Yahoo DFS Baseball: Saturday Picks

Yahoo DFS Baseball: Saturday Picks

This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Baseball series.

PITCHER

Robbie Ray, AZ at LAD ($43):The playoffs used to be about pitching, but if the first few days are any indication, this year is about hitting. With that said, there are opportunities for good performances, as not every lineup in the playoffs is stellar, including the Dodgers, who may have the weakest one remaining. Ray is coming off a relief outing in the wildcard round, which worries me a bit, but the way he's pitched this season, and especially against the Dodgers (3-0. 2.27 ERA), makes him the best pitcher on the board.

Rich Hill, LAD vs. AZ ($45): With only four pitchers on the board, our options are limited, so I'm targeting both pitchers from the LA-AZ game as I expect that one to be the lower scoring of the two. The Diamondbacks have a couple of big guns that mash lefties, but as a team they are just 20th in the league in wOBA against southpaws. They are also dramatically worse on the road against lefties (.345 wOBA at home versus .287 wOBA on the road). Hill is also coming in off two great outings when he recorded 19 strikeouts while allowing just one run over 13 innings.

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CATCHER

Willson Contreras, CHC at WAS ($16): We'll start the Cubs stack with the catcher who has been one of their best hitters this season. Contreras enters with a .386 wOBA against lefties, which is the second-highest mark on the team. Gio Gonzalez takes the mound for the Nats, and while he's had a nice season, he's still erratic from time to time and given the other options on the board, he's one of two pitchers that we'll have to target.

FIRST BASE

Ryan Zimmerman, WAS vs. CHC ($18): All four starting pitchers on this slate are left handed, which makes a lot of these decisions easy because there are plenty of guys with great wOBAs against them. As you might expect, Zimmerman is one of them, as he comes in with a .425 wOBA against them, which is 21st in the majors. You can safely ignore Zimmerman's lifetime numbers against Lester, as he only has 16 at-bats and Lester isn't the pitcher he used to be.

SECOND BASE

Javier Baez, CHC at WAS ($13): Baez is generally the forgotten man in the Cubs' lineup, as most of the attention goes to Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo, but he had a pretty productive season with 23 homers, 75 runs scored and 75 RBI. He enters with a .378 wOBA against lefties this season, which is fifth-best on the team.

THIRD BASE

Justin Turner, LAD vs. AZ ($18): In the interest of not loading this article with hitters from only the Cubs and Nats, I'll present a good option from the Dodgers. Turner was a big reason the Dodgers got off to a great start this season, and he was also a reason they went through a long slump due to his injury absence. Turner is on this list because of his .484 wOBA against lefties this season, which is fifth-best in the majors.

SHORTSTOP

Trea Turner, WAS vs. CHC ($20): Turner hasn't been great against lefties this season, but this pick has more to do with Lester than any individual splits. Turner has been outstanding this season when healthy, and sitting at the top of the order should help his production. The other issue is that the shortstop pool is really light in quality, which makes Turner look even better.

OUTFIELD

J.D. Martinez, AZ at LAD ($26): Though I'm expecting this game to be low scoring, it can't end at 0-0, so someone will have to produce. With a lefty on the mound, it's likely to be Martinez because of his .531 wOBA against lefties this season (third-best in the majors). Hill is one of the best two pitchers on this slate, but he hasn't been perfect this season.

Albert Almora Jr., CHC at WAS ($7): A day after getting shut down for much of the game, it's possible the Cubs shuffle their lineup. With a lefty on the mound, Almora would be a good option thanks to his .386 wOBA against them this year, and his salary is quite attractive.

Michael Taylor, WAS vs. CHC ($17): Taylor enters with a .356 wOBA against lefties this season, which is second on the team. If the Nats decide to mix things up after a poor hitting performance Friday by starting Howie Kendrick, he'd be a good value play.

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. Greg Vara plays in daily fantasy contests using the following accounts: FanDuel: lennykarl1, DraftKings: lennykarl1.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Greg Vara
Vara is the lead golf writer at RotoWire. He was named the FSWA Golf Writer of the Year in 2005 and 2013. He also picks college football games against the spread in his "College Capper" article.
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