Outfield – High-End Spend
Early Slate
Starling Marte, $3,700
.100/.100/.100 with 0 HR in 10 at-bats
You may have picked up on a theme here but one of the best ways to score points with batters is with stolen bases. Not many other outfielders on the early slate carry that upside like Marte does. He also smashed right-handed pitching in his suspension shortened 2017 season. He’s hitting lower in the lineup than some expected. The good part is he hits right next to Corey Dickerson, so linking those two could pay off.
In Consideration – Kyle Schwarber, $3,700 and Nick Castellanos, $3,500
Main Slate
Mike Trout, $4,800
.370/.433/.704 with 2 HR in 27 at-bats
It’s Opening Day of the baseball season, who doesn’t want to play the best player in the game? Trout can do it all and can be the difference between making money or not just on his own. He’s also in a great matchup despite being on the road. Trout has killed starter Kendall Graveman in his career. He’s got a high price tag but he could easily pay off.
In Consideration – Mookie Betts, $4,200 and Giancarlo Stanton, $4,600
Mid-Range
Early Slate
Tommy Pham, $2,900
.500/.500/.500 with 0 HR in 4 at-bats
Pham should come in a pretty low ownership spot since not many players will target offensive players against Noah Syndergaard. Pham is a solid all-around player that can rack up points in plenty of ways. It’s not wise to go crazy with Cardinals but on a small slate, some risk can’t be avoided. It’s best to target a player like Pham that has multiple ways to points. Hopefully he’s figured out his swing issues during the spring.
In Consideration – Corey Dickerson, $2,600 and Yoenis Cespedes, $3,200
Main Slate
Byron Buxton, $3,100
.000/.000/.000 in 0 HR in 5 at-bats
The Twins outfielder appeared to come into his own during the second half of the 2017 campaign. He’s realizing his promise of a five-tool player and can hit the ball out of the park and steal bases. If his second half surge was real, he won’t be at this price tag for long. It’s worth it to find out before he’s near the $4,000 range, especially in Camden Yards versus pitcher Kevin Gausman.
In Consideration – Andrew Benintendi, $3,100 and Khris Davis, $3,100
Value
Early Slate
Adam Frazier, $2,000
No at-bats versus Jordan Zimmerman
We’ll keep driving the point home with another Pirates player as a possibility and he is bare-minimum on FanDuel, which makes him very appealing. Frazier showed an ability to hit at a pretty decent clip even though he was worse against righties in 2017. When a minimum priced player gets a crack at a tomato can like Zimmerman, he demands attention.
In Consideration – Cameron Maybin, $2,200 and Lewis Brinson, $2,100
Main Slate
Kole Calhoun, $2,500
.194/.242/.323 with 1 HR in 31 at-bats
It’s not quite clear where Calhoun will land in the batting order but he should still have a crack at being in front of Mike Trout. If that’s the case , he’s certainly in play. If he gets on base once or twice he could score at least a run and has some pop. There’s potential here at a very cheap price.
In Consideration – Randal Grichuk, $2,400 and Stephen Piscotty, $2,100