MLB Daily Fantasy Picks and Podcast

PITCHERS:

-Shine Bright Like a Diamond-

Carlos Carrasco (Cleveland Indians vs. Miami Marlins) – The strikeouts are back at an elite level for Carrasco, who hasn’t had fewer than eight of them in his last five starts. However, the Marlins typically aren’t a team that will whiff that much but that can be double-downed on the fact that they aren’t that dangerous at the plate either.
David Price (Boston Red Sox @ Oakland Athletics) – Just as it goes for Carrasco, the same can be said for Price against the A’s tonight. He faces a team that hasn’t struck out much this season, but they have struck out 23.4% of the time over the last two weeks (sixth-most in MLB.) The over/under is slated for 7.5 tonight and that’s a good thing for Mr. Price since it doesn’t seem like his counterpart Andrew Triggs is capable of holding such totals that low.

-Middle of the Road-

Julio Urias (Los Angeles Dodgers vs. San Diego Padres) – It’s been a tale of two cities this season, in terms of which handedness of pitcher to attack the Padres with. In the first half, it was a no brainer to roll righties out against them, but nowadays with all the left-handed hitters in the Padres lineup, it’s just the opposite. Urias has been harnessed all season on a strict innings limited but that hasn’t stopped him in his last two starts where he’s turned in masterful performances. He’s gotten the win in four straight games and tonight looks hopeful for making it five.
James Taillon (Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Milwaukee Brewers) – The Pirates young star of the future disappointed his owners on Saturday night in this same matchup, but this time he gets to take on the Brewers at home in a much better pitcher’s ballpark. It actually hasn’t been a matchup made in heaven for Taillon and the Brewers, as they have roughed him up quite a bit this season (0-1, 4.80 ERA – 15 IP, 18 H/2 BB, 8 ER, 12 K), but I think he rights his wrongs this evening.

-Sneaky, Sneaky-

Anthony DeSclafani (Cincinnati Reds vs. St. Louis Cardinals) – Surprisingly, DeSclafani comes into this game with an 8-2 record and 2.96 ERA. Just like his teammate Dan Straily, DeSclafani has excellent numbers at home (4-1, 2.63 ERA), but his strikeout numbers probably won’t put him over-the-top. He is, however, coming off a complete game shutout with nine whiffs in his last start at Arizona.
Jeremy Hellickson (Philadelphia Phillies vs. Atlanta Braves) – His price across the industry is stupid low, but I’m going to take the chance here with Hellickson on two-pitcher sites. This season, the Phils ace is 1-0 with a 3.09 ERA against the Braves, but hopefully giving up 13 hits and three walks to them in 11.2 IP doesn’t scare you off. Hellickson going head-to-head against Joel De La Cruz should be the most hopeful factor here, hence the Phils being -152 favorites. On FantasyDraft, he’ll cost you a miniscule $8800, which is basically the equivalent of free beer.

HITTERS:

-Shine Bright Like a Diamond-

Paul Goldschmidt (Arizona Diamondbacks @ Colorado Rockies) – Yes, it’s going to cost you a pretty penny but I’ll take my chances with Goldy in Coors Field against a lefty any day of the week.
Nolan Arenado (Colorado Rockies vs. Arizona Diamondbacks) – Yet another Coors Field play sits atop the list, as it always should. Arenado is straight raking at the moment, turning in solid performances in nine of his last 10 games. Tonight’s pitcher for the D-Backs, Robbie Ray, has given a long ball or two up in his day and this should be another shining example.
Mike Trout (Los Angeles Angels @ Seattle Mariners) – Just like Goldy, Trout gets to face a weak lefty and points should be flowing out the wazoo in this matchup. Trout was involved in a minor car accident the other day coming home from the ballpark, he’ll be just fine, but the narrative just seems too good to pass up tonight.

-Middle of the Road-

Justin Turner (Los Angeles Dodgers vs. San Diego Padres) – To put it kindly, Clayton Richard is not a very good pitcher. The Dodgers should have a field day against him this evening and their top hitter with the platoon advantage should be at the front of the line.
Mike Napoli & Jose Ramirez (Cleveland Indians vs. Miami Marlins) – The Indians are slated to score nearly five runs according to Vegas, and I tend to agree that this will be one of the better offenses this evening. If this is the case, you know Napoli and Ramirez will be in the thick of things. Napoli actually has better power numbers against right-handed pitching and Ramirez has ridiculous numbers with runners in scoring position. When the Indians are slated for all these runs, Ramirez is one of my favorites plays in all of baseball.
Miguel Sano (Minnesota Twins vs. Chicago White Sox) – It’s been a while since Sano has left the yard, but I’ll take my chances on him against a guy like Carlos Rodon, who has been getting bopped right-handed batters all year.

-Sneaky, Sneaky-

The Entire Philadelphia Phillies Lineup (vs. Atlanta Braves) – On FanDuel and FantasyDraft, the Phils are getting absolutely no love at all so make sure you take advantage of the discrepancies. They take on a weak pitcher in Joel De La Cruz and are listed as -152 favorites as a result. As Curtis Jackson once sang, “I’m laughing straight to the bank with this…..ha, ha ha-ha-ha-ha!
Andrelton Simmons (Los Angeles Angels @ Seattle Mariners) – The Angels shortstop has been on a tear of late with two straight multi-hit games and hits in eight of his last 10. He gets the platoon advantage over Ariel Miranda and could be hitting at the top of the order once again.
Jason Castro (Houston Astros @ Texas Rangers) – You’re going to have to check the lineup to see if he’s in, but Castro is 4-for-14 lifetime against A.J. Griffin with a pair of dongs to boot.
***Nomar Mazara (Texas Rangers vs. Houston Astros) – He’s quite cheap for a cheap batting leadoff in a game with so many implied runs.

*** = late addition

POTENTIAL STACKS:

MLB Daily Fantasy Picks and Podcast – September 2nd