Daily Fantasy Strategy – 8/30/13 – For Draftstreet

September call ups are almost here, so some new names will enter the daily fantasy pool. This is probably more true on other daily sites besides Draftstreet, but call ups tend to be undervalued. Because pricing models are based on previous statistics, it makes sense that guys without a track record would be somewhat conservatively priced. Here are just a few call ups that could be useful in the final month.

Nick Castellanos – OF – Detroit Tigers

Castellanos didn’t destroy Triple-A or anything, but he hit for a little power (.168 ISO) and displayed good plate discipline (16.4% K%, 9.3% BB%). He’s unlikely to see regular starts, but that’s the beauty of daily fantasy. We don’t need him to play everyday to have a use for him. He may take some starts from Matt Tuiasos0po against left-handed starters. He had a .852 OPS in 109 PA versus lefties in Triple-A, so if he’s cheap enough he could be an option when starting.

Mike Olt – 3B – Chicago Cubs

Like Castellanos, Olt would be useful in daily contests when facing a left-handed starter. He’s had an OPS of at least .870 versus lefties in every year of his minor league career. And his path to playing time may be a bit more open that Castellanos’. Donnie Murphy has a stupid 178 wRC+ as the Cubs regular 3B in August, but his HR/FB is an unsustainable 30%. And 30 is also an important number in that it is Murphy’s age. He’s not the future third baseman for the Cubs, but Olt might be. So you have to figure Olt is going to get at least semi-regular playing time.

Jackie Bradley, Jr. – OF – Boston Red Sox

Bradley hits from the left side of the plate, which normally helps a guy into your lineup more often given that the majority of starters are right-handed. But there probably isn’t room in Boston’s outfield for Bradley to see meany starts. Mike Carp has been pretty good when called upon to start against righties, and as long as he continues to hit he’ll keep Bradley from regular at-bats. But when Bradley does play, he’s intriguing because he has good plate discipline as well as a little power and a little speed. He’s got a .365 OBP and .502 SLG in 286 PA against righties at Triple-A this year.

Reymond Fuentes – OF – San Diego Padres

Fuentes has been in the bigs for a few days, but I included him anyway because I had never heard of him and was surprised to learn that he’s going to be the everyday center fielder for the Padres. Maybe I’m late to the party. But maybe not since he’s not even in the Draftstreet player pool for tomorrow. If you’re like me and don’t know much about the kid, he’s a speedy lefty, which will make him an option more often in daily contests. Having the platoon advantage and the ability to swipe a bag frequently is useful. His success this year at Double-A was due in some part to a high BABIP, but he has decent plate discipline and should get on base enough to steal some bags.

The Daily Five

Julio Teheran, $15,207 – Marlins. Yawn. So tired of typing “he’s facing Miami who has the worst wRC+ in the league against right-handers.”

Dillon Gee, $11,838 – No one loved Gee more than me this preseason. No one. I really don’t think that’s an exaggeration. And Gee has delivered for me with a 3.69 season ERA and a 2.48 ERA since May 30. I’ll admit, he’s not doing it the way I’d like him to do it. I loved the above average strikeout and walks skills he displayed last year but only the walk rate has remained better than average this year. I liked the above average groundball rate, but it hasn’t been as good this year. I didn’t think I’d ever say this, but I’m selling Gee. However, there just aren’t many attractive starter options today, so I’m sticking with my boy at a low cost.

Taijuan Walker, $8,527 – Here is a pretty good example of a callup going for a cheap price. This is Walker’s first big league start, and the matchup with the Astros couldn’t be much better. He shouldn’t be the third cheapest starter.

Jurickson Profar, $5,368 – If you have the cash, all Ranger lefties against Liam Hendriks are good plays. But Profar is the only one that’s pretty cheap.

Kyle Seager, $7,009 – Seager is facing Brad Peacock who is allowing a home run once every 16 plate appearances to lefties. Maybe Seager, who is sixth in homers among third basemen, runs into his 22nd bomb of the year.

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