We conclude the month of May with a 12-game evening slate that will have a roster lock of 7:05 PM ET/4:05 PM PT.
With a very weak 3-game early slate that includes a late start in Cleveland, we are going to put all of our focus on the main slate.
Since most people will be leaning toward Jake Arrieta as their cash game pitcher, I will be listing at least one punt play at each position. The only way I’m going to lean towards a different value option is if another name gets a good spot in their lineup once lineups are released (e.g. Adeiny Hechavarria leading off last night). So keep an eye on the Fantasy Alarm Daily Lineups page to view the lineups as they are released.
From what I can tell, the only problem spot as far as weather is, of course, Coors Field. There is still a reasonable chance that the game plays, but the only way we know for sure is to keep an eye on the weather as we get closer to roster lock. I will still include my Coors plays in my article regardless of what happens. Regardless, it may be a wise idea to fade Coors, especially on DraftKings where the salaries are heavily inflated.
The statistics in my Hitting Coach tables are updated up to Sunday’s games. If you have any questions about any of the statistics, please feel free to let me know.
| 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 |
| Victor Martinez | DET | S | LAA | Hector Santiago | 171 | 60 | 7 | 20 | 30 | 12 | 0 | .351 | .936 | .187 | .358 | .399 | 28.4% | 42.6% | 92.9% | $3,700 | $4,400 | $4,950 |
| Jonathan Lucroy | MIL | R | STL | Mike Leake | 171 | 50 | 8 | 27 | 26 | 16 | 1 | .292 | .861 | .216 | .328 | .366 | 23.5% | 35.3% | 86.1% | $3,600 | $4,400 | $4,800 |
| Cameron Rupp | PHI | R | WSH | Joe Ross | 111 | 30 | 2 | 9 | 10 | 2 | 1 | .270 | .704 | .144 | .359 | .303 | 20.0% | 28.8% | 82.7% | $2,600 | $2,600 | $3,400 |
| Stephen Vogt | OAK | L | MIN | Tyler Duffey | 155 | 40 | 4 | 15 | 12 | 6 | 0 | .258 | .682 | .129 | .293 | .296 | 23.8% | 24.4% | 92.8% | $2,400 | $3,000 | $4,200 |
Victor Martinez snapped a 7-game hitting streak last night where he went 13-for-29 (.448 AVG) with a homer and eight RBIs. V-Mart hits for better power and a better average from the right-side of the plate, and that’s where he’ll be tonight going up against Hector Santiago, who has been reeling since Geovany Soto went down with an injury.
Jonathan Lucroy has gone .469/.514/.625 throughout his career against Mike Leake over 35 plate appearances. Lucroy has a 4-game hitting streak where he has gone 7-for-14 (.500 AVG) with two homers, a triple, a double, and nine RBIs.
Cameron Rupp has hits in eight of his last nine starts, going 12-for-36 (.333 AVG) with a homer, three doubles, and six RBIs.
Stephen Vogt is highlighted in the Hitting Coach article for what seems like 7th game in a row. He happens to have a 7-game hitting streak where he has hit a homer, two doubles, and five RBIs. He makes a ton of contact, which is great for your cash games, and is reasonably priced throughout the industry.
| 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 |
| David Ortiz | BOS | L | BAL | Kevin Gausman | 168 | 57 | 13 | 25 | 46 | 24 | 1 | .339 | 1.140 | .381 | .346 | .466 | 18.6% | 48.6% | 90.9% | $4,800 | $5,500 | $5,650 |
| Miguel Cabrera | DET | R | LAA | Hector Santiago | 183 | 56 | 11 | 28 | 31 | 23 | 0 | .306 | .931 | .240 | .317 | .394 | 23.5% | 38.6% | 83.3% | $4,100 | $5,400 | $5,750 |
| Freddie Freeman | ATL | L | SF | Jake Peavy | 184 | 47 | 8 | 23 | 15 | 21 | 1 | .255 | .774 | .174 | .317 | .332 | 28.5% | 34.4% | 79.0% | $2,900 | $4,000 | $4,750 |
| Chris Carter | MIL | R | STL | Mike Leake | 177 | 40 | 13 | 26 | 31 | 17 | 0 | .226 | .806 | .294 | .262 | .337 | 21.6% | 40.5% | 78.0% | $2,900 | $3,600 | $4,800 |
David Ortiz is fine folks. His homer in yesterday’s game against the Orioles had plenty of people shaking their heads after benching him because of his injury. He is back to being a premier play tonight against Kevin Gausman, who he has crushed to the tune of 6-for-13 (.462 AVG) with two homers and three doubles.
