Since we are just working with a 6-game slate, today’s Hitting Coach will be fairly condensed, offering three recommended plays at each position, except outfield where there will be nine recommended plays.
We had to deal with a threat of a rainout last night in Washington, but the problem spot tonight will actually be in Pittsburgh where the Reds/Pirates game appears to be in serious jeopardy.
Another side note, the tables are updated as of Tuesday’s games. The stats engine I use has not updated yesterday’s games.
| 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 |
| Gary Sanchez | NYY | R | TB | Alex Cobb | 115 | 40 | 11 | 20 | 21 | 14 | 1 | .348 | 1.136 | .365 | .387 | .467 | 16.3% | 41.9% | 85.4% | $3,800 | $4,700 | $5,000 |
| Yadier Molina | STL | R | MIL | Junior Guerra | 452 | 134 | 7 | 47 | 46 | 35 | 3 | .296 | .770 | .122 | .322 | .334 | 21.8% | 32.8% | 90.5% | $2,900 | $3,700 | $4,400 |
| Tom Murphy | COL | R | SD | Clayton Richard | 7 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | .571 | 1.625 | .429 | .750 | .667 | 40.0% | 40.0% | 88.9% | $2,400 | $2,600 | $3,400 |
Gary Sanchez got a much needed night off last night. While he isn’t hitting many home runs, he is still getting on-base quite frequently, reaching base safely in each of his last 21 games. With not as many expensive pitching options tonight, it shouldn’t be too big of a hassle to fit him in your lineups.
Yadier Molina has a 8-game hitting streak where he has gone 14-for-33 (.424 AVG) with three homers, four doubles, and six RBIs. He also has seven runs, which is largely because of how hot Randal Grichuk has been hitting behind him.
Tom Murphy has homered in each of his last two starts and is batting a cool .545 in limited action in 2016.
| 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 |
| Chris Carter | MIL | R | STL | Jaime Garcia | 467 | 106 | 33 | 71 | 78 | 65 | 3 | .227 | .826 | .272 | .272 | .349 | 19.3% | 41.5% | 76.4% | $3,600 | $4,500 | $4,700 |
| Ryan Howard | PHI | L | WSH | A.J. Cole | 289 | 56 | 20 | 30 | 46 | 22 | 0 | .194 | .681 | .239 | .211 | .285 | 23.6% | 45.6% | 76.9% | $3,100 | $3,000 | $4,050 |
| Dae-Ho Lee | SEA | R | TEX | Derek Holland | 262 | 68 | 13 | 30 | 48 | 19 | 0 | .260 | .757 | .176 | .302 | .325 | 22.1% | 26.7% | 88.0% | $2,800 | $3,200 | $3,900 |
Chris Carter gets the ever so slight edge over Joey Votto for me at first base. Votto is a fine play but I think Carter has more upside on a night where you’re probably better off playing more GPPs. He has homered in the past off of Jaime Garcia and has a .408 OBP over his last 30 games.
Ryan Howard probably shouldn’t be much of a thought for your cash games but I don’t mind pulling the trigger on GPPs. He has actually homered off of A.J. Cole and will likely be in the lineup tonight.
Dae-Ho Lee is 3-for-8 (.375 AVG) this season against Derek Holland with a couple of home runs. He is an extremely safe play and has been one of the best Mariners over the last few weeks.
| 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 | Alec Asher | 490 | 168 | 25 | 83 | 98 | 33 | 5 | .343 | .981 | .251 | .342 | .407 | 20.5% | 37.7% | 95.1% | $4,100 | $5,500 | $5,300 |
| Logan Forsythe | TB | R | NYY | CC Sabathia | 411 | 116 | 18 | 67 | 47 | 39 | 6 | .282 | .831 | .197 | .327 | .356 | 24.5% | 37.1% | 85.4% | $3,900 | $4,700 | $4,500 |
| Rougned Odor | TEX | L | SEA | Derek Holland | 532 | 151 | 30 | 84 | 81 | 14 | 12 | .284 | .828 | .239 | .310 | .347 | 18.4% | 36.2% | 87.8% | $3,800 | $5,000 | $4,550 |
Daniel Murphy has one plate appearance on his resume against Alec Asher. In a grueling 11-pitch battle, Murphy smacked a 3-run homer against the young right-hander.
