The 2017 baseball season is off to a blazing start for some while it's limping along if you have had the myriad of players that have been placed on the new vaunted 10-day disabled list.
But for the daily folks who are currently enjoying another installment of the RotoWire/FanDuel Fantasy Baseball Championship, you don't have to worry about that 10-day disabled list.
The RotoWire/FanDuel Fantasy Baseball Championship tournament will run from April 5 through June 14, giving you six chances to qualify for the final round, which takes place on June 28. If you finish in the top-25 on the overall leader board, you are as good as in. Inquiring minds can learn more by clicking here.
Meanwhile, the experts will compete against each other for a separate championship with Kevin O'Brien storming out to a healthy 27-plus point lead after the first two weeks with a score of 326.40 over Scott Jenstad's 298.60 total.
You can check out the full expert leader board here, but here's the current top 10:
1 Kevin O'Brien (rotokob) - 326.40
2 Scott Jenstad (oaktownsj) - 298.60
3 Shannon McKeown (rotoshannon) - 287.00
4 Brian Pelowski (brianp) - 286.00
5 Peter Merrill (black26) - 284.20
6 Ronny Mor (ronnymor2) - 277.20
7 James Seltzer (schweppy23) - 264.30
8 Jason Brown (modano9) - 261.90
9 Herb Ilk (joecomma) - 260.10
10 Derek VanRiper (rotowiredvr) - 252.70
Strategy Tips
When it comes to DFS strategy, why not take advantage of some of RotoWire's gifts this season? Use tools like the lineup optimizer in conjunction with our daily lineups and weather reports in order to take home the gold.
If you opt to compete tonight (Wednesday, April 19), it's another big night with big pitchers where a lot of people will be on Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw and Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner.
You can have two ways to go tonight by either paying up for Kershaw with $12,900/Bumgarner for $11,100 or there are a couple of choice options where you can save a couple a thousand of dollars on the Kershaw price with Diamondbacks' Zack Greinke ($9,700) or Astros' Dallas Keuchel ($9,600). Including Greinke and Keuchel, here are some Value Picks as well as somebody to Steer Clear and High Risk/High Reward selections.
Value Picks
P Zack Greinke, Arizona Diamondbacks at San Diego Padres
FanDuel Price: $9,700
If you want to bulk up on your hitters, Greinke could easily be a lock against the Padres. San Diego is near the bottom of the MLB in team hitting with a .211 batting average and a .652 OPS. Combine that with Greinke's success at Petco Park and you have a pretty good start. In 10 starts at Petco, Greinke is 4-1 with a 1.90 ERA and a 0.93 WHIP while striking out 62 in 66.1 innings.
P Dallas Keuchel, Houston Astros versus Los Angeles Angels
FanDuel Price: $9,600
Keuchel appears to be back to Cy Young self. In three starts so far this season, he has a 0.86 ERA and a 0.62 WHIP while his punch-out numbers slightly underwhelming at 15 in 21 innings. Wins are big in FanDuel and Keuchel has been almost a lock against the Angels with nine victories in 13 games started against the Halos. In his career he has a 3.69 ERA and 1.28 WHIP against Los Angeles Angels.
CSandy Leon, Boston Red Sox at Toronto Blue Jays
FanDuel Price: $2,400
If you want to put money down on Kershaw and Bumgarner, Leon might be somebody to place at catcher. Leon hits well against lefties with a .373 batting average along with four home runs and 17 RBI against left-handed pitching in 2016.
2BCesar Hernandez, Philadelphia Phillies at New York Mets
FanDuel Price: $3,500
Hernandez has been on fire recently, going 7-for-14 in the last three games including two home runs and four RBI along with a pair of stolen bases and four runs scored. It's hard to debate that streak at $3,500.
1BJoey Votto, Cincinnati Reds versus Baltimore Orioles
FanDuel Price: $3,800
There are three higher priced players at first base in Braves Freddie Freeman ($4,500), Paul Goldschmidt ($4,300) and Tigers Miguel Cabrera ($4,000), but Votto is hot after starting out as cold as ice. After hitting only .158 in the first 10 games, Votto has recovered with a 6-for-13 clip that includes a double, two home runs and four walks in the last four games.
High Risk/High Reward
PClayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers versus Colorado Rockies
FanDuel Price: $12,900
Even with Madison Bumgarner on the schedule, Kershaw continues to be the go-to player on the daily sheet. This is only by a hair. This comes mainly with a familiar opponent like the Rockies compared to Bumgarner facing an unfamiliar Kansas City Royals squad. In most case the unfamiliarity and that is the case with Bumgarner who has only one start against the Royals who was a loss with a complete game defeat, giving up three earned runs and striking out five. In terms of Kershaw, he has a 3.17 ERA overall against Colorado, but at home he has a 1.47 ERA at home against the Rockies and is 10-2 against Colorado at Dodgers Stadium.
OFBryce Harper, Washington Nationals at Atlanta Braves
FanDuel Price: $4,700
If you can get Kershaw and Harper in one lineup, you might be golden although that would mean picking up some nifty value picks especially at catcher, shortstop and second base. Harper though is worth it at $4,700. He has been solid against the Braves starter Julio Teheran with five home runs and 12 RBI in only 31 at bats with an OPS of 1.500 and an OBP of .500.
Steer Clear
OF Yoenis Cespedes, New York Mets versus Philadelphia Phillies
FanDuel Price: $4,200
When Cespedes is hot, he's hot and when he's cold, he's cold. Cespedes is currently in that cold spell by hitting .250 in the last week with two home runs in that span, but that came in one game in Miami on April 13. Actually, he's definitely been feast or famine. With the six homers this season, five have come in two games, three against the same Phillies in homer-friendly Citizens Bank Park.