MLB Cash Game Picks : 5-21-15

Cash Game Locks: MLB Daily Fantasy Baseball

Cash games typically reward high floor rosters. You don't need to score 60 points on FanDuel or 160 on DraftKings to win money. Instead you should aim for a nice base of around 40 and 120 points respectively. Our MLB Cash Game Picks will highlight the top pick and a value pick at each position for both platforms.

Pitcher

Unfortunately the night slate doesn't have the benefit of David Price, or Clayton Kershaw pitching. Clay Buchholz takes on one of the weaker offenses tonight in the majors, Texas only carries an 80 wRC+ against right-handed pitching. They also have a 21% strikeout rate, which goes great with Buchholz' strikeout upside. He has a better strikeout rate than Matt Harvey and Felix Hernandez right now. There is risk for Buchholz, but there is risk with any starter you throw in tonight. Red Sox are a heavy favorite, more than any other team tonight.

Danny Salazar takes on the White Sox tonight, who don't have an offense that scares me away from pitching. Having the game in U.S. Cellular makes me a little uneasy, do to him allowing quite a few long balls this season. The strikeout upside he has makes him a cash game play, even if he allows 3-4 earned runs, a win and some strikeouts will balance everything out. I don't see many pitchers outperforming an average Salazar performance tonight, and if he has everything working you are in for a monster line. White Sox are around the league average in offense, and after the first few hitters, Salazar should coast through 5-9 in the lineup.

Catcher

Stephen Vogt is the only catcher I am considering tonight, he is hitting .319, with eight home runs off right-handed pitching. His price on DraftKings is a gift, while the lack of high priced pitching makes it easy to fit him in on FanDuel. Not a huge sample size for Colome at the big league level, but has allowed a 28% line-drive rate, with a low ground-ball rate. He is the top hitting catcher on the board tonight.

First Base

Matt Shoemaker has been serving up the long ball quite a bit this season. He has a 5.04 FIP against right-handed bats, and has allowed 2.68 HR/9 as well. Rogers Centre is not the place to have a 49% fly-ball rate. Edwin Encarnacion's low average is a little discouraging for cash games, but almost every first basemen is in the same boat. I am looking to take advantage of that .267 ISO against right-handed pitching, and match it with Shoemaker's fly-ball rate.

I was originally slotting Albert Pujols tonight, but he left the game after being hit in the wrist. Mike Napoli will step up tonight, as the first of my Red Sox trio, against the lefty Wandy Rodriguez. Not stellar numbers by any means this season, but Napoli is a guy who can breakout against weaker pitchers. Rodriguez has had an up and down career, but has a 4.21 FIP against right-handed bats.

Second Base

Last three seasons Dustin Pedroia has had excellent numbers against left-handed pitching. Boston has had poor results against lefties this season, but being back at Fenway should up those results. Last three seasons, per StatCorner, Fenway had a 107 park factor for right-handed home runs, as well as a 111 for runs. Despite the lack of success, there are just a few real offensive games to exploit.

Shortstop

On DraftKings I am using Hanley Ramirez at shortstop, FanDuel users don't have that luxury. Marcus Semien has been one of the A's better hitters this season, with a .363 wOBA against right-handed pitching. He also has six home runs off right-handed pitching, along with seven stolen bases. He has a .228 ISO, which is impressive for a middle infielder, and playing half your games in Oakland.

Third Base

This game has the highest run total going by Vegas, and I will trust it. Shoemaker is a fly-ball pitcher, as noted above, and Josh Donaldson is thriving at the Rogers Centre. He is hitting over .400 with a .338 ISO. Steady numbers against right-handed pitching this season, hitting .278 with a .206 ISO. Over the last three seasons, Rogers Centre holds a 116 park factor for right-handed home runs.

I did not think Kris Bryant would be a cash game pick this quick. His numbers above is what he has brought to the Cubs this season. He is hitting .302 off right-handed pitching this season, and bring a solid 152 wRC+. Right-handed bats are hitting over .300 off Despaigne this season, and he has already allowed four home runs in just 17 innings pitched to righties.

Outfield

Your high priced outfielders are all in play tonight, Michael Brantley, Mike Trout, etc. Hanley Ramirez is among some of the top lefty mashers in baseball. He is back at Fenway, and on that last road trip he missed a few balls that would of been home runs in Boston. He is hitting .343 with four home runs off lefties this season, so no fault is going his way when discussing the Sox' offense.

Josh Reddick has cooled off some since that hot start, but his cooling off is still better than average. He only has a 9.8% strikeout rate against right-handed pitching this season, which is what you want from cash game players. He has a .283 ISO against righties, and a .198 wRC+. I like the matchup against Colome, who has not shown that he can get lefties out in his early career.

R.A. Dickey's knuckleball has not been at its best this year. The Angels bats have home run potential, although there are only two I trust, Trout and Kole Calhoun. Dickey has a 6.47 FIP against lefties this season, and has allowed two home runs in four of eight starts this season. With Calhoun moving to cleanup, he has a better chance of driving in runs, although he will likely hit third if Pujols is out.