Draft Day Challenge, May 23

Daily baseball is all the rage in the fantasy sports world, so I will be covering the game a couple of times a week here at BaseballGuys.com. To that end, I’ve partnered with DraftDay.com to give all my wonderful followers, that’s you, the chance to play the game on a daily basis. On Tuesday and Thursday’s here at the site, every week, I’ll be giving you some insight into the mind of The Oracle as I will give you some of my best plays for the day – even if I’m willing to admit that daily games are a bit of a crap shoot given the difficulty in predicting how a handful of at-bats will work out.

To join a daily league remember to visit DraftDay.com by clicking on the link to their site.

One other source for those of you on Twitter. @MLBDailyLineups – lists all the lineups in one spot so you can make sure you don’t have someone in your lineup that is sitting on the bench that day.

NOTE: There are only four night games tonight, so I’m going to change up the format a bit since there just isn’t the volume of players we’re used to seeing most days.

ORIOLES vs. BLUE JAYS

Adam Jones has killed Morrow hitting .387 with three homers and 10 RBIs in 31 ABs.
Nick Markakis is hitting .280 in 25 at-bats.
Chris Davis is hitting .143 with 8 Ks in 14 at-bats.
Matt Wieters is awful at 2-for-18 (.111).
Manny Machado is 1-for-7.

TWINS vs. TIGERS

Miguel Cabrera murders Diamond: .500 in 16 at-bats.
Everyone else struggles against Diamond:
Jhonny Peralta (.200 in 15 at-bats)
Torii Hunter (.167 in 6 at-bats)
Prince Fielder (.091 in 11 at-bats)
Victor Martinez (.125 in 8 at-bats)

Josh Willingham clubs Porcello hitting .600-1-4 in 10 at-bats.
Ryan Doumit also has success (4-for-10).
Justin Morneau is at .231 with one HR in 26 at-bats.
Joe Mauer is hitting .259 with a .333 OBP (27 at-bats).

INDIANS vs. RED SOX

No Red Sox player has 10 at-bats against McAllister making matchup talk difficult.
Mike Carp and Jarrod Saltalamacchia are the only two with a homer.
Carp and Dustin Pedroia are the only two with two RBIs.

Michael Bourn has stolen two bases while hitting .313 against Dempster (32 ABs).
Mark Reynolds has three hits in 14 at-bats.
Drew Stubbs is a mess going 4-for-21 with 7 Ks.

ANGELS vs. ROYALS

Billy Butler is 3-for-3 against Blanton.
Jeff Francoeur has six hits and four RBIs leading to a .429 average.
Alberto Callaspo has gone 4-for-9 against Santana.
Josh Hamilton has seen Santana 37 times hitting .270-2-8.
Albert Pujols is 0-for-2 in his career.

STARTING PITCHERS
(First pitcher listed is on the road, second is at home)

Scott Diamond vs. DET
Rick Porcello vs. MIN

Diamond (.208 and .557 in 106 ABs) has had success against the Tigers, and that really doesn’t make a hell of a lot of sense, in his six starts. He’s allowed 12 runs and four homers in his last two starts and is sporting a 1.44 WHIP and just 16 Ks in 39.2 innings this season. Terrible.

Porcello (.318 and .917 in 132 ABs) has a 5.92 ERA this season, but he’s dropped that mark three runs in his last three starts as he’s allowed a total of six runs. That 3.35 ERA in 91.1 innings agianst Minnesota is solid, but that 1.46 WHIP and just 46 strikeouts certainly leads to some trepidation.

Kevin Gausman vs. TOR
Brandon Morrow vs. BAL

For more on Gausman and my thoughts on what he brings to the table check out The Future Is Now.

Morrow (.259 and .861 in 166 ABs) has posted a 1.19 WHIP vs. the Orioles despite some less than scintillating career work against the club. On the year he continues to scuffle along with a 5.16 ERA and 1.46 WHIP, though at least that ERA number is a bit better at home this year at 4.07.

Zach McAllister vs. BOS
Ryan Dempster vs. CLE

McAllister (.254 and .847 in 59 ABs) has impressively struck out batters in 20 of those 59 at-bats versus the Red Sox. In eight starts this year he’s yet to allow more than three runs in an outing though he’s allowed six homers in his last six starts and hasn’t exactly love pitching on the road (3.57 ERA and 1.53 WHIP in three starts).

Dempster (.255 and .765 in 102 ABs) started hot this year before being obliterated for 11 runs, three homers and seven walks in his last two starts. He’s been solid at home this year with a 1.05 WHIP and 49 Ks in 37 IP.

Joe Blanton vs KC
Ervin Santana vs LAA

Blanton (.406 and 1.016 in 64 ABs) is pitching for his spot in the rotation with Jered Weaver close to returning. Despite the numbers he’s posted against current Royals he has had some success against the organization over the years (2.96 ERA, 1.20 WHIP over seven starts). Still, 11 ER’s and 23 hits over his last nine innings tell you all you really need to know.

Santana (.242 and .726 in 62 ABs) has been nails all season long allowing 0, 1 or 2 ER in five of eight starts. He’s got a 1.84 ERA and 1.13 WHIP in four starts at home and the Angels are the middle of the pack at 8th in runs scored.

