Tonight’s slate does not provide a great deal of choices. With only 5 games, and no ace, you should be able to fit in just about every player you want tonight. On these nights, I prefer tournaments over cash games. There really isn’t a standout play at any position tonight, so trying to enter a few combinations may be your best route, but can’t go wrong targeting the Red Sox who have scored 8 or more runs in 10 of their last 14 home games. Good luck!
| CATCHER | |||||||||
| Player | Team | Bats | AVG | OBP | OPS | BABIP | FD | DK | Aces |
| Salvador Perez | KC | R | .283 | .315 | .824 | .325 | $3,200 | $4,100 | $4,700 |
| Christian Vazquez | BOS | R | .218 | .261 | .594 | .277 | $2,200 | $2,800 | $3,750 |
| Dioner Navarro | CWS | B | .224 | .271 | .638 | .256 | $2,900 | $3,700 | $3,650 |
Catcher
Salvador Perez checks in as my top catcher tonight. He is 5-14 against Gonzalez, and hitting .432 over his last 11 games. Dioner Navarro would be the lower owned option, and he does have a homer vs Duffy. If punting, Christian Vasquez or Blake Swihart would be my option. The Red Sox have the highest run total of the night, and whichever player gets the start makes for the nice punt play.
| FIRST BASE | |||||||||
| Player | Team | Bats | AVG | OBP | OPS | BABIP | FD | DK | Aces |
| Jose Abreu | CWS | R | .258 | .325 | .739 | .300 | $3,600 | $4,300 | $5,100 |
| David Ortiz | BOS | L | .333 | .418 | 1.104 | .347 | $4,600 | $5,200 | $5,650 |
| Matt Adams | STL | L | .316 | .374 | .935 | .391 | $3,000 | $3,200 | $4,400 |
| Freddie Freeman | ATL | L | .256 | .346 | .792 | .310 | $3,100 | $4,200 | $4,750 |
First Base
David Ortiz’s price is way up, but with no pitchers to pay up for, you can afford him if you want. Ortiz is 9-15 over his last 4 games. If looking for a cheaper option with similar upside, Jose Abreu has been heating up with back to back 3 hit games, and is 7-19 vs Duffy. I have a feeling Matt Adams will be a popular play tonight, and it makes sense. Adams has 6 hrs, and batting .392 in 15 games vs Washington. Mark Reynolds will also be a popular target for GPP’s, but on FD and Aces, Freddie Freeman at roughly the same price to me is the better option.
| SECOND BASE | |||||||||
| Player | Team | Bats | AVG | OBP | OPS | BABIP | FD | DK | Aces |
| Kolten Wong | STL | L | .243 | .331 | .649 | .291 | $2,400 | $3,500 | $4,100 |
| Gordon Beckham | ATL | R | .310 | .402 | .853 | .350 | $2,400 | $2,600 | $3,500 |
| Dustin Pedroia | BOS | R | .304 | .364 | .834 | .333 | $3,900 | $4,100 | $5,000 |
| DJ LeMahieu | COL | R | .307 | .361 | .788 | .346 | $3,100 | $3,400 | $4,600 |
Second Base
With Carpenter out for a few days, Kolten Wong can easily be your plug and play 2B on FD, especially if leading off. Wong also has a .378 career average vs Washington. If not on Wong, Dustin Pedroia should be the other player you target. He has hit safely in 7 out of his last 8 games, and Sox are the team to target tonight. If looking to go low owned, higher risk route, Gordon Beckham and DJ LaMehieu are worth a look, but I’m sticking with Wong or Pedroia.
| THIRD BASE | |||||||||
| Player | Team | Bats | AVG | OBP | OPS | BABIP | FD | DK | Aces |
| Luis Valbuena | HOU | L | .210 | .295 | .666 | .256 | $2,600 | $3,200 | $4,250 |
| Cheslor Cuthbert | KC | R | .237 | .250 | .589 | .277 | $2,200 | $2,700 | $3,700 |
| Kelly Johnson | ATL | L | .222 | .293 | .604 | .271 | $2,200 | $3,000 | $3,800 |
Third Base
Although Travis Shaw is not listed above, he is a great play if in the lineup, but if I stack the Sox, he will be the more popular guy I will be fading. You can definitely pay up for a top player, but there are not many options, and have to try to find a way to be different in short slate tournies. On the flip side, there are a few solid plays that are cheap plays in Luis Valbeuna, Cheslor Cuthbert, and Kelly Johnson. Valbeuna has taken Gausman deep before, and will be the one I target most.
