Archive for Daily Fantasy Strategy

As usual, we have a full slate tonight. Unfortunately, the odds of all of the games being played without a hitch is in question. Yankee Stadium (Pirates @ Yankees) has a an 80% chance of rain at game time, and 90% throughout the day. There’s also a 60% chance of rain in Colorado, but it does appear the weather will begin to taper off at/around game time.

A few more games – Cincinnati at Philadelphia, Detroit at Boston, Milwaukee at Chicago (NL) – could be delayed. So be mindful of those when you’re setting your lineups. The only game I’m strictly staying away from is Pittsburgh at New York (AL). And that’s a shame, because I really liked Neil Walker versus David Phelps.

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Today is the 28th anniversary of the film “TOP GUN.” If this isn’t one of the most iconic scenes from the 80’s, then I don’t know what is.

On today’s agenda:
1. Phil Hughes continues to cruise
2. Jon Singleton is close…ish
3. Assorted disabled list moves
4. The Daily Five

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This is a question I’ve asked myself several times this year when preparing for daily fantasy contests. My assumption was that run scoring in doubleheader games might be lower because of fatigue and because it’s not uncommon for teams to start bench players in one of the two doubleheader games. But after a little digging, I found that assumption to be incorrect. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s an exciting day in New York. Young Mets’ prospect Rafael Montero is making his major league debut. Due to the fact that it’s his debut, he has no data in the chart below. I have no scouting chops whatsoever, but I’ll do my best to give you a little introduction to Mr. Montero.

Montero has put up quality numbers everywhere he has pitched. His numbers haven’t been quite as gawdy this season, but don’t worry too much. Las Vegas – and the PCL in general – is a terrible place to pitch.

Fangaphs’ own Marc Hulet wrote the following about Montero earlier this year:

The Scouting Report: Montero is a rare Latin prospect who has a high ceiling despite being a late bloomer and not signing until he was 20 years old. His strengths as a pitcher are his above-average command and control, which help all three of his pitches play up. He possesses a low-90s fastball, slider and changeup. He needs to stay on top of his pitches more and try to create more of a downward plane.

There you have it. Montero should be fun to watch, especially if he’s able to command his fastball well. I’m not using him today, thanks to the Yankee Stadium effect, but he could be a nice cheap play going forward.

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Well, I had some pretty good luck this weekend with some of the lineup choices I recommended. It was about time. It felt like it had been forever since I really had things fall the way I’d hoped.

I’m sorry if that comes off as arrogant. I’ve honestly just been so busy at work that I didn’t have the time to look up any cool facts or research any players somewhat intensively, so it seemed like a good time to toot my own horn a little bit. It may be a little bit before I feel confident enough to do it again, so feel free to let me know the next time I whiff badly in order to bring me down a peg.

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Yesterday was the 19th anniversary of the film “Crimson Tide” being released. Other than “The Hunt for Red October” it is my favorite submarine film. Coming in at a respectable third place finish is “Down Periscope.”

On today’s agenda:
1. Jose Fernandez…sadface
2. The new New York Mets rotation
3. Junior Lake’s big day
4. The Daily Five

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Happy Mother’s Day from everyone here at RotoGraphs, FanGraphs and even NotGraphs. Call your mom right now. Me? I’ll just yell up the stairs at my mom.

On today’s agenda:
1. Welcome back, Chase Headley
2. Rickie Weeks: not a left fielder
3. Thoughts on Erik Bedard
4. The Daily Five

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If you haven’t noticed by now, I usually like to spotlight a player who is struggling or excelling and shine a little light on why either is happening. Ian Kennedy will be our focus today. After being traded to San Diego by Arizona last season, Kennedy was pretty good (3.97 xFIP). And because of how he pitched down the stretch and the park he now calls home is so friendly, he was a target many people had going into draft season. Man, oh man, has he rewarded the owners (myself included) who either drafted him or picked up off of waivers.

Kennedy’s strikeout rate has spiked an incredible amount, and San Diego’s catchers may have a little to do with that. Both Yasmani Grandal and Rene Rivera grade out fantastic framers, according to the numbers. 25% of Kennedy’s strikeouts have occurred when a batter was caught looking. His highest percentage since his fantastic 2011 season. He’s caught opposing batters looking 14 times already, compared to 33 last season in  181 innings. Kennedy’s been able to leverage an increase in velocity, phenomenal catchers, and more ground balls into fantastic numbers so far. And I see no reason why he can’t continue it going forward.

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Today is the 20th anniversary of Weezer’s “Blue Album.” For me, Buddy Holly still ranks among my favorite music videos.

On today’s agenda:
1. Doug Fister’s rough return
2. A better return for Scott Feldman
3. Drew Pomeranz up, Dan Straily down
4. The Daily Five

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The end of the week is nigh. By the time the games start tonight, you’ll be home free. After a short schedule today, we’re back to full capacity. Fifteen games are on the slate today, and forecasts around the league are good, temperature wise. We’re aware that higher temperatures are associated with higher run scoring, unfortunately weather reports don’t stop there. There’s a good chance of a couple of games at least being delayed, or played in less than ideal conditions. Those games are (listed in order from greatest chance of precipitation): Minnesota at Detroit, Colorado at Cincinnati, Chicago (NL) at Atlanta, and St. Louis at Pittsburgh.

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