Daily Musing 5/15/2014 Another 50/50 Night

Recap:

It was a 50/50 night for me. I played in daily 50/50 leagues, and placed in the money in 4 out of 8 contests. Baumgartner was a death nail in the early games. I will not ignore the home and day game stats for him again. If he starts during the day and at home I am not going to use him. He will still be a play for me at any other time. I would have been a tad ahead for the day if I would not have played in the tournament. I'll take the dollar hit for a chance to win $350.00. Today has been very kind to me. I entered in four 50/50 contests for the early games, and placed in the money in all 4. Hopefully the night is equally profitable. I feel confident with my lineups. If my pitcher does well, I should finish in the money.

Pitchers:

It's Yordano Ventura day in Kansas City. I'm hoping for a better performance than he had his last time out vs Seattle. He seems to be on a one good and one bad start streak. Baltimore is a strong offensive team, but one thing I have learned is good pitching beats good hitting 9 times out of 10. If Ventura has one or two of his secondary pitches working, he is nearly unhittable. He faced Baltimore a couple of weeks ago and was dominant. He went 8 innings, gave up 7 hits and struckout 10. I do not subscribe to the belief that hitters will do better the second time around. If Ventura is on, Baltimore won't stand a chance.

Hitters:

C: The over under Vegas is setting for the Cleveland vs Toronto game is 9.5, which is insanely high. Blue Jays hitters would be the obvious choice, but I'm going with Cleveland. I don't know what to expect from Danny Salazar. He could get lit up, or strikeout 10 not giving up a run. For catcher tonight I'm going with Yan Gomes. Gomes over the past 3 years is batting .293/.337/.527 vs southpaws.

1B: Pujols: He is good against lefties. Erik Bedard had been really good his past two starts, but the Angles kill lefties as a team. Hoping Pujols cashes in tonight. He is batting .267/.313/.467 vs lefties. Not great numbers, but I am betting Bedard struggles tonight.

2B: Howie Kendrick: see my above reason for why I like Angles hitters tonight. Batting .279/.367/.442 vs lefties on the year.

3B: One of my sneaky picks for the night. Danny Valencia. He is another lefty killer .321/.345/.464. I'll take those numbers.

SS: Asdrubal Cabrera has been on fire recently and gets to face a crappy MLB pitcher in J.A. Happ. He bats slightly better vs lefties than righties as a switch hitter. Over the past seven Cabrera is batting .462/.517/.808.

OF: I don't like fish, but I am going to sample some Trout tonight, and hope it pays off. Again I love the Angles tonight, so does Vegas, they set the over under tonight at 9. I don't think this is because of the Tampa bats. Jacoby Ellsbury, this is the one person in the lineup I'm not sure about. He is a good solid play and going against a rookie pitcher in his first start. Last play is another Angel. Collin Cowgill is leading off, hoping he gets on base and scores a bunch of runs. Last time I went with the Angels vs a lefty it did not work out for me. Hopefully it does today.

Daily Musing: 5/14/2014 “Don’t Think Meat, Just Throw”

Recap:

What a great day in the fantasy world. I jumped three places in one my yearly leagues (even managed to gain a couple of points in the league I'm dead last in), and placed in every daily league I entered. I even managed to place in the large tournament I entered. When I went to bed I was in 25^th place, I finished in 300^th, but still managed to make a 2.00 profit. I'll try my hand at this tournament again today, not looking to make money, but it's worth a shot to make 400 dollars for 1^st place. My new strategy of picking against poor pitchers looks to be paying off. I put thought into yesterday's lineups, but didn't overthink it. I put together what I thought was a good team and went with it. I am going to keep trying the, "Don't Think Meat, Just Throw" approach and hope it pays off.

Pitchers:

Early: Madison Baumgartner is pitching against the Braves at home. I foresee a plethora of strikeouts, and a deep outing for the power lefty today. He is sporting a 5.87 home ERA on the year in 3 starts, but managed 6 innings and 9 strikeouts vs the Braves last week.

Late: Johnny Cueto is pitching against the Padres. Yes, the Padres of been playing better, but Cueto dominated the Rockies his last time out. The Padres offense is nowhere close to being as good as a road Rockies lineup. Cueto is healthy and at home (unlike Fernandez on Friday night of last week), this should equal massive success.

Hitters:

C: Early: I like John Jaso. He is facing a righty pitcher who gives up a ton of fly balls. Guessing one may leave the yard.

Late: Kurt Suzuki is primed for a big game tonight against a dreadful lefty pitcher in the form of Felix Doubront. I liked this matchup last night, and my opinion has not changed.

1B: Early: Brandon Moss, see my above reason for liking John Jaso

Late: David Ortiz. He hit two home runs last night, and helped me place in the money. He is heating up and I'm looking to ride the hot streak while it lasts. He gets another favorable matchup tonight vs. Kevin Correia.

2B: Early: Robinson Cano: I like the matchup vs a righty who has had issues in Jake Odorizzi

Late: Brian Dozier: Same reason I like Kurt Suzuki

3B: Early: Evan Longoria: I like him to bounce back today vs a putrid right handed pitcher named Brandon Maurer.

Late: Trevor Plouffe: Can you tell I think Felix Doubront struggles tonight in Minnesota?

SS: Early: I went with Ian Desmond hoping he continues building a hot streak.

Late: Jose Reyes: I am not sure I like this matchup vs Kluber. Vegas thinks this will be a high scoring game, and no other matchup was standing out to me.

OF: Early: Alex Gordon gets it going vs a struggling righty (he didn't), Cespedes hits a homer vs some White Sox pitching, and Matt Joyce keeps up his hot hitting vs right handers.

Late: Michael Brantley kills pitchers in the Rodgers Center. Ryan Braun hits lefties well, and Michael Bourn will set the table for a massive scoring output by the Cleveland Indians.

 

Daily Musing 5/13/2014 Just an OK Night

Recap:

Last night was just a blah night. I placed in 3 of the 8 contests I entered. Tonight we are looking to perform better. I am going to play in eight 50/50 leagues tonight, and one Guaranteed Prize Pool Tournament. It looks like I am going against the experts tonight in my pitchers, and a few of my hitters. Hope it pays off for me. I am going to write a shorter blog today. Just going to list the pitchers and hitters I like, and not go into a detailed analysis.

Pitchers:

Hisashi Iwakuma, love him tonight vs the Rays. They are a struggling team, and he looked absolutely dominant vs the Royals.

Josh Beckett is a sneaky play tonight. Cheap on the sites, and I think he strikes out a ton of Marlins.

Hitters:

C: Zunino for the Mariners. David Price is a great pitcher, so I don't really like the matchup, but he is cheap and it is righty vs lefty. I wanted to go with Kurt Suzuki, but the Red Sox changed their starter, and forced me to make a change

Posey for the Giants in the late games. I had Salary to spend in the my late leagues, so I went with the Posey

1B: Going with Big Poppy tonight. He gets a lefty vs righty matchup, and Nolasco stinks.

Brandon Moss is my play for the late games. The White Sox pitcher will be riding a bus in a few weeks.

2B: This is another position I had to change. I wanted Brian Dozier for the Twins, changed to Chase Utley of the Phillies. Late games going with Dee Gordon.

3B: David Wright for the early game, he gets a crappy lefty to crush tonight. Late games going with some Josh Donaldson.

SS: Ian Desmond got it going last night, and he is still cheap. Hoping he keeps it going tonight for my daily league, and for my yearly leagues. Love the A's tonight, so going with Jed Lowrie

OF: Rios who kills lefties, Cabrera who kills Justin Masterson, and Carl Crawford who murders righties (at least recently). For the late games I am going with Puig, Cespedes, and Crawford.

Daily Musing 5/12/2014: Weekend in Fantasy Hades

Recap:

WOW, was I bad at the daily game this weekend. After my stunning performance on Thursday night I followed it up with an average Friday breaking even. Then I was destroyed on Saturday and Sunday. I will admit not putting as much effort into building my lineup on Saturday. This was a mistake, and I did not place in the money in any entry I made. Yesterday was not much better. I did put more effort into my lineup. I thought I had an extremely strong one with Clayton Kershaw as my starting pitcher. A case of the "Sunday's" affected my lineup. Managers gave days off to guys who I thought where a lock to start. Scooter Jennet, Carl Crawford, and Everth Cabrera. I had to quickly replace these individuals with little to no research, while grocery shopping. Not an ideal scenario, and it cost me. I only won one head to head league, because the other guy's team was equally horrible. I was able to get home and enter in one other lineup for the late games, and nailed it. I finished in the top ten. One bright spot for a horrific weekend. I am going to try a different strategy for the week. I am going to go away from relying heavily on batter vs pitcher stats (though not going to ignore them) and focus more on poor pitchers vs good hitting teams. I put yet another 10 dollars into my Fanduel account. This will be my last deposit. I am up to 50 dollars on the month. If I can't do better this week, I will just try the daily free-rolls on fantasy websites.

