DFS911.com has your daily fantasy sports picks and previews for Saturday May 16 and beyond.
Saturday May 16
Adrian Beltre – He should really be considered for your roster today having hit 9-for-25 against Bruce Chen with three homers.
Curtis Granderson is 8-for-17 with with 5 RBIs against Kyle Lohse. He just hit 2-for-5 in his Thursday game against the Cubs. He’s hit in 7 of his last 10.
Nelson Cruz is 5-for-12 against Clay Buchholz with 3 RBIs. Cruz has hit in 9 of his last 10 games. He’s priced at $5000 and is still considered one of the biggest steals in fantasy drafts. But can he continue this type of momentum. Against Buccholz we anticipate seeing further damage.
Sunday May 17
Series: White Sox vs. Athletics
Chicago’s Jeff Samardzija faces off against Oakland’s Scott Kazmir.
Kazmir has allowed .318 hitting when facing this current White Sox roster. They are 28-for-88 against him with 11 extra bases secured.
Emilio Bonifacio has started to come alive in recent games though he is currently sporting well under a .300 ERA. He’s gone 4-for-8 against Kazmir and is priced at just $2200 so there is definitely some value to be had today.
Melky Cabrera is hitting over .350 against Kazmir and averaging .241 recently. He’s priced at $2500 and is doable today but has not been gangbusters of late either. He does have two extra bases in hitting against Kazmir.
Alexei Ramirez is your man today though priced at just $2500. He’s hit in all eight of his last games as of Friday and is 6-for-9 against Kazmir with four RBIs and a homer.
Samardzija, returning from a five-game suspension, allowed seven runs (five earned) on eight hits in six innings of a no-decision against the Brewers on Monday.
He’s allowed at least 6 hits in all seven of his starts this season.
For those looking to bet this game, check out our sister site Gambling911.com to find out if the OVER is viable this day. Oakland relievers have a tendency to give up between 1 and 2 additional runs. Kazmir the other night pitched 6 innings and allowed just two runs. Then the A’s relievers helped Boston to score another three. All but one of Kazmir’s last 7 starts have resulted in nine runs or more. In fact, over his last five games, Oakland relievers tacked on at least two additional runs after Kazmir departed.
Four of the last seven games Samardzija has started have ended with scores totaling nine or more.
Also consider:
Starlin Castro, who has hit in three of his last four games, has gone 15-for-32 against Bennett with 4 RBIs.
Migueal Montero continues to occupy the primary role behind the plate for Chicago. He is 4-for-7 vs. Bennett.
Jake Arrieta – Prior to an outstanding performance against the Mets his last start, Arrieta allowed a combined eight runs in his two previous starts.
Arrieta only allowed a single run against Pittsburgh his last time facing them earlier in the season.
He has had great success against this current roster, allowing just 12 hits on 61 at bats. The relievers have held their own when Arrieta has started this season.
Arrieta may deserve a look but you’ll need to start him being that he’s priced around $9500.
– Vito Conti, DFS911.com