We are back today to kick off another week of DFS MLB action. With no early games scheduled, we have a nice looking 10-game evening slate, with plenty of good options throughout the industry.
If you played some DFS MLB this weekend, you would have experienced a bunch of horrible weather forecasts that really amounted to very minimal impact throughout. The only game that got rained out was the Braves/Cubs game on Saturday. While that is technically great from a DFS standpoint, a lot of good options had to be faded because of those weather issues.
As for tonight, weather forecasts appear to be absolutely fine, so all 10 games are in play. Hopefully that’ll be a sign of things to come.
Again, players are organized using FanDuel salaries, going from highest to lowest. Let's get started!
CATCHER | ||||||||||||||||
Probable | 2015 Regular Season | 2016 Regular Season | Salaries | |||||||||||||
Player | Team | Bats | Opp | Pitcher | Throws | H/AB | AVG | HR | OPS | H/AB | AVG | HR | OPS | FD | DK | Aces |
Buster Posey | SF | R | CIN | Brandon Finnegan | L | 177-for-557 | .318 | 19 | .849 | 23-for-81 | .284 | 4 | .801 | 3400 | 4400 | 5350 |
Francisco Cervelli | PIT | R | CHC | Jason Hammel | R | 133-for-451 | .295 | 7 | .771 | 25-for-78 | .321 | 0 | .822 | 3300 | 3100 | 4600 |
Salvador Perez | KC | R | WSH | Gio Gonzalez | L | 138-for-531 | .260 | 21 | .706 | 20-for-79 | .253 | 4 | .792 | 3000 | 2700 | 4400 |
Carlos Ruiz | PHI | R | STL | Adam Wainwright | R | 60-for-284 | .211 | 2 | .575 | 11-for-37 | .297 | 3 | .976 | 2900 | 2400 | 3450 |
Buster Posey appears to have snapped out of his little funk. He has gone 7-for-22 (.318 AVG) with two home runs and five runs scored over his last six games, and gets a southpaw tonight in Brandon Finnegan.
Francisco Cervelli has been hitting either in the 5 or the 6 hole night-after-night, which is huge as a catcher. He makes a lot of contact, and it always helps knowing that he is 5-for-10 (.500 AVG), lifetime, against Jason Hammel of the Cubs.
Salvador Perez has hit a bit of a wall, but remains very affordable on DraftKings. He is 5-for-6 (.833 AVG) with a double in his career against Gio Gonzalez.
Carlos Ruiz is surprisingly having a solid year. He is 8-for-19 (.421 AVG) with two homers and a double over his last five games. He has also batted .375/.421/.500 over his career against Adam Wainwright.
FIRST BASE | ||||||||||||||||
Probable | 2015 Regular Season | 2016 Regular Season | Salaries | |||||||||||||
Player | Team | Bats | Opp | Pitcher | Throws | H/AB | AVG | HR | OPS | H/AB | AVG | HR | OPS | FD | DK | Aces |
Anthony Rizzo | CHC | L | PIT | Gerrit Cole | R | 163-for-586 | .278 | 31 | .899 | 18-for-82 | .220 | 8 | .946 | 4700 | 4400 | 5500 |
Lucas Duda | NYM | L | ATL | Michael Foltynewicz | R | 115-for-471 | .244 | 27 | .838 | 20-for-79 | .253 | 4 | .734 | 3400 | 4000 | 4800 |
Eric Hosmer | KC | L | WSH | Gio Gonzalez | L | 178-for-599 | .297 | 18 | .822 | 31-for-93 | .333 | 4 | .911 | 3300 | 3400 | 4700 |
Brandon Moss | STL | L | PHI | Jeremy Hellickson | R | 106-for-469 | .226 | 19 | .711 | 15-for-66 | .227 | 6 | .870 | 2700 | 3400 | 4300 |
Anthony Rizzo is one of my favorites, mainly because he has that big power upside, combined with a consistently high OBP. He is 6-for-17 in his career against Gerrit Cole, and may actually be under-the-radar tonight because of the matchup.
Lucas Duda will be among the many Mets left-handed hitters we’re going to want to keep an eye on tonight. He is 3-for-4 (.750 AVG) with a home run in his career against Michael Foltynewicz, who is an absolute dumpster fire. Foltynewicz has a career HR/9 of 1.71 and fly ball rate of 44.8%.
