Welcome to the 2018 edition of the Home Run Predictions article. We’re on our second spin, possibly third spin, through rotations, so we’ll start to see some batter trends emerge and data start to become somewhat trustworthy now. The focus this year remains the same; you won’t see guys like Bryce Harper and Nolan Arenado at Coors Field in these articles. Those are obvious picks on any day. You don’t need an article to tell you to roster those guys. We’ll try to dig a little deeper and find bats that will be lower owned to help push your lineups past the chalk pack.
There is loads of day baseball today, April 11th. Seven games will be underway by 3:45 pm et. That leaves a seven game main slate on FanDuel and a six game main on DraftKings. They both start at 7:05 pm though. I don’t understand it either. Your guess is as good as mine.
Johnny G invites the MLB experts from Hammer DFS to take an early look at who they predict will go deep to help you fill out your rosters on DraftKings and FanDuel.
Up and down your squad, everyone needs home runs in their DFS lineups. From your high-priced stars hitting value with one swing to your low-owned, minimum-priced punt helping you take down a big dollar contest, we all dig the long ball. The experts will be digging through the match-ups and stats to find players in good spots and sharing them with you.
If you need more than a four-bagger to get your bankroll growing, Hammer DFS has a full-service chat to get you back on track. Check out a sample of their winners:
Here are Johnny G’s Home Run predictions for 4/11/18:
Try to find an Indians hitter with a batting average that starts with a “2” or higher. Instinct and, you know, raw data tell me it’s a low percentage play taking someone on the Tribe, but I believe Jordan Zimmermann on the bump will get the offense going a little. Yonder Alonso is 6 for 16 against Zim with five extra base hits (2 doubles and 3 dongs). Vegas is giving Cleveland a healthy 5.1 implied run total in this one. Yonder is hitting the ball hard as evidenced by his 92 mph exit velocity and 228 feet average batted ball distance. His flyball rate and hard contact rate are both sitting at 44%. It’s a bit of bad luck that he’s not scoring more based on the comparison of his advanced stats to fantasy points. The points will come.
I want to pick on A.J. Cole and I want to take Freddie Freeman here, but I just gave you a first baseman. So, I’ll take Preston Tucker instead. Tucker’s stats are similar to where Yonder is (91 mph exit velocity, 229 batted ball distance), but he’s having a terrible road trip and hitting too many groundballs. That has a good chance to correct itself with Cole’s 41% flyball rate and 35% line drive rate. Small sample, I know, but Cole got knocked around in his first start to the tune of 97 mph exit velocity. Cole throws a low 90s mph fastball about 55-56% of the time and Tucker is above average hitting that pitch.
Who do you think will hit a home run today? Let us know in the comments!
This is just the tip of the iceberg of research these MLB lineup experts put in every single day over at Hammer. If you like what you read or if you’re not winning your daily fantasy baseball contests, it’s worth it to see what they can do for you. Send them an email here or a message on Twitter @HammerDFS to get started on your path to green.
Thanks for checking in with us. As always, check those MLB lineups prior to slate lock for late scratches, keep an eye on the weather, and good luck in your contests!
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