Pitchers:

Dan Haren vs the Miami Marlins. Current Marlins are batting a combined .265/.302/.447 vs Haren. He has also been consistent all year. He has yet to give up more than 3 earned runs in a start, and has made it into the 6^th inning in every single start. He is only averaging 4 strikeouts per his starts, but I look for him to have a big total tonight.

Jesse Chavez vs the Chicago White Sox. This is my second choice. Current White Sox's are batting .269/.333/.424 vs right handers for the year. Chavez has been a tad inconsistent over his past 3 starts. Giving up 4 earned runs in two of the three. The White Sox are a hard team to figure out, and I will probably stay away from the game and Chavez.

Hitters:

C: Chris Iannetta of the Angels: He is batting 4/9 vs Buehrle with 2 doubles. He is batting .276/.382/.655 vs lefties on the year. If he starts tonight he is a cheap consistent option at catcher. Derick Norris of the Oakland A's. He had a monster game yesterday with 2 home runs (He is one of the reasons I finished in the top 10 of my late league) He is great against lefties, in 39 at bats this year he is batting .385/.467/.641. If he is in the lineup, which he will be, I will use him for the late games.

1B: Going with Prince Fielder. I am thinking he can get it going against Houston, and a bad pitcher in Peacock. He was starting to heat up before he ran into the two John's, Lester and Lackey. Also going to try Freddie Freeman for the late games. He is 4/17 against Lincecum. He also has not had a hit in the last two games. I cannot see three straight. This is against the streak, but I think he could break out tonight.

2B: Howie Kendrick: He has been very good recently, batting .364/.462/.591 over his last 7 days. He also bats .350/.409/.700 vs Mark Buehrle. Again not trying to go against a good pitcher, but I think Buehrle is doing things with smoke and mirrors. Trying Dee Gordon for the late games. He is 3/6 against Koehler, but has only been batting .241 over the past 7 days. He is also very expensive, but I had money to spare in the evening games.

3B: Matt Carpenter has been heating up. Over the past 7 he is batting .320/.414/.440. He also does well against Travis wood, 5/19 with 1 Double and 1 Home Run. Martin Prado is a cheap play for the evening games, and is batting. .500 in 14 at bats vs Jordan Zimmerman.

SS: This is the one position I had trouble with tonight. I am going with a cheap option in J.J Hardy. Going back to pitcher vs hitter stats on this one. His slash is .412/412/.471 vs Porcello. For the late games I am hoping Jed Lowrie gets it going against Gavin Floyd. He is currently 0-9 against him, but how long can that continue?

OF: Nick Markakis also enjoys batting against Porcello: .429/.480/.619. He is also been batting .375/.444/.417 over the past 7 days. Mr. Consistent Shin-Shoo Choo. Love the matchup tonight going against a sub-par pitcher. Austin Jackson is another consistent play. He has been heating up over the past 7 days, batting .333/.360/.375. For the night games I am going with hot hands. I am going with Puig, Cespedes and Pagan.

Daily Musing 5/9/2014: WHOO-HOO!!

Recap:

I placed in the money in every single daily league I entered last night. It was extremely close. I finished 40^th out of 80 in a couple of leagues, taking the last spot in the money. David Price was the reason I almost finished out of the money. I paid for the pitching and it almost cost me. He only went 5 innings gave up 3 runs, and only struck out 3. With a performance like this I did not think I would place. Edwin Encarnacion saved me. His two home runs let me squeak into the money.

Ian Kennedy on the other hand was brilliant against the Marlins. He went 7 innings striking out 12 and only giving up 1 earned run. He also homered in the game, providing the only San Diego offense. He did not get the win, but built up enough strikeouts to give me a bunch of daily fantasy points.

All in all it was a very good night. I hope my winning and losing stabilize to a consistent basis, hopefully on the former side. I am going to try my hand at some head to head match-ups tonight to see how I fare in those.

Pitchers:

There is a plethora of good pitching tonight. You cannot go wrong with Fernandez, Cueto, Darvish, Tanaka, Bumgarner, or Verlander. Each has advantages and disadvantages. Fernandez is extremely pricey on all sites, but he is also facing a San Diego team who only amounted 1 run against a sub-par pitcher. Cueto is facing the Rockies, and while I think he will do well tonight, I don't think I can take the risk in the daily game. Darvish is facing Boston, who always have the ability to draw out at-bats, and get the pitcher out of the game early. Verlander has been a tad inconsistent this year, and the Twins can be similar to the Red Sox in how they approach at-bats. Tanaka is my best option tonight going against an injured Brewers team who free swings. The only down side is he has given up the long ball, and the Brewers can defiantly go deep. Tanaka has been the model of consistency all year going at least 7 innings except in one start, and striking out no less than 5 in each performance. I am also going to use Jose Fernandez for my late lineup (I don't think I need to explain my reason for this).

Batters:

C: I am going with an early and a late lineup for tonight. For the early lineup I am going with Brayan Pena. He is batting second tonight for the Reds and is batting .375 over the past 7 days with 2 homers. For the late game I am going with Salvador Perez, he is batting a consistent .280 over the past 7 days with 3 doubles. The entire Royals lineup struggled last night against Iwakuma. I will give him a pass, and hope he and the team bounce back against a sub-par pitcher in Maurer.

1B: I am really hoping Miguel Cabrera hits well tonight vs Phil Hughes. He did not have a hit yesterday, and didn't have a hit when I played him earlier in the week. The stats say he will. He DESTROYS Phil Hughes. In 28 AB's he is batting .536/.567/1.214. Not sure how anyone could not play him tonight in the daily money games. With the selection for the late game I am going with another Royal (go figure) in Eric Hosmer. He has been heating up batting .367 over the past 7 days with 3 doubles and 1 HR. Throw in a 2/4 with a double against Maurer, and he is a must start for me.

2B: Anthony Rendon (he is listed as a 2b on fanduel): I believe I have mentioned before, Rendon kills lefties. I did not start him against Kershaw, but he still managed a 2/5 against him for the game. For the year he is batting .484/.500/.806, and equals a must start. He is the only second baseman I am using for the daily game tonight.

3B: Have to give props to Ray Flowers (check out his website by clicking his name) for this one. I was struggling to build a lineup with a third basemen for the night. I just did not feel any good option. In his daily email he gave the great nugget about Alberto Callaspo, he has 6 hits in 17 at bats with a homer against Doug Fister. He is bottom dollar on Fanduel. He is batting a horrendous .063 in the last 7 days, but I'll run the chance he bounces back against Fister tonight. He is the only third basemen I am using tonight. Boom or bust mentality, because it allows me to use Tanaka and Fernandez.

SS: Jhonny Peralta: Batting .325 in 40 AB's with one double and 2 home runs against Liriano. On top of this he is running hot, batting .375 with 3 doubles and a home run in the past 7 days. For the late game I am going back to my home town team and Alcides Escobar. He walked last night in the 9^th inning, I look for him to have a big game tonight. I probably should use some Giants since they are facing Paul Maholm, but I just don't like their prices for the matchup.

OF: Jason Werth: Another National who destroys lefties. On the year he is batting .444/.500/.519. He is also been on fire for the past 7 days batting .417/.462/.458. This includes a game against the mighty Clayton Kershaw. Matt Joyce is always a solid play in the daily game. He is cheap option on Fanduel, and is great against right handed pitching. For the year his is batting .321/.443/.481. He is a little cool at the moment batting .222 over the past 7 days, but still has a nice .333 OBP. George Springer, the young guy came through for me yesterday hitting his first big league home run. He faces another left hander today, hopefully he has back to back good performances. Alex Gordon, he is a cool .148 over the past 7 days with 2 doubles. I look for him to break out in a big way tonight. This I know is against the streak, and not something you are supposed to do. Scott Hairston is yet another National who does well against lefties. He just came back off the DL, but he is a cheap option for the late night games. He is batting .255/.296/.497 over the past three years verse lefties. Not great numbers, but I'll take them against a pitcher who is struggling.

Daily Musing 5/8/2014: ALWAYS PAY FOR PITCHING!!

Recap:

As the title states, ALWAYS PAY FOR PITCHING. I did not last night, and paid the price, not finishing in the money in any of the evening contests. I tinkered with my evening lineups, and if I would have left well enough alone, I may have finished in the money. In my defense there was not much good pitching last night, but it could have been found (thinking of you Adam Wainwright). Good pitchers don't tend to slump and always provide needed daily fantasy points. I was dejected last night at the performance of my lineups. I am also slipping in my yearly leagues, and it is frustrating. Just have to keep telling myself it is a long season, and to keep plugging away. I really do enjoy playing the daily game. I have to remember, I'm playing for fun, and not for making money (This is really hard to remember sometimes). I thought about taking the day off in the daily game today, but I am going to climb back on the horse.

