MLB Daily Fantasy Helper: Tuesday 6/9/15
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As for today's lineups -- those can be found here. The information below is to help you understand why particular players are being picked, because we don't want you going into the things completely blind. We want to help you. Keep in mind, however, that things often change up until the games start, so make sure you're refreshing the optimal lineups as close to the start of games as possible.
Top Pitchers
High-Cost Pitcher
Corey Kluber – It's going to be hard to use anyone but Kluber in cash games tonight. The Mariners are 27th in wOBA against right-handed pitching, and within the split, their 23.6% K rate is third worst. Since starting the season off poorly -- to his standards -- Kluber has now gone at least seven innings in each of his last five starts, striking out 18, 12, 7, 13 and 9 batters. His strikeout per nine rate is now at an insane 11.16, and his FIP is at a silly-good 2.23. The upside is there. The floor is there. What more could you want from a starting pitcher in DFS?
Alternative Options: Francisco Liriano
Cost-Effective Pitcher
Carlos Frias – I don't love recommending the cheap Dodger pitchers each night, but there's generally a reason for it. Tonight's is kind of process of elimination-related, but Frias isn't in a bad spot. The Dodgers are heavy favorites, and they're at home, a pitcher's park. The Diamondbacks are about as middle-of-the-road as you can get in terms of how well they've performed versus right-handed pitching, but as I mentioned yesterday, they're now without Mark Trumbo, and they're in a worse hitting environment. Frias' downside is that his K rate has been low to start the year -- he's striking out fewer than six batters per nine innings. I'd prefer him more as a second pitcher on a two-pitcher site, as a result, rather than throwing him into GPPs. I'm not sure he has tremendous upside.
Alternative Option: Trevor May
High-Cost Hitters
Giancarlo Stanton - Mark Buehrle gets to face the second-best team in wOBA against left-handed pitching tonight. That team is the Marlins. Giancarlo Stanton, who has a career .412 wOBA against southpaws, plays for the Marlins. The Marlins are expected to score over four runs, per Vegas, playing in a game with a nine run over/under. That game will be played in Toronto, a better hitting environment than what the Marlins are used to. Giancarlo Stanton is a good play tonight in daily fantasy baseball. See how that works?
Jhonny Peralta - It's a little strange putting Peralta in the high-cost hitters section, but that's what he's become in DFS. His high BABIP is a sign that things will regress, but let's not assume that'll happen tonight in a matchup at Coors. The Cardinals face Jorge de la Rosa, a southpaw who's allowed a .348 wOBA to right-handed bats over his career, up 61 points from lefties. Peralta, a righty himself, has historically been a reverse splits guy, but we should favor him in this matchup given the environment. It's not as though de la Rosa's 4.34 career FIP is scaring anyone.
Alternative Options: Joey Votto
Cost-Effective Hitters
Jeff Baker - I've already touched on the fact that Miami's lineup gets to face a lefty pitcher tonight, and that means they could score some runs. Jeff Baker, who's incredibly cost-effective on major DFS sites, is in play as a result. When the Marlins face southpaws, they generally put Baker in the cleanup spot in the lineup. That's wonderful for DFS purposes. But there's a reason for it -- Baker mashes when he's in the split, hitting to a .374 wOBA and .215 ISO during his career. Don't write him off because of his cheap cost.
Gregory Polanco - The Pirates face Taylor Jungmann tonight, who's making his Major League debut. Sometimes that can be a trap, but in Polanco's case, it's a favorable platoon matchup that he can take advantage of. Against righties over his brief career, Polanco's hit to a .323 wOBA, far better than his .205 wOBA versus lefties. And he has stolen base ability, too -- with 16 on the year, only three other players have more steals than Polanco this year.
Alternative Option: Alex Gordon