Eric Hosmer will be more of a GPP play going up against the lefty Gio Gonzalez. You don’t get much power out of Hosmer, but it’s awfully intriguing to know that Hosmer is 4-for-6 (.667 AVG) with two homer against Gonzalez throughout his career.
Brandon Moss is a pure bomber and matches up well with Jeremy Hellickson, who continues to be susceptible to the long ball, allowing a 42.3% fly ball rate, which is the 15th highest in Major League Baseball.
SECOND BASE | ||||||||||||||||
Probable | 2015 Regular Season | 2016 Regular Season | Salaries | |||||||||||||
Player | Team | Bats | Opp | Pitcher | Throws | H/AB | AVG | HR | OPS | H/AB | AVG | HR | OPS | FD | DK | Aces |
Neil Walker | NYM | S | ATL | Michael Foltynewicz | R | 146-for-543 | .269 | 16 | .756 | 29-for-92 | .315 | 9 | .963 | 4000 | 4100 | 5000 |
Rougned Odor | TEX | L | TOR | R.A. Dickey | R | 111-for-426 | .261 | 16 | .781 | 26-for-92 | .283 | 3 | .783 | 3900 | 3700 | 4400 |
Daniel Murphy | WSH | L | KC | Edinson Volquez | R | 140-for-499 | .281 | 14 | .770 | 31-for-85 | .365 | 2 | 1.002 | 3600 | 4000 | 4900 |
Brian Dozier | MIN | R | HOU | Dallas Keuchel | L | 148-for-628 | .236 | 28 | .751 | 18-for-98 | .184 | 3 | .599 | 2900 | 3700 | 4650 |
Neil Walker has reached base safely at least two times in seven of his last eight games, and has homered three times over the last eight games. So hot, and I don’t know why people continue to ignore him.
Rougned Odor hasn’t faced many knuckleballers in his short MLB career, but he has faced R.A. Dickey twice, going 2-for-3 with a triple back in 2014. Also helps that he’s swinging a hot bat, going 9-for-19 (.474 AVG) with a home run, three doubles, and six runs scored over his last five games.
Daniel Murphy continues to get the job done, and is 6-for-15 (.400), lifetime, against Edinson Volquez of the Royals.
Brian Dozier’s value always gets a bump when he faces a lefty, but not so much when it’s a Cy Young winner like Dallas Keuchel. And no, I actually think most of Keuchel’s advanced statistics are actually fine, and I think he will rebound. But nonetheless, with less games in play, and a reasonable price on FanDuel, I think he has to be considered.
THIRD BASE | ||||||||||||||||
Probable | 2015 Regular Season | 2016 Regular Season | Salaries | |||||||||||||
Player | Team | Bats | Opp | Pitcher | Throws | H/AB | AVG | HR | OPS | H/AB | AVG | HR | OPS | FD | DK | Aces |
Nolan Arenado | COL | R | SD | James Shields | R | 177-for-616 | .287 | 42 | .898 | 29-for-95 | .305 | 11 | 1.066 | 4800 | 4100 | 5900 |
Josh Donaldson | TOR | R | TEX | A.J. Griffin | R | 184-for-620 | .297 | 41 | .939 | 29-for-99 | .293 | 9 | 1.058 | 4700 | 4500 | 5700 |
Yunel Escobar | LAA | R | MIL | Jimmy Nelson | R | 168-for-535 | .314 | 9 | .790 | 28-for-98 | .286 | 3 | .809 | 3000 | 3500 | 4200 |
Aaron Hill | MIL | R | LAA | Jered Weaver | R | 72-for-313 | .230 | 6 | .640 | 13-for-69 | .188 | 1 | .495 | 2100 | 3000 | 3700 |
Nolan Arenado is 12-for-23 (.522 AVG) with four home runs and six RBIs against James Shields throughout his career.
Josh Donaldson appears to be back on track, batting .291/.426/.636 with four home runs over his last 15 games. He gets a solid matchup against A.J. Griffin, who has a poor 45.2% fly ball rate, which is the 7th worst in the Majors.
Yunel Escobar went 2-for-3 (.667 AVG) with a homer in his only meeting last season against Jimmy Nelson when Escobar was still in a Nationals uniform. Love his game as it is and the BvP just adds a little something extra.
