Today's Featured DFS site is StarStreet. Click HERE for a 100% deposit bonus up to $100!
Before we get into today's recommendations, it is important to remind everyone to understand your scoring format and the pricing of the individual players on the site you're playing. These vary from site to site and all daily sites price their players differently, which could make someone a must start on one site but not another. It is also important to double check starting lineups as news often breaks after this column is written. In the space below I will break down the best plays by position and make notes as to which type of formats to utilize players. If you are new to the daily fantasy baseball scene, there are daily fantasy websites which offer one day contests. These contests are mostly salary cap games where you can take any players you want as long as you stay under the cap and meet the positional requirements and all are points-based (not roto). Please feel free to e-mail me at mleone@fantistics.com if you have any further questions regarding daily fantasy baseball.
Weather: As of now, weather does not appear to be an issue.
Twitter: If you can, it is a good idea to follow both me (https://twitter.com/leonem4444) and Drew (https://twitter.com/DrewDinkmeyer) on Twitter. We often post updated thoughts as lineup and weather information becomes known.
Catcher
Best Value Plays
Jesus Montero (SEA) - Montero is off to a really disappointing start, hitting just .211/.258/.344. However, he has a good matchup today facing Andy Pettitte who has allowed a .336 wOBA and 1.19 HR/9 to RHB since 2010. Montero, despite his overall offensive woes, has a career .357 wOBA against LHP, and the game is in Yankee Stadium which has a park factor of 1.19, much higher than Montero's home park (.78) according to parkfactors.com.
Jonathan Lucroy (MIL) - Lucroy, like Montero, is off to a really slow start but has a positive splits matchup. Since 2011 Lucroy has a superb .952 OPS against LHP, and he faces Francisco Liriano who has yielded a .330 wOBA to RHB since 2010.
On most sites Montero and Lucroy are pretty cheap due to their slow starts, in particular on our promoted site of the day, StarStreet, Montero and Lucroy are priced at 3,900 and 4,000 respectively - making them each bargain plays.
First Base
Best Value Plays
Brandon Belt (SF) - Belt has been hot, hitting safely in six straight games and homering in two of the past three. As someone I had pegged for a breakout season, I'm more encouraged by this hot streak than I normally would be over such a small sample size. Belt once again has a strong LD rate this year, and is seeing his raw power return (.180 ISO). He's got a really good matchup today in Coors Field up against Jhoulys Chacin who struggles versus LHB (.342 wOBA, .426 SLG allowed).
Paul Konerko (CHW) - Konerko returned to the lineup yesterday, and is a good value play today. As Drew and I have mentioned in this space before, same handed matchups do not bother Konerko as he leads the White Sox with a .368 wOBA and .857 OPS against RHP since 2010. That works out well today against Jerome Williams, a RHP who has shown to be worse against RHB than LHB, allowing RHB to post a triple slash of .270/.322/.449 with 1.23 HR/9 in 102.2 IP.
Garrett Jones (PIT) - Opposing pitcher Hiram Burgos, in a very limited sample, has been atrocious against lefties (.514 wOBA allowed). Obviously that number will come down, but with Burgos striking out only 10.8% of LHB and allowing a ton of homers due to his FB rate (46.7%), Jones is a high upside play today. Jones has shown really solid power against RHP the last few seasons (.235 ISO).
Travis Hafner (NYY) - Hafner has missed a few games with a shoulder issue but hopes to return to the starting lineup today. If he does, he will likely be hitting cleanup at home which is a nice prospect by itself. Throw in that he is facing a RHP (.864 OPS against RHP in last 541 PA's) in Aaron Harang who has a 4.77 xFIP against LHB, and this could be a really good value play.
On StarStreet the best values of this group are Garrett Jones (4,600) and Travis Hafner (4,900), but Hafner is only eligible at utility, not first base, on this site.
