We kick off the month of August with a nice little 8-game slate with a roster lock of 7:10 PM ET. The only game that has any weather concerns is the Subway Series with the Yankees visiting the Mets at Citi Field.
Keep in mind, we do have the MLB Trade Deadline to think about. A lot of the players that you see in tonight’s player pool may not be with their teams come roster lock.
| CATCHER | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Player | Team | Bats | Opp | Opp Pitch | AB | H | HR | R | RBI | BB | SB | AVG | OPS | ISO | BABIP | wOBA | LD% | Hard% | Z-Cont% | FD | DK | Aces |
| Russell Martin | TOR | R | HOU | Doug Fister | 277 | 65 | 7 | 36 | 39 | 36 | 1 | .235 | .686 | .116 | .319 | .306 | 21.2% | 34.7% | 77.7% | $3,200 | $3,300 | $4,650 |
| Sandy Leon | BOS | S | SEA | James Paxton | 92 | 36 | 3 | 15 | 16 | 6 | 0 | .391 | 1.054 | .228 | .478 | .447 | 29.2% | 34.3% | 92.9% | $2,900 | $2,600 | $4,150 |
| Salvador Perez | KC | R | TB | Chris Archer | 339 | 91 | 15 | 39 | 45 | 15 | 0 | .268 | .776 | .204 | .315 | .328 | 21.1% | 35.6% | 89.8% | $2,700 | $2,700 | $4,500 |
Russell Martin continues to produce and will get the lion’s share of starts as long as R.A. Dickey isn’t on the mound. The vet ended the most recent homestand by reaching base a total of 12 times in 21 plate appearances.
Sandy Leon has been at his best against left-handed pitching. He’s batting a ridiculous .485/.564/.788 with two homers and 11 RBIs in just 33 at-bats against lefties this season.
Salvador Perez is usually a better hitter against southpaws, but has actually turned it around this season, favoring righties slightly more. $2700 on both sites has my attention.
| FIRST BASE | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Player | Team | Bats | Opp | Opp Pitch | AB | H | HR | R | RBI | BB | SB | AVG | OPS | ISO | BABIP | wOBA | LD% | Hard% | Z-Cont% | FD | DK | Aces |
| Mike Napoli | CLE | R | MIN | Jose Berrios | 365 | 90 | 24 | 64 | 72 | 46 | 3 | .247 | .824 | .247 | .316 | .350 | 18.9% | 41.2% | 77.5% | $4,100 | $4,800 | $4,800 |
| Ryan Zimmerman | WSH | R | ARI | Archie Bradley | 302 | 67 | 12 | 48 | 38 | 24 | 2 | .222 | .678 | .172 | .247 | .291 | 14.9% | 33.6% | 85.5% | $3,100 | $3,500 | $4,700 |
| Kendrys Morales | KC | S | TB | Chris Archer | 352 | 86 | 16 | 38 | 49 | 31 | 0 | .244 | .736 | .179 | .273 | .318 | 20.6% | 39.3% | 87.8% | $2,800 | $2,400 | $4,500 |
Mike Napoli tends to hit his home runs in bunches. He has homered in each of his last two games and it wouldn’t surprise me if he does it again tonight against Jose Berrios.
Ryan Zimmerman has hits in each of his last four starts and gets a nice matchup against Archie Bradley, who has been struggling quite a bit with his command. Zimmerman is a great price throughout the industry.
Kendrys Morales is super cold right now, but he is very reasonably priced and gets a matchup against Chris Archer, who he has destroyed throughout his career, going 8-for 13 (.615 AVG) with a homer, five RBIs, and zero strikeouts.
| SECOND BASE | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Player | Team | Bats | Opp | Opp Pitch | AB | H | HR | R | RBI | BB | SB | AVG | OPS | ISO | BABIP | wOBA | LD% | Hard% | Z-Cont% | FD | DK | Aces |
| Robinson Cano | SEA | L | BOS | Eduardo Rodriguez | 419 | 125 | 23 | 68 | 65 | 32 | 0 | .298 | .882 | .227 | .307 | .374 | 20.0% | 35.5% | 93.4% | $3,300 | $4,200 | $5,200 |
| Brian Dozier | MIN | R | CLE | Danny Salazar | 375 | 97 | 19 | 58 | 54 | 41 | 8 | .259 | .824 | .227 | .269 | .350 | 16.1% | 29.4% | 87.7% | $3,200 | $3,800 | $4,950 |
| Ryan Schimpf | SD | L | MIL | Jimmy Nelson | 107 | 24 | 9 | 21 | 18 | 19 | 1 | .224 | .920 | .336 | .242 | .384 | 18.3% | 42.3% | 86.1% | $2,700 | $3,600 | $4,000 |
Robinson Cano will be extremely under-owned tonight in a lefty-versus-lefty situation against Eduardo Rodriguez. Truth be told, Rodriguez actually allows a worse batting average against lefties, allowing them to hit .316/.395/.447 this season. Cano has shown that he can take lefties out of the park on any given pitch and will be in a couple of my Mariners GPP stacks.
