Chicago Cubs vs. Francisco Liriano

Liriano was blown up in his last start allowing eight runs in just 1.1 innings of work. He’s allowed four homers over his last three starts and just hasn’t looked good at all. Right-handed hitters have had Liriano’s number this season as they’ve posted an .858 OPS with 14 bombs in just 289 at-bats against him.

The Cubs have a ton of players doing very well against left-handed pitching this year. They have six active players hitting .285 or better this season against lefties. Their leading man is Albert Almora Jr. who’s hitting a robust .333. This isn’t new either, seeing how just last year he hit .342 against southpaws too. One more thing to boot; he’s only 2.3K on FD. David Bote is also fantastic value, as long as Daniel Murphy doesn’t debut as he’s at 2.7K on FD and 3.6K on DK and is hitting .313 with a .900 OPS against southpaws.
Javier Báez and Ben Zobrist would be the two guys you need to spend money on. Baez is the top play from this stack however. Baez is hitting north of .300 versus southpaws for the second straight year. He has a .934 OPS this year against LHP which is exactly what it was last season. Zobrist hasn’t flashed a lot of power from the right side, but he is hitting .295 against LHP on the year.

I am willing to play a lefty or two here. Jason Heyward is hitting lefties at a really nice clip this season hitting .321. Anthony Rizzo is another guy I’m willing to play in this lefty-lefty matchup. Rizzo homered on Tuesday which will bump up his .857 OPS in August. He’s a definite home run candidate against Liriano who’s allowing so much power lately.

Primary Option(s): Javier Báez , Albert Almora , David Bote , Anthony Rizzo

Secondary Option(s): Ben Zobrist , Jason Heyward

Colorado Rockies vs. Jacob Nix

Although the Rockies are generally better against left-handed pitching, we can’t ignore this matchup. Jacob Nix only lasted 0.2 innings during his last start after allowing five earned runs and seven base runners. The thing is, it’s not looking up for the young righty as he now has to pitch in Coors Field.

The five names you think of right off of the bat for the Rockies are all  – predictably – hitting very well at home. Let’s just start at the top of the list with Nolan Arenado and Charlie Blackmon . Arenado has an 1.100 OPS at home while Blackmon sits a respectable .902 mark. They’re priced higher than nearly everyone on the slate but for good reason. Arenado has belted 16 bombs at home with Blackmon sitting at a respectable eight.

The other three that round out the five I mentioned are Trevor Story , Carlos González and David Dahl . Since the All-Star break, Dahl has a .856 OPS, .209 OPS and a .356 wOBA. Not only is CarGo hitting .333 at home, but he’s batting .290 versus right-handed pitching as well. Story has had a good month of August hitting .310 with a .967 OPS with a .402 wOBA. If I had to rank the three I’d go with Carlos González first, Dahl second and Story third.

DJ LeMahieu has been rollin’ lately too. He extended his hit streak to eight games with his two hit game on Tuesday. He has four extra-base hits over that span including two homers. Gerardo Parra and Chris Iannetta are secondary options here.

Primary Option(s): Nolan Arenado , Charlie Blackmon , David Dahl , Carlos González , Trevor Story

Secondary Option(s): DJ LeMahieu , Gerardo Parra , Chris Iannetta

Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Odrisamer Despaigne

It’s been a small sample this year for Despaigne, but lefties have crushed him. Lefties are currently hitting .333 against him with a .356 wOBA. That is actually in line with his career numbers as lefty hitters have posted a .282 AVG with a .340 wOBA.

David Peralta continued his hot stretch of play on Tuesday belting another homer, giving him a dinger in two straight games and five over his last eight. Peralta is 7-for-16 with a homer off of Despaigne as well, so we have that going for us too. Eduardo Escobar is also an elite option here. His hit on Tuesday extended his streak to five games and helped raise his average back up to .311 since joining the Diamondbacks. He continues hitting in the heart of the order being a primary run producer.

Sticking with the lefty theme, Daniel Descalso has been quite the surprise this year, especially versus righties. He has a .372 wOBA vs. RHP on the year, which is actually an elite mark. We have to play some righties here because the Diamondbacks lack the left-handed thump after the guys I mentioned, but don’t you worry because Paul Goldschmidt and A.J. Pollock can hit anybody. Goldschmidt extended his hit streak to 12 games on Tuesday and has hit .397 in August. Pollock has been fantastic against right-handers all year hitting .297 with an .889 OPS. Steven Souza has been better of late hitting .300 over his last 10 games as well, so he’s a nice secondary play.

Primary Option(s): David Peralta , Eduardo Escobar , Paul Goldschmidt , Daniel Descalso

Secondary Option(s): A.J. Pollock , Steven Souza Jr. , Ketel Marte