We keep things rolling tonight with a huge 15-game DFS MLB slate. Outside of Madison Bumgarner, there aren’t exactly any “premium” options going tonight. It should be a little easier to roster, at the very least, a handful of hitters that you absolutely want in your lineup.
Last night’s weather in Chicago was flat out ugly, and based on the current forecasts, it isn’t exactly the greatest situation tonight either. It’s tough to tell what’s going to happen with the weather, but you better keep your eyes on any game that will be going on in the Northeast, because they all have a chance for showers at some point.
Again, all players are organized from highest to lowest salary at each position using FanDuel pricing.
| 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 |
| Wilson Ramos | WSH | R | SD | Luis Perdomo | 289 | 95 | 13 | 41 | 49 | 25 | 0 | .329 | .904 | .194 | .346 | .385 | 23.2% | 34.0% | 89.5% | $3,900 | $3,900 | $4,800 |
| Sandy Leon | BOS | S | MIN | Kyle Gibson | 69 | 30 | 3 | 13 | 15 | 5 | 0 | .435 | 1.198 | .290 | .529 | .502 | 27.8% | 35.2% | 92.9% | $3,000 | $3,100 | $3,200 |
| Jonathan Lucroy | MIL | R | CHC | Jason Hammel | 289 | 95 | 13 | 41 | 49 | 25 | 0 | .329 | .904 | .194 | .346 | .385 | 23.2% | 34.0% | 89.5% | $3,000 | $4,700 | $4,650 |
| Jett Bandy | LAA | R | HOU | Lance McCullers | 81 | 22 | 3 | 10 | 14 | 6 | 0 | .272 | .758 | .160 | .279 | .323 | 21.1% | 20.3% | 89.1% | $2,500 | $2,500 | $3,300 |
| Mike Zunino | SEA | R | TOR | Marco Estrada | 11 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 0 | .273 | 1.424 | .818 | .000 | .561 | 12.5% | 50.0% | 91.7% | $2,300 | $2,400 | $3,600 |
Wilson Ramos has an impressive 9-game hitting streak as he continues to have the best season of his career, maintaining a .329 AVG with 13 bombs. He’s always going to be a little pricey, but will generally have low ownership, which is great for GPPs.
Sandy Leon might just be the hottest hitter in baseball that you have no idea is the hottest hitter in baseball. Over his last 10 games, he has gone 16-for-38 (.421 AVG) with two homers, a triple, five doubles, and nine RBIs.
Jonathan Lucroy is a great value on FanDuel at just $3000 and has been uber consistent, batting .382/.421/.559 with a couple homers over his last 10 games.
Jett Bandy went 3-for-3 against Lance McCullers in Anaheim earlier this season and will likely be back in there tonight. The long time minor leaguer has had a respectable season, and has a .385 OBP over his last 10 games.
Mike Zunino is consistently one of my DFS favorites, but he just hasn’t had much of an opportunity this season. I think that really ends now considering Chris Iannetta’s recent struggles. Just a great price throughout the industry for impeccable upside.
| 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 |
| Joey Votto | CIN | L | ARI | Archie Bradley | 314 | 85 | 16 | 54 | 47 | 67 | 6 | .271 | .878 | .204 | .330 | .376 | 28.0% | 44.5% | 82.8% | $4,200 | $4,700 | $5,250 |
| Brandon Belt | SF | L | NYY | Masahiro Tanaka | 326 | 93 | 10 | 46 | 47 | 55 | 0 | .285 | .879 | .206 | .343 | .375 | 27.2% | 35.3% | 85.3% | $3,800 | $3,300 | $4,850 |
| Miguel Cabrera | DET | R | CHW | Jacob Turner | 359 | 105 | 19 | 51 | 54 | 43 | 0 | .292 | .873 | .212 | .313 | .367 | 21.4% | 36.7% | 85.3% | $3,700 | $4,400 | $5,150 |
| Hanley Ramirez | BOS | R | MIN | Kyle Gibson | 329 | 93 | 11 | 50 | 54 | 35 | 7 | .283 | .808 | .164 | .329 | .347 | 18.5% | 36.2% | 87.0% | $3,300 | $4,500 | $4,900 |
| Matt Adams | STL | L | LAD | Brandon McCarthy | 212 | 56 | 10 | 26 | 39 | 14 | 0 | .264 | .782 | .208 | .315 | .330 | 20.1% | 34.0% | 85.8% | $2,800 | $3,100 | $4,500 |
| Tommy Joseph | PHI | R | PIT | Gerrit Cole | 167 | 43 | 13 | 25 | 23 | 7 | 1 | .257 | .815 | .275 | .265 | .338 | 18.3% | 40.5% | 84.4% | $2,500 | $3,600 | $4,600 |
Joey Votto may be worth every penny tonight. He is absolutely looking like his former self and is a PITCHf/x darling against Archie Bradley. He does have a 6-game hitting streak where he has gone 11-for-20 (.550 AVG) with two homers and five RBIs.