 

By Ray Flowers

Daily Joust – Wk 14: Did We Learn Anything?

On Monday each week I take a look at the fantasy baseball game breaking down players who have produced noteworthy performances of late – not just positive outings mind you, but I’ll also delve into some of the players that have been sucking wind of late. Can you use this information to your benefit over at DailyJoust? To get your daily fantasy baseball fix make sure you head over to DailyJoust.com to set your salary cap club.

GAINERS OF THE WEEK

Cole DeVries (+78, $246K in DailyJoust Salary)
Though six appearances, and five starts, Cole has compiled a 3.00 ERA and 1.10 WHIP for the Twins. He’s also allowed just three runs in his last three appearances while striking out 12 and walking just two. Like seemingly ever Twins hurler, he just doesn’t beat himself with the free passes (eight in 30 innings).

Marco Estrada (+68, $291K)
In six games as a starter for the Brewers he has a 4.50 ERA and 1.02 WHIP. Not exactly numbers that appear to go together. So which arm has he been? Try the 1.02 WHIP guy. In those 42 innings as a starter this year eh has an impressive 45 Ks and thanks to just six walks his K/BB ratio is a HOF worthy 7.50. Well worth a look if available (even if no one has noticed. See Fleaflicker).

Zach McAllister (+70, $135K)
Through seven starts he’s 3-1 with a 3.40 ERA and 1.28 WHIP for the Indians. Though he’s allowed only three earned runs his last two starts he’s remarkably also permitted six other unearned runs or that ERA would look pretty bad. He does have 41 Ks an a 4.10 K/BB ratio in 42.1 innings though so it’s not like he’s bereft of skill.

Alex Rodriguez (+30, $105K)
He has seven hits in his last five games, but he’s still batting just .269 with a .793 OPS. Unfortunately the average is about what was expected – he hit .270 and .276 the past two years – and his OPS was under .850 each of the past two years as well. He’s also on pace for about 25 homers and 75 RBIs. Put that all together and we’d be talking about the worst full season of his career – by a substantial amount.

Will Venable (+28, $83K)
He’s always lurking on the edge of relevance in a 12 team league that starts five outfielders. He’s got a little bit of pop (six homers) and some speed (eight steals though he’s been caught six times). Still, he’s a .249 career hitter with a .320 OBP, and guess what, he’s hitting .248 with a .318 OBP this year. Only an injury fill in for mixed leaguers.

LOSERS OF THE WEEK

Alejandro De Aza (-16, $89K)
Hitting .283 with a pace for 25+ steals and 100 runs (including 11 in his last 10 games), there is nothing to complain about with De Aza. Sure he only has two homers in 61 games, and he’s swiped just four bases in his last 32 games, but that’s just nitpicking.

Eric Hosmer (-13, $77K)
Hosmer lifted his average up to .237 on July 2nd, the highest it had been since April 9th. Yeah, it’s been a rough year. Hosmer has scored seven times in his last eight games, and I’m still thinking a rebound is coming. His line drive rate, HR/F are the same as last year. He’s also walking more and striking out less. Sooner or later that will result in increased offensive production. Trust me.

Jed Lowrie (-13, $55K)
Once more into the breach…

Haven’t we been here before? You know, the point were I tell you that Jed Lowrie isn’t as good as everyone thinks he is? The point where I mention that he’s never going to help you out in the batting average category (.254 this year, .253 in career). Or how about his merely average ability to get on base (.343 OBP this year, .329 for his career). Or how about his streaky as all hell nature? Anyone notice that he’s hit .191 with one homer the past three weeks? Even worse, the guy has hit .211 over his last 34 games. You can’t say I didn’t warn you.

Anibal Sanchez (-68, $188K)
He’s had a rough go of it, but in his final start before the break he stopped the bleeding allowing two runs, without walking a batter, in six innings. He ends the first half with a 1.25 WHIP, 0.03 better than last season, and his 7.99 K/9 and 3.06 K/BB ratios point to a guy who has pitched pretty well this season. I know it’s hard to trust him given his recent downturn in production, but he’s a nice buy low option considering his perceived lack of value.

CONTEST: All-Star Game

Sign up to play in the All-Star Game contest at DailyJoust. Simply register at this LINK and the contest will show up in the lobby for you. Yet another reason you’ll want to watch the mid-season’s classic.

CONTEST – KING FOR A DAY; Win $12,000

Here’s the deal. Every Friday through September 7th, 12 qualifiers will be given a shot to win $12,000 in the final contest on September 14th. Here’s how it works from the official web page of the tournament.

Each weekly qualifier is a $10 entry multiple-entry tournament with the winner earning a seat in the Sept 14th $12,000 King’s Crown tournament. In the event of a tie for first place, normal Daily Joust tie-breaker rules apply. If a tie still persists, a playoff will occur to determine the winner.

That’s right. Be a weekly winner and you’ll get your shot to view for the $12,000 in prizes ($5,000 to the winner)… for the cost of $10.

Sound like a game you’d like to try your hand at?

 

By Ray Flowers