Brian Dozier went DOUBLE DONG last night, and has gone 10-for-22 (.476 AVG) with two homers, five doubles, and six RBIs against Danny Salazar throughout his career.
Ryan Schimpf has certainly cooled off, but we already know what he is capable of doing at the plate, and we’ve seen enough of him to know that he is a very good hitter against the sinker. Jimmy Nelson throws the sinker more than half the time and provides a good matchup for the young second baseman.
| THIRD BASE | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Player | Team | Bats | Opp | Opp Pitch | AB | H | HR | R | RBI | BB | SB | AVG | OPS | ISO | BABIP | wOBA | LD% | Hard% | Z-Cont% | FD | DK | Aces |
| Kris Bryant | CHC | R | MIA | Adam Conley | 392 | 112 | 26 | 82 | 68 | 51 | 7 | .286 | .931 | .263 | .330 | .393 | 22.6% | 41.5% | 80.0% | $4,300 | $4,900 | $5,550 |
| Hernan Perez | MIL | R | SD | Jarred Cosart | 191 | 55 | 7 | 23 | 33 | 8 | 18 | .288 | .757 | .157 | .343 | .322 | 20.5% | 34.7% | 85.4% | $3,000 | $3,900 | $4,150 |
| Jose Ramirez | CLE | S | MIN | Jose Berrios | 338 | 99 | 5 | 49 | 42 | 30 | 11 | .293 | .768 | .121 | .318 | .334 | 24.1% | 24.8% | 90.2% | $3,000 | $4,700 | $4,350 |
Kris Bryant gets a good matchup against Adam Conley, whose repertoire does not matchup well against Bryant. He has reached base safely in 11 of his 22 plate appearances in the current homestand, and is my pick to take one out of the park tonight at Wrigley. Another name I like in this spot is definitely Josh Donaldson if you have the cash to pay up for him.
Hernan Perez has been an absolute beast since taking over for Aaron Hill as the Brewers everyday third baseman. Over his last 10 games, he has gone 12-for-37 (.324 AVG) with two homers, two doubles, eight runs, eight RBIs, and a whopping seven stolen bases. I really like using the Brewers in DFS because of the fact that their Manager Craig Counsell has no issues with sending his speedsters in a variety of situations.
Jose Ramirez, in the current homestand, has hits in each of his five starts, and has gone 8-for-18 (.444 AVG) at the plate with a homer, two doubles, and a stolen base.
| SHORTSTOP | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Player | Team | Bats | Opp | Opp Pitch | AB | H | HR | R | RBI | BB | SB | AVG | OPS | ISO | BABIP | wOBA | LD% | Hard% | Z-Cont% | FD | DK | Aces |
| Jonathan Villar | MIL | S | SD | Jarred Cosart | 376 | 111 | 8 | 54 | 38 | 49 | 38 | .295 | .809 | .138 | .401 | .351 | 21.9% | 33.2% | 84.7% | $3,800 | $4,900 | $5,000 |
| Xander Bogaerts | BOS | R | SEA | James Paxton | 426 | 140 | 14 | 79 | 67 | 37 | 13 | .329 | .871 | .157 | .367 | .376 | 19.2% | 30.8% | 90.5% | $3,600 | $5,400 | $5,350 |
| Alcides Escobar | KC | R | TB | Chris Archer | 427 | 109 | 1 | 34 | 26 | 17 | 14 | .255 | .592 | .054 | .293 | .259 | 19.4% | 19.1% | 87.8% | $2,500 | $2,700 | $4,000 |
Jonathan Villar was disappointing yesterday against the Pirates, but as I mentioned with Hernan Perez, with Counsell being ultra aggressive on the bases, he is usually a very high floor/high ceiling option at shortstop. Ignoring his Sunday, his previous six games had him going 8-for-22 (.364 AVG) with a homer, triple, three doubles, six runs, and four stolen bases.
Xander Bogaerts now has three home runs over his last five games. It’s becoming pretty redundant given the number of lefties the Red Sox have faced lately, but Bogaerts is exceptional against lefties.
Alcides Escobar has been getting consistent starts from the leadoff spot, and is 8-for-12 (.667 AVG), lifetime, against Chris Archer of the Rays.
