With just two games on the early slate, we are going to ignore it, and place our full attention on the 9-game evening slate that has a 7:05 PM ET/4:05 PM PT roster lock.
The Hitting Coach worked out great last night, nailing some big picks in Rajai Davis and Mike Trout. Hopefully we can do the same with tonight’s slate.
In general, I really like this slate for GPPs. I think there are a lot of hitters that really fit the mold as an under-the-radar play due to some huge upside, and the shorter slate definitely makes it more manageable. I am going to highlight a lot of players that pack that power upside tonight (e.g. Brandon Belt, Todd Frazier, Khris Davis, and Joc Pederson).
No weather issues to worry about, so it’s all about constructing the best lineup on each site.
Again, players are placed in order of highest to lowest salary using FanDuel pricing. On a side note, I’ve attempted to eliminate and condense some of the highlighted categories for the tables in order to make it easier to see the salaries. It’ll probably be impossible to view them on a mobile device without scrolling, but it should be fine on a computer.
| CATCHER | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Player | Team | Bats | Opp | Opp Pitcher | AB | H | HR | R | RBI | BB | SB | AVG | OPS | ISO | BABIP | wOBA | LD% | Hard% | Z-Cont% | FD | DK | Aces |
| Yadier Molina | STL | R | COL | Jon Gray | 140 | 45 | 0 | 14 | 16 | 17 | 2 | .321 | .820 | .100 | .360 | .361 | 21.8% | 27.2% | 88.8% | $3,200 | $3,100 | $4,600 |
| Brian McCann | NYY | L | OAK | Kendall Graveman | 112 | 30 | 5 | 19 | 17 | 15 | 0 | .268 | .811 | .179 | .325 | .354 | 19.5% | 32.9% | 89.5% | $3,000 | $3,700 | $4,950 |
| Tony Wolters | COL | L | STL | Michael Wacha | 65 | 13 | 0 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 3 | .200 | .568 | .062 | .245 | .265 | 18.0% | 18.2% | 89.5% | $2,500 | $2,500 | $4,350 |
| Tyler Flowers | ATL | R | PIT | Jeff Locke | 65 | 18 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 6 | 0 | .277 | .686 | .062 | .415 | .310 | 19.0% | 42.9% | 81.5% | $2,200 | $2,800 | $3,500 |
Brian McCann is 3-for-5 (.600 AVG) with a homer and two RBIs in his previous meetings against Kendall Graveman. At only $3000, I love his value on FanDuel.
Yadier Molina is batting .363/.435/.490 with 11 of his 12 doubles and all 16 of his RBIs against right-handed pitching this season.
Tony Wolters isn’t playing in Coors Field tonight, but he’s a good value, and has been swinging a very hot bat. He has reached base safely in each of his last 11 games, and has four doubles, four walks, seven runs, and six RBIs over his last 10 games.
Tyler Flowers went bananas yesterday, going 3-for-4 with a home run and a double. Even as a platoon player, he has brought a lot of power upside throughout the years, and makes a very, very good value play, especially against lefties. He faces Jeff Locke, who is rocking a poor 4.96 xFIP this season.
| FIRST BASE | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Player | Team | Bats | Opp | Opp Pitcher | AB | H | HR | R | RBI | BB | SB | AVG | OPS | ISO | BABIP | wOBA | LD% | Hard% | Z-Cont% | FD | DK | Aces |
| Brandon Belt | SF | L | SD | James Shields | 136 | 41 | 4 | 20 | 22 | 31 | 0 | .301 | .922 | .191 | .349 | .395 | 30.6% | 35.5% | 87.2% | $4,100 | $3,800 | $4,950 |
| Jose Abreu | CHW | R | HOU | Collin McHugh | 158 | 40 | 6 | 16 | 27 | 14 | 0 | .253 | .745 | .165 | .286 | .319 | 17.6% | 29.6% | 88.4% | $4,000 | $4,200 | $4,900 |
| Albert Pujols | LAA | R | LAD | Ross Stripling | 153 | 34 | 8 | 17 | 27 | 17 | 1 | .222 | .690 | .170 | .205 | .299 | 16.3% | 38.5% | 94.9% | $3,500 | $4,000 | $4,700 |
| Justin Smoak | TOR | S | MIN | Ervin Santana | 85 | 25 | 3 | 10 | 11 | 18 | 1 | .294 | .882 | .165 | .431 | .387 | 31.5% | 44.4% | 80.2% | $2,900 | $3,300 | $4,250 |
Brandon Belt has a line of .500/.714/1.500 after seven career plate appearances against James Shields of the Padres. He is slightly overpriced on FanDuel, but he’s more reasonable on DraftKings and Aces.
