MLB Daily Fantasy Helper: Friday 5/17/13
We know that people play all sorts of fantasy platforms, not just from from our friends at StarStreet but on other platforms such as FanDuel, Draft Kings, and Fantasy Feud as well. So once again, we have four optimized rosters, all for you, the numberFire reader. One is for free here; the others can be found in our Premium section.
As always, the full tables for today's action are available at our Daily Fantasy Projections page. Make sure to check it out to see where the best values are for your team.
Our baseball projections are updated throughout the day, so make sure to come back to double-check your optimized rosters for any last-minute lineup changes. Since most action happens later in the day, we will be ignoring the early games (if there are any) and focusing solely on the late contests. That way, you can use and tinker with our optimized rosters throughout the day.
StarStreet Optimized Roster
| Player | Position | Projected FP | Cost | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paul Maholm | SP | 18.02 | $22,400 | 0.80 |
| Burch Smith | SP | 15.51 | $15,000 | 1.03 |
| Ryan Braun | LF | 14.58 | $7,800 | 1.87 |
| David Ortiz | DH | 14.7 | $7,800 | 1.88 |
| Robinson Cano | 2B | 14.54 | $7,600 | 1.91 |
| Troy Tulowitzki | SS | 12.67 | $7,500 | 1.69 |
| Buster Posey | C | 14.23 | $6,900 | 2.06 |
| Edwin Encarnacion | 1B | 13.41 | $6,500 | 2.06 |
| Dexter Fowler | CF | 13.22 | $6,100 | 2.17 |
| Shin-Soo Choo | CF | 13.5 | $6,100 | 2.21 |
| Chase Headley | 3B | 12.14 | $5,500 | 2.21 |
Fan Duel, Draft Kings, and Fantasy Feud Optimized Rosters
For the optimal rosters for the other main players, be sure to check out our brand new Daily Fantasy Optimized Rosters for our Premium members. We know that you're killing it with our picks; maybe now you'll help us continue to help you win each night, every night.
Access to the optimal rosters is immediate, and you'll have it constantly updated for the latest injury news and updates from around the league. The best news of all? For new subscribers, you can use the promo code WELCOME and get it 50% off what was already the reduced price. Think of the savings!
The Three Top Pitchers
Tony Cingrani - Wait, they haven't changed the price for him to $1 million across all platforms yet? What's the hold up? It's certainly not his perfect record, his 0.964 WHIP, his ludicrous 11.9 strikeouts per nine innings, or his insane 5.29 SO/BB ratio. Facing the (Poorly) Fightin' Phils and their 25th-best .304 OBP and 24th-best 108 walks is simply another feather in his cap.
Paul Maholm - The Dodgers offense really doesn't have many weaknesses. They hold a high .333 on base percentage, they have the second least strikeouts of any major league team, and their walks taken this year are above average. It's tough to find a way to attack them. So why take Maholm? Because he's actually pitched much better than a 4-4 record and a 3.94 ERA would indicate. His 20.3 percent strikeout rate is solid, he only has given up homers on 1.5 percent of opposing plate appearances, and his 1.208 WHIP is well below his career average. If he can cut down on line drives (26 percent of balls in play), he's a darn good pitcher.
Jarrod Parker - For all of the preseason hype about the Kansas City lineup, the true facts are that their .317 OBP is slightly below average and their 26 homeruns are the second-lowest figure in the league. Considering homeruns have been Parker's main problem this season, allowing them on 4.6 percent of opponents' plate appearances, Kansas City isn't in an optimal position to take advantage. That should give a chance for Parker's absurdly high .346 batting average on balls in play (BABIP) to come down quite nicely and his 17.7 percent career strikeout rate to shine through.
Top High-Priced Hitters
Troy Tulowitzki - We love Madison Bumgarner. We love his 9.1 strikeouts per nine innings. We love his 0.932 WHIP. We get the skepticism. But that doesn't mean that Tulowitzki's not just substantially better than the other shortstops available today, especially when you take into account his plausible cost on many formats. Didi Gregorius is the only shortstop within the same ballpark as Tulowitzki's projected 0.81 runs and 0.82 RBIs, and Tulo's extra-base numbers (0.35 projected doubles) are unsurprising given that 45 percent of his hits this season have gone for extra-bases.
David Ortiz - Vance Worley has a 1.949 WHIP, is allowing 15.2 hits per nine innings, has only struck out 4.8 batters per nine innings, and has somehow maintained these statistics through eight painful, painful starts. It's honestly a wonder that I don't recommend the entire Boston team tonight, but I believe going with Ortiz is a safe bet regardless. Despite his high cost, his 0.27 projected HR, 0.93 projected RBIs, and .327 projected average means he's about as safe a bet as you can have tonight.
Mid-Range Cost-Effective Hitters
Buster Posey - Two straight days of Posey? When the by-nearly-three-FP-best-catcher-on-StarStreet slipper fits (I think I had a pair of those slippers back in middle school). Facing off against Jorge de la Rosa in Coor's Field, Posey has try No. 2 to take advantage of the mountain air after yesterday's 1 for 4 day wasn't a failure, but wasn't a success either. Given his .326 projected average, based off of de la Rosa's weak walks per nine (3.4) and strikeouts per nine (5.6), I'd have high hopes for more today.
Josh Hamilton - To be fair, we don't have him as one of our top ten scoring outfielders, so put down the pitchforks about, "You don't know what you're talking about!" Given his numbers from the past couple seasons, though, and you'll realize that a slight bump in stats is extremely likely. Then look at Chris Sale's advanced numbers, at that 0.941 WHIP and .235 BABIP which are unsustainably low, and you're not so scared of trusting Hamilton any more.