| OUTFIELD | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Player | Team | Bats | Opp | Opp Pitch | AB | H | HR | R | RBI | BB | SB | AVG | OPS | ISO | BABIP | wOBA | LD% | Hard% | Z-Cont% | FD | DK | Aces |
| Mookie Betts | BOS | R | SEA | James Paxton | 440 | 134 | 21 | 82 | 69 | 30 | 17 | .305 | .881 | .230 | .312 | .371 | 19.7% | 35.3% | 95.7% | $4,600 | $5,200 | $5,450 |
| Bryce Harper | WSH | L | ARI | Archie Bradley | 341 | 80 | 20 | 55 | 56 | 80 | 15 | .235 | .824 | .211 | .236 | .346 | 14.8% | 32.1% | 87.9% | $4,200 | $4,700 | $5,400 |
| Nelson Cruz | SEA | R | BOS | Eduardo Rodriguez | 372 | 107 | 26 | 59 | 68 | 42 | 0 | .288 | .914 | .255 | .328 | .385 | 17.2% | 36.3% | 84.0% | $3,900 | $5,000 | $5,200 |
| Jose Bautista | TOR | R | HOU | Doug Fister | 258 | 57 | 13 | 44 | 43 | 54 | 1 | .221 | .797 | .221 | .232 | .346 | 17.7% | 37.0% | 91.1% | $3,900 | $4,100 | $5,200 |
| Franklin Gutierrez | SEA | R | BOS | Eduardo Rodriguez | 169 | 41 | 10 | 26 | 26 | 19 | 1 | .243 | .784 | .213 | .304 | .338 | 17.9% | 44.6% | 77.3% | $3,500 | $3,600 | $4,200 |
| Tyler Naquin | CLE | L | MIN | Jose Berrios | 197 | 66 | 12 | 36 | 32 | 20 | 3 | .335 | 1.029 | .294 | .446 | .430 | 23.5% | 40.7% | 79.0% | $3,500 | $4,800 | $4,250 |
| Marcell Ozuna | MIA | R | CHC | Kyle Hendricks | 383 | 114 | 19 | 60 | 58 | 31 | 0 | .298 | .870 | .222 | .335 | .368 | 20.1% | 38.3% | 86.3% | $3,300 | $3,600 | $4,750 |
| Travis Jankowski | SD | L | MIL | Jimmy Nelson | 154 | 34 | 1 | 27 | 7 | 26 | 18 | .221 | .639 | .078 | .327 | .294 | 24.5% | 23.1% | 89.0% | $3,000 | $3,500 | $3,850 |
| Brandon Guyer | TB | R | KC | Danny Duffy | 212 | 51 | 7 | 27 | 18 | 12 | 2 | .241 | .752 | .165 | .268 | .332 | 18.9% | 29.1% | 88.0% | $2,300 | $3,300 | $4,450 |
| David Peralta | ARI | L | WSH | Max Scherzer | 154 | 39 | 4 | 22 | 15 | 8 | 2 | .253 | .743 | .188 | .310 | .314 | 21.4% | 34.2% | 91.6% | $2,200 | $3,200 | $4,500 |
Mookie Betts has an amazing 6-game RBI streak and has combined for nine extra base hits over his last 10 games.
Bryce Harper is just too cold to be playing in cash games tonight, but I really like him in GPPs, especially with the park shift at Chase Field, and his matchup against Archie Bradley, who he should thrive against (especially if Bradley throws too many breaking pitches).
Nelson Cruz gets a prime matchup against the struggling Eduardo Rodriguez. Nelly has 13 of his 26 homers this season against southpaws in half of the at-bats. He’s also batting .311/.388/.680 against lefties, and smacked one out last night off of Brian Matusz.
Jose Bautista has gone .462/.533/.692 with three doubles and zero strikeouts throughout his career against Doug Fister.
Franklin Gutierrez is a bit pricey on FanDuel, but is a much better value on DraftKings at $3600. He matches up extremely well against Eduardo Rodriguez, and well, if you remember a few months back, he went TRIPLE DONG one game against the Red Sox the last time they met.
Tyler Naquin has been getting some serious discussion about AL ROY possibilities. Rightfully so, considering he is 14-for-32 (.438 AVG) with three homers, four doubles, five walks, eight runs, and 10 RBIs over his last 10 games, and batting an incredible .335 throughout the season.
Marcell Ozuna is the best sinkerball hitter on the Marlins roster and gets a matchup against Kyle Hendricks who throws the sinker over 50 percent of the time. Ozuna also happens to have the most success on the roster against Hendricks, batting .286/.444/.429 over 11 plate appearances.
Travis Jankowski will be seeing a lot of playing time thanks to the Matt Kemp trade. He isn’t going to be in your lineups to drive in runs. What you’re looking for with Jankowski is runs and stolen bases. In very limited playing time this season, Jankowski has been able to steal 18 bases, and has done so with an 82 percent success rate. He’s certainly cheap enough to be worth the gamble, and gets an average matchup against Jimmy Nelson.
Brandon Guyer has a good shot at being in the lineup against the lefty, Danny Duffy tonight. I know it isn’t much, but he is 3-for-5 (.600 AVG) with a homer against Duffy in their previous meetings.
David Peralta sees the ball quite well against Max Scherzer. Obviously, the price is right to take a flier on Peralta, who is 3-for-4 (.750 AVG) with a homer and zero K’s against Max in their previous meetings.
Be sure to keep an eye on the Fantasy Alarm Daily Lineups page to confirm that your players are starting.
If you guys have any questions, you can always reach me on Twitter @kle18. Good luck!