Jose Abreu gets a juicy matchup against Collin McHugh who doesn’t look like his 2015 self. McHugh is allowing more contact, and isn’t getting as many swinging strikes this season. Even better, he is allowing a line of .354/.378/.526 to right-handed hitters in 2016.
Albert Pujols will continue to be very under-the-radar just because people will continue to be driven away from him because of his terrible batting average, but I maintain that it’s a big mistake because his advanced statistics really shows that he is hitting the ball extremely well. He matches up well against Ross Stripling, who is allowing a line of .273/.345/.434 to right-handed hitters.
Justin Smoak is batting .356/.442/.644 with three homers and seven RBIs over his last 15 games. Without Chris Colabello around to take his at-bats, he looks much more comfortable at the plate. Also, he faces Ervin Santana, who he has gone 7-for-24 (.292 AVG) against, with a home run, two doubles, five walks, and five RBIs.
| SECOND BASE | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Player | Team | Bats | Opp | Opp Pitcher | AB | H | HR | R | RBI | BB | SB | AVG | OPS | ISO | BABIP | wOBA | LD% | Hard% | Z-Cont% | FD | DK | Aces |
| Daniel Murphy | WSH | L | NYM | Matt Harvey | 147 | 58 | 5 | 22 | 25 | 8 | 1 | .395 | 1.036 | .218 | .417 | .439 | 28.8% | 40.2% | 95.6% | $3,700 | $4,000 | $5,200 |
| Jason Kipnis | CLE | L | CIN | Timothy Adleman | 149 | 43 | 5 | 23 | 21 | 13 | 3 | .289 | .789 | .161 | .358 | .340 | 29.7% | 37.5% | 84.5% | $3,600 | $4,900 | $4,800 |
| Starlin Castro | NYY | R | OAK | Kendall Graveman | 145 | 41 | 5 | 12 | 16 | 7 | 2 | .283 | .775 | .172 | .313 | .335 | 22.5% | 29.2% | 84.7% | $3,000 | $3,500 | $4,750 |
| Gordon Beckham | ATL | R | PIT | Jeff Locke | 50 | 17 | 0 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 0 | .340 | .901 | .140 | .395 | .394 | 16.3% | 27.9% | 86.6% | $2,400 | $2,700 | $3,500 |
Daniel Murphy gets one more crack at this Mets revenge game tonight. He has only singled in back-to-back nights, and nothing more than that. Nonetheless, if you are a big believer in narratives, than it would make all the sense in the world for Murphy to do his biggest damage against the face of the Mets pitching staff over the last few years in Matt Harvey.
Jason Kipnis has been swinging a very hot bat. He has gone 14-for-35 (.400 AVG) with two homers, a triple, a double, three walks, six runs, and seven RBIs over his last eight games. Plus, while Tim Adleman has been solid, he has given up a .439 wOBA to left-handed hitters this season.
Starlin Castro has been pretty solid at the plate, but the reason why I like him tonight is because of his matchup against Kendall Graveman of the A’s. Graveman is allowing a horrible line of .329/.364/.625 with six homers in 16 1/3 innings against right-handed hitters. Castro may end up being the only right-handed option in the Yankees lineup, and is in a good situation to take advantage of those splits.
