The wait is finally over as Opening Day is upon us.
That also means the wait is over for Daily Fantasy Baseball players.
With that in mind, let’s scratch that itch and give you my top plays around the league with a focus on the Pirates and Cardinals matchup.
With only a three-game slate, there aren’t going to be many value plays around and with prices pretty low on Opening Day not many should be needed.
Here’s a look at my top plays for April 3.
Biggest Favorite- Pirates (-116)
Highest Total- Mets at Royals; Tampa Bay at Toronto (7)
Pirates to play:
Francisco Liriano ($9300)- Liriano is a much better pitcher at PNC Park, holding opposing hitters to a .238 average and a 10.6 K/9. He finished 2015 with a 3.16 xFIP and is the top favorite on the short slate. Liriano is coming off his best season of his career and is facing a St.Louis lineup that doesn’t have top notch power. The strikeout potential could play big here.
Josh Harrison ($3,300)- I’m usually not a big Harrison guy, but while most Piartes have struggled in their careers vs. Adam Wainwright, Harrison enters 10-for-24 lifetime against the Cardinals ace.
Jordy Mercer ($2,700)- If you are looking to save some money, Mercer could be a sneaky play. He’s 8-for-28 lifetime against Wainwright with four extra-base hits and a homer.
Cardinals to Play:
Adam Wainwright ($8,700)- I usually avoid pitchers facing each other, but Wainwright is also a great Sunday play. In his last full season of 2014, he had a .277 wOBA against righties and a .243 wOBA against lefties. A 46.5 percent groundball rate also sticks out. He is a risk coming off an injury, but he is in a good pitcher’s park and facing a Pirates lineup that he has typically dominated.
Randall Grichuk ($3,300)- Grichuk owned a .348 wOBA with an ISO of .257 against southpaws a year ago. At that price he is going to be in most of my lineups.
Pitcher to build lineup around- Wainwright. I love the price. I mentioned before it could be a risk, but he slightly edges out Liriano as my top pitcher.
Hitter to build lineup around- Yoenis Cespedes ($4,600). Cespedes hit 27 of his 35 home runs against RHP last season and is facing Edison Volquez. He has the best matchup of any hitter on the short slate.
Top Value Play- Grichuk- With prices down there isn’t a need for many cheap guys, but Grichuk is a steal at the price.
Catcher- Travis D’Arnaud ($3,600): There will be a lot of Mets among my plays today against Volquez. He battled injury last year but had an OPS over .800. It’s just a case of getting as many Mets that bat in the middle of the order against the weakest arm of the day. Also Consider- Salvador Perez.
First Base- Lucas Duda ($4,200): Duda is a must play on FanDuel. Duda has a career .846 OPS vs. RHP. Also Consider- Logan Morrison.
Second Base- Harrison- I like his numbers vs. Wainwright. Also Consider- Neil Walker.
Third Base- Josh Donaldson ($4,300): Tough matchup against Chris Archer, but anytime you can get Donaldson in your lineup it is worth it. Archer can walk batters and Donaldson should bat second in the Toronto lineup so he will get plenty of plate appearances.
Shortstop- Alcides Escobar ($3,600): It is slim pickings at shortstop, but if Escobar is leading off I like him at the price. That’s only if he is leading off though. Also Consider- Mercer.
Outfield- Cespedes, Grichuk, Jose Bautista ($4,300): I have already talked about Cespedes and Grichuk, but by saving money with some of the other plays, you will be able to roster Joey Bats. It just takes one swing to reap the benefits. Also consider- Curtis Granderson.
Photo Credit- Getty Images