Pitchers:

As stated above I'm paying for pitching today. There are not many great options to pay for today. The best and most proven option is David Price. Price over the past three years verse Baltimore sports a 3.04 ERA, 71K's, and 3 wins in 11 starts, and 71 Innings pitched. The win total concerns me, added to the fact the Rays have struggled in the past 10 games going 4-6. The Orioles do struggle against lefties, on the year they are batting a collective .218/.292/.356.

Ian Kennedy is my other option for the night. He is not expensive, but there is just not another option which looks good to me. Over the past 3 years at PETCO Park he is sporting a 3.48 ERA, and is 25-10 in 47 game starts. The Marlins can't hit on the road this year. They are batting a horrible .215/.287/.333. Hopefully these trends continue.

Hitters:

C: Going with the extremely cheap option in the daily game. Michael Mckenry, the Colorado backup catcher. He is a right handed bat going against a lefty. This fact combined with his price is the only reason to use him tonight. He did ok last night, 1/5 against a righty. Salvador Perez is a good option to use, over the past 4 games played he is 7/18 with 3 doubles and a home run. This may be the start of a hot streak.

1B: Miguel Cabrera, he has hit 2 home runs in his last 2 days, and he is Miguel Cabrera. Edwin Encarnacion destroys AJ Burnett. He is 6/14 with 1 double and 2 home runs. He is also starting to heat up batting .283 over the past 7 games, combined with 1 double, 1 triple, and 2 home runs. I would stay away from Burnett tonight pitching in the Rogers Center. Brandon Belt is starting to simmer, hitting .333 over the past 7 days with 2 home runs.

2B: I like Ian Kinsler for the same reason I liked Ian Kinsler yesterday, he is facing a lefty. A quick refresher: On the year he is batting .406/.424/.594 verse southpaws. I was looking for cheap options for the evening games, and am going back to DJ LeMahieu. He came through in a big way last night, going 3/3 with a triple and 2 runs scored. I will take a duplication of this performance tonight, and hope it gets me in the money. Love Dee Gordon in the late games tonight, he has been on fire, and hits Ryan Vogelsong. Gordon is batting .391 against him with 1 triple. If he can get on base, he can steal some bags.

3B: Adrian Beltre: I know the Rangers have struggled the past three days, but I look for them to get it going tonight against Morales. Beltre has homered in each of the past two nights and is batting a modest .292 over the past 7 days. For the late games I am going to try Juan Uribe. He is batting .346 over the past 7 days, and is 6/17 against Vogelsong.

SS: Going with expensive pitching tonight I cannot to fit Tulo into my lineups. Hopefully this doesn't put me out of the money. Love the match-up and his performance. I am going to go back to Alcides Escobar. He is starting to heat up, going 6/19 over the past 4 games. He is 0-3 against Iwakuma for his career, but let's hope he bucks this trend tonight. I am going to use another Escobar tonight. Yunel Escobar is 7/19 vs Jimenez with 1 HR and 4 walks. He is also swinging a moderately hot stick, batting .348 over the past 7 days.

OF: Jose Bautista is another Blue Jay who mashes AJ Burnett. How does 6/14 with 2 doubles and 3 home runs sound? Sounds great to me, I'll take a few more homers and doubles tonight. Bautista is off to a hot start this year with 9 home runs and 21 RBI. Alex Rios went 0-3 with a walk last night against a lefty. This lowered his splits on the year to .400/.444/.725. He faces another lefty tonight. I'll play the law of averages saying he does not have two back to back no hit nights. George Springer: The young Houston outfielder is starting to slowly show why he was highly touted. The past 7 days he is batting .333 with 1 double. He has proven a value today, hitting his first MLB homer against Drew Smyly. Alex Gordon is another Royal who I think is on the verge of waking up offensively. The last two games he has two hits and a double. He is also a cheaper option for my outfield tonight. For the late night games I am using Giancarlo Stanton. He has not done well on the road (Remember those woeful Marlins road splits?). He is batting .200/.245/.420. He does do well against Ian Kennedy, 4/11 with 2 home runs. He can have a good night tonight against Kennedy. No-one else can, or it will screw up my daily fantasy score. Hunter Pence likes facing Josh Beckett, he is 8/19 with one homer. Carl Crawford is heating up, and is a cheap option for the late games tonight. He is batting .423 with 1 home run in the last 7 days.

That's it, unless the XM Fantasy Sports guys have better ideas. I will try not to tinker.

Daily Musing 5/7/2014: FINALLY

Recap:

I finally had a good day in the daily fantasy game. I placed in the money in 8/11 leagues I entered. I know I did way too much tinkering before the leagues started, but I am glad I did. The one lineup I thought was a shoo-in was the only one I did not finish in the money. I am going to just use two lineups today, or try just to use two. I am going to play the early games with one lineup and the evening games with another. Let's hope I can do well on back to back nights.

Pitchers:

Early: James Shields was scorched for 7 earned runs in his last start. The Tigers destroyed him, and I was glad I had him on my bench for my yearly AL only league. I look for a big bounce back facing a Padres team who struggle against bad pitching. The only hesitation I have in using Shields is the opposing pitcher. Cashner has been tough all year, and the Royals bats leave much to be desired over the past week. Hopefully they can eke out a few runs and Shields gets the win and tons of strikeouts. The Padres do not have many at-bats vs. Shields, but just for fun here what they are batting against him in a collective 43 at bats, .116/.191/.279 with 18 strikeouts.

Late Rick Porcello is getting some love tonight. He faces the Astros, which is reason enough to start him. He also looked dominant in his last start verse the Royals. Honestly, everyone has been looking dominant verse the Royals for the last week. He is not a strikeout pitcher, but he is a cheap option on Fanduel. I think he can pitch deep into the game and get the win for some cheap points.

Hitters:

C: Early: Johnathan Lucroy. I am not sure why fanduel has Lucroy at his current price. He is way cheap compared to other catchers of his caliber. He is also batting third in the Brewers order because of injuries. Until his price increases he is a plug in play. He has done ok against Arroyo to the tune of 4/14 with 2 doubles. Over the last 7 games he is batting .333 with 1 double.

Late: I'm going with Yan Gomes He is a cheaper option, and I want to get Tulowitzki and Cabrera in my lineup for the night. He is only batting .231 over the last 7 days, and .255 for the year.

1B: Early Paul Goldschmidt. He love batting in Milwaukee at Miller Park. In the past three years he is batting .455/.500/.955. This total is going up. He has homered today.

Late: Miguel Cabrera. He burned me on Monday going 0-4. He had a huge night last night going 4/5 with a double and a home run. Hopefully I am not a jinx, and he crushes the Houston pitcher again tonight.

2B: Early: Robinson Cano He is 4/8 vs Straily, and is a steady .308/.357/.423 over the last 7 days.

Late: Another cheap option. I am going with the DJ LeMahieu. This is my token Colorado bat besides Tulo. I know they are in Texas tonight, but that's not much of a drop-off in ballpark offense.

3B: Early: Casey McGehee: Can't ignore the hot numbers, and the fact he is batting behind Giancarlo Stanton. Over the past 7 days he is batting .433 with 4 doubles. He does not have a homer on the year, but does 23 RBI.

Late: Carlos Santana. I am going to bank on him getting it going tonight against Ricky Nolasco. He is 0/1 with 2 walks against him. He is batting a putrid .095 the last 7 days. He has 2 hits in this span, but he has made them count with a double and a home run. He also has 4 walks, at least his OBP is in the 200's at .240.

SS: Early I went with a super cheap option in Jordy Mercer. He is batting a poor .161 on the year, but I needed a cheap option to keep Cano and Goldschmidt in the lineup. I wanted Chris Owings, but the Diamondbacks gave him the day off.

Late: Troy Tulowitzki: Last 7 days: .591/.667/.955

As it stands now I am in the money in all three of the early leagues I entered. As long as James Shields does well I should finish in the moneyJ.

 

Daily Musing: 5/6/2014 Well, That Stunk

Recap:

Last night stunk on multiple levels. The Cubs and the Royals both lost in extra innings. I expect a blown game from the Cubs bullpen. The Royals blowing a late lead is not something we have seen over the past year and half. Hopefully they get it back on track tonight. My performance in the daily game was putrid last night. The Tigers killed me by only scoring 2 runs, and getting dominated by a poor pitcher. I did not place in the money in any league I entered. My pitchers where good, just did not have the right combo of hitters. I dumped 10 more dollars in my Fanduel account, hopefully it lasts a while.