Logan Forsythe is 8-for-19 (.421 AVG) with two homers, four doubles, and six RBIs, lifetime, against CC Sabathia of the Yankees.
Rougned Odor will be another expensive bat at 2nd base that you’ll want to consider. He has gone 5-for-10 (.500 AVG) with a home run in his previous meetings against Taijuan Walker.
| 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 |
| Evan Longoria | TB | R | NYY | CC Sabathia | 530 | 148 | 31 | 71 | 85 | 39 | 0 | .279 | .861 | .253 | .307 | .358 | 20.1% | 37.1% | 82.9% | $3,800 | $4,200 | $5,250 |
| Adrian Beltre | TEX | R | SEA | Derek Holland | 505 | 148 | 26 | 79 | 92 | 44 | 0 | .293 | .855 | .208 | .288 | .361 | 17.1% | 34.7% | 88.9% | $3,700 | $4,400 | $4,900 |
| Jung-Ho Kang | PIT | R | CIN | Dan Straily | 241 | 60 | 16 | 33 | 44 | 21 | 3 | .249 | .836 | .257 | .267 | .355 | 20.4% | 43.1% | 88.3% | $3,100 | $4,500 | $4,500 |
Evan Longoria may be a good mini-stack option with Logan Forsythe when you consider that he is batting .400/.500/.829 with seven homers, nine doubles, and 16 RBIs over 70 career at-bats against CC Sabathia.
Adrian Beltre is 7-for-13 (.538 AVG) with a homer, three doubles, and a whopping eight RBIs throughout his career against Taijuan Walker.
Jung-Ho Kang has gone 6-for-9 (.667 AVG) with three homers over this last two games. He is a bargain tonight on FanDuel if you need some salary relief at third base.
| 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 |
| Didi Gregorius | NYY | L | TB | Alex Cobb | 480 | 134 | 17 | 61 | 62 | 15 | 6 | .279 | .762 | .175 | .296 | .323 | 20.4% | 25.2% | 91.1% | $3,000 | $3,800 | $4,550 |
| Elvis Andrus | TEX | R | SEA | Derek Holland | 439 | 131 | 5 | 62 | 60 | 41 | 21 | .298 | .775 | .121 | .329 | .334 | 23.5% | 26.1% | 91.4% | $2,900 | $3,800 | $4,250 |
| Jose Peraza | CIN | R | PIT | Ivan Nova | 145 | 48 | 2 | 15 | 14 | 4 | 14 | .331 | .762 | .069 | .374 | .334 | 30.1% | 22.4% | 93.4% | $2,700 | $3,500 | $3,400 |
Didi Gregorius would probably be an afterthought with a full slate, but he should be at least considered tonight, hitting in the heart of the Yankees lineup, and coming off of extra-base hits in back-to-back games.
Elvis Andrus disappointed last night, but it doesn’t change how hot he has been at the plate in recent weeks. He is an option if you’re stacking Rangers or are looking for a high floor play tonight at shortstop.
Jose Peraza continues to get a ton of playing time and is coming off of a solid 4-for-5 performance with two doubles yesterday against the Mets.