Brandon Belt should only be considered on DraftKings where he has a deflated price of $3300 against Masahiro Tanaka of the Yankees. Belt is a very good lowball hitter, who excels against the splitter and the sinker, which are pitches that Tanaka throws over 55 percent of the time.
Miguel Cabrera gets another opportunity after making me proud with a home run last night in Chicago. Like his matchup against Jacob Turner, and he should undoubtedly have low ownership tonight as well.
Hanley Ramirez will probably not be considered too strongly tonight considering the multitude of options at first and the fact that David Ortiz is a good option (he definitely is, even though I’m not featuring him tonight), but I just happen to like HanRam a bit more tonight. The price difference is big and I think Kyle Gibson’s repertoire is a good fit for him in all aspects.
Matt Adams is 4-for-6 (.667 AVG) with a double and a stolen base, lifetime, against Brandon McCarthy of the Dodgers.
Tommy Joseph should be in the lineup again tonight and he’ll be a great option if you need to cut pack on some salary at first base. He disappointed greatly on Wednesday, but he still has five homers in his last nine games.
| 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 |
| Jose Altuve | HOU | R | LAA | Matt Shoemaker | 373 | 133 | 15 | 73 | 54 | 44 | 25 | .357 | .990 | .206 | .364 | .414 | 27.2% | 33.9% | 90.8% | $4,200 | $5,200 | $5,500 |
| Jason Kipnis | CLE | L | BAL | Dylan Bundy | 365 | 104 | 16 | 53 | 52 | 32 | 7 | .285 | .834 | .205 | .328 | .355 | 26.1% | 36.3% | 88.7% | $4,000 | $5,500 | $4,900 |
| Brian Dozier | MIN | R | BOS | Eduardo Rodriguez | 338 | 82 | 16 | 49 | 49 | 38 | 7 | .243 | .781 | .210 | .253 | .333 | 16.8% | 28.4% | 87.1% | $4,000 | $4,900 | $4,950 |
| Daniel Murphy | WSH | L | SD | Luis Perdomo | 349 | 122 | 18 | 55 | 69 | 18 | 3 | .350 | .996 | .258 | .353 | .415 | 22.0% | 38.7% | 95.3% | $3,600 | $4,900 | $5,350 |
| Starlin Castro | NYY | R | SF | Madison Bumgarner | 355 | 92 | 11 | 37 | 37 | 16 | 2 | .259 | .700 | .146 | .288 | .301 | 21.9% | 28.3% | 85.7% | $2,300 | $2,600 | $4,550 |
Jose Altuve kicks off a list of expensive second basemen. I just do not think that tonight is a night where you’d want to punt at second. He has a great history against Matt Shoemaker, going 7-for-17 (.412 AVG) with two homers, a double, two walks, and three runs scored.
Jason Kipnis is batting a whopping .450/.500/.900 with five homers and three doubles over his last 10 games. Plus, the matchup against Dylan Bundy is extremely good.
Brian Dozier has homered off of Eduardo Rodriguez before and he’s also hitting .297/.402/.649 with six homers off of southpaws this season.
Daniel Murphy has an 8-game hitting streak where he has gone 12-for-30 (.400 AVG) with four homers, five doubles, and 13 RBIs.
