Top Tier
Xander Bogaerts, SS, BOS – He has back-to-back multi-hit games and a double in three straight. Bogaerts has kept his hot start going and he is hitting .330 through nearly half the season. June has been his best month yet with a .349 average and .968 OPS. He is also slashing .348/1.011 at home with eight of his 13 home runs coming at Fenway. He will face Danny Duffy today and we know how Bogaerts feasts on lefties. He is hitting .350 with a 1.010 OPS against left-handed pitching and I expect Boston to put up a bunch of runs today and Bogaerts to be a big part of it.
Yordan Alvarez, OF, HOU – This guy has four home runs in the last seven games and has driven in 11 runs over that span. To say he is hot would be an understatement. However, series against the Tigers and Orioles can do that for a hitter. The good news for Alvarez is the schedule makers have been nice to him and the Astros get the Orioles and Tom Eshelman again. The Baltimore starter has allowed two home runs and seven earned runs in just 8.2 innings so far this year and has allowed 21 home runs in 24 career appearances and that includes 14 games out of the bullpen! Can you say Astros stack? Alvarez has hit .364 at Camden Yards with five homers in just six games there and has nine of his 13 home runs against right-handed pitching. He isn’t cheap but he should be well worth the price tag.
Nolan Arenado, 3B, STL – He has been a bit spotty lately, but he does have three home runs in the last week and I just can’t ignore this matchup. The Diamondbacks are throwing Jake Faria who hasn’t started in an MLB game since 2018. In 2019 out of the bullpen, he allowed five home runs and 15 earned runs in just 18.2 innings between Tampa and Milwaukee. He was sitting on a 5.65 ERA at Triple-A before being called up. Arenado’s power stroke comes from him hitting against righties and he is the most reliable hitter that the Cardinals have. St. Louis has struggled of late, but I see almost no way Arenado doesn’t make noise with his bat today.
Mid-Tier
Kyle Schwarber, OF, WSH – He hasn’t homered in (GASP!) two days, but there is no reason to think that his run of success is over. Schwarber will face Jared Eickhoff and the Mets tonight. He was solid in his first start, but Eickhoff was dreadful in 2019 with a 5.71 ERA and 18 home runs allowed in just 12 appearances. He wasn’t faring any better at Triple-A this year with a 5.32 ERA. Schwarber has three hits in eight career at-bats against him and two of them have left the yard. The Nats slugger also hits 35 points higher against right-handed pitching and 21 of his 22 homers have come against them. He might have been hitless in his last two games, but Schwarber should get right back in the RBI column tonight.
Gary Sanchez, C, NYY – After a disastrous start to the season where it seemed he was losing his job, Sanchez has bounced back in a huge way in June with a .296 batting average, seven home runs, and a 1.051 OPS through 21 games. His .358 wOBA is fifth among all catchers with enough at-bats, and that number is .432 in June. Dylan Bundy has been a shell of what he was last season with his 1-7 record, 6.68 ERA, and 14 homers allowed in 13 starts. Sanchez has hit .313 off of him in his career including a double and two home runs.
Jared Walsh, 1B, LAA – He has been slumping a bit of late, but I am attacking the matchup against a right-handed pitcher, Mike King himself, and Yankee Stadium. We already know that the ballpark is conducive to home runs, and King has been giving up runs in bunches. In his five starts he has given up 13 runs, and that has only spanned 20.1 innings. He has also walked 10 guys and allowed 21 hits, so he is putting a lot of runners on base. Walsh bashes righties to the tune of a .337 average and 1.075 OPS as opposed to .167 and .527 against lefties. 14 of his 18 home runs have come against right-handed pitching and he should get back on track today.
Value Tier
Hunter Renfroe, OF, BOS – Before yesterday’s 0-fer, Renfroe had a hit in six straight games including two doubles, a home run, and six RBI. His batting average at .268 for this season would crush his previous career high if he can keep it up. He hasn’t faced Danny Duffy in his career yet, but he is killing it against left-handed pitching this season with a .341 average and 1.038 OPS. Four of his nine home runs have come against southpaws despite 89 fewer at-bats against them. He is an inexpensive option that can help you pay up for studs elsewhere.
Daz Cameron, OF, DET – OK, I had to get a piece of the Tigers pie tonight against the Indians’ Eli Morgan and Cameron fits the bill as I have a hard time swallowing Jonathan Schoop’s salary. It came down to Cameron or Akil Baddoo. Cameron has hit .333 over the last two weeks with four extra-base hits, seven RBI, and two stolen bases. Morgan has been getting a lot of strikeouts for Cleveland, but he has allowed 13 earned runs in just 11.1 innings of work and has surrendered four home runs in just three starts. Cameron should absolutely be starting today against the right-hander as he has hit .385 so far against them and just .059 against left-handed pitching. The Tigers should put up some runs early, and Cameron is the best combo of a hot bat and minimum price tag.