| 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 |
| Nelson Cruz | SEA | R | TEX | Derek Holland | 501 | 142 | 35 | 82 | 84 | 53 | 0 | .283 | .898 | .255 | .320 | .377 | 17.1% | 34.7% | 83.5% | $4,300 | $4,800 | $5,400 |
| Trea Turner | WSH | R | PHI | Alec Asher | 209 | 72 | 6 | 36 | 27 | 6 | 21 | .344 | .903 | .196 | .407 | .381 | 24.1% | 38.7% | 89.9% | $4,100 | $5,500 | $4,700 |
| Jayson Werth | WSH | R | PHI | Alec Asher | 452 | 114 | 20 | 74 | 61 | 61 | 4 | .252 | .783 | .190 | .295 | .338 | 17.7% | 37.8% | 86.9% | $3,800 | $4,300 | $4,950 |
| Randal Grichuk | STL | R | MIL | Junior Guerra | 356 | 83 | 22 | 53 | 56 | 24 | 3 | .233 | .782 | .264 | .269 | .328 | 14.9% | 39.0% | 82.9% | $3,600 | $4,600 | $4,550 |
| Franklin Gutierrez | SEA | R | TEX | Derek Holland | 230 | 59 | 14 | 33 | 39 | 26 | 1 | .257 | .814 | .222 | .317 | .347 | 17.9% | 47.4% | 77.8% | $3,400 | $3,500 | $4,200 |
| Nomar Mazara | TEX | L | SEA | Taijuan Walker | 455 | 125 | 17 | 52 | 57 | 35 | 0 | .275 | .753 | .149 | .309 | .324 | 23.0% | 29.2% | 90.8% | $3,200 | $3,700 | $4,150 |
| Alex Dickerson | SD | L | COL | Jeff Hoffman | 190 | 48 | 8 | 30 | 28 | 15 | 4 | .253 | .781 | .211 | .263 | .331 | 21.4% | 33.8% | 89.4% | $3,000 | $3,300 | $4,350 |
| Aaron Judge | NYY | R | TB | Alex Cobb | 69 | 12 | 3 | 9 | 9 | 6 | 0 | .174 | .580 | .159 | .300 | .253 | 12.1% | 48.5% | 80.5% | $2,500 | $3,700 | $4,250 |
| Mikie Mahtook | TB | R | NYY | CC Sabathia | 115 | 18 | 1 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 0 | .157 | .442 | .070 | .230 | .200 | 14.7% | 27.6% | 85.7% | $2,200 | $2,200 | $3,450 |
Nelson Cruz is quite the lefty masher, and as you know, he loves to face his former team. He has homered twice against Derek Holland over 17 career at-bats.
Trea Turner will continue to be a staple in my lineups until he actually goes on a cold streak. He continues to do all of the right things at the plate and on the field, and will be an important part of the Playoff run in D.C.
Jayson Werth is unlikely to get as much love as Bryce Harper tonight, but I like him a bit more. He has a significant discount on DraftKings and has homered and walked over two career plate appearances against Alec Asher.
Randal Grichuk has had the 2nd highest Hard Hit Rate in baseball since the All-Star Break at 55.9 percent. He has accumulated at least 18.7 FanDuel points in five of his last six games and is as confident as he has ever been at the plate.
Franklin Gutierrez happens to have the highest Hard Hit Rate in baseball since the All-Star Break, but his problem is his overall contact rate. Still, you know he’s in play if he’s facing a lefty, and I would consider stacking him with some of the Mariners mainstays like Cano, Cruz, and Seager.
Nomar Mazara has homered in two of his last four games. Taijuan Walker is heavily dependent on his splitter, and Mazara has had a good amount of success against the splitter this season.
Alex Dickerson happens to be hitting the ball well. In the last series against the Red Sox, Dickerson went 5-for-10 (.500 AVG) with two doubles. In Triple-A El Paso, he actually went 2-for-3 with a double against Jeff Hoffman earlier this season.
Aaron Judge has been quite strikeout prone in his brief stint in the Majors, but he obviously packs a lot of power potential, and matches up reasonably well against Alex Cobb of the Rays.
Mikie Mahtook is another value option from the Rays/Yankees game. He made his first start since being recalled from Triple A-Durham against the Orioles yesterday and rewarded his team with a three hit performance. He’ll definitely get a good look tonight against the southpaw, CC Sabathia.
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!