If we learned anything together last week it’s that considering the weather is important when making our daily fantasy baseball picks for FanDuel. Last week’s lineup put us in a position to win, but the Yankees-Indians rainout hurt. Swallowing a goose egg from Robinson Cano and Brett Gardner left me just short of the money in a 10-person league. Maybe you got luckier than me and your opponents’ lineups also fell victim to the weather problems or they were just unluckier with their other picks. Either way, onward and upward. And we’ll keep the weather in mind as we choose our Thursday late games team.
(P) Tony Cingrani $4,700: Tonight, we’re going with the second-least expensive pitching option. The 23-year-old will make his first career start for the Reds after appearing in three games from the bullpen. He has a 1.80 ERA and an amazing 16.2 K/9 rate. Throwing against the hapless Miami Marlins is a good way for him to make his MLB start. Chance of rain: 20%
(C) Jarrod Saltalamacchia $3,300: The Red Sox lineup has been very good this series in Cleveland and Saltalamacchia has been coming around lately. He is hitting right-handed pitchers better than lefties this year and both of his home runs have come from the left side of the plate. That will be the situation for him tonight. Chance of rain: 20%
(1B) Mike Napoli $3,700: Napoli is another Red Sox hitter who is starting to come around. After a very slow start to the season, he has had at least one hit in each of his last six games and at least one RBI in all but one. Roll with him while he’s hot. Chance of rain: 20%
(2B) Brandon Phillips $4,700: He’s the best second baseman on the board tonight and with good reason. Over the last week, he’s hitting .350 with 2 home runs, 8 RBI, and 3 runs scored. Start him with confidence. Chance of rain: 20%
(3B) Chris Johnson $3,300: The Atlanta Braves are off to the best start in baseball and Johnson is one of the reasons why. He’s hitting .415 on the year and has 13 hits in his last 6 games. Need I say more? Chance of rain: 20%
(SS) Andrelton Simmons $3,300: It’s a tough lot for shortstops tonight. Normally I might lean toward Jimmy Rollins, but he has a tough matchup against Adam Wainwright. So, instead, we’ll go with the Braves’ shortstop. Simmons hasn’t been great this year, but we’ll take the chance he performs well like the rest of his team has been. Chance of rain: 20%
(OF) Justin Upton $5,200: He’s been the best outfielder in baseball this year and just hit his 9th home run of the season on Tuesday. With only seven games on the schedule tonight, we’ll go with the guy who has the best power in the league at the moment. Chance of rain: 20%
(OF) Jacoby Ellsbury $4,100: The Boston centerfielder has been at the top of one of the better lineups in baseball. He’s scoring almost a run a game and can also get you a stolen base or two when he gets on. Chance of rain: 20%
(OF) A.J. Pollock $2,500: The Diamondbacks’ leadoff hitter comes at a very cheap price, especially when you consider how hot he’s been lately. He’s riding a six-game hitting streak during which he’s averaged more than one extra-base hit a game. You’re not going to find a player hitting as well for a better price. Chance of rain: 20%
