It was a rough weekend in Braves Country, with Atlanta unceremoniously dropping an ugly series in Philadelphia. With that in mind and the Washington Nationals invading Turner Field on Monday, we will take our eyes from the local team to the world of single-day fantasy baseball.
We have joined you on two different occasions this season, with a "winner" on Opening Day and a spectacular flop on April 16, but in the end, we are "up" for the season in the world of FanDuel. SB Nation and FanDuel continually partner on one-day leagues (see link below), and you should certainly visit their site to explore and even attempt to make some money.
Obviously, you may feel free to "fade" my picks (sometimes this is the best idea), but here's a look at my "ideal" lineup for today.
Note: This lineup would be used in a "early-only" contest, beginning at 6:10 pm ET.
P - Corey Kluber ($9,800)
C - Brian McCann ($2,800)
1B - David Ortiz ($3,300)
2B - Dustin Pedroia ($2,900)
3B - Josh Donaldson ($4,200)
SS - Ian Desmond ($3,400)
OF - Gerardo Parra ($2,200)
OF - David DeJesus ($2,200)
OF - Adam Jones ($4,000)
There are a few platoon match-ups to take advantage of on Monday, and they are well represented here. The "big guns" in Donaldson, Ortiz, Jones (6-10 with 2 HR vs. Hector Noesi) and Desmond (hello, Eric Stults) all have match-ups to exploit, and while a couple of them are not platoon-based, the quality of pitching against them is noteworthy.
In the case of the cheaper options, platoons are always key. The duo of Parra (hitting third) and DeJesus (hitting lead-off) have strong lineup tendencies against right-handed pitching.In addition, old pal Brian McCann gets the benefit of facing right-hander Nate Karns in new Yankee Stadium, and that's a match-up I like a lot.
Most sites will cater to the full slate of games on Monday, given that the "early" window begins at 6:10 pm ET, but I like shortening the player pool a bit, and here we are. Regardless of whether you follow these picks, I wish you the best of luck. Make money.