DFS MLB Hitting Coach: June 16

With only three early games today, we are going to devote our full attention to the 7-game evening slate that has a roster lock of 7:05 PM ET/4:05 PM PT. 

To make a long story short, the pitching tonight is absolutely atrocious. I know there’s going to be many ways to put together your lineup, but most of them should give you plenty of salary available to pay up for your hitting. 

I will still include value plays throughout the article, but won’t be afraid to spend some cash if it’s necessary. 

Weather wise, there shouldn’t be much to worry about tonight. Hopefully it’s a sign of things to come because weather issues are obviously frustrating to deal with when it comes to DFS. 

As always, players are organized from highest to lowest salary using FanDuel pricing. 

Salvador Perez is my favorite play of the day. He is a BvP monster against Justin Verlander of the Tigers, going 21-for-44 (.477 AVG) with two homers and seven doubles in their previous meetings. Doubt Sal all you want, but it doesn’t change the fact that he has a 7-game hitting streak where he has gone 13-for-28 (.464 AVG) with four homers and seven RBIs. 

Russell Martin won’t get as much love tonight because of his matchup against Aaron Nola, but I don’t think that should be much of a problem. Over the last seven days, Martin has batted .417/.579/.667 with a home run. 

Brian McCann is 2-for-4 (.500 AVG) with a home run, lifetime, against Kyle Gibson of the Twins. He has had his struggles this season, but it still doesn’t change the fact that he’s provides a good amount of power upside from the catcher position. 

Kurt Suzuki is another candidate to be the president of the boring but productive club. He has quietly gone 13-for-38 (.342 AVG) with a home run and seven RBIs over his last 10 games. On top of that, he has amazingly hit four home runs throughout his career against CC Sabathia. He has never hit more than two home runs against any other pitcher.

Edwin Encarnacion doesn’t have the greatest matchup against Aaron Nola, but at this point, I think I would consider rostering him against everyone in the Majors minus Kershaw. The dude is a beast right now, going 9-for-20 (.450 AVG) with five homers, three doubles, four walks, 10 runs, 10 RBIs, and two stolen bases over his last five games. 

David Ortiz has to be considered given the matchup against Tyler Wilson in Fenway. I’ve said this before, but I need to say it again. Big Papi has been ridiculous against right-handed pitching at home this season, batting .418/.522/.857 with a .552 wOBA and six of his 16 home runs.

Kendrys Morales is quite the bargain at first base for someone who has 20+ home run upside, and is usually a very high OBP player. Yes, he has struggled this season, but most of his peripherals are fine. He is 12-for-34 (.353 AVG) with a couple homers against Justin Verlander in their previous meetings. 

Ike Davis can be considered tonight if he gets another start. I know he disappointed many yesterday in Coors but he couldn’t be any hotter in the minors, going 7-for-7 in his last two minor league starts for Triple-A Round Rock, and is a minimum price on FanDuel.

Ian Kinsler is pretty good. He just fills up the lineup sheet left and right, and has gone 14-for-44 (.318 AVG) with three homers, a triple, three doubles, four walks, 11 runs, and 10 RBIs over his last 10 games. On top of that, he has been amazing against southpaws this season, batting .389/.416/.625 with three homers in just 72 at-bats. 

Brian Dozier has struggled hard this season, but he’s still a great hitter against left-handed pitching. He is batting .333/.447/.564 with two homers in 39 at-bats against southpaws this season and he also happens to be hitting .333/.424/.549 with two homers in June. 

Chase Utley’s bigger games this season have come in bunches and he will be playing his first game since going 2-for-5 with a home run and a whopping four RBIs. He remains a solid .285/.380/.425 against right-handed pitching in 2016.

Starlin Castro has a lot of value if he continues to bat 3rd tonight for the Yankees, which will likely happen if Carlos Beltran remains out of the lineup. He’s only $2700 on FanDuel, and should have plenty of opportunities to drive in and score runs tonight against Kyle Gibson.

Josh Donaldson has been on FIRE lately. He is now working on an 8-game hitting streak, where he has gone 13-for-31 (.419 AVG) with three homers, two triples, three doubles, six walks, 11 runs, 10 RBIs, and two stolen bases. Yes, his matchup against Aaron Nola isn’t the greatest, but he has actually gone 2-for-2 with a homer against Nola in their previous meeting. 

Justin Turner is looking much better at the plate lately. He gets a pretty good matchup against Junior Guerra, is is currently on a run where he has gone 9-for-32 (.281 AVG) with three homers, two doubles, and six RBIs over his last eight games. 

Anthony Rendon is only $3000 tonight, which is a steal for someone who has batted .290/.379/.495 over his last 30 games. He faces Erik Johnson of the Padres, who hasn’t been good this season. Still, over 102.2 Major League innings, he rocks a 5.01 xFIP with a 1.84 HR/9, and 37.3% Hard Hit Rate. 

