Daily fantasy sports picks for Sunday’s MLB games and beyond appear below.
Sunday May 17
Series: Rays vs. Twins
PITCHING MATCHUP: Rays RH Chris Archer (3-4, 2.59 ERA) vs. Twins RH Kyle Gibson (3-2, 2.70)
Archer is a crazy 3-0 with a 0.49 ERA all-time against the Twins.
Tori Hunter has had success against Archer, going 3-for-7 with a double and RBI.
Trevor Plouffe has at least one hit in seven of his last ten appearances and is 3-for-7 against Archer. We can see him getting at least one hit in this game but priced at $2700 he’s a bit steep for our liking.
Chris Archer is priced at $8900 and should be considered amongst your pitchers based on past performance against the Twins and the current day’s roster. There is nothing that stands out to us suggesting this game will be any different.
Gibson, on the other hand, is 3-0 at home this season but was 0-2 with a 12.54 ERA in two games versus Tampa Bay last year.
All but Asdrubal Cabrera have hit off of Gibson. Two on the roster have at least 7 at bats against him, including James Loney who has come alive over his last four outings.
Evan Longoria is 3-for-7 against Gibson with two RBIs.
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.
Series: Braves vs. Marlins
Marlins stud Giancarlo Stanton has gone 3-for-9 against Shelby Miller with two homers and three RBIs. Dee Gordon, currently with a .425 ERA, has also hit well against Miller (going 4-for-12 at bats).
Miller has only allowed a single run and seven hits in two starts versus Miami earlier this season and we don’t see that trend changing much here.
Only one of seven games he has started in this season has gone OVER the current total of 7.
Atlanta is a weak hitting team and not expected to score many runs against Henderson Alvarez, who has held all but Chris Johnson below .334 among those with 3 at bats or more. Fortunately for Johnson, Alvarez is on the DL.
Freddie Freeman deserves some consideration today from daily fantasy players, having gone 6-for-18 vs. Alvarez with 5 RBIs and 3 extra bases.
Also consider:
Curtis Granderson – Willy Peralta has gotten obliterated by Granderson (4-for-5 at bats with a homer).
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.
While none of today’s Orioles starters have gone over 8 at bats vs. Garett Richards, Adam Jones has hit 3-for-8 with a homer and is likely to get on the board today based on his recent performance.
– Vito Conti, DFS911.com