Pitchers:

It is a thin night for pitching on Tuesday. Clayton Kershaw is the obvious pick coming back from the DL. He is not too expensive for the daily game, but I am going to go with C.J. Wilson who is a little cheaper and will allow me to enter better bats in my lineup.

C.J. Wilson: He has been solid this year sporting a 3.18 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, and 41 K's in 39.2 innings pitched. He pitched against the Yankees this year, going 6 innings with 5 K's and 1 ER.

My upside pick for the night is Drew Hutchison. I watched him pitch against Kansas City for his last start, and I was impressed. He was dominant through the first 6 innings before things got away from him, and the bullpen in the 7^th. He has 38 K's in 33 innings pitched. He might have a short outing, but has a high strikeout potential against a strikeout prone Phillies team.

Hitters:

C: Victor Martinez: Love him today going against the lefty. He is batting .384/.448/.731 vs. lefties this year. The Tigers did not come through for me last night, but I'm going back to the well again with them facing a lefty. Derek Norris is another lefty killer, batting .344/.432/.469 verses them on the year.

1B: I am not going to go with Miguel Cabrera tonight, he is too expensive for the daily game, and his lefties numbers while good, are not as good as against righties. He is .333/.461/.568 over the past three years. Yes, I realize these are still great numbers. Instead I am going to hitch my coattails to Prince Fielder tomorrow. Fielder is starting to heat up, batting 304 with 2 doubles over the last 7 games.

2B: I'm going Kinsler again. He murders lefties. This year his slash verses them is .414/.433/.621. I'll take those numbers, and cash in on them. Howie Kendrick is another solid option tonight in the daily game. He is 4/10 with 2 doubles against Kuroda, and .364 with 2 doubles and 1 triple in the last 7 days.

3B: Longoria loves facing Chris Tillman. In 24 AB's he is batting .417/.481/1.000 (WOW). How did he manage this massive slugging percentage? By hitting 4 HR and 2 doubles. Todd Frazier is doing well at the plate over the past 7 days, .364/.423/.682. He also does well against lefties, to date he is batting 294/.429/.588. Felix Doubront is his opponent on Tuesday, hopefully 1+1=2.

SS: J.J Hardy is good value option in the daily game. He is 4/10 with 2 doubles against Archer, and his .353 over the last 7 days. Jose Reyes is an interesting option in the daily game today. The Good: He is batting .393 with 6 doubles in 56 at bats vs Cole Hamels. The Bad: He is extremely cold right now batting just .188 over the last 7 days. Troy Tulowitzki, I wanted him a lineup and was able to get him in one, no explanation is needed on why I want to use him.

OF: Melky Cabrera: 6/15 verses Hamel, and is on fire this year as stated yesterday. Angel Pagan is 9/12 against Charlie Morton with 2 doubles and 1 triple. He is also batting a steady .333 over the past 7 days. Austin Jackson is another Tiger I am going to give a try tonight. He is batting 364/.464/.545 on the year verses southpaws. I feel like I need to have at least one Colorado Rocky in every daily lineup, or I will miss out on great offensive production. I am going with Brandon Barnes and Drew Stubbs in lineups today. They both do well against lefties: .345/.406/.379 (.357 last 7 days) for the former and .292/.379/.375 (.429 last 7 days) for the latter.

Daily Musing: 5/5/2014 Kicking Myself

Recap:

I placed in 5 out of 9 fanduel daily leagues yesterday. I was cussing myself at about 3:30. Troy Tulowitzki did not play yesterday. He is batting .619 (13/21) over the past seven days. Yes there is a 6 in front of his batting average. I did not mistype. He ONLY has 3 doubles and 2 home runs with those 13 at bats. Jeez, only 5 extra base hits out of the 13. With those numbers I managed to place him in all of my late game lineups. I did not check the lineups before the games started, to my detriment. This killed my chances in all three of the daily leagues I played in during the late afternoon/evening. If he would have played I would have had a great shot at finishing in the money in 8/9 leagues. Live and learn. At least I killed in the early games.

I lost on Draftkings and now have no money on their website. Still chugging along at around ten dollars on Fanduel with my performance yesterday. Hopefully I go 7/7 todayJ.

Pitchers:

Just using two pitchers today. There are a plethora of good options. I think there are two exceptional ones.

Yordano Ventura: What is their not to like for Ventura this year, except for his one hiccup against Minnesota. In that game he only managed 4 innings, struck out 6, while surrendering 4 runs. He only went 5 innings his last outing, but he had a high pitch count the game before. He has a 31/11 K per walk rate on the year. Sign me up for a bunch of K's tonight. The Padres cannot even hit bad pitching. They only managed to score 7 runs this weekend against the Diamondbacks. They sport the MLB's worst team ERA at 4.95. Love the matchup and love Ventura, cannot wait to watch something special tonight. (Mike if you read this, I am sure you are cringing, and will blame me if he does poorly)

Max Scherzer: A hot Tigers team facing the Astros. I don't think I really need to explain more than this. Scherzer has 51 strikeouts in 39 innings this year. His K/9 will not suffer a hit tonight.

Hitters:

C: I like Tigers tonight since they are facing the Astros. Alex Avila is swinging with authority over his last 7 days he has a SLG % of 1.000 with 2 home runs. If he is in the lineup tonight I am starting him. I am thinking about picking him up in the yearly leagues if available. Johnathan Lucroy had a great game yesterday vs the Reds. He was 2/2 with 1 RBI, and 2 walks. He is batting .333/.385/.417 over the 7 days. If he starts tonight, I love the matchup against a struggling Arizona pitching staff.

1B: Miguel Cabrera, do I really need to explain? Didn't think so. Just for fun here is his slash from the past 7 days: .364/.417/.500. Adam LaRoche does well against Zach Greinke. He is 4/5 against him, and is batting .385/.500/.769 over his last 7 games.

I needed a cheap first base option in one league. I am going back to Billy Butler. He has been swinging the bat better, and I like the matchup tonight against a lefty. He is batting a robust .381/.391/.619 over the past 7 days. I think the Royals get healthy over this road trip.

2B: Ian Kinsler: Love the Tigers against the Astros, can you tell? Kinsler is white hot over the past 7 days batting .409/.417/.500. He is also batting leadoff tonight, which could mean the all-important extra at-bat. Value play for the night, Mark Ellis. He is batting .316 over the past 7 days. Hopefully he continues his hot streak.

3B: Adrian Beltre likes batting against Jordan Lyles, he is 6/17 with 2 doubles. He broke out of a funk yesterday going 3/5 with an RBI and a walk. Brett Lawrie is on fire over the past 7 days. Check out this line .476/.500/.588. Another example of me kicking myself. I dropped him 2 weeks ago in the league I am dead last in. I needed offense and he wasn't producing. Makes me sick to my stomach.

I almost went with Nolan Arenado again today. He still has his hitting streak, and you are supposed to ride the steak. When the streak gets to 25 or so you have to start wondering how much longer it will last.

SS: Jhonny Peralta. He burned me when I tried him last week. Going to try to get some value out of him tonight. He is 8/25 against Harang with 2 doubles and 2 home runs. Hanley Ramirez hopefully gets on track tonight against Ryan Zimmerman. He has a .450 batting average in 20 AB's with 1 double and 1 home run.

OF: Marlon Byrd. Love him tonight facing a lefty. He is batting .360/.407/.640 against southpaws for the year. The last 7 days he is a cool .468 with 1 double and 2 HR. Talk about a bounce back from two years ago. Giancarlo Stanton is 7/18 against Niese with 2 HR. He is also .348/.423/.826 over the last 7 days with 3 home runs and 2 doubles. A value play for the outfield is Reed Johnson. His price is the bare minimum on fanduel. He is 7/18 against Niese, and is batting .333 on the year vs lefties. Collin Cowgill is another value. He is batting .412 with an on base of .500 over the past 7 days. I will ride the hot streak while it lasts, or his price exceeds the value. I also picked him up in my yearly league. Someone dropped Jeff Joyce in the league and I am going to platoon Joyce with Cowgill, and hopefully climb out of the cellar. Melky Cabrera has been on fire all year. His slash looks like this, .333/.500/.833. He is 0/5 vs Kendrick, but I look for him to break this tonight.

 

 

Daily Musing 5/3/14: Back to the Drawing Board

Recap:

Last night was not a great night. I went 1 for 1 on Draftkings. I sucked it up on fanduel, placing only in2 out of the 8 leagues. When I started playing a few weeks ago I was only trying one lineup in multiple leagues. Then this past week I have tried to mix and match. Not sure which is the best method, but I think I am going to go back to 1 lineup per website. Each website's lineup will be different because of the dollar value's assigned on each site.