Kelly Johnson is a great way to save some salary to stock up on some of the big boys. Even though Neil Walker may return to the lineup tonight, he has been much more productive than the likes of James Loney and Ty Kelly, and can fill it at first or third base. Johnson is 11-for-33 (.333 AVG) with a homer, two doubles, two walks, five runs, and two RBIs over his last nine games. 

Manny Machado is batting .309/.406/.618 this season against left-handed pitching. I know he stunk it up last night, but anything can happen against the knuckleball. Prior to last night, he had gone 10-for-34 (.294 AVG) with three homers, four doubles, nine runs, and six RBIs over his eight previous games. 

Xander Bogaerts has been the most consistent option throughout the season at shortstop. Over his last five games, he has gone 12-for-22 (.545 AVG) with two homers, a double, two walks, nine RBIs, and a stolen base. Plus, he is 3-for-4 (.750 AVG) with two doubles in limited action against Tyler Wilson of the Orioles. 

Jonathan Villar is 6-for-15 (.400 AVG) with a double, three runs, and a stolen base over his last four games. He has been productive throughout the season for the Brewers, but he is slightly better against lefties, who he has hit .338/.444/.515 against. 

Jose Iglesias should be circled if you need a punt play at shortstop (hey, Tim Anderson is not available tonight). Iglesias is coming off of his best series of season, going 4-for-11 (.364 AVG) with a homer, double, four walks, four runs, and four RBIs against the White Sox.  

Mookie Betts is batting .300/.336/.543 with seven home runs, four triples, and 15 doubles this season in Fenway Park. He is somehow more expensive than Big Papi on FanDuel and Aces, but I feel he’s still someone you should target more for GPPs because he obviously has the upside.  

Brett Gardner has reached base safely five out of eight plate appearances against Kyle Gibson in their previous meetings. I think he’s a little overpriced tonight, but it could make him a useful GPP option if you’re stacking Yankees. 

Jayson Werth tends to be overlooked because of his overall inconsistency, but when he’s on top of his game, he actually makes a very good cash game play. He has reached base safely in each of his last eight games, going 12-for-28 (.429 AVG) with a home run, two doubles, six runs, and 10 RBIs. Most importantly, he has a mind-boggling TEN walks, and well, a huge huge walk-off hit and a memorable post-game interview last night against the Cubs. 

Gregory Polanco is batting .313/.400/.545 with a .396 wOBA against right-handed pitching this season. Polanco is basically having the type of season that everyone envisioned a couple years back when he made his MLB debut. His 25.3% Line Drive Rate and 35.9% Hard Hit Rate this season are both the best of his career. 

Whit Merrifield has been quite the diamond in the rough for the Royals. He has excelled since being recalled from Triple-A Omaha, but he has been even better since being moved to the leadoff spot, going 10-for-27 (.370 AVG) with two homers, a triple, and two doubles. His price tag is still WAY too cheap on DraftKings and Aces. 

Adam Jones just continues to get it done. He hit another homer last night and is now 6-for-18 (.333 AVG) with three homers, five RBIs, and a stolen base over his last four games. 

Joc Pederson is just another one of the endless list of Dodgers who seem to go on really big streaks. Over his last five starts, Joc has gone 7-for-20 (.350 AVG) with three homers and three doubles. Plus, he faces Junior Guerra, who has allowed a .412 wOBA to right-handed hitters this season away from Miller Park. 

Ben Revere’s inevitable rise to DFS greatness has finally happened. Over his last eight starts, Revere has gone 14-for-37 (.378 AVG) with a double, two walks, seven runs, five RBIs, and three stolen bases. It all makes sense, especially because Revere’s Z-Contact Rate is at 100% over the last two weeks. His price has risen throughout the industry, but he’s still a pretty good value on FanDuel and Aces. 

Justin Upton is heating up. He has reached base safely in 11 of his last 12 games, while going 14-for-47 (.298 AVG) with a home run, triple, three doubles, six walks, seven runs, and 11 RBIs. The best thing about it though is that he’s still pretty underpriced throughout the industry. 

Jon Jay tends to make a very safe cash game play. He gets a ton of at-bats from batting leadoff on a nightly basis, and does a pretty good job putting the ball in play. He is 7-for-25 (.280 AVG) with three doubles, two runs, and four RBIs over his last six games.

Cameron Maybin is still playing some of the best baseball of his career. He’ll likely slot back in the #2 hole in between Ian Kinsler and Miguel Cabrera, as the Tigers face Danny Duffy. Maybe has excelled against lefties this season, going 15-for-34 (.441 AVG) with a home run and two doubles. 

Aaron Hicks narrative street tonight? Probably not happening, but you never know. Hicks makes his return to Target Field tonight after spending his entire career in the Twins organization and getting traded for John Ryan Murphy. At just $2300 on FanDuel and $2900 on DraftKings, you could do worse given the intangibles involved with the revenge factor. 

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!