If you were like me, you were probably as eager as ever for some DFS MLB after a long season of DFS NHL or DFS NBA. While I have had a great year in DFS NHL, given the long 82-game season, I don't think it's uncommon to experience a little bit of a burn out considering all of the power-play, penalty-kill, Corsi, and Fenwick stats I was looking at for close to seven months (but yes, I have one more playbook and set of optimal lineups on tap for Saturday that I am going to be prepared for).
While I highly doubt you guys were looking at NHL or NBA as closely as I've been looking at it these past seven months, I would still assume that most of you were probably looking for something different to change things up a bit.
Little did we know that mother nature would postpone a handful of games, and lead to a pretty frustrating first few days of baseball with all of the landmines that were popping up all over the place (well, mainly Cleveland).
On the bright side, looking at the weather forecasts, it does look like the weather should be cooperating today. Let's just hope it stays that way as we creep into Summer.
With that being said, we have 14 games scheduled today, with four in the early slate that starts at 1:08 PM ET, and 10 in the late slate that starts at 7:05 PM ET.
Let’s get down to business!
| CATCHER | ||||||||||||||||
| Probable | 2015 Regular Season | 2016 Spring Training | Salaries | |||||||||||||
| Player | Team | Bats | Opp | Pitcher | Throws | H/AB | AVG | HR | OPS | H/AB | AVG | HR | OPS | DK | FD | Aces |
| Nick Hundley | COL | R | SD | Colin Rea | R | 110-for-366 | .301 | 10 | .807 | 13-for-41 | .317 | 1 | .829 | 3700 | 3300 | 4250 |
| Yan Gomes | CLE | R | CHW | John Danks | L | 84-for-363 | .231 | 12 | .659 | 15-for-50 | .300 | 6 | .720 | 3200 | 2500 | 4200 |
| Devin Mesoraco | CIN | R | PHI | Francisco Liriano | L | 8-for-45 | .178 | 0 | .519 | 7-for-17 | .412 | 2 | 1.356 | 3100 | 2400 | 4300 |
Nick Hundley had a career resurgence in 2015, and it had a lot to do with playing half his games in Coors Field. He posted a mind boggling .355/.393/.563 with seven homers, and clearly hits with more confidence in the thin Denver air.
Yan Gomes loves facing southpaws, so it isn’t much of a surprise that he crushes John Danks. Gomes has put up a line of 6-for-12 with four extra-base hits against Danks in his career.
Devin Mesoraco is a name that we are all waiting to breakout. There’s a good chance it could happen tonight against Francisco Liriano, who Mesoraco has gone 5-for-13 with two doubles against throughout his career.
| FIRST BASE | ||||||||||||||||
| Probable | 2015 Regular Season | 2016 Spring Training | Salaries | |||||||||||||
| Player | Team | Bats | Opp | Pitcher | Throws | H/AB | AVG | HR | OPS | H/AB | AVG | HR | OPS | DK | FD | Aces |
| Paul Goldschmidt | ARI | R | CHC | Jason Hammel | R | 182-for-567 | .321 | 33 | 1.005 | 23-for-69 | .333 | 3 | .913 | 5100 | 4900 | 5900 |
| Eric Hosmer | KC | L | MIN | Ervin Santana | R | 178-for-599 | .297 | 18 | .822 | 16-for-49 | .327 | 3 | 1.019 | 4200 | 3300 | 4800 |
| Chris Carter | MIL | R | HOU | Scott Feldman | R | 78-for-391 | .199 | 24 | .734 | 11-for-49 | .224 | 4 | .866 | 3600 | 2700 | 4150 |
| Tyler White | HOU | R | MIL | Chase Anderson | R | - | - | - | - | 18-for-51 | .353 | 3 | 1.031 | 3200 | 2600 | 3500 |
Paul Goldschmidt is in play virtually every single game of the season, but has much more value when his matchup is favorable. That’s definitely the case tonight as he is up against Jason Hammel. Goldschmidt has gone 3-for-8 (.375 AVG) with a homer and three RBIs against Hammel throughout his career.
Eric Hosmer has taken Ervin Santana deep twice and has reached base in eight out of 16 plate appearances against the vet.
Chris Carter has the revenge game narrative going for him tonight, and also gets to face Scott Feldman, who he has gone 2-for-2 against with a homer. Anytime he has any good BvP numbers, I’m going to like it considering he’s a Mendoza line hitter.