Second Base
Top Play
Robinson Cano (NYY) - I will likely be spending a decent amount of my budget on SP today, but one of the few hitters I will try to spend big on is Robinson Cano. He has a.990 OPS against RHP since 2011 and posted an insane 1.176 OPS at home against RHP last year (.953 so far this year). Look for Cano to have success against Aaron Harang.
Value Plays
Neil Walker (PIT) - As mentioned before, opposing pitcher Hiram Burgos has yet to show any skill against LHB, and Walker is much better hitting from the left side of the plate (.345 wOBA) than he is from the right side of the plate (.277 wOBA).
Ben Zobrist (TAM) - Zobrist is another switch hitting second baseman who is hitting from his preferred side of the plate. For him it is the right side, where he has a .371 wOBA compared to a .351 wOBA from the left side. Note that Zobrist is OF only eligible on some sites.
Ryan Roberts (TAM) - Roberts is always a solid cheap value play when facing a LHP and that is especially true today given who the lefty is. Opposing pitcher Felix Doubront's .345 wOBA allowed to RHB is the worst such split of any SP on the day against RHB. He is giving up a 22.5LD%, 1.14 HR/9 and an 11.1 BB%. Roberts has a very solid .176 ISO against southpaws. Roberts is 3B eligible on some sites.
Howie Kendrick (LAA) - Kendrick has a solid triple slash (.306/.354/.488) against LHP and faces Jose Quintana who is not that good against RHB (.327 wOBA allowed).
I probably won't pay up for Zobrist on most sites, and on StarStreet Walker (4,800), Roberts (3,500) and Kendrick (4,500) all represent solid values if you aren't paying up for Cano (7,600). Rickie Weeks is also pretty cheap on a lot of sites. He homered yesterday and is better against LHP.
Shortstop
Value Plays
Sean Rodriguez (TB) - S-Rod is another TB lefty hitting specialist (.353 wOBA against southpaws) who will likely be in the lineup tonight against Felix Doubront, whose poor splits against RHB I mentioned in Roberts' blurb.
Yunel Escobar (TB) - The reason you see so many Rays in the fix today is 1.) They have a lot of guys who hit LHP a lot better than they hit RHP 2.) Felix Doubront is not effective against RHB and 3.) Most of these guys are priced cheaply. Yunel Escobar is no exception with a .285 BA and .336 wOBA in his last 341 PA's against southpaws.
Cheap Play
Brandon Crawford (SF) - I'm not a huge Crawford fan. He's hitting eighth and ZIPS has him projected for just a .291 rest of season wOBA. However, the game is in Coors Field and opposing pitcher Jhoulys Chacin is pretty bad against LHB, so I could see taking a chance on a cheap Crawford here.
On StarStreet, Sean Rodriguez is listed as an OF and is a good value play there, but it makes the SS decision between Escobar (4,700) and Crawford (4,000).
Third Base
Top Plays
Pablo Sandoval (SF) - I love me some Panda today in Coors Field. He has a really solid .529 slugging percentage against RHP, and his opposing pitcher today, Jhoulys Chacin, allows a .426 slugging percentage to LHB.
Evan Longoria (TB) - Longoria is a stud against LHP (.297/.391/.595), and Felix Doubront has allowed a .271/.343/.452 line to RHB. The batter versus pitcher matchup is actually slightly more favorable for Longoria than it is Sandoval, but when you factor in Longoria hitting at home (.85 park factor) and Sandoval in Coors (1.44 park factor), I have to side with the Panda especially since he's a tad less expensive on most sites.
Value Play
Aramis Ramirez (MIL) - Ramirez is priced as a middle of the pack option on a few sites, which leaves him slightly underpriced today against Francisco Liriano. The Brewers in general could have a successful day with all of their RHB against Liriano (.334 wOBA allowed to RHB), and Ramirez will be right in the thick of the action hitting cleanup. Ramirez has a .394 wOBA with a .246 ISO against LHP since 2011.
On StarStreet, I think the choice is between Aramis (5,800) and Panda (6,600). I think there's enough value at other positions to squeeze Panda in here even though he's more expensive.
