MLB Fantasy Baseball DFS FanDuel Lineup Picks for 4/25

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Daily Fantasy Leagues - FanDuel Lineup Picks (4/25)

• Please check the posted lineups and weather forecasts for each game before finalizing your lineup.

SP: Jesse Chavez @ HOU ($5500)

I’m a bit confused by the pricing here. Usually, FanDuel is prone to overreacting to a player’s recent performance. Chavez has had a red-hot start to the year and this is a dream matchup, yet he’s just $1,200 more than the cheapest pitcher. Heck, even opposing pitcher Brad Peacock costs more than him. Chavez isn’t as good as his numbers indicate, but he’s a very capable pitcher with solid strikeout potential. He’s a great cheap play on Friday. I suspect he’ll be a highly drafted player, though, so, if you’re playing in a big tournament and you’re looking for a more “contrarian” pick, I’d look at Shelby Miller vs. PIT ($7500). Miller has struggled a bit to begin the year, but he’s been lights-out at Busch Stadium throughout his short career. Last year, he posted a 1.77 ERA with nearly a nine k/9 at home. He’s also getting to face a pretty weak offense.

C: Victor Martinez @ MIN (vs. Kevin Correia, RHP) ($3200)

If you own Martinez in a standard fantasy league, you’re probably disappointed with his production this far. The good news is that his individual numbers are actually pretty great. He’s only scored five runs and collected seven RBI. I think this is just an aberration. The Tigers will hit and score tons of runs this year, and Martinez should be a big part of that as long as he stays healthy. Amazingly, he’s only struck out twice in 72 plate appearances in 2014. His BABIP is actually pretty low (.279), especially considering Martinez hasn’t had a season with a BABIP under .300 since 2004. There have been a lot of factors out of V-Mart’s control that have worked against him this year, but these factors aren’t sustainable. Martinez also has a very favorable matchup against Correia, who has given up more than 1.00 HR/9 in each of the last four years.

2B: Anthony Rendon vs. SD (vs. Robbie Erlin, LHP) ($3100)

Rendon has gotten off to a phenomenal start. He’s likely batting second in a solid lineup, giving him plenty of opportunity for at-bats and runs. Erlin may be a solid pitcher one day, but he’s nothing to be afraid of at this point in his career. I like Rendon to continue his productive season against the Padres.

OF: Jason Kubel vs. DET (vs. Rick Porcello, RHP) ($2800)

There are two simple reasons for this pick: Kubel is very good against RHP and Porcello is very bad against LHHs. Kubel is not a 30-HR guy anymore, but I think he hits 20-25 HR if he gets 500+ plate appearances. Kubel’s biggest weakness right now is a high K% (28.6%). Fortunately, Porcello is not much of a strikeout pitcher, especially when facing LHH. Porcello’s improved quite a bit over the last couple of years, but he’s still very “hittable.” He won’t hurt you with walks, which means he’ll give your batter a chance to get some big hits. This is one reqason why Porcello historically has had a BABIP. Similar to Corey Kluber, I think Porcello is a guy that will perpetually underperform his peripherals (namely FIP & xFIP). Kubel is solid play on Friday because of his clearance price.