Tyler White is a guy who replaced Carter in Houston, and has been on fire. He has started his MLB career, going 6-for-9 with a homer and a double. It also helps that Chase Anderson is a reverse splits pitcher, allowing a line of .290/.330/.462 against right-handed hitters.
| SECOND BASE | ||||||||||||||||
| Probable | 2015 Regular Season | 2016 Spring Training | Salaries | |||||||||||||
| Player | Team | Bats | Opp | Pitcher | Throws | H/AB | AVG | HR | OPS | H/AB | AVG | HR | OPS | DK | FD | Aces |
| DJ LeMahieu | COL | R | SD | Colin Rea | R | 170-for-564 | .301 | 6 | .746 | 16-for-53 | .302 | 0 | .730 | 4000 | 3600 | 4600 |
| Joe Panik | SF | L | LAD | Ross Stripling | R | 119-for-382 | .312 | 8 | .833 | 18-for-69 | .261 | 0 | .691 | 3800 | 2800 | 4450 |
| Kolten Wong | STL | L | ATL | Matt Wisler | R | 146-for-557 | .262 | 11 | .707 | 14-for-46 | .304 | 0 | .725 | 3600 | 2500 | 4350 |
DJ LeMahieu had a great 2015 where he put up a line of .301/.358/.388, and he looks even better through three games in 2016, going 6-for-10 with two homers.
Joe Panik has secured a spot in the two-hole for the Giants, and has not let Bruce Bochy down. He is 6-for-17 (.353 AVG) with a homer and triple over his first four games.
Kolten Wong is a love him or hate him kind of player, but I am never shy about using him when he has a good matchup. He’s a guy who makes a lot of contact, and has had success against Matt Wisler in limited action.
| THIRD BASE | ||||||||||||||||
| Probable | 2015 Regular Season | 2016 Spring Training | Salaries | |||||||||||||
| Player | Team | Bats | Opp | Pitcher | Throws | H/AB | AVG | HR | OPS | H/AB | AVG | HR | OPS | DK | FD | Aces |
| Manny Machado | BAL | R | TB | Chris Archer | R | 181-for-633 | .286 | 35 | .861 | 16-for-61 | .262 | 5 | .865 | 4400 | 4100 | 5400 |
| Evan Longoria | TB | R | BAL | Chris Tillman | R | 163-for-604 | .270 | 21 | .764 | 9-for-37 | .243 | 2 | .714 | 4000 | 3000 | 4600 |
| Justin Turner | LAD | R | SD | Matt Cain | R | 113-for-385 | .294 | 16 | .861 | 15-for-30 | .500 | 3 | 1.000 | 3700 | 3000 | 4600 |
| Yunel Escobar | LAA | R | TEX | A.J. Griffin | R | 168-for-535 | .314 | 9 | .790 | 27-for-60 | .450 | 0 | 1.042 | 3300 | 2600 | 4300 |
Manny Machado sees the ball extremely well against Chris Archer. In 23 plate appearances, he has gone 8-for-19 with only one strikeout. Not bad considering Archer is one of the league’s best at getting people to swing and miss.
Evan Longoria is usually someone you want to target when there’s a lefty on the mound, but he has crushed Chris Tillman throughout his career. Longo has gone 16-for-49 (.327 AVG) with six homers against Tillman.
Justin Turner continues to be featured in my Hitting Coach articles because of his unique righty vs. righty numbers. Matt Cain isn’t the same pitcher he was in the past, and it could lead to a lot of run production from the Dodgers.
Yunel Escobar is a great value for someone who hit .314/.376/.423 against right-handed pitching last season. He's coming off of a big game last night, and will look to continue that trend tonight against A.J. Griffin.
| SHORTSTOP | ||||||||||||||||
| Probable | 2015 Regular Season | 2016 Spring Training | Salaries | |||||||||||||
| Player | Team | Bats | Opp | Pitcher | Throws | H/AB | AVG | HR | OPS | H/AB | AVG | HR | OPS | DK | FD | Aces |
| Carlos Correa | HOU | R | NYY | Chase Anderson | R | 108-for-387 | .279 | 22 | .857 | 17-for-45 | .378 | 4 | 1.238 | 4900 | 5000 | 5650 |
| Trevor Story | COL | R | SD | Colin Rea | R | - | - | - | - | 18-for-53 | .340 | 6 | 1.199 | 4200 | 4000 | 4950 |
| Brandon Crawford | SF | L | LAD | Ross Stripling | R | 130-for-507 | .256 | 21 | .782 | 16-for-53 | .302 | 2 | .901 | 3800 | 2900 | 4200 |
Carlos Correa can take advantage of some of the Chase Anderson reverse splits action tonight. He’s so expensive that he’ll likely be a contrarian play in GPPs.
Trevor Story has already made history, hitting homeruns in each of the first three games of his career. He will absolutely be motivated to extend that streak today, in his first career game in Coors Field.