Outfield
Top Play
Ryan Braun (MIL) - You can pretty much just reread A-Ram's blurb and it applies directly to Braun, with the exception that Braun is the cream of the crop when it comes to hitting LHB with an OPS so high against them since 2011 (1.155) that it sounds made up.
If Bryce Harper returns to action tonight, he also has a really good matchup against Edinson Volquez, although the park (San Diego) is not favorable for hitters.
Best Value Play
Mike Morse (SEA) - I really like Mike Morse tonight in Yankee Stadium against Andy Pettitte who has allowed a .336 wOBA and 1.19 HR/9 to RHB. Morse has a .364 wOBA against LHP with a solid .220 ISO, and he also hits RHP well so he's unlikely to have a throw away at bat against a relief pitcher later in the game due to a poor handedness split.
Value Plays
Brett Gardner (NYY) - I like Gardner's chance to get on base today against Aaron Harang who walks 10.6% of LHB while Gardner walks 9.4% of the time against RHP. This will give Gardner SB and run scoring opportunities out of the leadoff spot.
Dexter Fowler (COL) - Yes, Matt Cain is a good pitcher, but I still like Fowler at a depressed price on some sites. He is at home in the best hitter's park in the league, and Fowler has a .363 wOBA against RHP, flashing much more power from the left side of the plate (.191 ISO) than he does from the right side of the plate (.144 ISO).
Angel Pagan (SF) - Pagan is likely leading off for the Giants in the game with the highest over/under on the day (9.5) by a full run. That along with Chacin's struggles against LHB makes Pagan a solid value play at the right price.
Other possible value plays are Jason Bay (SEA), Carlos Gomez (MIL), Jacoby Ellsbury (BOS) and Hunter Pence (SF).
On StarStreet, if you aren't paying up for Cano at 2B, pay up for Braun in the OF (7,800). I think Morse is near a must play here at 4,100, and don't forget that Sean Rodriguez (3,400) is OF eligible on this site.
Starting Pitcher
Top Plays
Stephen Strasburg (WAS) - Strasburg slightly edges out Latos for me as the top SP play of the day. I was under the perception that Strasburg hasn't been as dominant this year. It is partially true, but if you look at the game log, he has struck out at least 7 in five of six starts with a K/I of at least one in all six of those starts. Pitching as a favorite (-140) in Petco Park against a weak Padres offense in a game with the lowest over/under on the day (6.5) it's hard to pass on Strasburg.
Mat Latos (CIN) - Latos also has a really strong matchup, and on sites where you play multiple SP's I suggest trying to squeeze in both guys if you can make it work by using hitter values without taking any real garbage players. Latos faces the anemic Marlins offense (.266 wOBA against RHP, clearly the worst in MLB) in the Marlins big ballpark (.86 park factor compared to 1.21 in Latos' home park). He's also a big favorite today (-154).
Value Plays
Jose Fernandez (MIA) - I feel like I write the same thing every time Fernandez pitches, but he is simply too cheap on a lot of sites, especially for a home start. The Reds have a really good offense but Fernandez has a stellar 3.18 FIP and 3.22 xFIP thanks to a great 25.7 K% and 50 GB rate. Very few guys have that lethal of a strikeout-ground ball combination. So, I like Fernandez on multi-SP sites where you either start three starting pitchers or cannot afford both Latos and Strasburg.
Edinson Volquez (SD) - This is a high risk-high reward play and I would only consider it under two conditions: 1.) Bryce Harper doesn't play and 2.) Volquez is priced cheaper than Fernandez. This season Volquez has a 3.71 ERA at home compared to 6.08 on the road, and it was the same story last year (2.95 ERA at home, 5.60 ERA on the road).
Strasburg (34,700) and Latos (34,200) are too pricey to play both of them on StarStreet, so the best strategy is to pair the one you prefer most with Jose Fernandez (19,600).
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