Today is Memorial Day. Memorial Day is a special time where we can remember and honor everyone who has risked their lives to protect and serve our great country. I truly want to thank everyone who has done so.
We have a nice 15-game All-Day slate today, with a 10-game early slate with a roster lock of 1:10 PM ET/10:10 AM PT, and a 5-game late slate with a roster lock of 7:05 PM ET/4:05 PM PT.
Once again, I will be separating my recommended plays between the early slate and the late slate, but I will definitely be listing more players in the early slate.
Outside of White Sox/Mets at Citi Field, the weather should be good. I think there’s still a reasonable chance the Mets game plays, but it’s really all up to how everything looks as we get closer to roster lock.
Still, one thing that really stands out about today’s slate is the lack of premium pitching options. For the first time in a very long time, I would have to say that Jeff Samardzija is the clear cut number one pitching option today. There are also some cheaper options that are at a fairly reasonable price point in Verlander, Wright, Karns, and Roark, but all of those guys do have their share of flaws.
I think there should be enough value available to choose the hitters that you want most. Again, you can consult my stats tables to look at some of the key advanced statistics that I have highlighted for each player. If you have any questions though, please let me know.
| 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 |
| Buster Posey | SF | R | ATL | Michael Foltynewicz | 168 | 47 | 7 | 27 | 24 | 17 | 2 | .280 | .823 | .202 | .280 | .346 | 21.3% | 39.3% | 93.2% | $3,800 | $4,400 | $4,900 |
| Jonathan Lucroy | MIL | R | STL | Carlos Martinez | 171 | 50 | 8 | 27 | 26 | 16 | 1 | .292 | .861 | .216 | .328 | .366 | 23.5% | 35.3% | 86.1% | $3,400 | $4,400 | $4,800 |
| Chris Herrmann | ARI | L | HOU | Collin McHugh | 77 | 24 | 5 | 15 | 19 | 9 | 2 | .312 | 1.003 | .312 | .373 | .419 | 19.6% | 47.4% | 83.7% | $3,200 | $3,400 | $4,750 |
| Stephen Vogt | OAK | L | MIN | Ervin Santana | 155 | 40 | 4 | 15 | 12 | 6 | 0 | .258 | .682 | .129 | .293 | .296 | 23.8% | 24.4% | 92.8% | $2,400 | $3,000 | $4,200 |
| Victor Martinez | DET | S | LAA | Jhoulys Chacin | 171 | 60 | 7 | 20 | 30 | 12 | 0 | .351 | .936 | .187 | .358 | .399 | 28.4% | 42.6% | 92.9% | $3,600 | $3,700 | $4,950 |
| Hank Conger | TB | S | KC | Ian Kennedy | 63 | 12 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 0 | .190 | .497 | .079 | .250 | .221 | 20.0% | 37.8% | 76.3% | $2,300 | $2,900 | $3,500 |
EARLY SLATE
Buster Posey is looking a whole lot like the Buster Posey that was the 2012 National League MVP. Over his last eight games, he has gone 9-for-27 (.333 AVG) with three homers, a triple, two doubles, four walks, eight runs, and nine RBIs. It probably also helps that he homered twice off of Michael Foltynewicz last season.
Jonathan Lucroy is coming off his best series of the season. In three games against the Reds this past weekend, he went 6-for-11 (.545 AVG) with two homers, a triple, a double, three runs, and nine RBIs. He’ll face Carlos Martinez of the Cardinals, who is currently in the middle of his worst season in the Majors.
Chris Herrmann has the highest ISO (.293) of any catcher in the Majors with 60 plate appearances or more. Simply put, when he starts, he’s produces. And his matchup with Collin McHugh is pretty good. McHugh’s .383 wOBA allowed against lefties is just brutal.
Stephen Vogt’s season looks like it’s starting to turn around. He is currently working on a 6-game hitting streak where he has gone 7-for-23 (.304 AVG) with a homer and five RBIs. He makes a lot of contact with the ball and is a very safe cash game play on both DraftKings and FanDuel where he is an exceptional value.
LATE SLATE
Victor Martinez has a 7-game hitting streak and just continues to get the job done in all formats. I’m going to assume that you have the ability to pay up for most players on the FanDuel late slate, so yeah, V-Mart is the clear cut #1 play at catcher.
