2014 Fantasy BaseballChris Garosi

2014 Fantasy Baseball Daily Fix: August 28

Welcome back to the Daily Fix here at The Fantasy Fix. It’s baseball time over at DraftKings. For those who aren’t yet Daily Fantasy baseball players at DraftKings head over there via this link and join. They will double your initial deposit up to $600.

I will again skip the early games and focus on the late slate for the contests starting at 7:05pm eastern.

Follow me on Twitter with any changes as lineups roll in.

DraftKings gives you $50,000 to draft eight hitters (one at each position)and two pitchers. DraftKings features the following scoring settings for its daily fantasy baseball games:

DraftKings Team of the Day

Pitchers

Mike Minor | LHP | Braves | $7,500 – A 4.90 ERA is exactly what you are looking for out of your starting pitcher. However, if you look a little closer, you see a pitcher averaging almost 22 points on DraftKings over his last three starts. He seems to be emerging from his season-long slump and he gets a Mets team that is 28th in wOBA against lefties and whose best hitter against lefties (David Wright) is less than 100%.

I struggled to zero in on a second pitcher (and I think that’s the key to today’s game), but finally decided on….

Bud Norris | RHP | Orioles | $7,300 – Norris gets the nod as he’s been a much better pitcher at home than on the road this year (2.86 ERA at home versus 4.73 ERA on the road). The Rays are middle of the pack against righties at 16th overall

Alternatives: Collin McHugh ($9,200) gets a nice matchup with the faltering Rangers coming to town, but he is the most expensive pitcher on the board and he’s struggled at home (4.07 ERA) so you’ll have to get creative with your hitters if you want to get him in the lineup.

I considered Jeremy Hellickson ($7,200) as he’s been hot lately as he’s striking out more than a batter per inning over his last three starts.

If you want to go completely contrarian, Nick Tepesch ($5,400) and John Danks ($5,000) both face teams that are in the bottom seven in wOBA against, but a move like that is only for GPP plays.

Catcher

Evan Gattis (C/OF) | Braves | $4,000 – Gattis hits lefties well (.394 career wOBA against them and .485 this season). Gattis could also slot in the OF if you wanted to go cheap at catcher.

I also like Joe Mauer C/1B ($4,300) with his great batter versus pitcher (BvP) numbers (9 for 25 with 3 HRs against Jeremy Guthrie). You can also slot Mauer at 1B if you’d like. And Derek Norris ($3,600) with his great numbers versus lefties (.407 wOBA) is another solid option. Tomas Telis ($2,100) is a reasonable punt play – he’s an all-hit no-defense catcher, just the kind we like for DFS.

First baseman

Chris Carter | Astros | $4,500 – There hasn’t been a hotter hitter in August than Mr. Carter. He’s generally a better hitter against left handed pitching, but in his current state he can match up with anyone.

Chris Davis ($4,300) slots at either first or third and he’s been awful this year, but he’s seen Rays’ starter Jeremy Hellickson well in his career (11 for 27 with 2 HRs and 1.169 OPS).

Second basemen

Jose Ramirez (2B/SS) | Indians | $2,900 – Ramirez has been hitting second regularly for the Indians and has been hitting relatively well in that spot. In his last five games, he’s scored no fewer than six points in any one game and he’s got two double digit outputs in there. He is also an option at SS.

Ramirez’ fellow Indians’ 2B Jason Kipnis ($4,400) has a good matchup against John Danks as he’s 6 for 19 with a HR and a .995 OPS in his career against John Danks.

Third basemen

Chris Johnson | Braves | $3,600 – Johnson’s .452 wOBA against lefties drew my eye. His salary put him in my lineup. If you want to spend your hard earned cash, then take Josh Donaldson ($4,700) who has the same .452 wOBA against lefthanders this year.

Shortstop

Danny Santana (SS/OF) | Twins | $5,100 – Yes, it’s not that creative to take the most expensive option at a position, but Santana has been hitting leadoff and he’s got a .374 wOBA against righties this year. Sometimes you have to pay for quality.

A cheap option at SS or 3B is Zach Walters ($2,900). He’s been on a bit of a power tear lately and could certainly find the seats again versus John Danks. He’s been getting consistent playing time at DH since his acquisition by the Nationals.

Outfielder

Justin Upton | Braves | $5,400 – Upton smokes lefties (this year to the tune of a .476 wOBA over 114 PAs and .398 for his career). He also has the added bonus of being 9 for 17 in his lifetime against Mets’ starter Jon Niese.

Jason Heyward | Braves | $4,500 – Heyward is a BvP play as he’s crushed Jon Niese over his career as he’s 9 for 24 with 2 HRs against the lefty. Adam Jones ($5,100) is also a BvP play as he’s got four HRs against Jeremy Hellickson in 42 ABs and a .992 OPS.

Jonny Gomes | Athletics | $2,900 – A lefty is on the mound and so Gomes goes into my lineup. He’s a lefty masher (.352 wOBA against them this season, .376 for his career). He’s also got a good BvP matchup as he’s 7 for 20 with 5 walks against starter C.J. Wilson over his career.

Jordan Schafer | Twins | $3,400 – Did you know that Schafer had double digit points in four of his last five games? Did you know that Schafer has a .436 wOBA against righties this year? Nope, neither did I. He’s limited a bit as he bats at the bottom of the lineup, but that hasn’t hurt him recently.

Tyler Holt | Indians | $2,300 – Holt could be a nice punt/contrarian play. He’s been in the lineup against a lefty the last two times the Indians have faced one and he even hit in the fifth spot. Again, watch lineups to see if he’s in there.

Mike Trout | Angels | $5,600 – Hey, Mike Trout is good at baseball and also has two HRs in eight ABs against Sonny Gray.

Stacking options

I struggled to find great stacking options, but I’d put the Braves at the top of the list.  A sneaky stack might be the Twins against the Royals and Jeremy Guthrie as Guthrie has been awful at home this year.

Here’s what my lineup looks like right now. I left a lot of money on the table so I may reconsider some of my cheaper plays and go with safer options. Good luck today!

08282014_DraftKings_Roster

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