Gordon Beckham made the most of his opportunity at the heart of the Braves order on Tuesday, when he went 3-for-5 (.600 AVG) with two doubles. He is batting a solid .340/.421/.480 this season, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s pumped about the fact that he’s going to be getting his best opportunity to make an impact at the plate in his career.
| THIRD BASE | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Player | Team | Bats | Opp | Opp Pitcher | AB | H | HR | R | RBI | BB | SB | AVG | OPS | ISO | BABIP | wOBA | LD% | Hard% | Z-Cont% | FD | DK | Aces |
| Nolan Arenado | COL | R | STL | Michael Wacha | 154 | 47 | 13 | 30 | 33 | 16 | 0 | .305 | .991 | .312 | .272 | .418 | 15.3% | 41.6% | 93.3% | $4,400 | $4,400 | $5,650 |
| Todd Frazier | CHW | R | HOU | Collin McHugh | 148 | 34 | 12 | 24 | 32 | 20 | 2 | .230 | .824 | .270 | .210 | .351 | 16.4% | 28.2% | 82.4% | $4,200 | $4,700 | $5,300 |
| Jung-Ho Kang | PIT | R | ATL | Michael Foltynewicz | 32 | 9 | 5 | 7 | 10 | 1 | 0 | .281 | 1.164 | .531 | .182 | .470 | 7.4% | 44.4% | 92.9% | $3,300 | $3,600 | $4,800 |
| Danny Valencia | OAK | R | NYY | Ivan Nova | 84 | 30 | 6 | 14 | 14 | 5 | 0 | .357 | 1.000 | .250 | .381 | .427 | 21.7% | 44.9% | 90.2% | $3,100 | $3,800 | $4,850 |
Nolan Arenado might be considered to be in the midst of a slump based on his standards, but he has still done a fine job, going 7-for-24 (.292 AVG) with a home run and four RBIs over his last six games. He has gone five games without a home run and he hasn’t gone more than five games without a home run at any point this season. There’s a reasonable chance he turns it around against Michael Wacha, who he has homered against in the past..
Todd Frazier has gone 10-for-24 (.417 AVG) with four home runs, seven RBIs, and just six strikeouts over his last seven games. Plus, he gets a very good matchup against a struggling Collin McHugh.
Jung-Ho Kang has been sensational since joining the Pirates a few weeks ago. He is crushing everything in sight, and is still way under-priced throughout the industry. I like his matchup against Mike Foltynewicz because Kang has been a very good fastball hitter, and that’s the pitch that Folty has been throwing over 60 percent of the time.
Danny Valencia is actually the lowest I’m probably going to go at third base tonight. Yes, he is more so a lefty masher, but his solid stats against right-handed pitching has gotten him out of a platoon situation that he was in throughout the early stages of his career. He is in a massive 13-for-28 (.464 AVG) run with six homers and 10 RBIs, which basically suggests that it doesn’t matter who he’s facing.
| SHORTSTOP | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Player | Team | Bats | Opp | Opp Pitcher | AB | H | HR | R | RBI | BB | SB | AVG | OPS | ISO | BABIP | wOBA | LD% | Hard% | Z-Cont% | FD | DK | Aces |
| Corey Seager | LAD | L | LAA | Jhoulys Chacin | 155 | 45 | 7 | 25 | 21 | 13 | 1 | .290 | .853 | .219 | .311 | .363 | 23.3% | 38.8% | 90.1% | $4,200 | $4,500 | $4,850 |
| Troy Tulowitzki | TOR | R | MIN | Ervin Santana | 143 | 28 | 8 | 16 | 20 | 17 | 0 | .196 | .678 | .196 | .215 | .295 | 7.9% | 31.7% | 78.6% | $3,100 | $3,900 | $5,100 |
| Eduardo Nunez | MIN | R | TOR | Marco Estrada | 106 | 36 | 2 | 15 | 14 | 5 | 7 | .340 | .860 | .142 | .395 | .371 | 20.7% | 26.4% | 90.5% | $3,000 | $3,500 | $4,350 |
| Marcus Semien | OAK | R | NYY | Ivan Nova | 130 | 30 | 10 | 16 | 20 | 17 | 2 | .231 | .787 | .238 | .225 | .340 | 9.1% | 29.3% | 80.2% | $2,700 | $3,300 | $4,600 |
Corey Seager is currently on a 9-game hitting streak, where he has gone 15-for-38 (.395 AVG) with five homers, three doubles, eight runs, and seven RBIs.