Miguel Cabrera is 2-for-4 with a homer and two walks in six career plate appearances against Hector Santiago of the Angels. Santiago led the league in Fly Ball Rate last season and is among the top 3 in the majors in 2016. This is as good of a spot as Miggy and the other Tigers right-handed bats are going to get all-season long.
Freddie Freeman is back below $3000 on FanDuel, and provides a little bit of salary relief for those looking to pay up for Jake Arrieta.
Chris Carter is almost always a GPP play. Yes, his home run upside is huge, but unless he’s a minimum salary, his batting average tends to be around the Mendoza line and is killer if you’re using him in cash. Nonetheless, I love his matchup against Mike Leake. Leake gives up a boat load of contact and has a Swinging Strike Rate of just 5.6% (worst of his career). Any contact from Chris Carter can go out of the park, so I love him in GPPs tonight.
| 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 |
| Daniel Murphy | WSH | L | PHI | Aaron Nola | 186 | 72 | 7 | 27 | 30 | 10 | 1 | .387 | 1.017 | .210 | .409 | .430 | 25.9% | 38.6% | 95.4% | $4,000 | $3,900 | $5,100 |
| Neil Walker | NYM | S | CHW | Mat Latos | 169 | 46 | 11 | 21 | 22 | 14 | 1 | .272 | .819 | .219 | .307 | .347 | 22.6% | 34.4% | 86.7% | $3,000 | $3,900 | $4,750 |
| Brian Dozier | MIN | R | OAK | Eric Surkamp | 167 | 34 | 5 | 21 | 16 | 17 | 3 | .204 | .628 | .132 | .225 | .28 | 19.7% | 25.9% | 87.1% | $3,000 | $3,700 | $4,600 |
| Kolten Wong | STL | L | MIL | Wily Peralta | 113 | 26 | 1 | 13 | 5 | 11 | 3 | 0.230 | .616 | .071 | .272 | .279 | 16.3% | 16.1% | 91.3% | $2,200 | $3,700 | $4,100 |
Daniel Murphy is basically a freak of nature. Not really sure how he’s pulling this off, but I’m sure being surrounded by potent bats doesn’t hurt. He currently has a 9-game hitting streak, where he has gone 16-for-35 (.457 AVG) with two homers, a double, and six RBIs. He’s expensive, but is almost a lock to bring in production.
Neil Walker has batted a solid .280/.400/.560 with a couple homers in his previous meetings against Mat Latos. Latos may be 6-1 with a 4.06 ERA, but he has a 1.41 HR/9, 4.59 K/9, and 5.24 xFIP. That’s BAD, folks.
Brian Dozier has been awful this season, but is showing signs of life, moving back to the top of the order, and getting hits in each of his last five games. He gets a southpaw tonight in Eric Surkamp, who is giving up a 6.88 xFIP this season.
Kolten Wong is a ways behind his 11-HR 2015 season, but still has the potential of being a consistent producer in the Majors. His 91.3% Z-Contact Rate is the best of his career, but his Line Drive Rate of 16.3% and Hard Hit Rate of 16.1% happens to be his worst. Still, it is reasonable for you to take your chances on Wong tonight, as he matches up against Wily Peralta, who has been terribad in 2016.
