FanDuel: SB Nation One Day Fantasy Leagues
Many of you play in season-long leagues, while more and more of you are playing one day fantasy leagues. If you like the action of the one day leagues, make sure you join the FanDuel/SB Nation one day fantasy baseball leagues. All you need to do is click on the link below and join a league.
FanDuel/SB Nation One Day Fantasy League
- Leagues start at 7pm every evening
- It is only $3 to enter, and the top 8,775 win cash
- Top prize of $10,000
- Click the link above to learn more and get started
- On most days, our own Tim Finnegan (@TimFinn521) on Twitter) offers his picks for your daily FanDuel rosters. His articles post at 6am daily.
Yamani Grandal, Kolton Wong walk off
Two games went into extra innings Sunday, and both ended in dramatic fashion. Yasmani Grandal hit an opposite field home run in the bottom of the 13th to give the Dodgers a, 1-0, win against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Grandal, a popular preseason "sleeper," struggled in April with a .189 BA, one home run and two RBI. We've seen life from Grandal in his last two games, however, as the 26-year-old switch hitter has collected four hits over his past six plate appearances.
I still think Grandal will provide plenty of value the rest of the way. He's likely to hit sixth or seventh for now, but could see his spot rise with a few more good games at the plate. Grandal is walking more (13.1 percent walk rate in 2014, 16.4 in 2015) and striking out less (26 percent strikeout rate in 2014, 20.5 in 2015), so his on-base skills are still there. Grandal is a bit of a streaky hitter, so getting in on the Dodgers backstop now could pay huge dividends. Nothing in his batted ball profile should scare you away. Better days are ahead.
In that same game, Chase Anderson started and pitched a gem for the Diamondbacks, allowing no runs on two hits with seven strikeouts and one walk. Anderson, who is still searching for his first win, has a 3.38 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and a 27/7 K/BB ratio in 29 1/3 innings. His 2.99 FIP is 23rd in baseball. I wouldn't hesitate to pick up Anderson in 12-team mixed leagues.
While Grandal walked off in Los Angeles, Kolton Wong did the same in St. Louis, hitting a two-run home run in the bottom of the 14th inning to give the Cardinals a, 3-2, win against the Pirates. Wong's game-winning blast was also his second of the season. So far, Wong is living up to expectations with a .294/.340/.435 slash to go with two home runs, 11 runs, eight RBI and two steals. Wong came off the bench and had three hits Sunday, and I think we really start to see Wong take off in May. With Heyward struggling, I'd like to see the Cardinals place Wong near the top of the order with Matt Carpenter, although that might disrupt the balance of the lineup.
Trevor Bauer, Drew Hutchison struggle in same game
Bauer had his first real clunker of the year Sunday, giving up six runs on seven hits with three walks and just one strikeout in 4 1/3 innings. The performance lowered his ERA to 3.38, but reminded us of his downside, too. In 29 1/3 innings, Bauer has 16 walks, leading to a 12.9 percent walk rate. That's actually up from last year, when Bauer finished 5-8 with a 4.18 ERA and 1.38 WHIP. Bauer will give you the spectacular game, but he'll also give you these types of performances. He's a better play in head-to-head leagues, where in roto leagues his high walk rate will lead to a high WHIP. I'd advise to sell if you still can. Nothing's really changed here.
Hutchison, meanwhile, continued his season-long drought, giving up six runs on eight hits in 4 1/3 innings. His season numbers are ugly: 7.47 ERA and a 1.60 WHIP. It's hard to see the Blue Jays starting Hutchison every fifth day with performances like Sunday's, but they don't have a lot of better options. They're starting Marco Estrada, after all. Stay far away from Hutchison. I don't see things getting much better. Go get a guy like Drew Pomeranz instead, who hasn't been great but his numbers suggest things will improve. Plus, you can always just start him in O.co Coliseum.
Roto Roundup
The Astros continued their homer binge on Sunday, getting two more from Evan Gattis and another from Chris Carter. I boldly predicted that Evan Gattis' power would carry him to the No. 2 catcher in the preseason. The overall likelihood of that happening isn't great with his current batting average, but the power is real and we could still see Gattis make a strong run at the position. If you hung on to Gattis through the rough times, your patience is being rewarded. Carter is in the same mold, but plays in a deeper position at first base. He hit 37 home runs a year ago and 30 is still in sight. While the long-term outlook for Carter isn't going to win you a league, I love his matchups this week. Start him and hope he catches fire.
The Brewers fired Ron Roenicke late Sunday night, an interesting move considering Milwaukee just won a series against the Cubs and are getting some of their better players back in Carlos Gomez and Aramis Ramirez. Ryan Braun is also starting to heat up. I think it was a bad move, but it appears Craig Counsell is the next man up. Milwaukee's lineup is all of a sudden starting to look a lot more appealing.
Tim Lincecum is no longer "The Freak," but he's shown promise in 2015. Lincecum threw eight shutout innings against the Angels, allowing just three hits while striking out four and walking one. The effort lowered his ERA to 2.40, while earning his second win of the season. I'm sure people will look at that 2.40 ERA and wonder if he's back, but I'm still very skeptical. He's only throwing 87 and I think a big adjustment to his overall numbers is coming. Sell the name and sell high.
Sonny Gray had an interesting start against the Rangers, throwing six shutout innings with 10 strikeouts and seven walks. He only gave up two hits, while Stephen Vogt powered the Athletics to victory with a pair of home runs. Vogt has been awesome so far, hitting .356/.455/.671 with six home runs, 14 runs and 20 RBI. He has more walks (13) than strikeouts (10) and hits in a prime spot for RBIs. He has 19 home runs in 550 career plate appearances. I think 15 home runs is definitely reachable, while I'd still take the under on 20.
Coco Crisp went 1 for 3 in a rehab game Sunday and could be back sometime this week. Crisp, 35, hit nine home runs and stole 19 bases a year ago, so there's some value here if you want to stash the outfielder. Crisp should see a bulk of the playing time in the outfield when healthy, so another 5-8 home runs and 15 steals from the veteran is not out of the question.
Fantasy Rundown
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