DFS MLB Hitting Coach: May 6

With the Cubs playing their usual Friday day game at Wrigley, we have 14 games to go through for tonight’s DFS MLB slate (roster lock: 7:05 PM ET/4:05 PM PT). 

Weather has been relatively calm this week, and it should stay that way tonight, with only the Yankees/Orioles game having even a speck of rain in the forecast. Just a very pleasant change, and I'm crossing my fingers that it stays that way for awhile.

Some big tournaments going on throughout the industry, so I definitely wish you guys the best of luck. You can go multiple ways with your pitching, and depending on what you do, you may need to be thrifty with your hitters. So, of course, I will make sure to include at least one value option at each position.

And as always, the players are organized from highest salary to lowest salary at each position using FanDuel pricing. Let’s get started!

Jonathan Lucroy is definitely swinging a hot bat. He has gone 11-for-32 (.344 AVG) with a homer, triple, two doubles, five RBIs, and six runs over his last nine games. He also has a nice matchup against a career minor leaguer in Tim Adleman. 

Yadier Molina loves to hit at home, and especially so this season, considering he has gone 19-for-48 (.396 AVG) with six extra-base hits at Busch Stadium. 

Jason Castro has been extremely hot, going 7-for-15 (.467 AVG) at the plate, with two home runs over his last five starts. I was able to hit big on an Astros stack a couple days ago, and it totally works if you go 8, 9, 1, 2 or 9, 1, 3, 4 because they will still connect with each other when the lineup wraps around. 

A.J. Pierzynski is 21-for-54 (.389 AVG) with three homers and three doubles throughout his career against Zack Greinke. Considering his drop off this season, the only reason he’s here is as a punt play, but it’s still nice to know that he has been able to get the job done against Greinke in the past. 

Brandon Belt is 7-for-12 (.583) with two doubles in his career against Chad Bettis of the Rockies. He is probably a little too expensive for my taste on FanDuel, but is playable on DraftKings and FantasyAces. 

Miguel Cabrera’s numbers against Cole Hamels is quite appealing. He is 8-for-13 (.615 AVG) with a triple, two doubles, five walks, and just just one strikeout against the former Phillies southpaw. 

Carlos Santana has batted .333/.455/.722 with two homers and zero strikeouts throughout his career against Yordano Ventura. He continues to get on base regularly, and has reached base safely in eight consecutive games.

Mark Reynolds continues to be ignored, but in reality, people really should give the guy a chance. He continues to produce when he’s in the lineup, and he’s usually at a pretty affordable price when away from Coors. Again, he seems to be taking a page out of Mike Moustakas’s 2015, where he’s giving himself a better chance to get on base by going the opposite way more often. His 30.4% opposite field percentage is the highest in his career, and gives him a solid chance at beating the usual exaggerated shifts.

Jose Altuve is SMOKING hot right now. He has gone 7-for-12 (.583 AVG) with two homers, two doubles, five RBIs, and five runs over his last TWO games, and has a total of FOUR homers over his last eight games. That’s as hot as it gets, and it’s nice to know that he has batted .364/.391/.636 against Taijuan Walker throughout his career. 

Robinson Cano gets that nice park upgrade at Minute Maid Park, and a juicy matchup against Doug Fister, who has been getting ripped apart in 2016, allowing a 30.6% line drive rate this season. It’s also nice to know that Cano has gone 16-for-39 (.410), with three homers, three doubles, and 15 RBIs over his last nine games. 

Derek Dietrich continues to surprise, batting .282/.404/.564 with two homers over his last 15 games. He will face Vince Velasquez, who has been a pleasant surprise, but someone who is still allowing his share of fly balls, and who hasn’t exactly been consistent. 

Brandon Phillips seems to be turning things around. If you faded him on FanDuel last night, you ended up putting yourself in a tough situation because he went 2-for-3 with a homer and a double. In fact, he has homers in back-to-back games, and looks much more comfortable at the plate. His price is still dirt cheap, so it could be a nice way for you to be able to pay up for the big studs at pitcher. 

Kyle Seager has put together a nice string of games, going 10-for-25 (.400 AVG) with two homers, a triple, three doubles, and eight RBIs over his last six games. He has also homered in the past against Doug Fister, who is more so a contact pitcher this season compared to any other point in his career. 

Nick Castellanos is arguably the hottest hitter that no one knows is a hot hitter in the Majors. Over his last eight games, Castellanos has gone 15-for-29 (.517 AVG) with three homers, a triple, three doubles, and 12 RBIs. It also helps that the opposing pitcher, Cole Hamels, is a southpaw, and Castellanos has a .806 OPS against lefties over the last three seasons. 

Martin Prado will never be someone you’re extremely excited to roster, but he just gets the job done. Just not many guys able to maintain a .374 AVG and .408 OBP with regular at-bats at his price. 

