$300 MLB Draftstreet Freeroll Advice

It’s been a long time since we’ve featured a baseball article here on Future of Fantasy. With all the golf articles I publish, you would think I’ve completely abandoned baseball, but that’s not true. More baseball articles will be showing up in the coming months. Starting now.

Draftstreet is offering a free $300 baseball contest for Friday, June 21st. That’s today. It’s free to enter, and all you have to do is pick one player from each tier they provide you. Let me give you a rundown of the first tier and you can take it from there:

Tier 1:

Doug Fister vs. Boston: Doug Fister sits in the Top 10 for SIERA, which is a key stat to look at for pitchers. That makes him an automatic play right? Not quite. The Red Sox are the #3 hitting team in all of baseball. That really eliminates the sexiness of picking Fister.

Bartolo Colon @ Seattle: Mr. Steroids has always been up and down, especially the last few years. He is spoting a 2.89 ERA currently in 2013, but all the peripherals suggest he’s closer to a 4.00 ERA guy. The Mariners are slightly below average hitting, and it’s in SafeCo, a pitchers park. This makes Colon a decent option, but not a must-pick.

Derek Holland: Holland has developed into a semi-stud this year. He rocks a 3.30 ERA and is striking out 8.6 batters per 9 innings. That being said, Holland is known to have some big innings, and the Cardinals are the type of team that could put up runs in a hurry. I would probably avoid Holland today.

Julio Teheran @ Milwaukee: Teheran has had a lot of fun during his rookie season, but you have to remember he is a rookie and will have his ups and downs. That being said, this is a free contest, take a risk.

Zack Greinke @ San Diego: Greinke hasn’t been the same this year since returning from injury. Also, if you haven’t been watching closely you might not realize this but the Padres are a Top 10 hitting team this year. Greinke’s not your best option.

Tim Lincecum vs. Miami: Oh boy, what a conundrum we have here. Lincecum has given up four or more runs in 7 of his 14 starts this year. Then again, the Miami Marlins are easily the worst hitting team in all of baseball. There is a good chance we see old Big Time Timmy Jim have a great outing. Lincecum is who I will be picking, and I suggest you do the same if you want to win.

There you have it. Tim Lincecum appears to be the play in Tier 1 but Julio Teheran is a nice high-risk/high-reward rookie that could pay off as well. Derek Holland and Doug Fister may be the two best pitchers on the list but also have the two hardest opponents to face. Zack Greinke is off his game and Bartolo Colon is just Bartolo Colon.

Good luck with your picks. Enter the contest now.