Starlin Castro is dirt cheap and he happens to have a very good history against Madison Bumgarner, going 11-for-26 (.423 AVG) with a couple of doubles.
| 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 |
| Josh Donaldson | TOR | R | SEA | James Paxton | 357 | 110 | 24 | 85 | 70 | 65 | 6 | .308 | 1.020 | .291 | .325 | .426 | 22.5% | 43.1% | 84.5% | $4,700 | $5,300 | $5,550 |
| Manny Machado | BAL | R | CLE | Trevor Bauer | 364 | 113 | 19 | 64 | 54 | 32 | 0 | .310 | .917 | .239 | .339 | .382 | 20.3% | 36.2% | 86.6% | $4,100 | $3,700 | $5,300 |
| Kyle Seager | SEA | L | TOR | Marco Estrada | 357 | 101 | 18 | 56 | 63 | 40 | 1 | .283 | .882 | .238 | .303 | .369 | 20.7% | 38.4% | 87.0% | $3,400 | $4,000 | $5,350 |
| Wilmer Flores | NYM | R | MIA | Adam Conley | 177 | 46 | 10 | 22 | 27 | 15 | 1 | .260 | .793 | .215 | .259 | .337 | 20.1% | 24.8% | 86.0% | $3,200 | $4,200 | $4,150 |
| Justin Turner | LAD | R | STL | Michael Wacha | 326 | 87 | 17 | 45 | 55 | 33 | 2 | .267 | .827 | .215 | .275 | .352 | 24.6% | 38.6% | 87.4% | $2,900 | $4,900 | $5,150 |
Josh Donaldson remains the King of Third Basemen, batting .370/.485/.667 with two homers over his last seven games, and .415/.524/.780 with 10 homers over his last 30 games.
Manny Machado has batted .625/.667/1.500 throughout his career against Trevor Bauer and is under $4000 tonight on DraftKings.
Kyle Seager matches up extremely well against Marco Estrada of the Blue Jays. Like his situation tonight and the fact that he’s swinging a hot bat, batting .333/.366/.487 over his last 10 games. If you’re looking for another bat around this price range, I also don’t mind Adonis Garcia, who is at Coors, and is batting .350/.395/.550 in his last 10.
Wilmer Flores has homered in back-to-back games, AGAIN, and has quietly hit .333/.390/.704 with six homers in just 54 at-bats against lefties this season. Good luck finding playing time when you come back, David Wright.
Justin Turner went DOUBLE DONG yesterday against Stephen Strasburg of all people. The Red Baron is on fire and is still below $3000 on FanDuel.
| 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 |
| Trevor Story | COL | R | ATL | Julio Teheran | 338 | 89 | 23 | 59 | 60 | 34 | 6 | .263 | .889 | .287 | .338 | .372 | 23.5% | 44.0% | 79.9% | $4,000 | $5,300 | $5,250 |
| Xander Bogaerts | BOS | R | MIN | Kyle Gibson | 383 | 124 | 11 | 71 | 61 | 34 | 11 | .324 | .850 | .146 | .362 | .367 | 17.8% | 30.0% | 90.5% | $3,700 | $4,100 | $5,350 |
| Aledmys Diaz | STL | R | LAD | Brandon McCarthy | 317 | 101 | 13 | 61 | 51 | 33 | 4 | .319 | .920 | .215 | .336 | .386 | 16.5% | 33.2% | 92.5% | $3,500 | $4,800 | $4,500 |
| Marcus Semien | OAK | R | TB | Jake Odorizzi | 331 | 78 | 20 | 47 | 48 | 33 | 9 | .236 | .766 | .227 | .258 | .326 | 14.8% | 29.0% | 83.0% | $3,500 | $3,100 | $4,650 |
| Jordy Mercer | PIT | R | PHI | Zach Eflin | 317 | 89 | 6 | 39 | 34 | 37 | 1 | .281 | .755 | .114 | .318 | .327 | 21.0% | 23.5% | 93.0% | $2,800 | $3,000 | $4,400 |
Trevor Story will continue to be my preferred play at Coors. Probably means a little bit more today considering Carlos Gonzalez and Nolan Arenado are a combined 0-for-16 in their careers against Julio Teheran. Yikes!
Xander Bogaerts did not disappoint last night and just continues to torch the Twins this season. He is batting a whopping 13-for-19 (.684 AVG) with two homers, two doubles, and 10 RBIs against them in 2016.
Aledmys Diaz faces Brandon McCarthy who depends on his curveball nearly 36 percent of the time. According to PITCHf/x, Diaz happens to be the best curveball hitter in baseball.
Marcus Semien is no bargain anymore. But I don’t mind paying up for him because of his upside. He is 3-for-4 (.750 AVG) with a homer and double in his career against Jake Odorizzi.
