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FanDuel daily picks: Fantasy baseball lineup – April 2, 2018

By Adam Strangis

PHOENIX, AZ - OCTOBER 09: Paul Goldschmidt
PHOENIX, AZ - OCTOBER 09: Paul Goldschmidt /
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NEW YORK, NY – MARCH 29: Matt Carpenter #13 of the St. Louis Cardinals follows through on his hit in the New York Mets home opening day game of the 2018 MLB baseball season on March 29, 2018 at CitiField in the Queens borough of New York City. Mets won 9-4. (Photo by Paul Bereswill/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Matt Carpenter
NEW YORK, NY – MARCH 29: Matt Carpenter #13 of the St. Louis Cardinals follows through on his hit in the New York Mets home opening day game of the 2018 MLB baseball season on March 29, 2018 at CitiField in the Queens borough of New York City. Mets won 9-4. (Photo by Paul Bereswill/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Matt Carpenter /

Third Base, High End Spend

Early Slate

Travis Shaw, $3,700

0 at-bats vs. Miles Mikolas

For how well Travis Shaw hit on the road in 2017, it would be stunning if he continued to hit poorly in Miller Park. He faces a righty in a top eight park and is clearly one of the top options on the slate at his position. Shaw is off to a hot start at the dish, hitting over .350 in the first weekend of the season.

Main Slate

Nolan Arenado, $4,500

0 at-bats vs. Bryan Mitchell

It’s not the direction I’ll go, but Arenado could always have a big game. There are factors that point to him not, like his road splits and the fact the Mitchell has a good roundball rate. Still, it’s Nolan Arenado. He’s basically matchup proof. There’s just more important spends in my eyes.

Mid-Range

Early Slate

Matt Carpenter, $3,200

.444/.474/1.000 with 2 HRs in 18 at-bats

As attractive as the Yankees game is, there’s a big argument to be made that players could stack the bats from Milwaukee and St. Louis for bigger results. Carpenter is at a good price point, in a good park and has an awesome track record against starter Zach Davies. A bat like Carpenter typically has a little safer floor than others because he’s a good on-base guy. Davies has a low career strikeout rate and gives up fly balls about 29 percent of the time. That’s not a good mix given where he pitches.

Main Slate

Anthony Rendon, $3,500

1.000/1.000/2.000 with 0 HR in 1 at-bat

Sun Trust Park is a good hitters park and that’s especially true for right handed hitters. Rendon is better against lefties and he gets Sean Newcomb tonight. While the young pitcher has plenty of talent, he also had a 33 percent fly ball ratio in 2017. That’s not a good matchup for an experienced hitter like Rendon. The Nationals third baseman could make it two days in a row with a home run and it’s always nice to have Bryce Harper as protection.

Value

Early Slate,

Miguel Andujar, $2,100

N/A

There’s really not a ton of meaningful analysis since he has under 10 at-bats at the major league level. He’s a highly regarded prospect and comes in at almost bare minimum. If you’re looking to stack Stanton, Judge, and Sanchez, this could be a key component to make that happen.

Main Slate

Maikel Franco, $2,600

.375/.375/1.125 with 2 HRs in 8 at-bats

I’d be lying if I said I was very interested in paying down at third base tonight. However, a little batter vs. pitcher special could point you towards Franco against divisional foe Matt Harvey. Franco has hit a homer in 25 percent of his at-bats and even though it’s a small sample size, Harvey doesn’t scare anyone either.