Troy Tulowitzki will be back on my radar tonight. Just big upside at a great price on a night where we’re probably going to need to pay up for some pitching. Matchup isn’t half bad either against Ervin Santana, who has been all over the place this season. Only 42.2% of his pitches are in the strike zone, which is a) terrible and b) a career worst.
Eduardo Nunez has cemented his spot in the Twins lineup with, flat out, superb play throughout the season. On top of that, he has batted a crazy good .362/.402/.511 with both of his homers against right-handed pitching this season.
Marcus Semien is, yet again, a featured play in my Hitting Coach article. Yes, his 10 home runs still lead American League shortstops, and he has gone a solid 9-for-26 (.346 AVG) with two homers, four walks, three runs, and five RBIs over his last eight games. He also hits much better at home, which, is hard to explain, but is something you should be aware of.
| OUTFIELD | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Player | Team | Bats | Opp | Opp Pitcher | AB | H | HR | R | RBI | BB | SB | AVG | OPS | ISO | BABIP | wOBA | LD% | Hard% | Z-Cont% | FD | DK | Aces |
| Mike Trout | LAA | R | LAD | Ross Stripling | 150 | 48 | 9 | 26 | 28 | 23 | 3 | .320 | .975 | .247 | .371 | .412 | 25.4% | 41.2% | 87.3% | $4,600 | $5,300 | $5,700 |
| Gregory Polanco | PIT | L | ATL | Michael Foltynewicz | 141 | 43 | 4 | 28 | 20 | 25 | 5 | .305 | .922 | .213 | .355 | .389 | 28.1% | 35.7% | 91.5% | $3,900 | $5,200 | $4,650 |
| Miguel Sano | MIN | R | TOR | Marco Estrada | 142 | 33 | 7 | 17 | 18 | 22 | 1 | .232 | .756 | .190 | .325 | .332 | 27.6% | 40.2% | 75.5% | $3,900 | $4,100 | $4,700 |
| Adam Duvall | CIN | R | CLE | Josh Tomlin | 114 | 31 | 7 | 16 | 16 | 6 | 1 | .272 | .873 | .289 | .338 | .368 | 21.8% | 35.9% | 84.1% | $3,700 | $3,800 | $4,050 |
| Jay Bruce | CIN | L | CLE | Josh Tomlin | 131 | 38 | 8 | 22 | 27 | 10 | 2 | .290 | .904 | .267 | .330 | .382 | 25.5% | 35.0% | 86.1% | $3,600 | $4,000 | $4,700 |
| Khris Davis | OAK | L | NYY | Ivan Nova | 147 | 35 | 12 | 18 | 29 | 5 | 0 | .238 | .793 | .279 | .235 | .336 | 15.5% | 40.0% | 71.2% | $3,400 | $4,100 | $5,100 |
| Joc Pederson | LAD | L | LAA | Jhoulys Chacin | 107 | 28 | 8 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 1 | .262 | .941 | .299 | .328 | .398 | 16.4% | 39.1% | 81.6% | $3,200 | $4,200 | $4,350 |
| Josh Reddick | OAK | L | NYY | Ivan Nova | 143 | 45 | 4 | 20 | 17 | 18 | 3 | .315 | .829 | .126 | .347 | .354 | 22.3% | 31.2% | 91.7% | $3,100 | $4,000 | $4,550 |
| Rajai Davis | CLE | R | CIN | Timothy Adleman | 112 | 28 | 4 | 19 | 18 | 10 | 9 | .250 | .731 | .170 | .316 | .319 | 21.5% | 32.5% | 84.5% | $2,900 | $3,400 | $4,300 |
| Billy Hamilton | CIN | S | CLE | Josh Tomlin | 96 | 22 | 1 | 16 | 5 | 6 | 8 | .229 | .629 | .125 | .280 | .275 | 26.5% | 17.3% | 89.9% | $2,800 | $3,500 | $4,200 |
| Matt Holliday | STL | R | COL | Jon Gray | 136 | 34 | 6 | 16 | 21 | 13 | 0 | .250 | .810 | .235 | .259 | .346 | 11.4% | 36.0% | 92.7% | $2,500 | $3,200 | $4,800 |
| Rafael Ortega | LAA | L | LAD | Ross Stripling | 54 | 17 | 0 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 3 | .315 | .695 | .019 | .340 | .313 | 19.1% | 15.4% | 95.2% | $2,500 | $3,100 | $3,750 |
| Lonnie Chisenhall | CLE | L | CIN | Timothy Adleman | 57 | 16 | 0 | 10 | 4 | 5 | 1 | .281 | .725 | .105 | .348 | .319 | 26.1% | 21.7% | 87.4% | $2,300 | $3,100 | $3,900 |
Mike Trout will be the player to pay up for in the outfield tonight. He is batting a typical Mike Trout .373/.456/.644 with four homers over his last 15 games. As I mentioned with Pujols, Ross Stripling has struggled a bit more against righties this season, and on top of that, he has been giving up a lot of contact, and has been struggling with his pitch location in recent weeks.