Jordy Mercer has quietly put together a 6-game hitting streak where he has gone 10-for-24 (.417 AVG) with a triple, two doubles, and three RBIs.
| 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 |
| Bryce Harper | WSH | L | SD | Luis Perdomo | 312 | 78 | 20 | 52 | 55 | 74 | 14 | .250 | .869 | .228 | .247 | .362 | 14.7% | 32.9% | 87.4% | $4,200 | $5,100 | $5,400 |
| Charlie Blackmon | COL | L | ATL | Julio Teheran | 329 | 101 | 12 | 54 | 44 | 28 | 10 | .307 | .849 | .173 | .338 | .363 | 26.2% | 35.0% | 92.1% | $4,000 | $4,700 | $5,600 |
| Ian Desmond | TEX | R | KC | Danny Duffy | 376 | 120 | 18 | 69 | 58 | 30 | 16 | .319 | .907 | .215 | .389 | .384 | 21.6% | 32.5% | 81.9% | $3,800 | $4,300 | $5,150 |
| Nick Markakis | ATL | L | COL | Jon Gray | 361 | 94 | 5 | 38 | 47 | 42 | 0 | .260 | .702 | .105 | .294 | .308 | 22.4% | 33.1% | 91.3% | $3,700 | $4,800 | $4,850 |
| Adam Duvall | CIN | R | ARI | Archie Bradley | 318 | 78 | 23 | 50 | 64 | 18 | 2 | .245 | .823 | .289 | .275 | .343 | 20.2% | 39.5% | 85.2% | $3,600 | $3,900 | $5,200 |
| Ryan Braun | MIL | R | CHC | Jason Hammel | 305 | 96 | 13 | 42 | 44 | 25 | 8 | .315 | .879 | .193 | .347 | .372 | 19.4% | 32.9% | 90.6% | $3,500 | $3,600 | $5,100 |
| Nelson Cruz | SEA | R | TOR | Marco Estrada | 345 | 98 | 23 | 56 | 58 | 40 | 0 | .284 | .904 | .249 | .328 | .381 | 17.1% | 36.5% | 83.9% | $3,400 | $4,100 | $5,400 |
| Tyler Naquin | CLE | L | BAL | Dylan Bundy | 176 | 57 | 12 | 32 | 29 | 17 | 3 | .324 | 1.023 | .313 | .417 | .426 | 21.8% | 42.6% | 78.7% | $3,400 | $4,800 | $4,150 |
| Christian Yelich | MIA | L | NYM | Logan Verrett | 333 | 106 | 9 | 47 | 52 | 40 | 4 | .318 | .881 | .168 | .390 | .380 | 24.4% | 37.6% | 89.1% | $3,400 | $5,000 | $4,750 |
| Justin Upton | DET | R | CHW | Jacob Turner | 345 | 81 | 10 | 41 | 39 | 26 | 6 | .235 | .671 | .148 | .320 | .289 | 22.8% | 35.3% | 77.9% | $3,300 | $3,600 | $4,750 |
| Ryan Rua | TEX | R | KC | Danny Duffy | 183 | 49 | 7 | 34 | 20 | 17 | 7 | .268 | .775 | .164 | .353 | .333 | 16.7% | 31.0% | 80.6% | $3,300 | $3,200 | $4,000 |
| Melky Cabrera | CHW | S | DET | Michael Fulmer | 331 | 100 | 9 | 43 | 43 | 25 | 1 | .302 | .813 | .163 | .317 | .346 | 21.7% | 27.8% | 93.7% | $3,300 | $3,300 | $4,750 |
| Billy Hamilton | CIN | S | ARI | Archie Bradley | 263 | 65 | 3 | 43 | 12 | 17 | 27 | .247 | .644 | .103 | .304 | .282 | 22.8% | 19.2% | 90.5% | $3,100 | $3,700 | $4,450 |
| Matt Kemp | SD | R | WSH | Tanner Roark | 380 | 97 | 20 | 48 | 63 | 13 | 0 | .255 | .744 | .213 | .280 | .309 | 20.0% | 34.9% | 83.8% | $3,000 | $3,700 | $4,750 |
| Joc Pederson | LAD | L | STL | Michael Wacha | 238 | 55 | 13 | 34 | 35 | 31 | 4 | .231 | .783 | .231 | .273 | .333 | 19.6% | 34.1% | 85.1% | $2,900 | $3,800 | $4,350 |
| Brandon Drury | ARI | R | CIN | Dan Straily | 183 | 49 | 7 | 34 | 20 | 17 | 7 | .268 | .775 | .164 | .353 | .333 | 16.7% | 31.0% | 80.6% | $2,100 | $4,300 | $4,500 |
| Matt Joyce | PIT | L | PHI | Zach Eflin | 141 | 39 | 9 | 27 | 31 | 29 | 1 | .277 | .943 | .262 | .333 | .399 | 19.2% | 35.4% | 75.3% | $2,000 | $3,300 | $4,500 |
Bryce Harper has been inconsistent enough where it’s considered to be pretty risky to roster him on any given night. Nevertheless, I feel like tonight is a pretty interesting spot. He matches up well against Luis Perdomo, who has difficulties maintaining his command, and has given up the long ball throughout the season.
