RADIO
We’ve switched things up a little bit in our Daily League column: Instead of giving you an exact lineup, we’ll be sharing top positional plays with quick analysis about why we like these guys. There is no set budget for these picks, so they may be star-studded– the idea here is to give you an overview of some of the best plays at each position, including some value picks and some strong matchup plays.
My Top 3 Starting Pitchers
Zack Greinke- The match up vs the Padres should make him a popular play today. His xFIP is underwhelming at 4.23 but that is still over a small sample of 49 innings pitched.
Travis Wood- Pay attention to the weather in this one as you do not want them to start the game and pull Wood after a couple innings because of a rain delay. A good match up vs the strike out prone Astros. His ERA of 2.74 is much lower than his xFIP of 4.40 due in large part to an extremely low BABIP of 221.
Corey Kluber- The sabermetric community have been hyping this guy up of late. His ERA was high but his peripherals were saying he was a much better pitcher. Currently, his xFIP is 2.94, his K% is decent at around 25%, and he gets about 44% ground balls. The Twins are about as mediocre of an offense as you can get.
Catchers
Matt Wieters- Over/under game total for this game is 9.5 runs so I am sure folks will use some Jays and Orioles bats.
Victor Martinez- Rookie Allen Webster takes the bump for the Red Sox. Another good day to get some Tigers bats in that lineup
First Baseman
David Ortiz- A bit small of a sample but 6-for-10 with a homer off Max
Adrian Gonzalez- A couple of Dodgers have good #'s off Volquez but its always a guessing game of which Volquez shows up
Second Baseman
Howie Kendrick-One of the better hitting 2b in the league and 7-for-14 with a homer off Liriano
DJ LeMahieu- Make sure he starts as he is supposedly splitting time even though he has started 6 of their last 7 games. Good value with Haren pitching for the Nats
Third Baseman
Evan Longoria- I should not have to tell you that he is a good play but he 16-for-45 with 5 homers and 3 doubles off CC
Mark Reynolds- Cooled off considerably after that scorching hot start but a good match up vs Walters today. At 2500 an extreme value play
Shortstop
Sean Rodriguez- 11-for-33 with 2 homers and 2 doubles off CC
Jed Lowrie- Another value play with a good match up vs Harang
Outfielders
Nick Markakis- 8-for-19 with 3 doubles and a homer off Wang
Andre Ethier-6-for-15 with 3 doubles off Volquez
Alfonso Soriano- 6-for-17 with a pair of homers off Norris
Value Plays: Andy Dirks, Eric Young, Jason Heyward, Justin Upton
As always, remember to check your MLB daily lineups before they lock and make sure you are doing your own research, too, for optimal performance! The most successful daily leaguers are grinders who are constantly tweaking their lineups as the day goes on and fantasy news gets released. Good luck today, RotoBallers!
Make sure to give me a follow on Twitter @Joe12Three
