Daily Dime: Stacking against Erasmo Ramirez; John Mayberry, DFS
Another day of DFS hijinks. Check some lineups, check some weather (especially in Southern California, oddly enough), build your mousetrap.
Players to Buy
Yankees Stack, at TB (Ramirez): For the last three years, Erasmo Ramirez has been Spanish for “hit me" (5.50 ERA, 1.50 WHIP) The best New York lefties aren’t giveaway prices, but I won’t quibble for anyone who wants to pay up for surging Jacoby Ellsbury, underrated Brett Gardner or comebacking Mark Teixeira (Ellsbury and Teixeira have homers off Ramirez, in just one meeting, if that matters to you). Catcher Brian McCann remains reasonably priced at $3100, and there's a case for Carlos Beltran at $2800.
Chase Whitley, SP, at TB (Ramirez), $7000: If you expect the Yanks to knock Erasmo Ramirez around, Whitley becomes a sneaky bet for those critical winner points on Fan Duel. Whitley’s been surprisingly handy in his three appearances (3.06 ERA, 1.19 WHIP), striking out 16 against just three walks. The only downside to playing Whitley: it limits your New York offensive stack to three hitters.
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John Mayberry, OF, at CHC (Wood), $2200: He’s on the New York roster essentially as the shallow platoon man, someone who gets the tap on the shoulder when a lefty hits the mound. Mayberry has a career .524 slugging percentage against the southpaws, and Travis Wood’s OPS allowed jumps by 132 points in the platoon deficit.
Shin-Soo Choo, OF, vs. KC (Guthrie), $3100: There’s still some reason for optimism here, it’s just a matter of where you look. Choo carries a .941 OPS at home, he’s on a .345/.383/.709 binge in May (with four homers), and he’s up against a non-threatening Jeremy Guthrie. Get him going in your midday Turbo.
Kendrys Morales, 1B, at TEX (Detwiler), $2700: Although Morales shows his best form as a left-handed hitter, any righty turns into a super-human when Ross Detwiler is on the mound this year (.350/.421/.660, seven homers). Morales slots fourth in a Kansas City lineup that could be a lot of fun on Thursday.
Alcides Escobar, SS, at TEX (Detwiler), $2700: He's the KC triggerman and up against one of the most mediocre left-handers in the league. Shortstop is a snake pit in 2015, so I'm fine with a value play – drop your big chips elsewhere.
Brad Miller, SS, vs. BOS (Kelly), $2300: Just when you thought you were out on Miller, he drags you back in. He’s reached base six times in his last two starts (including three doubles and a homer) and the Mariners have used him in the No. 2 slot of late. The slumping Joe Kelly is on a crooked-numbers tour, allowing 21 runs over his last four turns. Come to think of it, $3400 for Robinson Cano looks like a friendly value, too.
Tyson Ross, SP, vs. WAS (Fister), $8300: As much as I love Johnny Cueto, I’m not a “chase the ace” DFS player in most cases, so I’ll look to save $2200 by dropping down to Ross. There’s been more scoring in San Diego this year than you’d normally expect, but I’m still going to bet on Petco Park’s dimensions until it’s proven to me that it doesn’t work any longer.
Andre Ethier, OF, vs. COL (Bettis), $3100: What’s Jerome Bettis doing in the NFL Hall of Fame? His peak was nothing compared to Terrell Davis, man. What’s Chad Bettis doing in a big league rotation? He’s served up 10 home runs in 69.1 MLB innings. Any Los Angeles hitter who strikes your fancy is probably worth strong consideration, but I have a soft spot for the underrated Ethier, who has been a monster at home this year, especially against righties.
Brett Anderson, SP, vs. COL (Bettis), $6300: How many times can you dial up a -200 favorite for this cheap a price? Of course you’re giving some stuff back (Anderson is likely to be done at six innings or fewer and he’s only struck out 16 batters over 30.2 innings), but he’s certainly drawing the Rockies at the right time (11 consecutive losses).
Player to Fade
Todd Frazier, 3B, vs. SF (Linecum), $3800: He's been Hot Toddy this week with a home-run streak, but Tim Lincecum's living in the bottom of the zone these days, keeping the ball on the ground (and in the park). And if you look past Frazier's home run total this year, you're dealing with a .238 average. Without the platoon advantage, it's a less-than-ideal spot.