Hank Conger was a highly touted prospect in the Angels farm system, but has never panned out in the big leagues. His last start against the Yankees on Saturday gave us a glimpse of what he’s capable of. Conger went 3-for-4 with a home run and two doubles to lead the Rays to the victory. His price is extremely good throughout the industry, and you could definitely do worse for a punt play.
| 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 |
| Carlos Santana | CLE | S | TEX | Colby Lewis | 174 | 40 | 9 | 25 | 25 | 30 | 3 | .230 | .790 | .218 | .217 | .342 | 13.8% | 34.9% | 89.1% | $3,600 | $4,300 | $4,650 |
| Mike Napoli | CLE | R | TEX | Colby Lewis | 172 | 40 | 10 | 31 | 35 | 17 | 2 | .233 | .776 | .238 | .323 | .334 | 17.5% | 43.7% | 76.0% | $3,400 | $3,300 | $4,550 |
| Joe Mauer | MIN | L | OAK | Kendall Graveman | 175 | 50 | 6 | 18 | 18 | 30 | 1 | .286 | .826 | .149 | .321 | .356 | 31.5% | 37.1% | 91.1% | $3,300 | $4,100 | $4,500 |
| Adrian Gonzalez | LAD | L | CHC | Jason Hammel | 177 | 53 | 5 | 19 | 26 | 23 | 0 | .299 | .800 | .124 | .361 | .343 | 21.0% | 30.4% | 87.4% | $3,200 | $3,700 | $4,750 |
| Albert Pujols | LAA | R | DET | Justin Verlander | 192 | 44 | 11 | 23 | 35 | 22 | 2 | .229 | .734 | .198 | .212 | .314 | 16.8% | 35.9% | 94.3% | $3,900 | $3,400 | $4,650 |
| Chris Johnson | MIA | R | PIT | Jeff Locke | 66 | 15 | 2 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 0 | .227 | .655 | .136 | .310 | .289 | 29.5% | 40.0% | 88.5% | $2,000 | $2,700 | $3,600 |
EARLY SLATE
Carlos Santana is 5-for-12 (.417 AVG) with a homer, double, two walks, four runs, and four RBIs throughout his career against Colby Lewis.
Mike Napoli has a lower ceiling than Carlos Santana but has a bigger upside. Napoli is the one who is swinging the hotter bat right now. He is working on a 6-game hitting streak where he has gone 7-for-22 (.318) with three homers, a triple, four walks, seven runs, nine RBIs, and two stolen bases.
Joe Mauer has homered in three consecutive games. That’s not an error, folks. He is batting .393/.469/.821 with four homers, four walks, and seven strikeouts over his last seven games. He faces a gas can in Kendall Graveman who has a brutal 1.91 HR/9 this season.
Adrian Gonzalez is my final option at first for the early slate. Yes, I am not going to be punting first base today, folks. Still, A-Gon is a reasonable $3200 on FanDuel, and he is looking a lot more comfortable at the plate. In his last series against the Mets, he went 8-for-13 (.615 AVG) with a homer, double, and four RBIs, including a huge 9th inning knock to bail the Dodgers out after blowing Clayton Kershaw’s lead.
LATE SLATE
Albert Pujols is 6-for-15 (.400 AVG) with three doubles, four walks, and five runs in his previous meetings against Justin Verlander of the Tigers.
Chris Johnson has been getting all of the starts against left-handed pitching in recent weeks, and gets a premium matchup tonight against Jeff Locke of the Pirates. Johnson is 7-for-15 (.467 AVG) with two homers and two doubles, lifetime, against Locke.