I played in some early leagues today. These leagues only allow you to pick players from the early games of the day. I went 2/3 on fanduel, and placed in the one league I entered on draftkings. I played Tanaka in all of my lineups, he did ok and got the win. This helped me place in the money. Jonny Gomes was huge, getting a grand slam. I also played Ichiro who had two doubles and 2 runs scored.

Pitchers:

Since the games are already off and running, I am going to just go through the people I started.

Cueto: He has been dominant this year. Against the Brewers over the past three years he has an ERA of 2.23 and they are batting a collective .229 against him. He is the highest priced pitcher. I started him on Draftkings and Fanduel.

I thought about starting Burnett. I just didn't trust him going against a hot Nationals team, and pitching with a hernia. This may have been a mistake. He looks dominant again tonight.

I went way off the radar for my second starter. I went with R.A. Dickey. I know, I know, this was probably a crazy pick. He has been better his last two starts. He has pitched well in Pittsburg in the past. Over the past 3 years he has 2 starts at PNC, and has an ERA of 1.20. This was still a huge gamble. I was hoping the knuckle was going to knuckle today. As it stands right now the gamble is paying off. He has giving up 2 runs through 6 innings and struck out 3.

Hitters:

C: I went with Buster Posey. He has been good against Tehran in a small sample size. He was 4/6 with 1 home run. This has only gotten better. Tonight, as it stands now, he is 2/3 with another bomb.

1B: I went with Billy Butler again. He is 5/6 against Smyly. This has yet to pay off tonight, he is 0-2.

2B: On draftkings I went with Brandon Phillips. He has been cold recently. Over his past seven he is only 3/19. He does do well against Gallardo. In a large sample size of 51 AB's he is batting .314 with 3 doubles and 2 HR's. On fanduel I started Howie Kendrick. He is batting .297 against Matt Harrison in 17 AB's with 2 doubles and 1 HR.

3B: Todd Frazier also likes batting against Gallardo. He is 6/18, with one lone long bomb against the Brewers hurler. I went with Nolan Arenado on Fanduel. He is sporting a 22 game hit streak, and over his past seven he is batting a cool .400 with 1 double.

SS: Everth Cabrera was my lone shortstop of the night. He has been cold recently, but I needed a cheap option to fit under the salary cap on both sites. He does seem to do well at home, batting .294. Against Brandon McCarthy his is 1/3. Hopefully he is at least 2/6 at the end of the night.

OF: Jay Bruce, another Red who dominates Gallardo. He is just 14/29 with 2 doubles, 2 homes runs, and 3 walks. None of the Reds hitters have let me down tonight. Every single one I have played have at least 1 hit on the night. Austin Jackson enjoys hitting against lefties. This season he has tuned them up, batting .412/.500/.647. Collin Cowgill: He was another cheap option tonight. He is batting .286/.375/.476 on the year against lefties. He is also leading off tonight for the Angels. Hopefully he can get on base, and Trout and Pujols drive him in. Juan Lagares: He just came back off the DL, but had a solid night last night going 2/5 with 1 double. He is another leadoff batter. The Mets have scored 6 in the first 5 innings tonight, but he has yet to get on base. Hopefully he finds his way on by the end of the night.

As it stand right now I am in the money in each of my contests tonight. Not sure how long it is going to last. I thought I was a sure thing in my draftkings league tonight with my player performances. I am currently 69^th, and the top 70 get paid. I have 3 players still playing. Cowgill, Lagares, and Cabrera. If they all get a few singles I should still place.

Daily Musing 5/3/2014: The YIN & The YANG

Recap:

I thought about calling this post the Good, The Bad, and the Extremely Ugly. Either title work. I had some really monster performances from my picks, and some equally horrible ones. I placed in the money in one league on Draftkings and lost two. Back down to $2.60L. I fared much better on Fanduel placing in 5 out of 7 leagues.

The Yin (or what I'm calling The Yin anyway)

Roenis Elias was a stud last night. Sometimes it is better to be lucky than good. He had 10K in 7 innings pitched, and only gave up the 1 home run to Jacoby Ellsbury (another on the Yin list). Billy Butler did not disappoint against Mark Buehrle with 2 hits, one was a double, and 2 RBI. The big winner was Chris Getz, he came through in the first inning. After he got a base hit, he stole 2 bases, and scored a run. He later added to his point total with another base hit.

The Yang: (Bringing the Yin back into balance)

Salvador Perez, David Wright, and Wil Myers all had goose eggs for fantasy owners yesterday. The major disappointment was Chris Archer. I knew he was a risk. He looked great through 5 innings and then collapsed. He had amassed 10 points, and I thought I was a lock for the money, but then he blew up and only finished with 1 point in my daily league.

I am back at it tonight. Let's see if I can actually win on Draftkings.

Pitchers:

Stephen Strasburg: I do not really need to explain why I like him in the daily game tonight do? Ok, I will anyway. He is very pricy, but I am learning my lesson. PAY FOR PITCHING. The Phillies are batting a collective .211/.250/.329 against him. In one start at Citizen Bank Ballpark he pitched 6 innings, and did not allow a run. He has had one rough start in Miami (seems to be an issue with every pitcher except if they wear a Marlins uniform, wonder why??) the others have been stellar or just good.

Andrew Cashner: I love Cashner tonight. He is pitching at home where he sports a ridiculously low .081 ERA. The Diamondbacks can mash the baseball, but not tonight in San Diego.

Colby Lewis: This is a stretch, and a value play for tonight. If you can pick him up to stream in an ESPN league for today I would. I know you can't in the Yahoo leagues. I really like this option in ESPN yearly leagues. I need a cheap pitcher to go along with Strasburg and he was it. The Angles are batting .236/.325/.528 against Lewis collectively. He is good at Angles Stadium. In the last three years he has a 1.82 ERA in 3 starts, and 19.2 innings pitched. He has only given up 11 hits and struckout 17. Hopefully this continues tonight.

I am also starting Gerrit Cole tonight. He has been good at home. In his two starts this year he has an ERA of 1.80. The Blue Jays can mash, just hope he can shut them down.

Hitters:

C: My value play for catcher tonight is Travis d'Arnaud. He has been heating up over his last 7 batting .308/.400/.615. He is also playing in Coors, against a lefty.

1B: Billy Butler and Eric Hosmer. I am biased for the Royals, but the numbers back me up tonight. Butler is batting .310 in 42 AB against Porcello with 3 doubles. He also has been heating up over his last 7 batting .360 with 2 doubles. Hosmer is batting .357 in 14 AB's against Porcello with 2 HR. Hosmer also has 4 doubles over the last 7 days, and has just missed a homer on a couple of those.

2B: Rendon, he has killed lefties this year. He is facing Cliff Lee. Still don't care, Rendon is on FIRE against lefties. Just for fun here is his slash lines against lefties for the year .565/.577/1.000

3B: Casey McGhee: He has been good over his last 7, batting .391/.462/.478. The whole Marlins team is hot right now, not sure how much longer they will keep it up. Depending on the site Miguel Cabrera is a must start tonight in the daily game. He is good against everyone, but he kills James Shields. He is batting in 43 AB's .419/.468/.721. That is a big WOW factor. I did not expect those numbers when I started my research. I am going to sit James Shields tonight in my yearly AL only league. There are a ton of Tigers hitters who hit him well.

SS: I am not playing Escobar tonight for the Royals, he does not hit Porcello at all. He has 1 hit in 21 AB's. I am starting Alexei Ramirez tonight, he is 6/7 against Danny Salazar.

OF: Alex Gordon is another Royal who likes facing Porcello. How does .355 with 2 home runs and 2 doubles suit you? I love Jason Werth tonight, he feels very comfortable in the box against Cliff Lee. Batting .357 in 28 AB's with 1 double and 2 HR's. I am going to use Josh Reddick of the A's tonight as well. He is 2/3 against Buchholtz with a homer and a walk. He also has been solid over his past 7 batting: .333/.391/.524

Daily Musing 5/1/2014 HOME COOKING!!

Recap:

Anthony Rendon likes playing in his home town and batting against left handers. He crushed the ball last night, and helped me place in the money in my daily league. I would love to own Rendon in my yearly leagues. I did not draft him in any leagues, I always seemed to have my corner or middle infielder spots filled up when he came around in the draft. He helped me in the daily game last night providing a whopping 33 points. Going 4/5 with 2 runs, 2 doubles, 1 HR, and 3 RBI. I doubt he forgets this game soon. He is now batting .565 on the year against lefties. He is a must start against lefties in any type of league format. I probably would not have placed in the money without his performance last night.

