Home/New York Mets News

Mets daily fantasy baseball advice for 8/25 against Phillies

By Kenny DeJohn

Aug 25, 2015

Mets daily fantasy baseball advice is a gameday feature by co-editor Kenny DeJohn. On gamedays, these posts will look into the best Mets plays for Daily Fantasy Baseball — specifically on FanDuel. At most, we’ll pick four Mets to target, and we’ll include valid reasons as to why they need to be locked into your lineups. All advanced statistics courtesy of FanGraphs.

So, Jacob deGrom was far from effective on Monday night.

His fastball didn’t have the same life Mets fans are used to, and he certainly didn’t have the best command of the pitch in his brief outing. But deGrom’s failed start was one that almost nobody could have predicted. That’s the beauty of baseball.

Still, my apologies for suggesting deGrom on this off night. Luckily, my picks for batters were spot on — even though you could have picked any Mets batter and found success last night.

Juan Lagares, Travis d’Arnaud and Wilmer Flores combined for four home runs, two doubles, 10 RBIs, five runs scored and eight total hits. Given the price tag of these three players, I’d say this was the most valuable trio of Mets you could have played last night on FanDuel.

Moving on to Tuesday, the Mets have another favorable matchup at the bandbox known as Citizens Bank Park. Jerome Williams, a right-handed pitcher with an ERA of 6.10 and WHIP of 1.67 on the season, will look to quell the Mets bats.

Spoiler alert: That probably won’t happen.

As far as Mets pitching is concerned, rookie Noah Syndergaard will take the bump. While he’s been stellar in his first year, this is not the time to play him in FanDuel. He is horrible on the road (0-5, 5.05 ERA), and there are some Phillies bats who can hit with a favorable matchup.

Not playing Syndergaard at $10,800 will give you plenty of wiggle room to play other Mets studs.

More from New York Mets News

Michael Cuddyer, 1B, $2,500

Michael Cuddyer was once without a clear spot on this Mets team, but Lucas Duda‘s injury has opened up first base for the 36-year-old. He’s done well, recording seven hits in his past four starts, including a three-hit effort (two doubles and a home run) last night.

First base isn’t traditionally a punt position, but Cuddyer’s cheap price makes him a good option against Williams, a pitch-to-contact arm. Cuddyer is also 4-for-7 with a double and three RBIs against him in his career.

Curtis Granderson, OF, $3,300

Curtis Granderson was left out of the fun last night, as manager Terry Collins chose to sit him against the left-handed Adam Morgan and get Lagares’ bat into the lineup — sidebar: that was a smart decision.

But Granderson will be back on Tuesday against Williams. His .913 OPS, .238 ISO and .391 wOBA against righties make him a force to be reckoned with in these situations. He may be only 2-for-13 against Williams in his career, but one of those two was a homer.

Michael Conforto, OF, $2,700

Despite a surprising return last night, it’s likely that David Wright will sit tonight. Collins wants to ease him back in. This would open third base for Daniel Murphy, first base for Cuddyer and leave a corner outfield spot (likely left field) available for Michael Conforto.

Conforto must be in the lineup against right-handers. He owns a .902 OPS, .259 ISO and .384 wOBA against them, all numbers close to the top of the Mets leaderboard. Lefties stifle the rookie, but he more than makes up for it against opposite-handed pitchers.

A $2,700 price tag on someone this good against righties shouldn’t be legal.

Daniel Murphy, 2B, $4,100

Murphy is riding a six-game hitting streak into Tuesday night, with 11 hits in 27 at-bats over that time. Five of those hits have been doubles, and two have been home runs. He’s also on a five-game RBI streak, having plated nine runs during that time.

He’s red hot.

Murphy crushes righties, evidenced by his .833 OPS, .179 ISO and .348 wOBA. Sure, he’s 0-for-5 with a walk against Williams in his career, but his current hot streak makes him too valuable to pass on.