Here is my daily Fantasy Baseball lineup for August 17, 2016.
Wednesday is here along with a full slate of 15 games including some great afternoon baseball to tide us over until the evening rolls around. Here's my lineup for today.
Pitcher #1: Homer Bailey, CIN
Salary: $8,900
Analysis: I was personally a tad reluctant to take Bailey in this spot, mainly because he plays for an extremely inconsistent Reds squad who we don’t know what to expect from on a nightly basis. While Bailey did strike out 11 against the Brewers last Friday, we have to remember that Milwaukee is tops in the league in strikeout percentage, striking out in 25.1% of their at-bats this season. That doesn’t mean I’m not comfortable taking Bailey, it just means it could go either way, however on a more reassuring note it was absolutely the best he has looked since coming back from Tommy John surgery. Take a shot with Bailey against Miami on Wednesday and I think it’ll pay off.
Pitcher #2: Yordano Ventura, KC
Salary: $7,800
Analysis: It seems like the Royals finally have their heads screwed back on straight as they’re stringing some wins together in the hopes of making up some ground in the wild card race. Their next stop is the series finale in Detroit on Wednesday where KC sends Yordano Ventura to the mound. The main reason I’m taking Ventura here is because in his 3 starts against the Tigers this year, Ventura has put up a combined 58.85 fantasy points, giving me some hope that the Royals can rally behind Ventura and pull out a win, bringing Kansas City back into the wild card hunt.
Catcher: Matt Wieters, BAL
Salary: $2,800
Analysis: The Orioles play one more against the Red Sox at Camden Yards on Wednesday with major playoff implications for this point of the season as we all know that every game counts. Boston is sending David Price to the bump on Wednesday, and it’s safe to say that Boston hasn’t gotten the results out of Price that they thought they would get when signing Price to that major contract in the offseason. Price himself said that this is probably the worst season of his career to date, and I don’t see it getting any better against the O’s on Wednesday. To add to Price’s trouble, Matt Wieters is a lifetime 15-for-50 against Price for a .300 batting average with 7 for extra bases and a home run to his credit. With the way Price has struggled this season, I think Baltimore and Wieters have the potential to do some damage to Price and the Red Sox.
1st Base: Justin Smoak, TOR
Salary: $2,700
Analysis: Smoak has been a reliable option for Toronto this season, as he has been a consistent option at first base for the Blue Jays. If Edwin Encarnacion moves to DH against New York in the series finale on Wednesday against CC Sabathia, I could see Smoak getting the start at first and making an impact as well. Against Sabathia in his career, Smoak is only 4-for-17 for a .235 clip however 2 of the 4 hits have been home runs. Smoak has been seeing the ball well lately, and I think he brings in another solid performance on Wednesday making for a great value pick.
2nd Base: Jose Altuve, HOU
Salary: $5,300
Analysis: No statistical reasoning behind picking Altuve here, I’m just riding the hot hand. Altuve is straight up on fire this season, which isn’t a surprise, but to have a .365 average this late in the season is rare. Altuve is seeing everything right now and his average on the season is almost identical to his career average against Houston’s opponent on Wednesday the St. Louis Cardinals. Altuve is batting a career .364 against St. Louis, and also went 2-for-3 in last night’s game. Take Altuve until he cools off, trust me.
3rd Base: Jake Lamb, ARI
Salary: $4,300
Analysis: I’m sorry but there is no way I’m backing Jon Niese with the way he has been pitching for the Mets lately, who are in Arizona for one more on Wednesday. Instead, I’m putting Niese on auto-fade until further notice, as he has a career .312 batting average against the current Diamondbacks roster, which is where Jake Lamb comes in. Lamb has no experience against Niese, however Lamb has been one of the bright spots on this Arizona team who hasn’t had much to cheer about this season, and for the price we are looking at, it could be much, much worse.
Shortstop: Corey Seager, LAD
Salary: $5,000
Analysis: This is the highest I’ve paid for a shortstop in a while, however it doesn’t matter who the Phillies face as of late, they get rocked. I made that mistake taking Vince Velasquez yesterday, so I’m not backing the Phillies for a while. Instead I’m going the opposite direction. Corey Seager has been lighting it up in his last 10 games, batting .326 with 3 homers, a .356 OBP and a .581 slugging percentage. Against a Phillies starter in Jake Thompson who only has 2 starts this season with a combined 9 ER allowed in the two starts, things could get messy early and Seager could have another big night.
Outfielder #1: Adam Jones, BAL
Salary: $3,900
Analysis: There’s not much more to say for Adam Jones that I didn’t already cover for Matt Wieters, David Price has been a mess for Boston this season, some would call it a complete letdown. Adam Jones is another one of the guys who has had some success against Price, with a .268 average and 4 extra base hits except Jones has struck out 16 times. With the way Price is pitching however, I think Jones can avoid the K and have a strong showing here.
Outfielder #2: Kris Bryant, CHIC
Salary: $5,200
Analysis: This is just an insurance pick in the outfield. I mean Jimmy Nelson has gotten torched on the mound as of late, giving up 28 runs over his last 23 innings pitched, which doesn’t bode well against a strong Cubs lineup and Kris Bryant who has an impressive .341 average with 2 HR, a .426 on base percentage and a .610 slugging percentage. If Nelson has another slow start it could be ripe pickings for Bryant and the Cubs on Wednesday
Outfielder #3: Melky Cabrera, CWS
Salary: $3,300
Analysis: As good as Cleveland and Wednesday starter Carlos Carrasco has been, there are simply guys who just have had success against you, win or lose. One of those thorns in Carrasco’s side has been Melky Cabrera who is a lifetime 9-for-21 against Carrasco with 2 homers, 8 RBI, and only 3 strikeouts to go along with a .480 OBP and .762 slugging percentage. Take a flyer on Cabrera and the White Sox to pull off an upset on Wednesday, at least Cabrera might come through.
Salary Remaining (out of $50,000 budget): $800