Gregory Polanco has gone 7-for-14 (.500 AVG) through the first three games of this series against the Braves. He also hits very well against the fastball, and as long as he can make some contact with one, I think he’s a lock for extra bases again tonight.
Miguel Sano’s price has definitely gone up over the last few days, and it makes him more under-the-radar because of it. I love his matchup against Marco Estrada, who is giving up a lot of fly balls, and a lot of hard hits. I view Sano as more of a GPP play because he’s definitely susceptible to strikeout multiple times, but also has the potential to go double dong.
Adam Duvall did not get the start last night, but he should be back in there tonight against Josh Tomlin and the Indians. Tomlin may have a solid 3.82 ERA and 1.08 WHIP, but his 40.7 Fly Ball Rate, 37.4 Hard Hit Rate, and 92.7% Z-Contact rate this season doesn’t really bode well for his future.
Jay Bruce hit two homers last night in a huge 3-for-4 game against the Indians. He has been sensational over his last seven games, going 13-for-24 (.542 AVG) with three homers, four walks, eight runs, and six RBIs.
Khris Davis helped me set a huge score in the FanDuel early slate with his 4th home run in two nights. If you’re a fan of riding hot streaks, Davis is a compelling option because of his power upside. Believe it or not, he is actually a better hitter against right-handed pitchers, and has hit 50 of his 72 career homers against righties. I prefer him in GPPs, but if you’re feeling frisky, I don’t mind him that much in cash because of his plus matchup against Ivan Nova.
Joc Pederson was an extremely streaky player in 2015. When he was bad, he was one of the worst players in baseball, but when he was good, people were ready to give him the NL Rookie of the Year award. In his last two games, he has gone 4-for-7 (.571 AVG) with two homers, a double, two runs, and four RBIs. On top of that, Jhoulys Chacin has given up four of his five home runs to lefties this season.
Josh Reddick is 11-for-30 (.367 AVG) with eight walks, eight runs, and three RBIs over his last 10 games. He has also batted a solid .364 (4-for-11) with a home run against Ivan Nova in their previous meetings.
Rajai Davis needs to be back into your lineups tonight. He is smokin’ hot and is still very reasonably priced throughout the industry. In this series against the Reds, he has gone 7-for-12 (.583 AVG) with two homers, a double, five walks, nine runs, seven RBIs, and a stolen base. Yes, that’s ONE series.
Billy Hamilton faces Josh Tomlin who is giving up a lot of contact, and doesn’t have the advanced statistics that support his 5-0 start. If Hamilton gets on base, it’s probably going to lead to some action on the base paths, and a lot of runs scored at the GAB.
Matt Holliday had a solid night last night, reaching base safely in two out of four plate appearances, and driving in two runs. He is still dirt cheap on FanDuel, and has to be in your consideration because of that price. I can see him being over 50% owned in FanDuel cash with most people paying up for Chris Sale tonight.
Rafael Ortega will be back in the Angels lineup thanks to an injury to Daniel Nava. Ortega has been extremely solid this season, and is making a ton of contact with the ball. That contact has led to a solid .315/.362/.333 line at the plate.
Lonnie Chisenhall has been swinging a hot bat, and is quite the value throughout the industry tonight. Over his last six games, he has gone 8-for-22 (.364 AVG) with three doubles, three walks, four runs, and three RBIs.
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!