My other lineup did well. Scherzer and Eovaldi turned in stellar performances. I now have a whopping $3.60 in my draftkings account. I get to play three lineups today!! My fanduel lineups did ok. I placed in 3 out of the 7 I entered. I am down to 8 dollars and some change from 10. The rainouts hurt me and I will have to watch the weather today to ensure it does not happen again.

Pitchers:

I really do not like very many pitchers today. I am have trepidation about every starter out pitching.

Ervin Santana: He is the best pitching option available today. I will play him in a few lineups and hopes he pays off. He has been stellar in his few starts of the year. Going 3-0 with a 1.95 ERA and a .98 Whip in his first 4 starts. The only worry I have is the way the Marlins have swung the bats at home this year. They are currently batting, as a team, .307/.366/.474 at home. They trounced the Braves the last two nights 9-0 and 9-3.

Dan Haren: He has been solid this year. Going 3-0 in 6 starts with a 2.25 ERA and 27 K's in 32 innings pitched. He is one of the best options besides Ervin Santana. The only trepidation I have is his career at Target Field. He has a 6.75 ERA in 14.2 innings pitched and has given up 2 HR. It was not a great start to the day either. He has given up 2 Runs in the first inning. Hopefully he settles down. (He did settle down, he gave up 2 more runs but pitched into the 7^th and struckout 7)

Marco Estrada: I have mixed feelings about Estrada. He has been great this year, not giving up more than 3 runs in any of his starts. He also has made it into the 6 inning of every start. He is good against the Reds. They are only batting .224 against him. He is also good at Great American Ballpark. In 4 appearances, and 3 starts he is 1-1 with a 2.57 ERA. He has however given up 4 HR's in his 21 innings pitched at Great American. I just have a bad gut feeling about him tonight. My gut was wrong about Greinke last night, so hopefully it is wrong today as well.

Chris Archer: He is pitching the second half of the double header today. I am looking for Jake Peavy to take the first game, and for the Rays to crush Felix Doubront tonight. This hopefully means he will pitch well and strikeout a bunch of Red Sox batters. I am not holding my breath and not sure I should start him, but I am going to gamble. (The Rays won a 2-1 ballgame in the first of the double header. The sweep is hard to do but Doubront is horrible)

I am also starting Jake Peavy in one league today. The only reason is I need a second pitcher on draftkings for the early games, and he is the best available. I was not going to trust Bud Norris nor the Pittsburg pitcher.

I am also rolling the dice with Roenis Elias in one lineup. Not really very confident with the pick either, but I needed a cheap pitcher to pair with Ervin Santana. If I did not use a cheap pitcher I would not have any hitters to score points with.

One pitcher I would stay away from, who has been good this year, is Mark Buehrle. Over the past three years at Kauffman stadium he has a record of 1-1 with a 6.38 ERA in three starts with only 6 strikeouts. He is not a strikeout pitcher, but this is a putrid number.

Hitters:

C: Salvador Perez: He has been on a tear. He was 0-2 last night with one walk and 1 run scored. He mashes lefties to the tune of .351/.384/.586 for his career. He hasn't been good this year though only batting .111 in 18 AB's. I look for him to raise the lefty average tonight against Buehrle. He is 3/6 with 1 double and 1 triple against Buehrle. Kurt Suzuki is a good early play batting .421 in 19 AB with 2 doubles against Haren. Matt Wieters has been strong the past week batting .389 with 1 HR and 2 doubles.

1B: Billy the kid Butler is a great cheap option to play tonight. If he is sitting on the bench in your yearly leagues, it is time to take him off for tonight. He kills Mark Buehrle. In 60 AB's Butler is batting .333 with 3 doubles and 3 HR's. He is also starting to warm up batting .280 over his last 7 games. Edwin Encarnacion is also starting to heat up, and is solid against Guthrie. He is batting .367 in 30 AB's with 4 doubles and 2 HR's against him. Edwin is also .350/.458/.700 over his last 7 games. Those are good numbers and even though I am a Royal's fan I hope he does well tonight.

2B: This one surprised me, Chris Getz is batting 7/12 with 1 double and 1 HR against Guthrie. He is a good cheap option on many sites, and I am going to put him in some lineups. Maybe he will surprise me, he certainly did not have those types of numbers when he played for the Royals. Neil Walker is batting .429 against Bud Norris in 21 AB's with one double and 1 HR. He has been cold over his past 7 though, only batting only .192/.276/.192. Scooter Gennett is 5/11 against Homer Baily with 2 doubles, and is batting in the 2 slot tonight. Honestly, I may have to put Scooter in my hitter's notes every day just so I can type out the name Scooter.

3B: Evan Longoria is 6/17 with 1 double and 1 HR against Felix Doubront. Kyle Seager has been white hot over his last 7 games batting 474/.524/1.263 (My god, look at that slugging percentage!!!) I am not starting him in any daily leagues today because he is too expensive, but for those who have him in your yearly leagues, ENJOY. That short porch in Yankee stadium may see some action tonight. For those who dropped him in the leagues, shame on you. He is a very streaky player, ride it while it lasts, then bench him when he gets cold.

SS: Alcides Escobar, let me count the ways you pay off in the daily fantasy game. He came through huge for me last night with a 2 run double late in the game. I was hanging on pins and needles wondering if I would finish out of the money until this point. I will play him again tonight, he is batting .357 in 14 AB against Buehrle. His price is starting to creep up on most sites, but I still like playing him. Reyes is a good start across the diamond batting 3/7 with 1 double against Guthrie.

OF: Matt Kemp was a good start in the early daily games today. He was batting 6/11 with 1 double against Pelfrey. While I worked on this he has a double and a run scored. I was hoping for more from him, but points are points. I am finally going to get to play Markakis today. Look at my blog post from two days ago to see his numbers. Ellsbury is surprisingly strong against lefties this year batting, .410/.477/.641. He is also discounted tonight because he is facing a lefty. I will start him and hope he cashes in. Kris Davis is batting 4/8 against Homer Baily with 2 HR's. He also enjoys Great American Ballpark batting .400/.500/1.200 in 10 AB's. Jay Bruce enjoys batting against Marco Estrada, he has a .353 average with 1 double and 4 HR.

Good Luck and if anyone is actually reading, THANKS.

 

Daily Musing 4/30/2014: Knives & Rain

Recap:

Yesterday was better than Monday, but not by much. I placed in the money with one lineup and finished out of the money with the other. One thing I am learning about the daily game is to pay for pitching and mix and match with your hitters. I scratched a few of my hitters yesterday because of the weather. I did not use Daniel Murphy and David Wright of the Mets because of the chance of Rain. They were able to play the game in Philadelphia, and Murphy had a big game going 3-5 with 1 RBI and 1 Run. Wright on the other hand went 0-5. Not using either ended up being a wash. I used Pedroia and Arenado and their stats canceled out Murphy and Wright's performance.

What killed me yesterday was Matt Cain being scratched from his start. He cut himself with a knife. Didn't anyone tell him not to play with knives on his start day?? I had to substitute him at the last minute and made the wrong gut call. I went with Kluber for the Indians against the Angles, and he did not do well. He only lasted 4.1 innings giving up 4 runs and striking out 5. This killed my second lineup and is the reason I finished outside of the money. Every one of my batters I selected yesterday had at least 2 points. Matt Holliday was the lone 2 point performer only having 1 walk. I will enter two different lineups again today in two different 50/50 tournaments. Hopefully the rain stays away and pitchers stay out of their kitchens (the rain has not stayed away, canceling 4 games on the east coast).

I made a discovery today while I was doing research. I have 10 dollars in my Fan Duel account. I will be playing in 7 50/50 daily leagues on their site today. They only use one pitcher and outs count against hitters.

Pitching:

Shelby Miller: The Brewers collectively are batting .211 against him. He also dominated them in his last start, when he pitched against them in Milwaukee striking out 7. He has 1.61 career ERA at the new Busch stadium. I used Shelby Miller a bunch today in the daily leagues. As I sit here and type this, he has given up 3 runs in the first three innings. Things are not looking too great for him. Hopefully he settles down, and pitches well the rest of the outing.

Matt Scherzer: Not too much explanation here. If you have Scherzer you are starting him in yearly leagues. I am going to start him in a daily league with some trepidation. He is super expensive on draft kings, but I am paring him with a cheap pitcher who I think will do well (Eovaldi). The worry I have is his record at US Cellular. In the last 3 years he has an ERA of 4.28 at the Cell. He did strikeout 10 White Sox the last time he faced them this year, and I am banking on this trend and not the former. As I sit here and watch the game he is looking great. He has struck out 4 in 3.1, and the Tigers have a 4-0 lead.

