Today, it is Thursday which means it is my turn to share my opinions and ideas which are leading me to set my 6-25-15 Daily Fantasy Baseball Picks. Usually, I focus my Daily Picks on the evening slate of games. However, with today’s schedule having 8 day games but only 3 games being covered in the evening contests, the focus of today’s column will be on the contests starting at 1:05 PM EST.
Disclaimer: The below picks are subject to last minute line-up decisions and weather.
Starting Pitchers
Sonny Gray, Oakland Athletics, SP, $9,500
Despite a modest sized slate, there are plenty of solid starters to choose from. Jacob deGrom isn’t a bad choice as he is facing the Brewers but he hasn’t pitched as well on the road as he has at home. James Shields is typically a good source of strikeouts but has an FIP north of 4.
Despite his previous start where Gray only accumulated 2.7 points, he is still having a very solid season as he is 8-3 with a 1.95 ERA/2.65 FIP. For the first time since June 3, he is available for less than $10,000. While the Rangers Ballpark in Arlington tends to favor hitters, this does not seem to affect Gray as he racked up 33 fantasy points in his last start in Texas (May 3) and he has a 1.58 ERA on the road this season.
Chris Heston, SP, San Francisco Giants, $7,500
Heston is having a solid season as he is 7-5 with a 3.83 ERA/3.33 FIP and a 7.76 K/9. With the Giants playing at home today, this gives him some additional value as he has a 3.21 ERA at AT&T Park this season.
Catcher
Nick Hundley, C, Colorado Rockies, $3,500
In his first season with the Rockies, Hundley has hit very well at the plate as he is currently sporting a .301 AVG. I know this does not come as a shock but Hundley has hit better at Coors Field (.330 AVG) than he has on the road. In addition he has hit .326 against righties which helps his value today as the Rockies will be facing RHP Rubby De La Rosa.
First Base
Ben Paulsen, 1B, Colorado Rockies, $3,500
With Justin Morneau currently on the DL, Paulsen has received additional playing time opportunities and made the most of these as he has hit .296 with 5 HR and a 133 wRC+ this season. He has seen the majority of his production against righties as he is hitting .300 against right-handed pitching this season. He has also taken very kindly to Coors Field where he has hit .323 in 2015.
Second Base
Addison Russell, 2B, Chicago Cubs, $3,600
While Russell has done his best work defensively in his rookie season, he has held his own with the bat as he is hitting .250 with 5 HR. However, with the Cubs playing at home and facing RHP Carlos Frias this gives Russell some additional value for today. This season, he is hitting .268 against righties and has hit .277 at Wrigley Field.
Third Base
DJ LeMahieu, 3B, Colorado Rockies, $4,000
LeMahieu is in the midst of a possible career year as he is currently hitting .316 with 4 HR and 9 SB. With the Rockies playing at home against RHP Rubby De La Rosa, this plays to his advantage as he is hitting .330 against righties and .333 at Coors Field this season.
Shortstop
Troy Tulowitzki, SS, Colorado Rockies, $5,500
While Tulowitzki has not been as productive at the plate this year as he has been in years past, he is still sporting an AVG of .312. However, his production has taken a step forward this month as he has been hitting .375 in June. Also, Tulowitzki gets the Coors Field bump as he has hit .344 at home this season.
Outfield
A.J. Pollock, OF, Arizona Diamondbacks, $4,800
Pollock is having a very productive season at the plate as he is hitting .310 with 9 HR and 14 SB. With the Diamondbacks playing at Coors Field this is helpful to his value. However, he has other match-up advantages such as a .323 Road AVG and a .339 AVG against lefties (the Diamondbacks will be facing LHP Jorge De La Rosa).
Denard Span, OF, Washington Nationals, $4,600
Span is having a solid season with the Nationals as he is hitting .308 with 5 HR and 8 SB. The Nationals will be facing rookie RHP Matt Wisler who will be making his second career start. This could set up Span to have a productive day as he is hitting .351 against righties this season.
Chris Coghlan, OF, Chicago Cubs, $3,500
Coghlan continues to get a consistent amount of playing time this year and has played reasonably well as he has hit 8 HR and has a wRC+ of 106. Today, Coghlan is a good value at this price as he has hit much better against righties than he has lefties. Against right-handed pitching, Coghlan has hit all 8 of his HR in 209 PA.
All statistics found on fangraphs.com
All statistics through 6/23/15
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