Here are my 4-30-15 Daily Fantasy Picks. These picks cover the contest starting at 7:10 PM EST/4:10 PM PST and totals are based off of DraftKings.
Disclaimer: These picks are subject to change based off of weather, postponements and last minute line-up decisions.
This contest covers the following games:
Reds-Braves, Blue Jays-Indians, Nationals-Mets, White Sox-Twins, Tigers-Royals, Mariners-Astros
Starting Pitchers
Jacob deGrom, SP, New York Mets $9,100
Initially, I was going to target Chris Sale for $2,200 more to take advantage with his match-up against the Twins. However, I decided to allocate more of my budget towards offense to stack my line-up with Blue Jays and Mariners players to take advantage of the fact that both of these teams are facing weak starting ptiching. deGrom has had a decent start to this season going 2-2 with a 2.96 ERA. While he has struggled on the road, tonight’s game being at home works to his advantage as he has not allowed an earned run in 13 1/3 innings at Citi Field this season.
James Paxton, SP, Seattle Mariners $6,800
Paxton has not had the greatest start to this season as he is 0-2 with a 6.86 ERA/4.77 FIP in 4 starts. While there is a chance this pick could go south, there is also an opportunity to get some additional points due to high strikeout totals. In his first 4 starts, his K/9 is at 8.69 and he faces an Astros team that has struck out more times as a team than anybody else.
Salvador Perez, C, Kansas City Royals $3,700
While Alfredo Simon has been off to a better than expected start for the Tigers, Perez is still a good pick for tonight. He is off to a strong start himself hitting .333/.346/.500. He has been especially strong against right handed pitching. This year, he has hit .370 with 2 HR in 46 PA against righties.
Edwin Encarnacion, 1B, Toronto Blue Jays $4,500
Encarnacion is one of four Blue Jays listed in my lineup tonight. The Blue Jays are facing the Indians who are starting T.J. House. House has pitched so poorly it is absurd. This year, he has a 12.60 ERA. He has been somewhat unlucky as his FIP is “only” 6.34. In addition, he has a BB/9 of 8.1.
While Encarnacion has been off to a slow start, he has too much talent to hit as poorly as he has all season. In limited action against Lefties this season, Encarnacion has hit pretty well, going 4 for 13 with 1 HR.
Devon Travis, 2B, Toronto Blue Jays, $3,600
To say that Travis is off to a hot start to this season would be an understatement. He has .356 with 6 HR in his first 20 games. If that is not enough, he has been extra good against lefties this season, going 6 for 15 with 3 HR. The combination of a hot streak and facing some terrible left-handed pitching is enough to get Travis into my line-up.
Josh Donaldson, 3B, Toronto Blue Jays, $5,700
Donaldson has also made life difficult for opposing pitchers as he is hitting .349 with 5 HR over his first 21 games. He has made life even more difficult for left-handed pitchers as he is 6 for 12 against lefties so far this season.
Brad Miller, SS, Seattle Mariners, $3,500
The Mariners are another team that could be in store for a strong game offensively as they will be going up against Scott Feldman of the Astros who has a 4.81 ERA/5.03 FIP. Miller has been off to a decent start this season, hitting .283 in his first 20 games. When his numbers are isolated to what he’s done against Righties, his numbers look more impressive as he has hit .341 in 44 PA against righties. This combined with facing some mediocre right-handed pitching make Miller a good value at his modest price tag.
Jose Bautista, OF, Toronto Blue Jays, $5,300
Bautista is another star Blue Jays player who has displayed some power this year (5 HR) but has also underachieved (.167 AVG). Even though he has struggled this season, he has been comfortable hitting at Progressive Field where he has a .906 career OPS in 108 PA.
Justin Ruggiano, OF, Seattle Mariners, $3,900
Ruggiano hasn’t seen much playing time this season (25 PA) but has found himself in the line-up more often this week. He has started the last two days and getting double digit points in DraftKings on both days. He has a strong shot to continue this trend tonight.
Seth Smith, OF, Seattle Mariners, $3,800
Historically, Smith has hit right-handed pitching very well (lefties are a different story). Smith has continued this trend this year as he has hit .282 in 39 PA against Righties. He also has a match-up advantage tonight as the Mariners are facing a right-handed pitcher in Feldman.
Main Photo
photo credit: Jacob deGrom via photopin (license)
