May 17, 2013

Daily Fantasy Baseball Picks

Pitching

  • James Shields – He’s had a tough time getting wins, but he has pitched brilliantly.  Shields is 1-1 with a 1.57 and more than 20 strikeouts in his last three starts.  That’s strong.  He has a winning record against Oakland in his career and, save Daric Barton, no Athletic hits him particularly well.  The KC bats are strong if streaky.  I look for Shields strikeouts and a Royals W.  You get a fair amount of value with Shields in Fanduel.
  • Gio Gonzalez  - Gio pitched beautifully his last time out and actually left with a lead.  The bullpen blew it and he couldn’t log the win.  He pitches in oh so large Petco tonight.  The Nats beat up on the Padres last night.  Strasburg was strong.  I’m looking for Gio to continue the trend and really start to find his groove.  He has been strong against the Padres in limited work.  The one Padre hitter he has a lot of experience against – and not a lot of success – is Carlos Quentin.  If you’re looking to fade Gio, or want to pitch Gio but want some insurance, Quentin is the guy.  (You would do a strategy like that – playing both – in a head to head matchup or in a 3-5 team league.  In bigger tourneys, you’ve got to pick one or the other.)

Hitting

  • JP Arencibia – JP hits cleanup tonight for the Jays.  He’s had a ton of success against Kuroda in his career – going 7 for 15 with 3 XBH and one homer.  He’s been slumping a little at only 2 of his last 17.  Look for a breakout tonight.
  • Brandon Phillips – 9 for 29 lifetime with 5 XBH and a homer off the powerful Cliff Lee.  I like great stats against great pitchers.  It often means the hitter sees the ball exceptionally well for whatever reason.  Phillips also has two homers in the last week including one yesterday.  Ride the heat wave.

Lineup Stack

  • Orioles– The middle of the lineup – Davis, Jones and Markakis (in reverse order, that is) absolutely light up Jeremy Hellickson.  Furthermore, Hellickson struggles a little in Camden Yards, nearly half a run higher than at his home, the Trop.  Most importantly, Hellickson is only pitching to a 5.25 ERA on the year, with a 7.02 in his last three.  Look for him to get roughed up this evening.

Value

  • Nick Markakis - Two homers, six RBI and only two career strikeouts against Hellickson.  Hitting in the three hole this evening at the Yard.
  • David Murphy - Although he’s having a relatively quiet year, Murphy is a strong hittter, capable of smacking out two in a night.  This is especially true versus Rick Porcello.  He’s 6 for 12 with a dinger against the Tigers right hander.  He is also 7 of his last 18 with two homers over the last week.

Pick of the Day

  • David Murphy - Heating up.  Good history.
Filed Under: Daily Fantasy Baseball Picks, Daily Fantasy Baseball Strategy, Fanduel, Pick Results
2013/05/17 6:15:52 pm By Leave a Comment

The New Game – Daily Fantasy Baseball

If you haven’t played daily fantasy baseball yet, you’re missing out.  Nothing will ever replace traditional, season long, marathon-not-a-sprint fantasy baseball, but daily is an excellent supplement.  Traditional fantasy baseball – rotisserie for you old school types – has drawbacks, though.  First, if you are out of contention and/or simply have too many injuries, your team can leave you disinterested.  Sometimes, you can be in contention but simply get bored with the same old guys you’ve seen day in and day out.

Daily fantasy baseball gives you the ability to have a new team everyday.  Pick a team early Sunday afternoon, say goodbye to that team Sunday night while you swap out all of your traditional rosters.  Play everyday or play twice a month.  It doesn’t matter – you have full control.

Most daily fantasy baseball sites do player salaries and a salary cap.  Most offer head to head matchups on up to thousands of player tournaments, and everywhere in between.  Some sites even offer traditional snake drafting.

It’s an alternative to gambling.  Anyone who has ever gambled on baseball knows, over time, it is a losing proposition.  DFB doesn’t have to be.  If you are a skilled fantasy baseball player, your chances are better than average.

If you’ve never tried it, give it a shot.  See these daily fantasy baseball site reviews to see where to play.

Filed Under: The Love of Baseball
2013/03/29 8:25:33 pm By Leave a Comment

Daily Fantasy Baseball Picks and a Busy Life

I’m glad I discovered Daily Fantasy baseball this year.  It’s been fun.  I’ve won quite a bit, despite a relatively long streak where I couldn’t seem to get anything going.

I made daily fantasy baseball picks quite a few times.  It’s time consuming to do it right.  Doing it right means a lot of research.  Originally, I thought I would be able to do it most days.  Then I realized daily fantasy baseball picks twice a week would be time consuming enough.  I do, after all, have a job.  I actually already have multiple jobs.

Lately, my work has been so busy that it’s damn near impossible.  With work, more work, and a baby on the way, I’m going to put daily fantasy baseball on the shelf for now.

I will certainly be back for playoff fantasy baseball for money.  Playoff baseball is awesome.  Combining it with sites like Fanduel, Daily Joust and DraftDay just makes it that much better.  I think the playoff version has a real future.  I think DFB sites will essentially eliminate other playoff fantasy baseball sites.

The baby isn’t due for a few more months.  Work was really the catalyst.  Beyond that, football season is upon us.  The overlap that September and October brings makes it by far the best sports time of the year, in my opinion.  I do have three year long fantasy football leagues that I’m a part of.  Moreover, I plan on making weekly fantasy football picks to play on weekly sites, often the same sites as baseball.

So, without further ado… Have a good rest of the baseball season, a great playoffs, and a good year in football.  Enjoy.  See you on the regular next April.

Filed Under: Daily Fantasy Baseball Picks, Picks
2012/09/09 10:03:19 am By Leave a Comment
« Older Posts