| SHORTSTOP | |||||||||
| Player | Team | Bats | AVG | OBP | OPS | BABIP | FD | DK | Aces |
| Xander Bogaerts | BOS | R | .349 | .404 | .917 | .401 | $4,500 | $4,500 | $5,150 |
| Jonathan Villar | MIL | B | .290 | .386 | .781 | .404 | $3,700 | $3,600 | $4,550 |
| Aledmys Diaz | STL | R | .331 | .361 | .919 | .333 | $2,900 | $3,300 | $4,650 |
| Alcides Escobar | KC | R | .266 | .297 | .614 | .310 | $3,000 | $3,600 | $3,800 |
Shortstop
Xander Bogaerts is now on his own 18 game hit streak, and batting .405 during this run. I feel like on a short slate, he is by far a must play for cash games, and still the top target in GPP’s. If deciding to punt SS, Alcidis Escobar would be my top target. He has hit safely in 7 of last 8 games, but still a risk compared to Xander. Any other SS plays should only be used for stacking purposes I feel.
| OUTFIELD | |||||||||
| Player | Team | Bats | AVG | OBP | OPS | BABIP | FD | DK | Aces |
| Lorenzo Cain | KC | R | .291 | .346 | .770 | .358 | $3,900 | $4,300 | $5,250 |
| Jackie Bradley Jr. | BOS | L | .350 | .417 | 1.042 | .403 | $4,300 | $4,000 | $5,000 |
| Carlos Gonzalez | COL | L | .282 | .324 | .761 | .333 | $3,000 | $3,900 | $5,000 |
| Ben Revere | WSH | L | .194 | .244 | .563 | .213 | $3,000 | $3,600 | $4,150 |
| Austin Jackson | CWS | R | .241 | .305 | .640 | .311 | $2,800 | $3,200 | $4,200 |
| Ender Inciarte | ATL | L | .224 | .306 | .569 | .270 | $3,000 | $3,800 | $4,100 |
Outfield
Jackie Bradley Jr. has been batting .415 during his hit streak, and tough to ignore what he has been doing. The biggest problem is that he is practically the same price as Mokie Betts as many sites. Betts has been an RBI machine, and guess it just depends on which 4-5 Red Sox you decide to target. If you haven’t noticed, I’m a huge fan of taking mid to lower priced leadoff hitters, and both Ben Revere and Ender Inciarte fit the mold tonight. Which one you choose may depend on if you are rostering any other players from their teams. My probably not so sneaky, but doubt he will be highly owned play tonight is Carlos Gonzalez. He recorded 3 singles last night, and hoping for a multi hr game tonight. Also, his price is the same on FD as the two leadoff guys listed above. Austin Jackson is 8-25 with a homer off of Duffy, and worth a look is stacking the White Sox.
Player News
Tanner Gordon will start the second game of Thursday’s doubleheader against the Tigers.
Gordon will take the ball for Thursday’s nightcap at Coors Field and is not a recommended streaming option for fantasy purposes. The 27-year-old righty finished last year with a calamitous 8.65 ERA across eight starts for the Rockies.
Zach Eflin (lat) will return this weekend to start against the Angels.
Eflin got through Wednesday’s bullpen session without any issues and has been cleared to take the ball this weekend against the Angels. The 31-year-old righty has been out since early April recovering from a low-grade lat strain. He’s worthy of a roster spot in deeper mixed leagues, even if he doesn’t offer astronomical strikeout upside.
Wilmer Flores went 3-for-4 and knocked in his 33rd run of the season in the Giants’ 3-1 defeat of the Cubs on Wednesday.
The early home barrage is long over, but Flores is still fourth in the league in RBI, even as his .737 OPS puts him 200-500 points behind the three guys above him (Pete Alonso, Teoscar Hernández and Aaron Judge). After 37 games this season, he’s almost halfway to his career high of 71 RBI, which he achieved in 151 games in 2022.
Robbie Ray pitched six innings of one-run ball Wednesday to beat the Cubs and move to 5-0.
He fanned five and walked two. Ray’s strikeout, walk and exit velocity numbers this season are all worse than his career marks, yet here he is 5-0 with a 2.84 ERA. He’s definitely a sell-high candidate, but it is entirely possible his peripherals will improve and that he’ll remain a fine starter going forward. Pitching in San Francisco definitely helps with the home run ball, which is one big thing working in his favor. He’s set to face the Diamondbacks next time out.
Ryan Walker rebounded from Tuesday’s poor showing to pitch a scoreless ninth with a two-run lead Wednesday versus the Cubs.
Walker didn’t blow a save last night, but he might as well have in giving up two runs in the ninth (Erik Miller replaced him and got the blown save for allowing one of Walker’s runners to score). Despite that, the Giants went with their typical arrangement today, and Camilo Doval, Tyler Rogers and Walker turned in scoreless seventh, eighth and ninth innings respectively. Walker’s perfect frame came without a strikeout. His K rate currently stands at 25%, well down from last year’s mark of 32%.
Ben Brown fanned nine but took his third loss after allowing three runs in five innings Wednesday against the Giants.
Brown issued two walks. Those led off the first and fourth innings, and the Giants went to score all three of their runs in those innings. Brown wasn’t hit hard, and the nine strikeouts were great. He just put himself into bad spots with those walks, and now he’ll take a 3-3 record and a 4.95 ERA into his next start, a favorable home matchup against the Marlins. He’ll be a streaming option in that one.