MLB Daily Fantasy Helper: Tuesday 8/25/15
If you've never played daily fantasy baseball before, it's time to start. Unlike traditional leagues, you're able to select the players you want on that specific day only, giving you a different squad to root for each and every day.
And if you'd like, you can use our optimal lineups here at numberFire.com to crush the competition.
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
Noah Syndergaard – Syndergaard was one of the most hyped pitching prospects in all of baseball heading into this season and he has lived up to every bit of his very high expectations, earning an impressive 3.18 FIP, 3.14 xFIP and 3.17 SIERA while striking out 9.52 batters per nine innings through the first 18 starts of his career. Tonight, the Mets' rookie gets a great matchup against a Phillies' squad who, despite lighting up fellow Mets' starter Jacob deGrom for six earned runs on eight hits in just 2.2 innings last night, rank just 27th in wOBA (.299), 28th in wRC+ (86) and 28th in ISO (.135) against right-handed pitching on the year. Look for Syndergaard to quite the Phillies' bats tonight en route to a big outing tonight. He makes a great play in all formats.
Alternative Options: Jake Arrieta, Stephen Strasburg
Cost-Effective Pitcher
Josh Tomlin – Tomlin has looked spectacular through his first two starts of the season. The Indians' starter has allowed just three earned runs on seven hits with 11 strikeouts in 13.1 innings pitched and has earned a solid 3.54 xFIP and 3.42 SIERA while holding both lefties and righties below a .255 wOBA so far this season. Though these numbers should be taken with a grain of salt due to such a small sample size, Tomlin does draw a spectacular matchup against a Brewers lineup who ranks just 24th in all of baseball in wOBA (.302) and 27th in wRC+ (86) since the All-Star break. Although I'm not convinced I'm ready to trust him in cash games on single-pitcher sites like FanDuel, Tomlin makes a viable second pitching option on two-pitcher sites and a very interesting tournament play on all platforms tonight.
Alternative Option: Nate Karns, Jose Quintana
Top Hitters
High-Cost Hitters
Josh Donaldson – As I've mentioned thousands of times in this column, the Blue Jays are stackable any time they face off against a left-handed pitcher, and Donaldson is a truly elite play against any southpaw he gets the pleasure of matching up against. Donaldson has straight up destroyed lefties this season, amassing an absurd .468 wOBA, .368 ISO and 1.129 OPS against left-handed pitching this season. Tonight, the Blue Jays' slugger draws a matchup against Rangers' southpaw Derek Holland and his 5.65 FIP against right-handed batters on the season. Donaldson is our highest overall projected batter on the board tonight and makes a strong play in all formats despite his massive price tag.
Yoenis Cespedes – The Mets have been one of the hottest hitting teams in baseball as of late. During the month of August, New York ranks second in the league in wOBA (.361), wRC+ (134), and ISO (.233) with the most homers in the majors over that span at 38. Cespedes has played a major role in the Mets' offensive success over the past month, posting a .390 wOBA, .258 ISO and .923 OPS during August and has nine hits -- including four home runs -- and 10 RBI over his last four games. New York is a -220 favorite and has one of the highest team totals on the board tonight against Phillies' starter Jerome Williams and his 5.45 FIP and 4.55 SIERA. All Mets' bats are in play tonight with Cespedes being one of the elite batting options on the board tonight.
Alternative Options: Troy Tulowitzki, Freddie Freeman
Cost-Effective Hitters
Danny Valencia – After playing a utility role for most of the season as part of a loaded Blue Jays' lineup, Valencia now finds himself as an every day player batting in the middle of the order in Oakland. Since becoming a member of the Athletics, Valencia has earned a .366 wOBA, .286 ISO and .869 OPS in the month of August and gets a plus matchup against Seattle southpaw Mike Montgomery tonight. Montgomery has struggled to get right-handed batters out all year, earning a 4.65 FIP and 4.38 xFIP against righties on the year. The Athletics' slugger makes a great play at just $3,100 on FanDuel tonight but is an absolute steal at just $3,300 on DraftKings.
John Jaso – Twins' starter Ervin Santana has struggled against left-handed bats all season long, posting an abysmal 6.44 FIP and 5.61 xFIP while lefties have hit for a .371 wOBA while facing him this season. With the Rays hosting Santana and the Twins tonight, Jaso immediately becomes one of my favorite value plays on the board. The Rays' catcher has posted a .354 wOBA and .163 ISO against right-handed pitching on the year and should have little trouble taking advantage of his plus matchup against Santana. At just $2,200 on FanDuel and $2,900 on DraftKings, Jaso is dollar for dollar one of my favorite plays on the board tonight.
Alternative Options: Chris Coghlan, Josh Phegley
