Jeurys Familia: With Jennry Mejia going on the DL, Familia is worth a pick up for saves-thirsty owners, as he has been named the team's closer in the interim. Familia pitched quite well for the Mets in 2014, compiling a 2.21 ERA and 3.07 FIP. He struck out 8.5 batters per nine, and was very good at limiting the opposition in terms of home runs (0.35 home run rate). Familia picked up the hold in the Mets' opening game, and has handled plenty of late-inning work over the last season plus. Although Mejia's MRI revealed no damage to his elbow, elbow injuries can always keep pitchers out longer than expected, as no team wants to rush a pitcher back from elbow problems these days. If you do pick up Familia, don't drop him until Mejia is back for a week or so, and has proven he is truly back healthy.
Nolan Arenado: Arenado continued his hot start to the 2015 season with a 2-for-5 night on Tuesday. On Opening Day, Arenado was the second-most valuable player in all of fantasy baseball, thanks to his 3-for-4 day with a home run, three runs and four RBI to boot. Since Hanley Ramirez and the Red Sox had the night off, Arenado will likely move into the spot of "King of Fantasy," if only for a day. As with seemingly every Rockie, the key for Arenado in 2015 will be staying healthy. Arenado missed over 50 games in 2014, but still managed 18 home runs on a .500 slugging percentage. There were some great signs in Arenado's batted ball profile in 2014, as his groundball rate dropped from 42.5 to 37.6 percent and his flyball rate jumped from 33.7 to 41.8 percent. Of course, those percentages are even better for a hitter who plays half his games in Coors. If he can stay healthy - and if the Rockies are anywhere close to relevant this year, some of those end-of-season shutdowns shouldn't be as common - Nolan could easily hit 25 home runs to go with an average somewhere in line with his .287 BA from 2014. His BABIP was just .294 in 2014, relatively low given that he is a line drive hitter playing in Coors.
Adam Lind: Lind has looked good in his first two games with the Brewers, and every day he doesn't hit the DL is a positive day for his owners! In all seriousness, Lind is now 4-for-7 on the season, and has yet to strike out. Facing the Rockies' pitching staff to start the season will certainly help any batter, and the big test - and the games to pay attention to for Lind owners - will be against the Pirates in their next series. The Brewers will face a pair of lefties in the series: Jeff Locke in game one and Francisco Liriano in game three. Liriano is just about the toughest lefty on left-handed batters in the game of baseball, and Locke is no cakewalk. It will be interesting to see if manager Ron Roenicke really sticks with Lind in the lineup against these two. Given that Lind slashed .061/.162/.061 in 37 plate appearances against lefties in 2014 one would guess that he wouldn't be in the lineup against two of the tougher lefties to hit, but in Spring Training Roenicke gave Lind his support even against lefties. Lind has a hit in his only at bat against a southpaw in 2015, so that's a good start. Time to see how he handles a pair of lefty starters.
James Paxton: Paxton took the loss Tuesday, but had a quality start with six innings of two run, five strikeout baseball against the Angels. Paxton earned his spot in the rotation with an excellent spring, and is coming off a strong 2014 campaign as well. Paxton relied heavily on his fastball Tuesday, throwing his four-seamer 62 times, with an average velocity of 94.2 miles per hour. He topped out at 97.7 mph a good sign early in the season. Paxton got strikes on over 60 percent of his fastballs, although he only got six swings and misses on the pitch despite the velocity. Despite the loss Tuesday, Paxton remains a strong fantasy commodity, and is still available in an incredibly high amount of leagues. Snatch him up sooner than later.
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Hanley Ramirez: Han-Ram may seem like another high money choice, but consider the following factors: 1) Ramirez is 10-for-29 with five home runs off of Aaron Harang the Phillies' starter in his career. 2) He gets to face Aaron Harang in Citizen's Bank Park. 3) Hanley is clearly fired up to be back playing with Boston and is coming off a two-home run debut on Opening Day. 3) Citizen's Bank is just 329 feet down the left field line. 4) Hanley Ramirez is a pull-heavy hitter who hit over half of his 2014 home runs directly down the left field line. 5) Aaron Harang is a 36-year old who relies on a sub-90 mph fastball. 6) Has it been mentioned enough that HANLEY RAMIREZ gets to face AARON HARANG in the sixth best-stadium for home runs in 2014?! It's tough to guarantee a big day, but this certainly seems like as close to a lock on Wednesday.
DraftKings: $4,800
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