DFS MLB Hitting Coach: July 23

Maybe I just have a short memory, but Saturday’s slate may be the best one of the season so far. There are a lot of players I am excited to play at nearly every position. Combine that with a bunch of pitchers at various prices I like as well, and you have a ton of options for roster construction. If you want a lineup full of stud hitters, or cheap hitters, or anything in between, Saturday is a good slate for you.

As I mentioned, there are a couple of notable exception. The cupboard is pretty bare at catcher, with most of the top options either struggling, dealing with injuries or facing stud pitchers. You can probably go cheap there, with one notable exception. Outfield, on the other hand, has a bunch of expensive or moderately expensive options worth exploring. Cheap options are much harder to come by, so even if you are going with cheap hitting, you may have to pay a bit more for your outfielders. As always, if you have any questions, especially as we get closer to game time, let me know in the comments, the FA Nation forum or on Twitter.

The way I see it, you are either going cheap at catcher or you are going with Wilson Ramos. Ramos has a 10-game hitting streak, and I believe Edwin Jackson used up all of his good luck in his last outing.

Which cheap catcher(s) you use will likely depend on who is starting and where they bat in the order, but there are a couple of guys to keep in mind. Jason Castro is cheap enough, and is quietly having a solid season. Castro is 4-for-10 in his last three games.

Dioner Navarro is not having a solid season, but he is extremely cheap and has a .767 career OPS against lefties.

Albert Pujols is 7-for-19 with a home run against Collin McHugh. Pujols has three multi-hit games over his last five starts, including six runs, four home runs and 12 RBI.

David Ortiz is 4-for-13 with three home runs against Ricky Nolasco and Ortiz has home runs in two of his last four games. If you want to spend up at first base, Ortiz is probably your guy.

Victor Martinez is 18-for-36 with four home runs against Chris Sale. His price is down considerably on FanDuel and DraftKings, and he at least deserves consideration on those sites.

Marwin Gonzalez is often my go-to cheap first baseman, and Saturday is no different. Gonzalez has a hit in all seven of his games since the All-Star break and he is 4-for-10 against Jered Weaver.

Billy Butler is 7-for-16 with a home run against Drew Smyly and Butler has a .830 OPS against left-handed pitchers this season.

Jose Altuve is 13-for-33 with three stolen bases against Jered Weaver.

Dustin Pedroia is 5-for-9 over his last two games.

Jean Segura is 8-for-15 with a home run and a stolen base during his four-game hitting streak.

Howie Kendrick has a 14-game hitting streak, and I like his chance to keep it going Saturday. His low price on FanDuel certainly helps.

Tim Beckham is 9-for-17 with a home run, four runs and four RBI during his four-game hitting streak. If you don’t want to pay for a second baseman, Beckham is your guy.

Justin Turner is 7-for-15 with a stolen base against Mike Leake. Since the All-Star break, Turner is 12-for-32 with five home runs and 12 RBI.

Cheslor Cuthbert has an 11-game hitting streak. Since the All-Star break, Cuthbert is 11-for-26 with a home run.

Adonis Garcia is 9-for-25 with two home runs during his six-game hitting streak.

Javier Baez has a seven-game hitting streak and is 8-for-18 since the All-Star break.

Eugenio Suarez is 7-for-22 with a home run and a stolen base over the last week. He has a .949 OPS against left-handed pitchers this season.

J.J. Hardy has three consecutive multi-hit games and he is batting .344/.365/.508 in July.

Troy Tulowitzki is 10-for-30 during his seven-game hitting streak.

Jordy Mercer is 9-for-25 over the last week.

Addison Russell is 8-for-17 during his five-game hitting streak and he is relatively cheap across the board.

Trevor Story is 5-for-15 with three home runs over his last five games and he is the top shortstop of the day if you can afford him.

Corey Seager is 13-for-31 during his six-game hitting streak, and he won’t cost nearly as much as Trevor Story.

George Springer is 8-for-18  with two home runs against Jered Weaver and 5-for-19 with a home run during his four-game hitting streak.

If you want cheaper exposure to Jered Weaver, Preston Tucker is worth a look. Tucker went 1-for-3 in his first game back from Triple-A Friday, and left-handed batters have a .355 wOBA against Jered Weaver.

Dexter Fowler went 3-for-4 with a home run in his first game off the disabled list Friday and left-handed batters have a .351 wOBA against Zach Davies this season.

Tyler Naquin is 9-for-18 with six runs, three home runs and seven RBI during his five-game hitting streak. Naquin is batting .327/.386/.731 in July.

Corey Dickerson is 9-for-17 with a home run during his four-game hitting streak and left-handed batters have a .368 wOBA against Kendall Graveman.

Denard Span is 8-for-21 over his last six games and left-handed batters have a .367 wOBA against Ivan Nova.

Mike Trout is 6-for-17 with two home runs against Collin McHugh. He is probably the best expensive option if you are fading Coors.

Christian Yelich is 7-for-22 against Jacob deGrom. Yelich is 15-for-39 during his nine-game hitting streak and he has three home runs in his last four games.

Michael Bourn is 9-for-25 with five runs scored in six games since the All-Star break, and he is pretty cheap on FanDuel and FantasyAces.

Adam Jones has a five-game hitting streak, and he is 8-for-15 against Josh Tomlin.

Carlos Beltran has four multi-hit games in his last six and he is 5-for-16 with a home run against Jeff Samardzija.

Carlos Gonzalez is 5-for-14 during his four-game hitting streak, and he has a 1.105 OPS at home this season. Charlie Blackmon, for his part, has a 14-game hitting streak, and he has failed to reach base in just one game since June 19.

Melky Cabrera is 12-for-29 during his seven-game hitting streak.

Jake Smolinski is 7-for-16 during his five-game hitting streak, and he has a .503 wOBA against left-handed pitchers.