Aaron Hill is quite the boring name himself, but he has gotten regular playing time with the loss of Scooter Gennett, and is currently working on a 6-game hitting streak, where he has been able to go 8-for-20 (.400 AVG) with a double. Just so you guys are aware, I’d rather have the Donaldson’s and Machado’s of the world in my lineups, but sometimes, you have to go cheap with what you’re looking to construct. 

Jonathan Villar is currently on the tear of his life, getting on-base safely 11 times in his last five games. He is also stealing a ton of bases, but didn’t really get a chance to do anything last night because the game was out of hand when he was on the bases. It’s interesting to note that Tucker Barnhart had allowed six stolen bases in his three previous starts. 

Jean Segura has been a workhorse this season. His departure from Milwaukee has been a blessing in disguise, and he has been able to get on base at will. He’ll face the young Aaron Blair of the Braves, who has only pitched 11.1 innings this season, but doesn’t appear to be fooling anyone with his stuff. 

Aledmys Diaz got a surprise look at the leadoff spot on Wednesday, and it worked out so well that I wouldn’t be surprised if he was back there tonight. It’s tough to argue against playing someone who is batting .381/.422/.679 with five homers in as good of a spot as leadoff. We’ll have to wait and see. 

Alcides Escobar is batting .300/.364/.300 with two stolen bases in his career against Danny Salazar. He will always be an interesting punt play on FanDuel because he has the ability for a big outing at such a cheap price. 

Mike Trout will be pretty contrarian tonight considering he’s facing Chris Archer, but there’s definitely some huge upside, especially with the way Trout has been smashing the ball. Over his last 10 games, Trout has gone 14-for-41 (.341 AVG) with four homers, a triple, two doubles, and 14 RBIs. I’m still on the fence about using him in cash games, but if we’re talking about GPPs, I don’t think anyone else has as much upside. 

Mark Trumbo has hit 5 home runs in just 30 at-bats against left-handed pitchers this season, and has historically had a higher home run rate against southpaws. Rich Hill may be having a good season, but he depends a lot on his curveball, which Trumbo flat-out knows how to hit. 

Jay Bruce has changed his approach at the plate this season, and the results are definitely positive. Simply put, he has been a pull hitter throughout his career, and that hasn’t changed. What has changed is that he has shortened up his swing, and  making much more contact with the ball, leading to more line drives. His current 29.9% line drive rate is, by far, the most in his career. Even better, he has been able to maintain his power, which we can see by his solid .233 ISO. 

Khris Davis probably shouldn’t be in your consideration set for cash games, but I’m loving him for GPPs tonight against a subpar pitcher in Mike Wright. Davis has hit three homers over his last three games, and is a solid 12-for-42 (.286 AVG) over his last 10 games. 

Gregory Polanco has an impressive .615/.706/.923 line against Carlos Martinez of the Cardinals. This is all through 17 plate appearances, so I’m more inclined to view those numbers as legit. 

Michael Brantley is one of the best pure hitters in all of baseball. We just can’t forget about him just because he started the season off on the DL. He has batted an impressive .316/.374/.488 against right-handed pitchers through the last three seasons. 

Jacoby Ellsbury wasn’t able to do any damage last week against Rick Porcello, but you can’t really ignore someone who is 12-for-28 (.429) lifetime against a pitcher. Ellsbury has been hitting much better lately after a rough start, and I think it’ll be tougher for Porcello to have as good of a game this time around, with the short right-field porch in Yankee Stadium. 

David Peralta’s price has dropped below $3000 on FanDuel, and it makes him a great play tonight against Aaron Blair of the Braves. He is coming off of a great series against the Marlins where he hit his first home run in nearly a month. 

Adam Duvall, believe it or not, has homered in three consecutive games. I mentioned in some of my first few Hitting Coach articles that this guy’s power is legit, and he is definitely proving it with regular playing time. I think he has an amazing shot at homering for a 4th consecutive game against Tyler Cravy, who hasn’t been very good in his short time in the majors. 

Avisail Garcia is 10-for-22 (.454 AVG) with two homers, a triple, a double, and five RBIs over his last six games. He is just in the zone right now, and I think a date with Ricky Nolasco may help him continue his tear. 

Leonys Martin tends to play his best when he reeks havoc on the bases, and that’s what he has been doing. Over his last three games, he has gone 5-for-12 (.416 AVG) with a homer, four runs, and three stolen bases. While I don’t like him batting 9th, I’d say he’s absolutely stackable with the main Mariners highlighted in the article. 

Rafael Ortega is in a great spot hitting in front of Mike Trout in the 2-hole for the Angels. The upside isn’t there because he just doesn’t hit for power, but he is doing a great job at getting on base, going 13-for-38 (.348 AVG) with three walks and eight runs over his last 10 games.

Alex Presley will only be in play if he’s back in the 2-hole hitting behind Jonathan Villar. With Domingo Santana set to return at any moment, I can’t be sure that Presley will be back in that prime position batting in front of Ryan Braun. Still, he’s coming off a game where he went 2-for-4 with a home run, and he has enough speed to do damage on the bases. 

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!