 2.53 |
| Jimmy Paredes | 3B/OF | 7.53 | 2000.00 | 3.77 |
King Felix is the top pitching option tonight, since he kind of has the perfect storm. He'll be in a pitcher's park -- albeit not the best one in the league -- against a Minnesota Twins lineup that's striking out at the 10th-highest rate in the big leagues. The game has an over/under of 6.5, and Vegas isn't confident in the Twins scoring three runs. Given all of this -- as well as Hernandez's ability to strikeout batters -- he's the perfect guy to throw in your lineups tonight.
There are plenty of other options to choose from in the second pitcher slot. I couldn't fault you for going with Scott Kazmir against the "what's hitting the ball?" Houston Astros. There's also Zack Greinke in one of the best pitcher's parks in the bigs, or even Jon Lester and his terribly unlucky .434 BABIP versus the Reds. Our numbers, however, are opting for Garrett Richards, who's facing a Rangers lineup that's hit to a .288 wOBA so far this year thanks to a pretty low BABIP. But the Rangers are used to playing in a hitter's park down in Texas, and they'll be making a park shift that should benefit Richards, who, according to many projection systems, is looking to strike out about eight batters per nine inning this year. At his cost, you could do a whole lot worse.
As usual, I won't dig far into the obvious big bats in today's lineup, so let's focus on some of the cheaper options. The first is David DeJesus, who's basically free on DraftKings thanks to his work in a platoon. But tonight the Rays will get right-hander R.A. Dickey, which means DeJesus will more than likely leadoff for them. Don't expect crazy numbers, but in 264 plate appearances last year, DeJesus hit to a .337 wOBA against righties. Not bad for a guy who costs next to nothing.
Speaking of being cheap, don't overlook Jimmy Paredes, who's been in the Orioles lineup now in four of their last five games. In limited time this year (21 plate appearances), he's hitting .350 with a .375 BABIP. That probably is insignificant given the sample size, but if he finds his way into the lineup again tonight -- make sure you're watching to make sure -- he could bat second, which is where he's been placed in those four contests. That's fantastic for a minimum-priced player.