| 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 |
| Nolan Arenado | COL | R | CIN | Jon Moscot | 191 | 54 | 14 | 34 | 39 | 20 | 0 | .283 | .912 | .277 | .258 | .386 | 14.9% | 38.2% | 93.6% | $4,400 | $5,300 | $6,000 |
| Matt Carpenter | STL | L | MIL | Wily Peralta | 174 | 42 | 9 | 29 | 33 | 32 | 0 | .241 | .853 | .247 | .264 | .363 | 23.3% | 40.2% | 91.6% | $3,500 | $5,000 | $5,450 |
| Eugenio Suarez | CIN | R | COL | Jon Gray | 179 | 39 | 9 | 23 | 26 | 11 | 4 | .218 | .662 | .173 | .252 | .288 | 19.5% | 32.1% | 84.3% | $2,700 | $4,000 | $5,000 |
| Eric Campbell | NYM | R | CHW | Mat Latos | 62 | 10 | 1 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 1 | .161 | .500 | .065 | .231 | .237 | 20.0% | 35.0% | 85.9% | $2,000 | $3,100 | $3,600 |
Nolan Arenado is the Rockies biggest home run threat and matches up against Jon Moscot of the Reds, who is giving up a 5.89 xFIP, 3.45 K/9, and 2.30 HR/9 this season. That is not the resume you want to have when playing a game at Coors Field.
Matt Carpenter absolutely owns Wily Peralta. He is 16-for-35 (.457 AVG) with three homers, four doubles, four walks, 10 runs, and seven RBIs against the Brewers dumpster fire
Eugenio Suarez may be struggling, but he should not be priced at just $2700 on FanDuel when he is playing at Coors. Case in point: Monday. He went 2-for-5 with a solo homer. He’s a good way to get some cheap exposure to Coors. I’m not a fan of his contact rate, but plenty of people will be on him tonight, so I don’t mind going with him in cash if you need to.
Eric Campbell has struggled mightily since being recalled from AAA Las Vegas, but he has power upside, a great matchup against Mat Latos, and a low price point throughout the industry. His biggest issue right now is a brutal K/rate, which should be fine going up against a non-strikeout pitcher in Latos.
| 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 |
| Xander Bogaerts | BOS | R | BAL | Kevin Gausman | 208 | 73 | 6 | 42 | 28 | 17 | 7 | .351 | .915 | .163 | .401 | .395 | 19.8% | 33.0% | 89.8% | $4,700 | $5,100 | $5,350 |
| Trevor Story | COL | R | CIN | Jon Moscot | 197 | 53 | 14 | 29 | 36 | 14 | 3 | .269 | .903 | .315 | .355 | .377 | 23.6% | 42.5% | 83.2% | $4,200 | $5,500 | $5,350 |
| Eduardo Nunez | MIN | R | OAK | Eric Surkamp | 151 | 51 | 5 | 21 | 20 | 5 | 9 | .338 | .876 | .172 | .383 | .375 | 18.7% | 28.2% | 88.2% | $3,400 | $3,800 | $4,350 |
| Darwin Barney | TOR | R | NYY | CC Sabathia | 81 | 26 | 2 | 13 | 6 | 3 | 2 | .321 | .810 | .136 | .375 | .351 | 27.7% | 27.3% | 84.1% | $2,400 | $2,300 | $3,850 |
Xander Bogaerts’s 23-game hitting streak hasn’t been full of seeing eye singles and bloop hits. He has been crushing the ball throughout and getting extra-base hits left and right. He is 5-for-14 (.357 AVG) against Kevin Gausman throughout his career, and should be in line to extend his hitting streak another game.
Trevor Story has dropped down in the batting order, and it appears to have helped him get his name back on track. His strikeout rate is absolutely brutal, but he still carries a ton of upside, and still leads the Majors in homers at the shortstop position.
Eduardo Nunez is batting 12-for-22 (.545 AVG) with two homers, a double, five runs, three RBIs, and a stolen base over his last five games. He has emerged as a very reliable fantasy option, and we should be giving him consideration on a regular basis.
