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Daily Fantasy Baseball: Early FanDuel Lineup For May 14

By Mike Marteny

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May 3, 2015; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Michael Wacha (52) throws the ball against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the first inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

So much for staying away from Corey Kluber. He struck out 18 Cardinals in eight scoreless innings!

Five of the 11 games today are day games. That makes the early tournaments balanced with the late ones. That doesn’t happen very often, so we need to enjoy it. That gives us plenty of choices in both the early and late tourneys today.

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Here is my early FanDuel lineup for May 14:

Pitchers:

Best Bet:

Michael Wacha, Cardinals ($8,100): Wacha has never faced the Indians, but his opponent, Trevor Bauer has struggled lately. Although after seeing what Kluber did to the Cardinals yesterday, we could see Bauer turn in a quality start. I still like Wacha to pitch well here and have a good shot at the win. The statistics say that Anibal Sanchez has dominated the Twins, but I just don’t trust anyone against the Twins right now. Is there a hotter hitting team in baseball right now?

If You’re Cheap:

Travis Wood, Cubs ($7,000): The Mets offense continues to struggle without Travis d’Arnaud and David Wright. They have also struggled on the road and struggled agianst left handed pitchers. Wood could be in line for a nice game this afternoon.

Vance Worley, Phillies ($6,600): Vanimal has only faced his former team once, but he was dominant in that start. The current Phillie roster is hitting just .158 off of him, but it is a small sample size. For the price though, he is a solid bet against Aaron Harang and the Phillies.

Stay Away:

Jeremy Guthrie, Royals ($6,500): Guthrie has been mostly down all year, but he did put up his first quality start of the year in his last outing. I still don’t trust him against Texas. The current Ranger team is hitting .275 off of him with nine homers and 20 RBI in 182 at bats.

Catcher:

Best Bet:

Wellington Castillo, Cubs ($2,200): Just a hunch, but I am betting that Miguel Montero sits for a day game against a left handed starter. Besides that, Castillo is 2-5 off of Jon Niese with a walk and a solo homer. There is no reason to spend on catchers today, especially if Montero sits. I also couldn’t fault you for taking Salvador Perez against Ross Detwiler. They have never faced each other, so I view Castillo is a little more of a sure thing.

Honorable Mention:

Kurt Suzuki, Twins ($2,200): Suzuki has singled three times in six at bats off of Anibal Sanchez, and driven in a run off of him. He is one of the few Twins that has been able to get on base against Sanchez.

Next: Let's Check The Infield

May 4, 2015; St. Louis, MO, USA; Chicago Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant (17) scores on a single by shortstop Starlin Castro (not pictured) during the first inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

First Base:

Best Bet:

Prince Fielder, Rangers ($3,100): Prince has started slowly this year, but he has feasted off of Jeremy Guthrie in his career. Prince is 11-23 with two walks, three doubles, a homer, and five RBI. Also, he has never struck out against Guthrie. That makes him a strong play everywhere today.

If You’re Cheap:

Kendrys Morales, Royals ($2,700): Considering the poor career numbers of Joe Mauer against Sanchez, Ryan Howard against Vance Worley, and Pedro Alvarez against Aaron Harang, I would rather go with Morales against Detwiler. Morales constantly puts up positive numbers. He hasn’t had a zero or negative game since May 2. He is a strong bet to get positives against Detwiler.

Second Base:

Best Bet:

Addison Russell, Cubs ($2,800): The reasoning here is simple. Brian Dozier is a .059 hitter against Sanchez. Ian Kinsler has only hit .222 against Mike Pelfrey. Neil Walker has struggled against Aaron Harang. All Russell does is get positive numbers. That’s good enough for me!

If You’re Cheap:

Omar Infante, Royals ($2,300): Infante has a nice little roll going. He has scored 14 fantasy points in his last six games. I will trust him against Detwiler if I’m short on cash.

Shortstop:

Best Bet:

Starlin Castro, Cubs ($3,100): Castro is only 5-19 (.263) off of Jon Niese, but he has a triple, a homer, and five RBI. When he hits Niese, he hits him well.

If You’re Cheap:

Elvis Andrus, Rangers ($2,600): Elvis has roughed up Jeremy Guthrie. He is 9-25 with three walks, two doubles, a homer, and a pair of RBI off of him. That doesn’t even factor in the havoc he can create when he is on base. He might even be a stronger bet than Castro today.

Third Base:

Best Bet:

Kris Bryant, Cubs ($4,000): Bryant has started flashing his tremendous power at the big league level now. During a day game at Wrigley against a lefty, he is a strong bet to give you some crooked numbers once again.

If You’re Cheap:

Thomas Field, Rangers ($2,200): Field is three for eight with a homer since his call up on Monday. That’s good enough for me to take him against Jeremy Guthrie.

Next: Who Are The Best Outfielders?

May 13, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates center fielder Andrew McCutchen (22) hits a two RBI single against the Philadelphia Phillies during the fifth inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Outfield:

Best Bets:

Starling Marte, Pirates ($4,100): Marte is 5-12 off of Aaron Harang, but has no counting stats. He doesn’t even have an extra base hit, but if he is getting on base half the time, he is helping your team.

Andrew McCutchen, Pirates ($4,000): McCutchen is 6-20 off of Harang with three walks, a double, a homer and two RBI. Those numbers are good enough to give him top billing in the outfield today.

Yoenis Cespedes, Tigers ($2,900): Cespedes has only faced Mike Pelfrey eight times, but he has four hits, two doubles, and two RBI off of him. He is a strong bet to get on base at least once this afternoon.

If You’re Cheap:

Juan Lagares, Mets ($2,300): The Mets are sure hoping that Lagares can make his return to the lineup today. Lagares is three for five with a double, a homer, and two RBI off of Wood. If he is in the lineup, he is worth playing. Just make sure to see that he is before the games start.

Corey Hart, Pirates ($2,200): There is no guarantee that Hart will be in the lineup, but if the Phillies are watching career numbers, he should be. Hart is 10-33 off of Aaron Harang with a walk, three doubles, a homer, and five RBI.

Stay tuned for the late FanDuel picks!

Next: Can Josh Hamilton Succeed Again In Texas?

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