We've got an eight game Thursday scheduled today, with a few matinee contests and the rest throwing out first pitch at 7:00 or later. FanDuel is offering three different options today - Early Only, All Day and Main. Both the Early Only and Main slates have four games.
As for what the odds-makers in Vegas are thinking today, we have two games with very high over/under totals - Pirates at Rockies (11) and Cardinals at Diamondbacks (9). Outside of the action at Coors, the hitters with the highest positive park factors are left-handed bats in the Chicago - Baltimore game and right-handed bats in the Atlanta - Boston game.
In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy baseball MLB lineup picks for FanDuel on 4/28/16. The DFS lineup picks will range from high-priced to low-priced options and identify options who will out-perform their expectations, including sleepers and value plays on FanDuel.
DFS Lineup Stacks to Target for FanDuel
Cardinals versus Rubby De La Rosa
The Cardinals today have a real strong matchup against Rubby De La Rosa. De La Rosa has been awful this year, marked by his 1.38 WHIP, 1.574 HR/9 and just 7.2 K/9. As a team, the Cardinals have been smashing right-handers, posting an incredible team .340 wOBA. The Cardinals also get a slight park upgrade playing this contest in Arizona. The hitters I have my eye on the most are Matt Carpenter, Aledmys Diaz, and Jedd Gyorko.
Also Consider: Rockies versus Juan Nicasio
DFS Starting Pitchers to Consider for FanDuel
There is quite a drop-off today from the top line pitchers on down to the middle and lower tiers. If you want a "safe" play, especially in cash games, you're going to have to pay up for the likes of Jake Arrieta or Jose Fernandez. There are a handful of guys with good strikeout upside outside of the two studs I just mentioned, but I don't think they're anywhere near cash game safe.
Jake Arrieta (SP, CHC) - $13,600
Jake is a carry over from yesterday as the Brewers and Cubs were rained out in my backyard. The conditions today are better for a pitcher (no rain), but still not very desirable for a hitter (cold and the wind blowing in). Arrieta sports the best WHIP of all the pitchers throwing today (0.837), the best HR/9 allowed at 0.427 and a top three strikeout per nine of 9.20, on top of facing one of the weakest offenses.
Clay Buchholz (SP, BOS) - $8,000
This suggestion comes with a giant red flag. Clay is prone to to terrible outings, but he does occasionally pull a big strikeout game out of his you know what. On a limited slate, where the top pitchers cost an arm and a leg and there isn't much strikeout upside elsewhere, I'm rolling with Clay in tournaments against a paltry Atlanta offense that is striking out in 25% of their at-bats against right-handed pitching.
Also Consider: Jose Fernandez (SP, MIA) - $11,400
DFS Infielders to Consider for FanDuel
Catcher (C)
Dustin Garneau (C, COL) - $3,100
Nearly any hitter listed at just $3,100 playing a game in Coors is a bargain, and Garneau has a strong matchup on top of that. Opposing pitcher Juan Nicasio has been hit pretty hard this season, allowing a home run in three of his four outings and also has control issues. Garneau's season numbers aren't anything special, but he handles right-handed pitching far better than left. If there's a time he deserves a roster spot, it's against a right-handed pitcher at Coors Field.
First Base (1B)
Mark Canha (1B/OF, OAK) - $3,400
If you're looking to fade the options from Coors, Canha is an excellent choice. I love his position flexibility and his numbers against right-handed pitching this season are fantastic - .360 wOBA, .239 ISO and .506 slugging percentage. Anibal Sanchez is a fairly tough matchup, but the options outside of Coors and Canha are none too desirable.
Second Base (2B)
Jedd Gyorko (2B, SS, STL) - $2,300
Guys with position flexibility are great, and they have even greater value on a small slate as you try to mix and match your favorite plays into the same lineup. Gyorko has been a bit streaky this season, but he's hit with some pop, and when he does so it's more often than not against a right-handed pitcher. Enter his opponent, right-hander Rubby De La Rosa, who has allowed a .157 HR/9 this season, and you've got your tournament upside in rostering Gyorko.
Shortstop (SS)
Aledmys Diaz (SS, STL) - $3,300
I'm going back to the well with Diaz as he has been great for me this season and he can usually be rostered at very low ownership, making him a sneaky-good tournament play. The young shortstop hits with some serious pop, albeit in a small sample size, but a .543 wOBA and a .372 ISO against right-handed pitching cant be ignored. His opposition, Rubby De La Rosa, is also prone to giving up long fly balls that end up as souvenirs.
Third Base (3B)
Nolan Arenado (3B, COL) - $5,300
I tried to stay away from suggesting Coors guys up until this point - not because they aren't good plays, but because they're fairly obvious plays - and I want to help you differentiate your lineups on a small slate. Arenado's matchup, however, against a weak pitcher in Nicasio and with the splits he's sporting - .312 ISO and .589 slugging against righties - is far too great to leave off your roster. His price being so high may even help to keep his ownership a bit lower in tournaments.
DFS Outfielders to Consider for FanDuel
Matt Joyce (OF, PIT) - $2,600
If you're looking for Coors Field values, Joyce gets the nod as the best bargain of the slate. The lefty is a right-handed pitcher hitting specialist, and usually hits high in the order (2 hole) when Pittsburgh faces a right-hander. To date this season, he's posted a .317 wOBA against RHP.
Mark Trumbo (OF, BAL) - $3,800
Trumbo is expensive today but it's easily justifiable as he has a strong matchup and excellent splits against southpaws. Thus far in 2016, he's posted a .385 wOBA and .295 ISO against lefties.
Matt den Dekker (OF, WAS) - $2,900
Like Joyce, den Dekker is another great value option, but with this one being away from Coors Field and therefore more likely he could go overlooked. His opposition, Aaron Nola, is a solid pitcher, but he still hasn't been exposed to a whole lot of major league batters. den Dekker has strong numbers against righties this season, posting a .358 wOBA and .505 slugging percentage thus far.
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