Nate Eovaldi: I really like Nate Eovaldi. He has been a steal in my NL only league. He is still available in many leagues. I think I am going to pick him up in the one mixed league I am struggling in. The Braves are batting .230 against him in his career and he has 33 K against them. The Braves strikeout a ton and he is a good strikeout pitcher. Hopefully the Braves bats do not wake up against him tonight.

Jordan Zimmermann: Zimmermann is strikeout pitcher and he is pitching against the Astros. His stats are skewed this year because of his second start of the year. He only lasted 1.2 innings and allowed 5 runs. He has gone at least 6 innings since this start. He has given up no more than 3 runs in each start since this outing. He has struck out 28 batters in 26 innings this year. I look for him to go deep into the game and strikeout a plethora, I really like the work plethora, of Astros batters. One word of caution, I guess it is just a word to me since not sure who is reading this, in two starts at Minute Maid park he has an ERA of 4.91.

I am using Yordano Ventura tonight in one lineup. I just really like Ventura and think the Blue Jays batters will struggle against him. The only caution I have in using him is if his control is off. If he doesn't have command it could be a short outing. This being said, even if his control is off, he should still strikeout his fair share of Blue Jays.

Hitting:

C: Kurt Suzuki had done well against Zach Greinke in his career. He is 5/16 against him, and over his last 7 games played he is batting 375/.417/.375. He has little to no extra base power, but he gets on base. Greinke has also struggled at Target Field, in 2 starts he has an ERA of 5.14. Most of the Twins hitters when he pitched these starts have moved on, but for some reason I look for Minnesota to light up Greinke tonight. Which means he will probably pitch a no-hitter. Suzuki is really expensive to own on draftkings, but he is more reasonable on fanduel. Miguel Montero has been on a tear recently. He also is 5/6 against Jordan Lyles. Very small sample size, but since he is batting .308 over his last 7 and has an OBP of .381 I will give him a try. If he is still available in yearly leagues I would pick him up. I am guessing he is not available in most leagues. I am going to use Salvador Perez tonight in a ton of leagues. He has not batted against Drew Hutchinson, but over his last seven games he is batting .381/.409/.762. You cannot ignore a hot streak I just hope he does not cool off tonight.

1B: Matt Adams has been really good in a small sample size against Matt Garza. He is 5/6 with 1 double. You can add a homer to this total after today. He cranked one while I was getting ready to write this. I have him in quite a few lineups, and in one of my yearly leagues. His power has not been present this season yet, but I'll take the average he has provided this season. I have Matt Garza in one of my yearly leagues and sat him today. I am glad I did, before today Garza has struggled in Bush with a 6.28 ERA. This will go up after his performance today, he gave up 5 runs in 3 innings. Joey Votto is another good start. He is batting .389 against Edwin Jackson with 2 HR and 2 doubles.

2B: Scooter Gennett has a good record against Shelby Miller going 5/11. He is batting .227 over his last 7, but he is batting third today for Brewers, who are the walking wounded. I started him in a few lineups and he has not let me down so far. Anthony Rendon has been solid in his last seven games batting .296. He also has killed lefties this year batting .500, and over his short career he is batting .294.

3B: Miguel Cabrera is my man at 3B today. He has started to heat up and is batting .381 over his past 7 games. He also likes hitting at US Cellular batting 302/.396/.583. Who am I kidding, Cabrera likes batting in any ballpark. I was going to use David Wright today based on his record against Kyle Kendrick, but the game is postponed. One thing to note on Fanduel, once you enter a lineup and the earliest game has started you cannot go back and edit your lineup. I have Wright and Longoria in a couple of lineups, and it is going to be hard to place in the money. You can change on Draftkings, so I changed Wright to Nolen Arenado who has been hot recently batting .360/.407/.440 over his last 7.

SS: Jhonny Peralta has starting to heat up, over the past 7 he is batting .333. He also has been a Matt Garza killer batting .464 in 28 AB with 2 doubles and 1 hr. He only has 1 walk today as I type this. He did not really pan out. One walk is still points and helps some. I am going to keep ridding the Alcides Escobar train. He is 3/3 against Drew Hutchinson. He did not get a hit last night, but did get a walk, a SB and a run scored.

OF: John Jay is another Garza killer he was 7/12 with 1 double and 1 HR coming into today, and that only improved. He was only batting .105 over his past 7, and that average will go WAY up. I rolled the dice in a couple of lineups. He has 1 single, 2 doubles, and 1 RBI and 2 runs scored as I am writing this. I am using Aoki again tonight. He has been rock solid at Kauffman, and over his last 7 batting he is .321. I am also rolling the dice with Jarrod Dyson in a few lineups. He is batting .500 over his past seven with 5 SB's. Michael Bourne is also a play I like tonight. He is batting .412 against C.J. Wilson with 2 doubles and 1 Triple in 17 at bats. He also is batting a solid .333 over his past 7. I also like Jason Werth tonight, he has been on fire over the past 7 games batting .393/.414/.571. He has been solid against lefties this year batting .333/.400/.444. Nick Swisher is another cheap option in the daily game for 1B or the OF. He is batting .344 in 32 AB's against C.J Wilson with 4 doubles, 1 Triple, and 1 HR. I am also jumping on the Billy Hamilton train in a few lineups tonight. He was 2/4 against Jackson when he faced him in at Wrigley, and if he can get on he will steal bases. He is actually starting to get on base. Over the past 7 games he is batting .333/.364/.524.

You know this is really a ton of work to get this done J, but it is fun to do.

Daily Musing 4/29/2014: WOW! That Hurt

Recap from last night:

Well my daily fantasy baseball career is coming to a crashing halt before it really gets started. I have spent, to date, 30 dollars, and I am down to 2.20 in my draft kings account. I put an extra 15 in my account yesterday and did not place in the money, in any contest. My idea of the Angles being tired may have been a day early. They pounded Masterson last night, and Madison Baumgartner was not Madison Baumgartner. My offense was also putrid. I had three guys with zero points, and you cannot win in the daily leagues having players with zeroes on your roster. The rest of my team was acceptable, but I did not have any breakout performers. I should have trusted some of those White Sox hitters. They crushed Odorizzi. I will play in two 50/50 leagues today and the draft kings free-roll and hope that I can build up my bankroll. If not I will keep writing my blog and play the free game every day until I can justify putting more money in the account.

Pitchers:

I am just going to list the guys who I like instead of listing every starter like I did yesterday. There were only 7 games yesterday so it made some since to list them all. You be the judge if it made some since ok?

Simon for the Reds: Same things apply today as they did yesterday. Read the previous blog post. I will use him and hope he continues his hot streak, and the Cubs keep being the Cubs.

Cain for the Giants: I have Cain in two of my Fantasy leagues. My NL only and one of my mixed leagues. He did not do well his last time out in Colorado, but it was in COLORADO, this alone should be reason enough as to why he did not perform well. He is starting against the Padres, even though they have scored runs in their last two games, I look for that to come to a crashing halt tonight. Cain is really good against the Padres. In the past three years the current Padres hitters are batting .211 against him and he has an ERA of 2.11. In 55 innings he has 58 strikeouts. I love him tonight in my fantasy leagues and in the daily games. I hope he comes through for me, unlike his teammate…

Gonzales for the Nationals: He is facing the Astros and he strikes out batters, the Astros strikeout out a ton. Any questions? Thought not. He has not pitched a ton against current Astros hitters, which is even more of an advantage to him. The experts always tote this, so I guess I will too. The only hesitation I have is he had some shoulder soreness at the end of his last start. It is probably nothing since he is pitching tonight, but something to keep an eye on and possibly not start in the daily game. I am going with him in one of my lineups, so based on last night, use him at your own risk J.

Jose Fernandez for the Marlins. Do I need to spell anything out on this one? I didn't think so. He is pricey for the daily game, but I am starting him in one of my lineups and going with some value hitters.

Hitters:

C: Dioner Navarro has been solid all year, and he mashes lefties to the tune of a .284 average of the last three years, with 9 home runs. Even though Jason Vargas of the Royals has been great all year I look for Navarro to have a solid game tonight. In 9 AB's against Vargas, Navarro has 4 hits and one walk. A.J. Pierzynski is another good play tonight. He is batting 9/21 against Eric Bedard in his career with 2 HR. I will take those numbers. For those who have him in yearly leagues, I wish I did for the night. Another good play tonight would be Carlos Santana of the Indians. He is slumping currently, but had a big night last night. He is strong against Weaver of the Angles, batting .500 in 14 AB's and 2 HR. I would say Suzuki of the Twins would be good plays as well, but we will have to wait for tomorrow since the Dodgers vs Twins game has been postponed.

