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.