Darwin Barney will likely get the nod at shortstop tonight with the lefty CC Sabathia on the mound, and Troy Tulowitzki on the Disabled List. Would you believe me if I told you that Barney is batting a solid .321 this season? Even better, he is 10-for-25 (.400 AVG) against southpaws at Rogers Center.
| 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 |
| Marcell Ozuna | MIA | R | PIT | Gerrit Cole | 189 | 65 | 10 | 34 | 27 | 15 | 0 | .344 | .990 | .254 | .404 | .419 | 19.2% | 35.6% | 85.2% | $4,400 | $4,300 | $4,500 |
| Lorenzo Cain | KC | R | TB | Drew Smyly | 185 | 54 | 7 | 25 | 28 | 14 | 6 | .292 | .787 | .151 | .353 | .342 | 23.6% | 27.1% | 86.6% | $4,000 | $4,500 | $5,250 |
| Carlos Gonzalez | COL | L | CIN | Jon Moscot | 191 | 57 | 8 | 32 | 18 | 11 | 0 | .298 | .824 | .188 | .340 | .351 | 19.9% | 29.7% | 84.1% | $3,900 | $5,200 | $5,500 |
| Adam Duvall | CIN | R | COL | Jon Gray | 150 | 40 | 11 | 22 | 26 | 6 | 1 | .267 | .875 | .307 | .312 | .368 | 23.1% | 37.5% | 86.2% | $3,900 | $4,400 | $4,650 |
| Bryce Harper | WSH | L | PHI | Aaron Nola | 155 | 38 | 13 | 32 | 34 | 48 | 7 | .245 | .958 | .297 | .229 | .388 | 14.0% | 36.1% | 89.9% | $3,900 | $4,700 | $5,850 |
| Denard Span | SF | L | ATL | Matt Wisler | 190 | 51 | 2 | 22 | 19 | 24 | 6 | .268 | .721 | .095 | .29 | .323 | 19.0% | 26.4% | 94.4% | $3,400 | $3,600 | $4,700 |
| Khris Davis | OAK | R | MIN | Tyler Duffey | 181 | 44 | 14 | 22 | 34 | 5 | 0 | .243 | .797 | .282 | .250 | .335 | 17.9% | 41.8% | 70.8% | $3,400 | $3,900 | $5,100 |
| Curtis Granderson | NYM | L | CHW | Mat Latos | 183 | 38 | 9 | 24 | 15 | 21 | 0 | .208 | .735 | .224 | .236 | .318 | 19.1% | 40.2% | 88.1% | $3,300 | $4,100 | $4,550 |
| Gerardo Parra | COL | L | CIN | Jon Moscot | 191 | 52 | 3 | 26 | 22 | 3 | 5 | .272 | .708 | .152 | .310 | .301 | 15.4% | 28.3% | 90.3% | $3,300 | $4,000 | $4,750 |
| Matt Holliday | STL | R | MIL | Wily Peralta | 171 | 42 | 8 | 22 | 26 | 17 | 0 | .246 | .789 | .222 | .260 | .339 | 12.2% | 37.4% | 92.5% | $3,000 | $4,200 | $4,600 |
| Nolan Reimold | BAL | R | BOS | Eduardo Rodriguez | 74 | 22 | 4 | 12 | 9 | 4 | 1 | .297 | .829 | .203 | .367 | .354 | 20.8% | 22.6% | 78.7% | $2,600 | $3,000 | $3,800 |
| Whit Merrifield | KC | R | TB | Drew Smyly | 36 | 13 | 0 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 1 | .361 | .833 | .111 | .464 | .359 | 39.3% | 35.7% | 95.9% | $2,600 | $3,800 | $3,650 |
| Corey Dickerson | TB | L | KC | Dillon Gee | 143 | 29 | 8 | 14 | 19 | 9 | 0 | .203 | .698 | .245 | .223 | .292 | 11.8% | 36.3% | 72.3% | $2,600 | $3,800 | $4,600 |
| Byron Buxton | MIN | R | OAK | Eric Surkamp | 45 | 7 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | .156 | .497 | .133 | .333 | .218 | 26.3% | 22.7% | 80.7% | $2,100 | $2,300 | $3,500 |
Marcell Ozuna gets a pass for last night’s stinker after all the money he has won us this season. Still, Ozuna should stay on everyone’s radar regardless of the matchup. He remains ridiculously underpriced on Aces and you should be considering him in your lineups on a daily basis.