Aaron Hill is now an everyday starter for the Brewers thanks to an injury to Scooter Gennett. He is 4-for-15 (.267 AVG) with a homer and two doubles against Jered Weaver throughout his career. Weaver has trouble holding runners, so it could definitely work out if you target a few of the Brewers speed guys tonight, like Domingo Santana, Jonathan Villar, and even Ryan Braun.
SHORTSTOP | ||||||||||||||||
Probable | 2015 Regular Season | 2016 Regular Season | Salaries | |||||||||||||
Player | Team | Bats | Opp | Pitcher | Throws | H/AB | AVG | HR | OPS | H/AB | AVG | HR | OPS | FD | DK | Aces |
Troy Tulowitzki | TOR | R | TEX | A.J. Griffin | R | 136-for-486 | .280 | 17 | .777 | 15-for-87 | .172 | 5 | .648 | 3400 | 3300 | 5050 |
Alexei Ramirez | SD | R | COL | Jon Gray | R | 145-for-583 | .249 | 10 | .642 | 25-for-92 | .272 | 0 | .621 | 2900 | 2800 | 4600 |
Alcides Escobar | KC | R | WSH | Gio Gonzalez | L | 157-for-612 | .257 | 3 | .614 | 24-for-103 | .233 | 0 | .557 | 2300 | 3100 | 3800 |
Danny Espinosa | WSH | S | KC | Edinson Volquez | R | 88-for-367 | .240 | 13 | .719 | 13-for-69 | .188 | 2 | .603 | 2300 | 2600 | 3800 |
Troy Tulowitzki has been pretty awful this season, but the former Long Beach State Dirtbag is bound to come around. He currently has an astronomical 50.9% fly ball rate with his batted balls in play, but he has also hit his share of ground balls. The power is definitely there, and facing a fly ball pitcher like A.J. Griffin won’t hurt.
Alexei Ramirez is working on a 7-game hitting streak, where he has gone 11-for-27 (.407 AVG) with a stolen base. I prefer him as a value option on DraftKings.
Alcides Escobar is the plug and play if you need a punt option somewhere in your lineup. Why he’s consistently below $2300 on FanDuel is beyond me.
Danny Espinosa has homered in two of his last three games, and is another very affordable option throughout the industry. He had a rough start to the season, but has been able to maintain an OBP above .350 over his last 10 games.
OUTFIELD | ||||||||||||||||
Probable | 2015 Regular Season | 2016 Regular Season | Salaries | |||||||||||||
Player | Team | Bats | Opp | Pitcher | Throws | H/AB | AVG | HR | OPS | H/AB | AVG | HR | OPS | FD | DK | Aces |
Yoenis Cespedes | NYM | R | ATL | Michael Foltynewicz | R | 184-for-633 | .291 | 35 | .870 | 21-for-72 | .292 | 7 | 1.029 | 4400 | 4600 | 5550 |
Michael Conforto | NYM | L | ATL | Michael Foltynewicz | R | 47-for-174 | .270 | 9 | .841 | 27-for-79 | .342 | 4 | 1.050 | 4300 | 3800 | 4950 |
Carlos Gonzalez | COL | L | SD | James Shields | R | 150-for-554 | .271 | 40 | .865 | 32-for-95 | .337 | 4 | .925 | 3700 | 3800 | 5300 |
Curtis Granderson | NYM | L | ATL | Michael Foltynewicz | R | 150-for-580 | .259 | 26 | .821 | 21-for-88 | .239 | 4 | .809 | 3600 | 4500 | 4500 |
Colby Rasmus | HOU | L | MIN | Jose Berrios | R | 103-for-432 | .238 | 25 | .789 | 20-for-79 | .253 | 7 | .941 | 3400 | 3800 | 5000 |
Michael Saunders | TOR | L | TEX | A.J. Griffin | R | 6-for-31 | .194 | 0 | .499 | 23-for-76 | .303 | 4 | .942 | 3400 | 3300 | 4700 |
Seth Smith | SEA | L | OAK | Kendall Graveman | R | 98-for-395 | .248 | 12 | .773 | 19-for-60 | .317 | 4 | .990 | 3300 | 3500 | 4300 |
Gregory Polanco | PIT | L | CHC | Jason Hammel | R | 152-for-593 | .256 | 9 | .701 | 28-for-89 | .315 | 3 | .961 | 3200 | 4100 | 4700 |
Kole Calhoun | LAA | L | MIL | Jimmy Nelson | R | 161-for-630 | .256 | 26 | .731 | 26-for-90 | .289 | 2 | .793 | 3000 | 4000 | 4400 |
Jeremy Hazelbaker | STL | L | PHI | Jeremy Hellickson | R | - | - | - | - | 20-for-64 | .313 | 5 | 1.024 | 3000 | 3900 | 4700 |
