OPS is a great indicator of point potential under the scoring system with walks being worth just as much as singles and the progression of points per extra base is one per. Strikeouts are pretty heavily penalized, so be diligent with those prone to strikeouts or those against a high strikeout rate pitcher. While on the pitching side, strikeouts aren't quite as overpowered as on other DFS sites, and pitchers that can keep their pitch count low and go deeper into games can be better rewarded.
Also, its worth touching on FantasyAces's two formats. Classic is your run of the mill salary cap format, but SalaryPro is an innovative new format giving those with the best ROI's the advantage. In SalaryPro, you earn bonus points for your team's payroll falling under the cap. Here's how it work's specifically:
Every $50 under the cap = +.10 Point (10 bonus points max at $5,000 under cap)* *Bonus doesn't kick in until you are at least $250 under the Salary Cap
Pitchers Scott Kazmir ($6,750) Kazmir has been great thus far, and the Athletics host the Astros, who have the highest strikeout rate in the majors. Kazmir is averaging nearly eight strikeouts per start and actually has a prior start against Houston this season where he allowed just three hits and rang up an impressive eight strikeouts through just six innings. He had some cramping in that outing, so getting past six innings and eight strikeouts looks very possible. The worst thing about this matchup is opposing southpaw Dallas Keuchel, who is sporting a 2-0 record and 0.90 ERA; the win will need to be hard earned but Kazmir's side is favored slightly.
Mat Latos ($6,050) Did you get Latos-ed in his debut start of the season? You wouldn't have been the only one. Latos has failed to surpass the fifth inning in any start this season, but both the Mets and Braves have been very tough matchups for opposing pitchers this season. This game against the Nationals is much more suitable, as the Nats' batters are hitting just .195 against Latos. It's hard to believe that the real Latos still isn't there somewhere, and he has improved with each start, allowing just two runs in both of his last two outings. He finally returns to the site of his initial destruction, but in a pitcher-friendly ballpark and against a strikeout-prone offensively poor team.
Catchers Nick Hundley ($3,800) Bats in the middle of the lineup for the Rockies at Coors Field at this price? Yes, please. Hundley has had a very good start to the season, boasting an .877 OPS behind a .333 batting average. Hundley is this cheap because of his high strikeout rate, but the last time he faced Giants starter Chris Heston he managed two hits, including a double, and a walk in three at-bats while not striking out. Hundley actually hasn't had a strikeout in his past three starts either, so it's worth overlooking that stat for the upside Hundley posses. In addition, he has four hits, including both a triple and a home run, in his last seven at-bats, so Hundley comes in hot.
Buster Posey ($5,250) The price isn't great, but considering you're getting Posey at catcher at Coors Field against an inexperienced pitcher sporting a 1.63 WHIP (which has been in pitcher-friendly parks and against poor offensive teams), Posey is poised for good things.
Corner Infielders Josh Donaldson ($5,650) Donaldson is hot, hot, hot, posting a 1.381 OPS over the last seven days and now gets Drew Smyly making his first start of the year. Donaldson has owned Smyly in six career at-bats, posting a 2.214 OPS. He has been on-or-off this season, hitting double-digit FPTs in four of his last ten games while also going negative points in three others. It's hard to overlook his past six games when he has four home runs, three doubles, seven RBI and seven runs scored, even if he went 0-for-4 in two of those starts.
Anthony Rizzo ($5,500) Rizzo has a 1.049 OPS in his career against Mike Leake and gets the friendly batting confines of Great American Ballpark. He typically bats third against righties and should be in the perfect place to produce some very real offense Friday night.
Adrian Gonzalez ($5,800) Gonzalez has a league-best 1.339 OPS this season, hit a home run Thursday, and has four career home runs against Friday opposing pitcher Andrew Cashner. The unfriendly confines of Petco Park are the lone detraction.
Brandon Belt ($4,300) The Giants travel to Coors Field and their entire team gets a bump because of it. Belt gets a nice lefty vs. righty matchup and comes into the game on a four-game hitting streak. If Belt is going to get on the board with his first home run, this is the spot. His price is low enough to make him well worth a look and it doesn't seem to have factored in any kind of Coors bump.
Jimmy Paredes ($4,250) Paredes has been slotted second in the order for Baltimore on consecutive nights. He's a utility man with a 1.088 OPS against righties so far this season. It's unfortunate he's listed at third, making him qualify as a corner rather than outfield or middle infield, but his price, success, and spot in the order make him a good target.
Chris Davis ($4,550): Davis is super risky after going 0-for-4 with four strikeouts Thursday. However, he has had a lot of success against Boston and has three career home runs against opposing righty Rick Porcello. He's very much bang or bust.
Middle Infielders Asdrubal Cabrera ($4,500) The Tampa Bay offense has been stagnant but Cabrera is hitting a respectable 271 against righties. More importantly, he has an impressive 1.462 OPS and two home runs in 11 at-bats against R.A. Dickey, striking out just once. Cabrera seems to finally be putting his abysmal start to the season behind him, as he's reached base successfully twice in both of his last two starts. This is a very good price for a player with Cabrera's upside.
Alberto Callaspo ($4,050) Callaspo is desirable because of his spot in the order (second) and his 1.101 OPS against Friday starter Aaron Harang. Callaspo has been cold against lefties, but has a great .314 battering average against righties this season and will look to get on base for the hot bats behind him to bring him around. This is a very good price for a player batting second in the order, but Callaspo has some peripheral stats that add to the appeal.
Joe Panik ($4,100) Panik bats second against right-handed pitching in what is a very left-hander heavy lineup. This is a great price for Panik, and the Giants are extremely stackable playing at Coors Field. Panik is hitting a very solid .306 this season against righties.
Outfielders Norichika Aoki ($4,650) Aoki has a solid .826 OPS against righties this season. Batting leadoff at Coors Field is a good place to be in a very stackable Giants lineup Friday.
Angel Pagan ($4,750) Beginning to sound like a bit of a broken record here, but Pagan bats third in the stackable Giants lineup, and he' begun the season well with a .318 batting average.
Chris Coghlan ($4,500) Coghlan is a ridiculous 8-for-8 with four extra base hits in his career against Mike Leake; need I say more?
Adam Jones ($5,350) Jones is just so consistently good to ever overlook his fantastic 1.233 OPS so far this season.
Jon Jay ($4,000) Jay's price and his 1.486 OPS against Friday starter Matt Garza make him a very intriguing venture.
Lorenzo Cain ($4,900) Cain is off to a hot start, sporting a 1.034 OPS and gets a favorable matchup against struggling lefty Jose Quintana. His price is well below the other hitters in his range of OPS.
Designated Hitter FantasyAces lists DHs as just that, and the only way to incorporate them into your lineup is through the utility spot.
The author(s) of this article may play in daily fantasy contests including – but not limited to – games that they have provided recommendations or advice on in this article. In the course of playing in these games using their personal accounts, it's possible that they will use players in their lineups or other strategies that differ from the recommendations they have provided above. The recommendations in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of RotoWire. Alex Spalding plays in daily fantasy contests using the following accounts: FanDuel: ajump08, DraftKings: ajump08.
Join Our Subscriber-Only MLB Chat
Chat with our writers and other RotoWire MLB fans for all the pre-game info and in-game banter.
Alex splits his expertise between College Basketball, NBA, NFL, MLB, and Saturday morning BPL. You'll find him under the username ajump08 on DraftKings and FanDuel.
