MLB Picks and Pivots – FanDuel Picks April 3

Oct 12, 2015; New York City, NY, USA; New York Mets center fielder Yoenis Cespedes (52) hits a three run home run during the fourth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers in game three of the NLDS at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Andy Marlin-USA TODAY Sports /

MLB Picks and Pivots – FanDuel Picks April 3, Opening Day!

Welcome to the Opening Day edition of Picks & Pivots, a daily fantasy column focused on providing analysis for the upcoming MLB FanDuel slate. The purpose of this column is to first identify key building blocks that can be used for any roster construction and then identify pivot points to help differentiate your lineup in hopes of a big pay day!

Follow me on Twitter @2lockSports and feel free to pose questions each day as you work to construct your DFS roster on FanDuel!

Sunday April 3^rd is Opening Day with 3 games on tap, including a rematch of last year’s World Series with the Mets and Royals playing Sunday night.

Before we get into the normal format, I want to take this chance to highlight a key few changes to FanDuel’s MLB scoring since we last saw them.

The point values have increased across the board, so we should expect higher scores for our teams than in past years. The breakout for some key stats is shown below:

Pitcher: Win (12pts), Strikeout (3), IP(3), ER (-3)
Hitters: HR(12), Triple (9), Double (6) and Single (3)

One of the biggest changes is that we no longer get penalized for outs made by batters, and with the increased points towards home runs, targeting power hitters will be more profitable with these new point totals. Targeting all or nothing type hitters in the past could leave you with negative points, but the upside of “chasing the homerun” now is obvious, just like it is on DraftKings.

Make sure you review the new scoring rules prior to creating your lineup. Way too often, I see gamers jump into games on DFS sites without fully vetting the rules/payouts etc. Do not make that mistake. Now on to the picks…

Next: Top Starting Pitchers

Nov 1, 2015; New York City, NY, USA; New York Mets starting pitcher Matt Harvey (33) throws a pitch against the Kansas City Royals in the 8th inning in game five of the World Series at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports /

Matt Harvey ($9,700) – So let’s start here – I am an insanely huge Mets fan. I live and die with every pitch throughout the season and I will type this article each day from my Mets Man Cave. It will be hard for me not to type up the entire Mets 25 man roster because clearly they are going 162-0 this year where the Starting Pitchers will throw 162 consecutive no-hitters.

The last time we all saw Harvey, he was being taken out of Game 5 of the World Series, not able to complete the absolute gem he was throwing to get the series back to KC. I was sitting in center field that night at Citi Field and I still can’t get that last inning out of my head. Why do you care? Well if it still stings for the fans, imagine what the ultra-competitive ego driven Dark Knight has been stewing on since that moment.

Harvey has had an entire offseason now to prepare, get healthy and exact even the slightest bit of revenge against the Royals. So clearly I am all in right? No – maybe it’s the cynical Mets fan in me but I watched that entire series as the Royals just fought each at bat, frustratingly lining base hits and stringing together rallies. I love Harvey’s strikeout upside and I will certainly have exposure to him in some lineups, but the #1 rule in MLB FanDuel is you have to get the win from your starting pitcher and this is where I have to pivot to another Ace as my top pick.

Chris Archer ($9,500) – The second most expensive pitcher on the slate, I will look to take the $200 savings and pivot to Archer against the Blue Jays in Tampa Bay. In three starts at home against Toronto last season, Archer had the following lines:
- 5 IP, 1 ER, 3K’s, ND
- 8 IP, 1 ER, 7K’s, W
- 7 IP, 0 ER, 7K’s, W

The Blue Jays lineup is lethal, especially when they are home, but on the road and with Archer’s past success, this seems like a smart pivot play with a good chance to get the win.

Next: Top Hitters

Oct 2, 2015; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates third base coach Rick Sofield (41) greets center fielder Andrew McCutchen (22) after McCutchen hit a solo home run against the Cincinnati Reds during the fourth inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports /

Hitters

OF – Andrew McCutchen ($4,600) – With only 3 games on the slate and elite starting pitchers on the mound, I will look to spend up, especially in the OF, starting with McCutchen in a matchup against St. Louis and Adam Wainwright. One of the best ways to attack MLB DFS is to look at Batter versus Pitcher stats and that’s where McCutchen stands out for me today. In his career against Wainwright, Cutch is 13/43(.302 avg) with 1 HR. I have no issue spending up today on the Pirates slugger.
2B – Josh Harrison ($2,500)/ C – John Jaso ($2,500)– One of the most consistently profitable strategies in MLB DFS is to stack lineups. The concept is simple, targeting a group of hitters on the same team so you can double/triple up on the same play. For example, if Curtis Granderson gets a single and David Wright hits a homerun the next at bat, you get the benefit of points for multiple runs on the same play.

Typically it is best to target the weakest SP, however on Opening Day with a variety of aces on the mound, it becomes tougher to find these, but the Pirates provide some interesting value options.

Harrison has great career numbers against Wainwright, with 6 hits in 13 AB’s and assuming he continues to hit atop the order, you have the ability to stack with McCutchen.

Jaso last season was one of my go to players at Catcher whenever the matchup was right. Jaso is a left handed hitter who hits RHP very well, but what sets him apart as a C is that he very often was the leadoff hitter last season for Tampa Bay. This season as the first baseman for the Pirates, the expectation is that he will continue to bat leadoff for the Pirates. Again, stacking in front of McCutchen is going to be a great way to go “all in” for an MLB GPP.

OF – Yoenis Cespedes ($3,800) and 1B – Lucas Duda ($2,600) – You didn’t think I was going to overlook the Mets did you? Going back to my intro, I want to target power hitters and stack where possible. The key power hitters in the middle of the Amazin’s lineup get one of the better matchups on the day going up against Edinson Volquez in KC. Yoenis is a dynamic talent who can single handedly win you a large GPP, and did multiple times during his insane run last season. Duda is the kind of all or nothing hitter that with FanDuel’s new scoring that I will look to target in the hopes he connects on a long ball for a cheap price. A 30 HR hitter at a bargain price, Duda feels like a high upside must value play on the opening slate.

Next: 2016 New York Mets Fantasy Preview

Best of luck on Opening Day gamer’s – Baseball is back baby!