Live Longshots (Pitchers)
Sadly, there isn’t a superb bargain pick like Burgos every day. Wily Peralta ($9,144) has good stuff but there’s risk against the Cardinals bats in Milwaukee’s hitter’s park.
Closers are the best longshots today. Jonathan Papelbon ($2,097) is an above-average play as we fully expect the Phillies to beat Miami. If you like my Santana pick, Greg Holland ($2,274) is the logical handcuff selection. The Nationals are hurting, their bats are ice-cold and starter Dan Haren ($12,242) hasn’t been great, so the Braves should win. If it’s within three runs, Craig Kimbrel ($2,934) will probably pick up his tenth save.
The main reason to like Rick Porcello ($7,644) is that he could get enormous run support. He did (finally) turn in a quality start last time but the downside is inconsistency; on April 20 he had a remarkable -9.4 score.
Toronto sports fans are gloomy this morning as both their baseball and hockey teams got crushed by Boston last night. Lefty J.A. Happ ($10,913) will try to turn things around, but will need his offense to perform much better tonight against Ryan Dempster ($14,353) to have any real chance at a win.
Recommendations (Hitters)
Today we have a full batting order from Rob. An interesting mix of premium hitters and live longshots, it costs $63,149 which leaves enough for three SP.
1B: Mike Napoli ($7,796) is a hot hitter, facing another lefty. This price is way too low.
2B: Darwin Barney ($5,209) is a good cheap option against Eric Stults. The only negative is batting near the bottom of the order.
3B: Conor Gillaspie ($4,893) looks like a quality youngster and has the platoon edge against a rookie.
C: David Ross ($5,308) is another hot hitter looking to take advantage of poor pitching by the Jays, though Jared Saltalamacchia ($4,798) might get the start. Either way, good value.
OF: Melky Cabrera ($4,578) is the one cold bat I am including. Very low price, prefers to hit RHP and his line-drive stroke is fairly slump-proof.
OF: Dave Sappelt ($4,975) plays primarily against lefties. Bench players are often a good bet in spot starts, especially when they bat leadoff.
OF: Adam Jones ($10,480) likes righty pitchers and Joe Blanton doesn’t overpower a lineup. The rest of Orioles are hitting well, so Jones should have plenty of chances. Chris Davis ($10,260) is also worth considering.
SS: Starlin Castro ($7,627) is only a fair price, but with a dearth of good SS plays and facing the young lefty, he is the best choice. Other bargains leave us plenty of cap room.
U: Prince Fielder ($12,283) and all the Tigers should enjoy hitting against Astros callup Jordan Lyles. I believe that they will pitch around Miguel Cabrera ($13,350) and Fielder will have the bulk of the RBI opportunities.
Players to Avoid
As mentioned above, the “bargain” SP today are a motley crew. Good luck finding any value. Playing against Lyles, Stults and Blanton is part of Dudek’s strategy, so cross them off.
There are too many injured players to list. Bryce Harper and Jayson Werth are day-to-day and without them all the Nationals will find runs hard to come by. We suggest checking the Rotoworld injury page before submitting your final lineups.
Kent Williams is on Twitter @SheridanFantasy and be sure to follow Rob Dudek for updates when our morning picks change during the day.