Daily Dime: Picking on Alfredo Simon and Ubaldo Jimenez
As always when playing Yahoo Daily Fantasy Baseball, be sure to check the final lineups and the weather.
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My full lineup (for all games starting after 4 pm PT):
SP: Jerad Eickhoff ($36) - Eickhoff has been excellent in home games this season, producing a Quality Start in each of his five home starts to go with a 2.18 ERA and 0.97 WHIP. He'll also oppose Milwaukee starter Chase Anderson, who owns a 5.00 ERA.
SP: Matt Boyd ($25) - I'll roll the dice on the Tigers young lefty with a 2.79 ERA after two turns - the cheapest SP on this Thursday slate. He faces a Yankees offense that has struggled vs. LHP (.659 OPS is fifth-lowest in MLB). And there's some offensive support upside, too, as Detroit will face Yankees SP Michael Pineda, who has allowed the second-highest OPS (.952) among all qualified starters this season. Cheap pitching means it is time to spend lavishly on offense ...
C: Tony Wolters ($13) - Wolters has gone 6-for-13 in his past three games. And, while it's nice to see that his bat is hot of late, this is really all about Cincy RHP Alfredo Simon (9.60 ERA) coming to Coors. Note: Colorado's other backstop, Dustin Garneau, is similarly priced ($12) - obviously, play whichever one gets the nod today.
1B: Wil Myers ($11) - Myers offers nice upside for the price. He's 6-for-12 in his past three games, with a HR on Wednesday. And he's 2-for-4 in his career against Seattle LHP Wade Miley, who has allowed an .818 OPS to right-handed hitters this season.
2B: Dustin Pedroia ($18) - Pedroia is riding a nine-game hitting streak and just concluded the month of May with a .308 BA and .870 OPS. Better yet, he owns a .385 lifetime batting average (10-for-26) against Baltimore RHP Ubaldo Jimenez.
3B: Evan Longoria ($17) - Longoria is 9-for-19 (.474) in his past five games and has enjoyed success against Minnesota RHP Kyle Gibson (4-for-10, 4 RBI). And Gibson (6.10 ERA) hasn't enjoyed success against hardly anyone this season.
SS: Xander Bogaerts ($24) - The top SS in the fantasy game has a 23-game hitting streak and is 5-for-12 in his career vs. O's RHP Ubaldo Jimenez. If you have the budget, it's pretty easy to justify this purchase.
OF: Charlie Blackmon ($24) - Blackmon is another spot where I'm going to take advantage of the Alfredo Simon (Reds starter) situation. Blackmon is one of the hottest bats in MLB at the moment, hitting .341 with 4 HR, 11 RBI and 8 Runs in his past 10 games. And he's 3-for-6 with a HR in his career against Simon.
OF: Mookie Betts ($22) - When you have some cash to spend on offense, it's hard to ignore a player that has multiple hits in four straight games and five home runs in his past two contests. Add to it that he's 5-for-12 in his career against Baltimore RHP Ubaldo Jimenez.
OF: Jarrod Dyson ($10) - Dyson has a potentially tough matchup vs. Cleveland RHP Carlos Carrasco, but there is a chance for Carrasco to be a bit rusty as he's making his first start since landing on the DL with a hamstring injury. At the very least, Carrasco should be limited, pitch count wise. And, really, we just need Dyson to steal a base here to make good.
