This article is part of our The Daily Duel series.
Values
Here are some guys that are good additions to your FanDuel team who are currently out-producing their value. Keep in mind that these prices can change daily, so take advantage of them while you can.
Newbies
Elian Herrera, SS, LAD, $2200 – The Dodgers called up Herrera to take the spot of Juan Uribe, who landed on the DL with wrist soreness. Herrera was hitting .350 with two home runs and nine stolen bases in 120 at-bats for Triple-A Albuquerque before his call-up. Considering Dee Gordon's slow start at the plate, its possible Herrera could get a long look at the top of the batting order over the next week. His salary is the lowest possible, so he makes for a great fill-in when stacking your lineup with studs.
Brian Dozier, SS, MIN, $2500 – The Twins have very little in their lineup outside of the middle of the order and Dozier was called up to see if he could provide an offensive spark. He's been hot, going 7-for-16 over his last three contests. Justin Morneau is back in the lineup, which can only help, and Dozier has been hitting in the two hole.
Daniel Nava, OF, BOS, $3500 – Last week I discussed teammate Will Middlebrooks here and like him Nava has injected some life into the Red Sox offense. Since his promotion, Nova has hit safely in all six games, scored a run in each of his last five games and posted a 3:6 K:BB ratio. His high OBP could have him moving towards the top of the lineup, giving sluggers Davis Ortiz and Adrian Gonzalez the opportunity to drive him in. His price is a little lofty now but could drop once he regresses to the mean.
Players Looking To Rebound
Here are some players who have seen their value drop significantly due to poor production on the season thus far. You might be surprised at some of the names and how much their stock has fallen. That being said, for most of these players there is either a track record of success or enough pedigree that they should be able to turn their season around sooner rather than later.
Brett Lawrie, 3B, TOR, $2900 – I'm starting to think Lawrie might play with a bit of emotion, to put it lightly. While he's going to be suspended at some point for the helmet-to-ump incident, this price seems too good to be true. He still possesses the ability to hit for power and steal bases (three homers, five stolen bases so far) and is hitting a respectable .289 on the season. Maybe some time off will help him refocus at the plate and help him achieve this season's lofty preseason expectations.
Justin Morneau, 1B, MIN, $2700 – There definitely could be an adjustment period with his timing at the plate, but now that Morneau has resumed his place in the cleanup spot, he's at an excellent value. Joe Mauer is hitting in front of him and has always been an OBP monster (.391 this season), so there should be plenty of RBI opportunities. Keep in mind it's better to start Morneau on the road than at home (five home runs at home, 21 on the road since the start of 2010).
Troy Tulowitzki, SS, COL, $3300 – Considered one of the best shortstops in the game; Tulo is off to a slow start with only three home runs, one stolen base and a .269 batting average. He's currently dealing with an injury to his leg, which has him at less than 100 percent. The injury doesn't seem to be serious enough to keep him out of the lineup and it should be a matter of time before he's back at full strength. Tulowitzki should end up as one of the best fantasy shortstops by the end of this season, which means some point in the near future this price is going to be a steal.
Prince Fielder, 1B, DET, $3300 – Fielder is off to a slow start for the month of May. Entering Wednesday night, he had posted just a .774 OPS for the month. He had a rough month in May last year (.804 OPS), too, but Fielder always seems to turn things on come June. However, His OPS during the month of June is 1.059 over the last five seasons. At $3300, his price tag should be a bargain over the next few weeks.
Tip Of The Week
Check The Matchups!
This seems like it should be a given, but doing your homework on the pitcher/hitter matchups on a daily basis is a must. Checking the matchups requires going through and seeing how your potential pitcher has fared against the batters he'll be facing that day while also checking your hitters' track records against the opposing pitcher who toes the rubber. If there isn't a big sample size, check and see what type of matchup it'll be for your batter – righty vs. lefty, lefty vs. lefty, etc. For example, Mark Teixeira entered the game on May 4 with an absolutely dominating track record against Bruce Chen. Not surprisingly, Teixeira went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer and had a line drive go straight at a defender for one of his outs. If you didn't know Teixeira's track record ahead of time, there was little reason to start him on the road when compared to the other first base options. Knowing your lineup top to bottom and their chances for success is one of the keys to winning your daily matchups.
The DFBC
Every FanDuel'er knows that the $250,000 DFBC is the biggest and best competition in fantasy baseball. But do you know how amazing the live final in Vegas will be? Winners - and their guests - will be treated to:
· An amazing suite at the luxurious Palazzo Hotel
· Dinner, drinks, and the best partying Vegas has to offer with other winners and the FanDuel crew
· A huge private suite at Lagasse's Stadium to watch baseball on Sunday. Free food, free drinks, and amazing atmosphere will make this one of the best "sports Sundays" of your life.
Go to FanDuel today and start competing to earn a spot at this year's DFBC final in Las Vegas!
