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Baltimore Orioles
The Orioles are in a great spot tonight and with their power upside, they could be in a spot to put up big numbers. They come in with an implied run total of 4.12, which actually isn’t that high on this slate, so hopefully, they come in with lower ownership. They are up against Jason Vargas , who is a bad left-handed pitcher and has some really rough numbers this season. He is giving up a .421 wOBA to lefties, a .404 wOBA to righties, and 2.45 HR/9 to lefties, along with 2.00 HR/9 to righties. Man, those are some really rough numbers, and those should be jumping off the page at you for a good reason to stack against him. When it comes the bats, you should be starting off with Manny Machado , who has a massive .339 ISO vs left-handed pitchers this season. That looks like the type of power which can bring you a multi-home run game. Jonathan Schoop may not have the success this season vs LHP, but last year he had a .293 ISO. Adam Jones , Mark Trumbo , Trey Mancini and Danny Valencia should also be on your list.
Oakland Athletics
The Athletics are in Texas tonight, so they get a really nice positive park shift in their favor, which should lead to plenty of runs. Speaking of runs, they come in with an implied run total sitting at 5.38, which is second highest on the slate. Oakland is up against Matt Moore , who is struggling with both types of hitters this season, so you can attack him with whoever you want. Moore is giving up an insane .511 wOBA to lefties and a .390 wOBA to righties. The bad numbers don’t stop there. He is giving up a 55% hard contact rate to lefties and a 44% hard contact rate to righties, with a 51% fly ball rate to lefties. There is no other way to say it, Matt Moore is flat out bad. You should be trying to have exposure against him in anyway way you can. There are a number of hitters you should be targeting tonight from the Athletics. Khris Davis , Matt Chapman , Jed Lowrie , Chad Pinder and Mark Canha .
Chicago Cubs
The Cubs comes into this game with an implied run total sitting at 4.97, which is fifth highest on the slate, so Vegas is predicting them to score some runs. They are up against Zach Eflin , who has a smaller sample size this year, so take it with a grain of salt. He is giving up a .379 wOBA to lefties this year, along with 2.53 HR/9 and a 46% hard contact rate. The Cubs have plenty of lefty power bats you want to be targeting in a spot like this who have good numbers vs right-handed pitchers. Anthony Rizzo comes in with a .347 wOBA and a .180 ISO vs right-handed pitchers this season. Kyle Schwarber has a .378 wOBA and a .301 ISO vs RHP. Javier Báez is a reverse splits hitter, meaning he is better against RHP than he is compared to LHP, so he is in play tonight. Ian Happ and Ben Zobrist offer a bit of savings, while you should be trying to play Kris Bryant if you have the salary.
Player News
Braves optioned RHP Davis Daniel to Triple-A Gwinnett.
Daniel pitched a scoreless inning in his lone day in the majors. His demotion makes room for waiver claim Ian Anderson on the active roster.
Braves designated RHP Zach Thompson for assignment.
Thompson, a member of Triple-A Gwinnett’s roster, pitched 3 2/3 scoreless innings in two appearances for the Braves earlier this month. He’s getting taken off the 40-man to make room for Eddie Rosario.
Braves signed OF Eddie Rosario to a one-year contract.
He’s replacing Jarred Kelenic in the roster. There’s not really anything to lose here, even though Rosario struggled during his time with the Braves last season. The 33-year-old just hit .339/.406/.542 in 14 games for Triple-A Oklahoma City before the Dodgers gave him a brief callup and then outrighted him. Odds are that he’ll start against most righties for now, though he could find himself out of a job once Ronald Acuña Jr. returns.
Braves optioned OF Jarred Kelenic to Triple-A Gwinnett.
Red Sox SS prospect Marcelo Mayer went 3-for-7 with a walk, six RBI, four runs scored, and a home run during a doubleheader for Triple-A Worcester on Sunday.
The Red Sox’s second-ranked prospect is now hitting .280/.324/.548 with seven home runs, 34 RBI, 17 runs scored, and one steal in 23 games at Triple-A. He also had a great spring training and seems MLB-ready, but Trevor Story has been great for the Red Sox to start the season, and Kristian Campbell is the AL Rookie of the Year frontrunner right now at second base, so there is no room in the middle infield for Mayer as it stands.
Jordan Lawlar went 2-for-5 with a double, two RBI, two runs, and a steal for Triple-A Reno on Sunday.
It’s getting a bit silly at this point. Lawlar is one of the top prospects in all of baseball and is slashing .356/.451/.644 in 26 games with five home runs, 26 RBI, 29 runs scored, and 12 steals. He has started playing third base in Triple-A as well, which could create a full-time spot for him in Arizona with Eugenio Suarez moving to DH. Lawlar should be up relatively soon and deserves to be stashed in all league types.