Lorenzo Cain is about to conclude a memorable May where he batted .350/.382/.563 with five homers, seven doubles, and a whopping 20 RBIs. He is also batting .359/.419/.590 against left-handed pitching this season, and gets a good matchup against Drew Smyly, who has always been a bit of a fly ball pitcher, but has taken it up a notch, allowing a 50.9% Fly Ball Rate in 2016.
Carlos Gonzalez gets that juicy matchup against Jon Moscot, and will be in ALL of my cash games tonight. He is in one of his huge tears right now, going 16-for-32 (.500 AVG) with four homers, a triple, a double, 10 runs, and seven RBIs over his last eight games.
Adam Duvall had a huge two-HR game in Coors yesterday, and has a chance of repeating it with three games left at Coors. Duvall has actually faced Jon Gray in the minors, and went 2-for-3 with a double.
Bryce Harper has crushed it in Philadelphia throughout his career, and has been able to dominate the Phillies’ best pitcher, Aaron Nola. Harper has gone 6-for-10 (.600 AVG) with two homers and four RBIs over the last two seasons against Nola. There’s a good chance that he’ll be out of the lineup because of a HBP that left him with a knee contusion last night, but if he does play, he should have less ownership, making him a very good GPP option tonight.
Denard Span has reached base safely in each of his last five games, going 7-for-19 (.368 AVG) with a home run, two doubles, and three RBIs.
Khris Davis gets another matchup against a pitcher who throws a lot of knuckle curveballs in Tyler Duffey. Duffey has thrown the pitch 42% of the time this season. I mentioned a few weeks back that Davis is MLB’s best hitter against the knuckle curve since PITCHf/x started tracking these type of statistics. He has huge upside, and especially so when the matchup is right. He is going to be in A LOT of my GPP lineups tonight, and honestly, I’m not afraid to play him in cash games depending on what I’m looking to do with my lineup construction.
Curtis Granderson got the day off against the White Sox on Monday, but is coming off of a nice series against the Dodgers, where he went 4-for-12 (.333 AVG) with a homer, triple, double, and two RBIs. He loves facing weak right-handed pitching, and that’s what he gets tonight, in Mat Latos.
Gerardo Parra tends to be the forgotten man in the outfield for the Rockies. He has cooled off in recent weeks, but still has a lot of upside batting in the middle of the Rockies lineup at Coors. Parra is batting .313/.337/.518 with a .205 ISO at home. His Z-Contact rate has been over 90% in five of his seven MLB seasons, making him a very solid cash game play on any site.
Matt Holliday is 10-for-28 (.357 AVG) with two homers and seven RBIs, lifetime, against Wily Peralta of the Brewers. He had a huge game against the Brewers on Monday, going 3-for-4 with a bomb of a home run. He has gone 8-for-12 (.667 AVG) with two homers over his last three games, and is close to a must play tonight at just $3000 on FanDuel.
Nolan Reimold has the slight edge over Adam Jones for me as the right-handed outfield option to go up against Eduardo Rodriguez of the Red Sox. Jones should be rather popular batting leadoff at only $3000 tonight on FanDuel, but I feel Reimold is a safer play. Jones has a batting average of just .143 against lefties at Camden Yards this season while Reimold is batting .286 under the same circumstances.
Whit Merrifield has been playing anywhere from second, third, and the outfield over the last few weeks, but the one thing that has been constant is that he’s getting a very good look in the #2 hole in front of Lorenzo Cain. He makes very good contact and will remain a safe punt play as long as he’s at the top of the lineup. Merrifield gets a decent matchup against Drew Smyly whose 1.60 HR/9 makes you wonder if his 3.92 ERA could be a lot worse if more of those home runs had runners on-base.
Corey Dickerson is having a season to forget in Tampa, but there’s still no denying his talent. He’ll face Dillon Gee tonight, who he has gone 3-for-6 (.500 AVG) with a homer against from their time in the National League.
Byron Buxton will more than likely be in tonight’s lineup after getting called up because of an injury to Danny Santana. The matchup cannot be much better for the young Buxton who put up a great line of .336/.403/.603 with six homers and nine triples in AAA Rochester. His numbers in the minors have always been significantly better against southpaws, and Eric Surkamp is a pretty terrible southpaw.
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!