Charlie Blackmon’s hitting streak has now reached 13 games. Again, he has had a lack of power lately, but he has homered against Julio Teheran in the past.
Ian Desmond is a player that I have loved his last two games and he didn’t disappoint. I like him just as much tonight against Danny Duffy, who he has never faced in his career. Still, Desmond usually destroys the stuff in Duffy’s repertoire and has been crushing lefties all season long.
Nick Markakis’s strikeout in the 9th inning ended a streak of 32 plate appearances without a swing and a miss. Holy crap, that’s impressive. If putting balls in play is important at Coors, look no further than Markakis, who probably won’t get as good of a look as he should.
Adam Duvall gets a slight edge over Jay Bruce for me when it comes to the Reds outfield tonight. Duvall has shown much more power against righties this season and has been a lot more successful against offspeed pitches than most people would imagine. This includes the knucklecurve, which Archie Bradley throws close to 30 percent of the time.
Ryan Braun has batted .348/.483/.652 with two homers, lifetime, against Jason Hammel of the Cubs. Also currently has a 6-game hitting streak
Nelson Cruz has held the upper-hand against Marco Estrada in their previous meetings, going 4-for-5 (.800 AVG) with a homer, double, and a walk. Price is actually reasonable throughout the industry.
Tyler Naquin had the game of his life against the Royals, going 3-for-4 with two homers and six RBIs. He’s the real deal folks. As long as you’re okay with seeing him batting 8th in the lineup, you should be in position for major upside and a decent floor. Best price is on Aces followed by FanDuel.
Christian Yelich, once again, will be my preferred play in the Marlins outfield tonight. He now has an 8-game hitting streak where he has one 13-for-35 (.371 AVG) with two homers and eight RBIs. If you’re looking for a stacking partner in Miami, I actually like Stanton a little more than Ozuna tonight.
Justin Upton is one of the only Tigers who has a history against Jacob Turner from their days in the National League East. Most importantly though, he had the upper hand against Turner, hitting two homers in nine career at-bats against the former Marlin.
Ryan Rua will probably continue to get extra playing time with the loss of Prince Fielder and Shin-Soo Choo for the Rangers. His playing time is a lock against lefties, and we should be looking at a nice slot in the lineup against Danny Duffy tonight.
Melky Cabrera should be mainly considered on DraftKings where he is still a very affordable $3300. Just loving his approach at the plate and should be able to make good contact with Michael Fulmer’s pitches throughout the night.
Billy Hamilton will usually be in play mainly because of his speed. I think tonight is no exception. While a lot of people are using him in cash games, I don’t think tonight’s the night, but he can be an important piece for your Reds stack that you don’t want to forget about for GPPs.
Matt Kemp gets no respect. He’s still only $3000 on FanDuel even though he’s in the middle of a 6-game hitting streak, and has homers in four of his last five games.
Joc Pederson just has so much upside and is below $3000 tonight on FanDuel. Both of his hits against Michael Wacha throughout his career has gone for extra bases.
Brandon Drury needs to be avoided on DraftKings, but he is a dirt cheap play on FanDuel where he is only $2100. Hasn’t been able to do much lately, mainly because no one has been on base for him, but he does have doubles in three consecutive games.
Matt Joyce may get another start tonight thanks to some flu-like symptoms from Starling Marte. If he is in there, you definitely need to consider him if you’re in need of salary relief, because he’s a minimum salary on FanDuel.
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!