1B: Hosmer, he is the only guy I am playing tonight at 1B in the daily game. I also own him in two leagues, and right now am extremely happy I own him. I know he is not hitting for power, but I'll take his average, doubles and RBI. He has only 1 AB against McGowan tonight, but is batting .346 over the last 7 games and is mashing the ball. I watch a ton of Royals baseball since I live in KC, and since the Cubs stink. I would definitely start him against a struggling pitcher in McGowan.

2B: I love me some Daniel Murphy of the Mets. In 34 AB against Hamels he has 12 hits for a .343 batting average. He also likes batting at Citizen Bank Ballpark, over the past three years he is batting .300 in 94 AB's. I am sure there are other plays out there, but this is who I am going with tonight. As long as the weather holds in Philadelphia.

3B: David Wright likes batting against Cole Hamels as well. He is batting .349 with 5 HR in 63 AB's. Love that sample size. He also murders the ball at Citizen Bank, batting .383.0

I need Pablo Sandoval to get going. I have him in 1 league where I am struggling in almost every category. He could get hot tonight. He is batting 12 for 24, a cool .500 (I can even do the math on that one) with 1K against Eric Stults.

SS: I really don't like anyone at the SS position tonight. I am playing Alcides Escobar and Yunel Escobar tonight. Alcides has been on fire over the past two weeks. A little cooler over the past 7 games, batting just .273. He is batting .343 at Kauffman stadium this year. Hopefully he heats back up with some home cooking.

Yunel kills John Lackey, in 15 AB's he has 8 hits for a .533 average with 2 doubles and 2 K's. He is batting just .124 over the past 7 days so this one is a roll of the dice, but I will take my chances with him tonight. I just didn't find any other plays I like for the value.

OF: Melky Cabrera is batting .300 against Vargas in 10 AB's with 1 HR. For the year he is batting .310 against left handers with 2 HR's. Melky also likes batting at his former home stadium with an average of .288. Dexter Fowler is 3/6 against Gio Gonzales, and is also batting .298 against all lefties over the past three years. Fowler had a rough patch earlier this year and is a streaky player, but I'll take my chances tonight. He is available in one of my yearly leagues, and I am thinking about picking him up to help my struggling OF. Matt Joyce has been a steady play all year in the daily game. He is mashing righties, and is 6/18 against Lackey with 2HR. As an aside he is only batting .214 at Fenway the past three years. Matt Holliday has been hot recently batting .407/.469/.630 over the past 7 days. He is also 8/20 against David Loshe with 1 2B and 1 HR. Nick Markakis is been swinging a hot bat recently batting .375/.464/.417 over the past 7 days. He is 2 for 2 against Charlie Morton, for what that is worth. Morton has struggled in his starts this year, look for Markakis hot streak to continue. Norichika Aoki for Royals is my last OF I am playing tonight. He has struggled on the road this year but is batting .441 at Kauffman. Over the last 7 days he is batting .296 with an OBP of 345. Look for some slap doubles tonight against right hander Dustin McGowan.

Source Info:

I should have listed this yesterday but all of my data and stats are being pulled from ESPN player profile websites. I will include links to each player page in each blog after this.

 

Introduction and Daily Musing 4/28/2014

Again I am going to try to kick off a blog and hope I stick to it. No guarantees I will. This time I will at least be writing about something I have become passionate about, Fantasy Sports. Not that I am not passionate about writing book and movie reviews, but I am not good about keeping spoilers a secret and writing reviews. I will give this a go, giving my thoughts on who to start and sit for fantasy baseball and who I will pick and play for Daily Fantasy Baseball. I will also give my results on the previous day, good or bad.

I have been playing daily fantasy baseball over the past week and plan on keeping playing one dollar leagues until I cannot justify dumping money into the fruitless enterprise. I am also currently playing in five fantasy baseball leagues. Two standard mixed AL and NL fantasy leagues with categories, one head to head league, which my nine year old son drafted and I am helping manage, and one NL and AL only fantasy league. I am not a fantasy genius nor a professional, but I do love playing and hope by doing this can help me do better in my leagues and maybe (big MAYBE) help others.

Today is a light day in the MLB only seven games. Which should make my post short today, guess will see how long and these puppies will get when we get a full slate of 15 games tomorrow.

Starting Pitchers:

The Obvious:

Yu Darvish and Sunny Grey, if you have them start themJ. They are expensive in the daily game and I am staying away from both of them to be able to pay for better hitters. They are both going to pile up the strikeouts and go deep into the ballgame.

Second Tier:

Samardzija, if you have him in a fantasy league I would start him, in fact I have him in 3 of my 5 leagues and am starting him in all of them. He has been great all year, even if his strikeouts have gone down. The only hesitation I have in using him in the Daily leagues, or starting him is his record at Great American Ballpark. He does not seem to seem to pitch well in Cincinnati. From 2011-2013 in 28.1 innings, some of his appearances where out of the bullpen when he started his career, he has a 4.76 ERA and has given up 7 home runs. He has 29 K's in his 28.1 innings pitched which means he is good enough to start in my yearlong leagues, but I'm staying away from him in the daily Game

Simon: I would love to start Simon in the daily game tonight. He is facing the Cubs who couldn't hit him on April 18^th in Chicago. He pitched 6 innings, gave up one run on 4 hits. He has pitched at least innings in each of his starts this year, and until he shows some regression I would use him in favorable matchups, and my beloved Cubs are the Cubs. For some reason Draft-Kings does not have any 50-50 daily games where I can start him or he would be one of my starters.

Gallardo: He has been nails this season, almost wished I would have picked him and drafted him in a few leagues. I didn't because I did not know if it would last and it still may not. He has gone at least 6 innings in each start and not given up more than 2 runs. My only hesitation is in his performance in Busch II, since 2011 in 6 starts and 32.1 innings he has a 6.12 ERA and given up 4 long balls, not horrible but the amount of runs given up is. If I owned him in a fantasy league I would start him and hope he is having a bounce back season, but I would stay away in the daily game.

Wacha: Has been great, even if his last start was a little shaky. He only went 4 inning, but had 10 K's and gave up 2 ER. I will take those numbers in fantasy. I am not playing him because he is too expensive in the daily game. If you have him in the standard leagues he is a start.

Bumgarner: He is Bumgarner, he has been good all year, even in Colorado. He gave up 4 ER's in 6 innings but still stuck out 10. He is a must start in standard leagues, and I will be using him tonight in Daily leagues since he is facing he Padres. Who don't have a great offensive team collectively and are batting .242 against him. He has an ERA of 3.62 against them since 2011, but I will roll the dice.

Masterson: This is my other starting pitcher for my daily leagues. He has been solid in his two outings going at least 6 innings and giving up 2 ER in each start. My thought with going with him is that he is a cheaper option than Gallardo and Wacha and he is facing an Angels coming back from a long road trip and a late night East Coast game. It may be superficial but I will take my chances that some of the older Angles hitters will be tired and not have their best games tonight. He really is my third option tonight, I would much rather start Simon if I could.

Ross and Skaggs: Ross and Skaggs are interesting picks, since I am going with Masterson and Bumgarner I am not taking them. If you have them in standard leagues you would pitch them. I am thinking because of the travel for the Angels Skaggs is not a good option and I think Ross will struggle to get the W against Bumgarner with little to no run support.

Third Tier:

Odorizzi, Rienzo, Morales, and Miley. Not sure why anyone would start them in the daily game. Morales would be a maybe because he has looked good in his last few starts, but only in standard deep leagues and NL only leagues. Miley has been Arizona's best pitcher, and still has a 4.5 ERA for the year. If you have him in a mixed or standard league I am not sure I would start him against a red hot Colorado team. They have been hitting even away from Coors. Look at the series against the Dodgers from the weekend. Odorizzi and Rienzo are not really worth mentioning. If I still owned Odorizzi in a standard league I would sit him until he shows some signs of progress. Rienzo I am not sure if anyone owns him except in extremely deep AL only leagues, and if you are in one of those I doubt your reading my blog.

 

Hitters:

Ok just a few hitters. Not sure how I am going to do this since I spent so much time on pitching. I am starting Brandon Moss at 1^st in my daily leagues. He has been good against Darvish with an average of .333 in 18 at bats and 4 long balls. I also like anyone from Tampa Bay who has been hot recently. Zobrist, Joyce, and Longoria are three that I am using in the daily game because of the poor pitching matchup. I thought about using some White Sox hitters, but they scare me with their inconsistences for the daily game. Chris Denorfia is solid against Bumgarner batting .341 in 44 at bats, not any home runs, but for a cheap option in the daily game I will give him a try. I am using Charlie Blackmon tonight and Mike Trout in another lineup. Will see how they do. It looks like weather could be an issue in Chicago and Cincinnati.