Mallex Smith | ATL | L | NYM | Bartolo Colon | R | - | - | - | - | 12-for-52 | .231 | 0 | .656 | 2300 | 3400 | 3400 |
Danny Santana | MIN | S | HOU | Dallas Keuchel | L | 56-for-261 | .215 | 0 | .532 | 11-for-37 | .297 | 0 | .667 | 2400 | 2600 | 4050 |
Kirk Nieuwenhuis | MIL | L | LAA | Jered Weaver | R | 25-for-128 | .195 | 4 | .645 | 11-for-39 | .282 | 1 | .785 | 2000 | 3500 | 3450 |
Yoenis Cespedes has five home runs over his last 10 games, and is coming off of a 2015 season where he batted .310/.338/.571 with 27 homers off of right-handed pitching.
Michael Conforto can have a pass for his 0-for-5 performance against Madison Bumgarner, mainly because of his recent tear where he doubled six games in a row, going 12-for-23 (.522 AVG) with two homers, six doubles, and 10 RBIs.
Carlos Gonzalez is 9-for-25 (.360 AVG) with three homers and two doubles against James Shields throughout his career.
Curtis Granderson has a +.45 difference in his career batting average and + .63 difference in his career wOBA against right-handed pitchers. Michael Foltynewicz is not a good right-handed pitcher.
Colby Rasmus’s price has dropped down a bit, and that makes him a nice under-the-radar play against everyone’s favorite rookie pitcher, Jose Berrios. Rasmus has been striking out at a lower rate than at any point in his career this season, and
Michael Saunders has now reached base safely at least two times in six of his last nine games. In that nine game span, he has gone 12-for-35 (.343 AVG) with three home runs, four doubles, nine runs, and five walks.
Seth Smith isn’t getting the credit he deserves. Over his last seven games, he has gone 9-for-26 (.346 AVG) with three home runs, five RBIs, eight runs, and five walks.
Gregory Polanco has been phenomenal this season. Over his last 10 games, he has gone 14-for-41 (.341 AVG) with three homers, five doubles, seven RBIs, nine runs, and five walks. I don’t mind his matchup against Jason Hammel either. Polanco hasn’t been able to demonstrate consistent power throughout his career, but he has homered against Hammel before.
Kole Calhoun returned to the 2-hole in the Angels lineup against the Rangers, and made his presence known in a lefty-versus-lefty matchup against Cole Hamels. He is coming off of a great series against the Rangers where he went 6-for-12 (.500 AVG) with a triple, double, two RBIs, two runs, and a stolen base.
Jeremy Hazelbaker isn’t a lock to be in the lineup tonight, but if he is, he’ll more than likely be batting in the first three spots in the order, and would have some huge value against Jeremy Hellickson.
Mallex Smith is now hitting with some confidence. He is 6-for-8 (.667 AVG) with three doubles and a stolen base over his last two starts. In many ways he resembles Billy Hamilton because if he gets on base, he has the ability to steal multiple bases at any given time.
Danny Santana is shortstop eligible on DraftKings, and is a great value play now that he has snatched a spot as the Twins everyday leadoff hitter. He is going to face Dallas Keuchel, which could bode well for Santana because he has batted .281/.319/.402 against southpaws throughout his career.
Kirk Nieuwenhuis makes me want to puke because I was so close to playing him in yesterday’s All-Day slate on FanDuel, but pivoted to a lesser option that didn’t go 3-for-5 with a double, two RBIs, three runs, and a stolen base. He should get another start against the right-handed Jered Weaver, and at his minimum price, could give you some flexibility in other spots in your lineup.
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!