The challenge for Tuesday’s daily fantasy baseball contests is to choose which of the elite options are truly the best for your lineup. With some of the highest prices of the season for both pitchers and hitters, it’s important to make sure you get the right players to help you win.
Players to Draft
Corey Kluber, SP, Cleveland Indians ($11,200)
While Max Scherzer has been on an incredible stretch, it’s still hard to justify spending $14,200 on just one player. Even an outstanding game might not be enough to make up for the rest of your lineup.
However, you can save quite a bit of money on Corey Kluber, who has the potential for a big day against the Houston Astros. Although this is a tough matchup on paper, the opposing lineup strikes out more than anyone else in baseball.
With Kluber always a threat to reach double-digit strikeouts and beyond, he could put up a lot of fantasy points on Tuesday.
Taijuan Walker, SP, Seattle Mariners ($8,200)
The Seattle Mariners are being rewarded for their patience with young pitcher Taijuan Walker. After a rough start to the season, he has been outstanding lately with a 1.68 ERA and 51 strikeouts in his last seven games (via Scott Pianowski of Yahoo Sports).
These strikeout totals and the ability to keep runners from scoring have turned Walker into an elite fantasy starter. Against a Detroit Tigers lineup without Miguel Cabrera, he could easily surpass expectations for this cost.
Albert Pujols, 1B, Los Angeles Angels ($5,600)
We are seeing a renaissance for Albert Pujols this season, as the future Hall of Famer is starting to once again showcase the power he was known for with the St. Louis Cardinals. This should continue in a hitter’s haven like Coors Field.
After a quality series against the Texas Rangers, look for some more deep shots against the Colorado Rockies.
Aramis Ramirez, 3B, Milwaukee Brewers ($4,000)
The Milwaukee Brewers have been the hottest team in baseball over the past week, and a lot of that has to do with the play of Aramis Ramirez. The third baseman is coming through with a multihit game just about every time out and is driving in plenty of runs in the process.
Joc Pederson, OF, Los Angeles Dodgers ($3,700)
Although Joc Pederson is coming off a bad series against the New York Mets, things could be easier against the Philadelphia Phillies and starting pitcher Chad Billingsley. The former Dodger has a 7.71 ERA in four starts and might not get many more chances.
With Pederson’s power at the plate, the young hitter is a quality bet for a home run or two.
Players to Avoid
Francisco Liriano, SP, Pittsburgh Pirates ($10,300)
Among all the top names available Tuesday, Francisco Liriano has been the least consistent from a fantasy perspective. His strikeouts have fallen off lately, with only one of his last six starts featuring more than six strikeouts.
With Liriano also struggling a bit at home (4.10 ERA), there are simply better options for this price.
Prince Fielder, 1B, Texas Rangers ($4,900)
Even in the midst of an outstanding season, Prince Fielder remains much worse against left-handed pitchers, with a batting average about 100 points lower than it is against righties.
Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Robbie Ray has fared well in his young career and should be able to cause more problems for Fielder.
Todd Frazier, 3B, Cincinnati Reds ($4,100)
The newly minted All-Star starter has had a great year, but no one can be trusted against Scherzer. The Washington Nationals pitcher has allowed just 11 total hits in the last four games, all of them complete games except for one where he went eight innings.
It’s tough to bet on Todd Frazier to do much better against a starter who has allowed right-handers to hit just .161 this season.
Team to Stack
Toronto Blue Jays
Not only have the Toronto Blue Jays had by far the best offense in baseball this season, but the right-handed-heavy lineup has absolutely crushed southpaws. The team is hitting over .300 (per FanGraphs) against left-handed pitchers with Josh Donaldson and Jose Bautista especially excelling.
Considering Chicago White Sox pitcher Jose Quintana has terrible splits to begin with (.184 batting average vs. lefties, .310 vs. righties), the Blue Jays could be ready for a high-scoring game.
Note: All prices courtesy of DraftKings. Unless otherwise noted, all stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com.
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