MLB Picks and Pivots – FanDuel Picks for April 9
Welcome to the Saturday 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!
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Today’s games kick off at 1:07PM EST with 6 early games and the main slate kicking off at 7:05PM EST with an additional 8 games. Now on to the picks…
Next: Top Starting Pitchers
Starting Pitcher
- Carlos Martinez ($9,000) – The Saturday slate is loaded with aces and I have no issue paying up for Clayton Kershaw, Chris Sale or Madison Bumgarner but with games in Toronto and Coors, one way to differentiate your lineup may be to slide down from the top starters on the slate especially with Kershaw and MadBum going up against eachother. I expect Carlos Martinez will be wildly overlooked, but with a matchup against Atlanta, the Cardinals righty should be in a good spot to pick up a win. Martinez had a strong spring and has the upside to deliver a strong performance if you are looking to fade the top arms on the slate.
- Cole Hamels ($10,500) – Just below the top 3 is Hamels as he takes on the Angels in LA. Although the Angels have Trout and Pujols, the rest of their lineup is beatable and last season in Hamels only matchup against LAA went 9 IP, gave up 2 runs and struck out 8 in a win. I expect people will chose to pay all the way up for one of the big 3, giving us the chance to pivot in large field tournaments to another ace in Cole Hamels.
Next: Top Hitters
Hitters
- Derek Norris ($3,000) – Honestly, I could write up the entire SD-COL matchup as it has an O/U of 10 runs which will be one of the highest totals on the board. With so many high end SP’s, it will be tough to fit in the big bats in this game but one player I will use to get exposure to this one is Catcher Derek Norris. Norris mashes LHP and is 6 for 10 against Rockies starter Jorge De La Rosa in his career. In the same game, if you can afford Matt Kemp ($4,000), he is 22 for 48 (yes you read that right) in his career against De La Rosa with 5 home runs. You will not get much better BvP stats than that so lock in Kemp on Saturday night!
- Miguel Cabrera ($4,300) – The Yankees send CC Sabathia to the hill Saturday afternoon and that should be great news for Miggy who is 10 for 32 in his career against the Yankees southpaw. CC unfortunately is a shell of his former self and I expect the Tigers right handed bats to jump all over him. On the other side of this matchup is Mike Pelfrey who is always one of my favorite targets as he can implode at any time and the Yankess have a lineup stacked with left handed bats. Brian McCann ($3,300) is 19 for 42 against Big Pelf in his career and since he had he day off Friday, we can feel safe locking the Yankee catcher into our early lineups.
- Michael Conforto ($2,400) – I am going to be all over Conforto at this price and especially against the RHP until further notice. Conforto put up 24 FanDuel points on Friday with a 3 RBI performance and with David Wright expected to rest Saturday, we should see Conforto move up in the lineup. The one caveat here – it is supposed to snow in NY on Saturday – yes, snow – so keep an eye on the weather as we approach game time!
Next: FanDuel Economics For April 9?
Make sure to review the lineups as they are announced before locking in your lineups! Have a great day gamers!