Today, is Thursday and thus it is my turn to impart my wisdom upon the world and my 5-14-15 Daily Fantasy Picks. The picks are based off of DraftKings values and are based upon the contests starting at 7:10 PM EST/4:10 PM PST.
Disclaimer: These picks are subject to change based on last minute line-up changes and weather.
The initial forecast data listed on DraftKings indicates that the weather could have a crunch on making picks as two games (Rockies-Dodgers & Nationals-Padres) could be impacted by rain. For this reason, none of my picks come from these games. I also find it a bit ironic that the two games that could be impacted by weather are in California. This could be a hassle for daily fantasy players but out here in California we’re stuck in the middle of an extreme drought and we need this possible rain like there’s no tomorrow. Now that I’ve finished my rant about how California is on the verge of running out of water, time to get to my picks.
Starting Pitchers
Johnny Cueto, SP, Cincinnati Reds, $10,100
Tonight, there is a thin selection of high-level starters available (especially with rain factoring in the forecast in San Diego). The one exception to that is Cueto. In 7 starts he has a 2.98 ERA/3.69 FIP and 8.24 K/9. He has racked up at least 20 points in four of his last five starts. With tonight’s game being played at home, Cueto is especially set up for success as he has a 1.23 ERA at home this season.
Roenis Elias, SP, Seattle Mariners, $7,100
Elias hasn’t had the greatest three start stretch since being called up (3.86 ERA/4.50 FIP). However, at this moderate price tag, he doesn’t need to be dominant; he just needs to make sure he accumulates plenty of strikeouts along the way. This season, this has been one thing he has done well as he has a K/9 of 9.16.
Catcher
Buster Posey, C, San Francisco Giants $4,000
Normally, I’m not crazy about starting batters that are going up against one of my starting pitchers. However, with the limited selection of games, to be determined weather situations on the West Coast (otherwise I would have selected Yasmani Grandal) and the quality of Posey versus the other Catcher available at the same price (Mike Zunino) got me to this point. Posey does have a match-up advantage for the evening as he has hit .302 against Righties this season.
First Base
Joey Votto, 1B, Cincinnati Reds, $4,300
Coming into this season, I thought Votto was going to be an absolute bust. I was pretty convinced that he was either going to get hurt, be ineffective or have both of these conditions apply to him. So far, he has proved me wrong as he is hitting .299 with 7 HR and a wRC+ of 153. Tonight’s match-up works to his advantage as he is hitting .316 with all 7 HR against Righties and he is 5 for 15 all time against Tim Linecum.
Second Base
Jose Altuve, 2B, Houston Astros, $4,200
Altuve has struggled a bit over the last few games but is still hitting .328. He has a strong opportunity to get back on track in tonight’s game as he gets to go up against some mediocre pitching. Tonight, the Blue Jays are starting Drew Hutchison who comes into tonight’s action with a 6.69 ERA/4.67 FIP.
Third Base
Kyle Seager, 3B, Seattle Mariners, $3,900
While Seager is only hitting .244 this season, his bat has started to heat up over the last few days. In his career, Seager has been a stronger hitter against Righties and is facing a struggling RHP in Joe Kelly who comes into tonight with a 6.35 ERA/4.48 FIP.
Shortstop
Brandon Crawford, SS, San Francisco Giants, $3,500
Crawford has had a strong season so far as he has hit 5 HR and has an OPS of .824. Even though he has a tough starting pitching match-up tonight, his overall performance is pretty strong for this relatively limited price and he has much more upside than players such as Didi Gregorious and Chris Taylor who are available for $100 less than Crawford.
Outfield
Nelson Cruz, OF, Seattle Mariners, $5,300
Nelson Cruz started the season off very strongly and has continued to put up MVP-caliber numbers so far. Even though we’re not quite half-way through May, Cruz has hit 15 HR and has an OPS of 1.155. It also doesn’t hurt that he will be teeing up against Joe Kelly and a Red Sox team that has had little trouble giving up runs to the opposition.
Evan Gattis, OF, Houston Astros, $3,900
After an ice cold start to this season, Gattis has had a better may. This month he has 4 HR in 39 PA. Gattis is definitely a boom or bust option but with the Astros facing the Blue Jays and a struggling Drew Hutchison, Gattis has an opportunity for a strong evening.
Kevin Pillar, OF, Toronto Blue Jays, $3,600
While Pillar’s glove has (rightfully) gotten a lot of attention, he has done enough offensively to get himself into the starting line-up on a regular basis. The Blue Jays are playing in Houston tonight which could work to his advantage as Pillar is hitting .276 on the road this season.
All statistics found on fangraphs.com
All statistics through 5/12/15
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