Daily Dime: With April over, go back to Adam LaRoche
It’s time for a glorious Sunday of baseball, all 30 teams ready to rock. Be sure to double-check the weather and lineups before first pitch commences.
Players to Buy
Adam LaRoche, 1B, at MIN (Pelfrey), $2600: Generally I throw seasonal player trends into the trash, but LaRoche has an extended profile that tells us he won’t hit much in April. His career OPS is a mere 713 for the opening month, then it jumps to .801 in May (and, to be fair, .860 after the break). If you want a buy-low, LaRoche certainly fits the bill. And when you see Mike Pelfrey on the opposing mound, you want to load up on left handers.
(There is one pesky thing about the White Sox offense – you can’t stack Jose Abreu and LaRoche together in Fan Duel since they’re both first base qualifiers. Ah well, so it goes. It’s only a matter of time before he gets comfortable in his new city and role.)
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Jose Altuve, 2B, vs. SEA (Happ), $4700: The Astros keep winning and Altuve keeps rolling along; he’s posted an absurd .488-10-2-11-4 line over his last nine starts. Altuve is a stud against any kind of pitching, but you get his best against left-handers (.357/.397/.494). Even at this price, he’s hard to look away from.
Brian Dozier, 2B, vs CHW (Danks), $3200: His career OPS jumps by almost 200 points when he’s facing a lefty, and this isn’t just any southpaw, it’s “hit me” John Danks. Dozier took a collar in Saturday’s game, but he’s been plenty productive of late, collecting 10 runs and seven RBIs over his last 10 starts, with a homer and two steals. If you want another platoon option to consider in the Twin Cities, Trevor Plouffe only costs $2400.
Stephen Vogt, C, at TEX (Gallardo), $3100: He should be fresh for Sunday after a partial day off Saturday, and he normally slots third in the high-octane Athletics lineup (second in runs). And as we’ll discuss in the next note, he’s up against a pitcher you want to attack.
Josh Reddick, OF, at TEX (Gallardo), $3600: He’s averaging around five FD points per game over his last ten starts, and Yovani Gallardo hasn’t had an answer for left-handed bats this year (.280/.345/.520). Tap that keg in Arlington.
Joc Pederson, OF, vs. ARI (Anderson), $3800: The price keeps creeping up but we’ll follow the Pederson wave wherever it leads us. He’s homered in three straight games since moving to the leadoff spot. If you want to ride with some other lefties in the L.A. lineup, catch this: the Dodgers don’t face a left-handed starter until May 8 (and by then, they’ll be in Coors Field). Pull up a chair and listen to Vin Scully call all those home runs.
Michael Wacha, SP, vs. PIT (Worley), $8300: While chase-the-ace is a strategy a lot of daily gamers go for, I like paying for a secondary ace and using the extra cash on my offense (see Lance Lynn from Friday, as opposed to the Harvey-Scherzer outlay). Obviously any strategy can work if you pick the right players. The Pirates offense has become a good draw during the opening month of the season; Pittsburgh is last in walk rate, fourth in strikeout rate, 20th in homers and 23rd in runs.
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Kyle Seager, 3B, at HOU (Hernandez), $2900: Although Houston’s park isn’t really an offensive bonanza (it’s a mild help to scoring), it does boost power nicely (lefties get an eight percent float). Seager’s price has dipped into the bargain bin, and he’s drawing one of Houston’s weakest starters. Sounds good to me.
Players to Fade
Anibal Sanchez, SP, at KC (Guthrie), $8400: He’s been sharp in his last two turns and draws an ordinary opposing starter, but I don’t like taking on the surging Royals lineup, filled with all those lefty swingers (KC has a .310/.361/.454 slash against righties, with the second-highest wOBA in the league).
Danny Santana, SS, vs. CHW (Danks), $2700: On a full slate, I refuse to take any players who are mired in poor lineup slots. Santana is batting ninth again Sunday. When he comes to the top of the order again, we’ll reevaluate.
For more baseball thoughts during the day, seasonal and DFS, follow Scott Pianowski on Twitter.