Brandon Crawford has hits in each of his four games this season, and will be facing Ross Stripling of the Dodgers, who allowed three homers in just 11 innings in the Cactus League.
| OUTFIELD | ||||||||||||||||
| Probable | 2015 Regular Season | 2016 Spring Training | Salaries | |||||||||||||
| Player | Team | Bats | Opp | Pitcher | Throws | H/AB | AVG | HR | OPS | H/AB | AVG | HR | OPS | DK | FD | Aces |
| Matt Kemp | SD | R | COL | Jordan Lyles | R | 158-for-596 | .265 | 23 | .755 | 22-for-56 | .393 | 2 | 1.014 | 5000 | 4000 | 4750 |
| Yasiel Puig | LAD | R | SF | Matt Cain | R | 72-for-282 | .255 | 11 | .758 | 13-for-48 | .271 | 1 | .713 | 4100 | 3700 | 4750 |
| Gerardo Parra | COL | L | SD | Colin Rea | R | 159-for-547 | .291 | 14 | .780 | 15-for-57 | .263 | 2 | .754 | 4100 | 3600 | 4400 |
| David Peralta | ARI | L | CHC | Jason Hammel | R | 144-for-462 | .312 | 17 | .893 | 16-for-62 | .258 | 1 | .743 | 3600 | 3500 | 4650 |
| Dexter Fowler | CHC | S | ARI | Robbie Ray | L | 149-for-596 | .250 | 17 | .757 | 11-for-41 | .268 | 3 | .998 | 4500 | 3100 | 4600 |
| Curtis Granderson | NYM | L | PHI | Jerad Eickhoff | R | 150-for-580 | .259 | 26 | .821 | 14-for-52 | .269 | 0 | .700 | 4300 | 3300 | 4500 |
| Gregory Polanco | PIT | L | CIN | Alfredo Simon | R | 152-for-593 | .256 | 9 | .701 | 11-for-47 | .234 | 1 | .648 | 4300 | 3500 | 4450 |
| Mark Canha | OAK | R | SEA | Taijuan Walker | R | 112-for-441 | .254 | 16 | .742 | 8-for-45 | .178 | 0 | .534 | 3600 | 2600 | 3800 |
| Michael Conforto | NYM | L | PHI | Jerad Eickhoff | R | 47-for-174 | .270 | 9 | .841 | 10-for-50 | .200 | 2 | .608 | 3300 | 2400 | 3850 |
| Franklin Gutierrez | SEA | R | OAK | Eric Surkamp | L | 50-for-171 | .292 | 15 | .974 | 9-for-36 | .250 | 4 | .874 | 3100 | 2300 | 4200 |
Matt Kemp has been an absolute monster at Coors Field throughout his career, going 90-for-275 (.327 AVG) with 16 homers and 63 RBIs. He has homered off of Jordan Lyles in the past, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he adds to that today.
Yasiel Puig may be ignored tonight because of his increase in salary; however, considering he is 4-for-11 (.364 AVG) with a homerun against Matt Cain, he should remain in consideration.
Gerardo Parra doesn’t have the name value of a Charlie Blackmon or Carlos Gonzalez (they aren’t necessarily bad plays either), but Parra provides a bit of a salary discount, yet has started his season off hot—going 4-for-10 with three doubles.
David Peralta looks like he could be in the midst of a break out season. He is already 8-for-17 (.471 AVG) with four extra-base hits after just four games this season.
Dexter Fowler may be a switch hitter, but he is significantly better from the right side of the plate, facing lefties. He has posted a line of .325/.411/.459 against southpaws compared to .240/.345/.388 against righties over the last three seasons.
Curtis Granderson dominated right-handing pitching in 2015. He hit 24 homeruns off of righties and hit .280/.388/.504. His OBP was .115 points higher against righties compared to lefties.
Gregory Polanco is 4-for-9 (.444 AVG) with a double against Alfredo Simon. He started the season a bit overpriced, but as it turns out, he has been totally worth it, going 3-for-7 (.429 AVG) with a double, triple, and five walks.
Mark Canha is also a good righty/righty splits player. Last season, he hit 13 of his 16 homeruns and had a batting average that was .50 points higher against righties. He also went 3-for-3 with a homer against Taijuan Walker.
Michael Conforto was able to take Jerad Eickhoff deep last season, and went 4-for-8 with a walk.
Franklin Gutierrez is someone you’re probably tired of hearing of, but that only helps his case for GPPs where he’ll remain with low-ownership. Remember, in 2015, he batted .317/.357/.615 with eight homers in just 104 ABs against lefties.
Be sure to keep an eye on the Fantasy Alarm Daily Lineups page to confirm that your players are starting.
If you guys have any questions, you can always reach me on Twitter @kle18. Good luck!
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