| 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 |
| Robinson Cano | SEA | L | SD | Andrew Cashner | 202 | 60 | 15 | 33 | 44 | 13 | 0 | .297 | .941 | .297 | .281 | .397 | 17.7% | 34.3% | 92.6% | $4,300 | $4,800 | $5,600 |
| Jason Kipnis | CLE | L | TEX | Colby Lewis | 193 | 53 | 7 | 27 | 28 | 15 | 3 | .275 | .758 | .161 | .326 | .327 | 26.4% | 34.9% | 85.3% | $3,500 | $4,300 | $4,850 |
| Scooter Gennett | MIL | L | STL | Carlos Martinez | 113 | 26 | 4 | 20 | 7 | 13 | 1 | .230 | .705 | .168 | .286 | .305 | 18.5% | 33.3% | 85.1% | $2,800 | $3,800 | $4,200 |
| Jurickson Profar | TEX | R | CLE | Josh Tomlin | 13 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .385 | .923 | .154 | .417 | .393 | 16.7% | 8.3% | 100% | $2,200 | $3,000 | - |
| Ian Kinsler | DET | R | LAA | Jhoulys Chacin | 194 | 61 | 10 | 42 | 24 | 13 | 6 | .314 | .896 | .216 | .333 | .384 | 22.1% | 33.7% | 92.0% | $4,300 | $5,300 | $5,350 |
| Johnny Giavotella | LAA | R | DET | Justin Verlander | 143 | 41 | 2 | 17 | 15 | 5 | 2 | .287 | .700 | .105 | .315 | .304 | 25.6% | 28.7% | 91.9% | $3,300 | $2,600 | $3,500 |
EARLY SLATE
Robinson Cano has a 7-game hitting streak, and has been flat out amazing in this 6-game homestand at Safeco where he has gone 9-for-25 (.360 AVG) with three homers, a triple, a double, five runs, and five RBIs.
Jason Kipnis gets a dream matchup against Colby Lewis, who is getting ripped apart with the 3rd worst Hard Hit Rate in MLB this season. Combine that with a 45.1% Fly Ball Rate (8th worst in MLB), that just makes for a recipe for disaster.
Scooter Gennett faces Carlos Martinez, who has allowed all five of his homers and a .348 wOBA to left-handed hitters this season. Gennett also has the most success on the Brewers roster against Martinez, going 4-for-10 (.400 AVG) with a .455 wOBA.
Jurickson Profar is quite the value today for someone who will likely be leading off, and someone who has gone 5-for-13 (.385 AVG) over his first three starts.
LATE SLATE
Ian Kinsler went 5-for-11 (.455 AVG) with a triple, double, and two stolen bases in Oakland this past weekend after returning to the lineup with an illness. He has had a dominating season thus far, and I give him the edge over Daniel Murphy based on his matchup with Jhoulys Chacin.
Johnny Giavotella is 4-for-10 (.400 AVG) throughout his career against Justin Verlander. I love that he’s a contact hitter and I also love that he has dominated at the plate in May, batting .352/.376/.477 over 92 plate appearances.
| 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 |
| Nolan Arenado | COL | R | CIN | Dan Straily | 191 | 54 | 14 | 34 | 39 | 20 | 0 | .283 | .912 | .277 | .258 | .386 | 14.9% | 38.2% | 93.6% | $4,500 | $5,200 | $6,000 |
| Adrian Beltre | TEX | R | CLE | Josh Tomlin | 188 | 51 | 9 | 25 | 34 | 14 | 0 | .271 | .797 | .202 | .258 | .338 | 17.4% | 33.7% | 86.9% | $3,800 | $3,800 | $4,900 |
| Jose Ramirez | CLE | S | TEX | Colby Lewis | 138 | 42 | 3 | 22 | 19 | 15 | 4 | .304 | .827 | .145 | .322 | .359 | 23.6% | 22.4% | 86.9% | $3,600 | $3,500 | $4,250 |
| Aaron Hill | MIL | R | STL | Carlos Martinez | 145 | 41 | 6 | 18 | 20 | 18 | 3 | .283 | .808 | .166 | .297 | .350 | 21.8% | 31.5% | 93.3% | $2,700 | $3,700 | $4,200 |
| Jung-Ho Kang | PIT | R | MIA | Justin Nicolino | 56 | 16 | 6 | 9 | 17 | 2 | 0 | .286 | 1.022 | .393 | .250 | .420 | 8.7% | 50.0% | 90.3% | $3,700 | $3,800 | $5,000 |
| Martin Prado | MIA | R | PIT | Jeff Locke | 184 | 60 | 0 | 16 | 15 | 12 | 0 | .326 | .758 | .065 | .359 | .329 | 22.2% | 25.2% | 98.6% | $2,800 | $3,600 | $4,500 |
EARLY SLATE
Nolan Arenado gets a good matchup at Coors against Dan Straily of the Reds who has a career Fly Ball Rate of 44.8%. After hitting 10 homers in April, he has cooled off to just four homers in May. He is still crushing the ball harder than he has at any point in his career, so another power surge is only a matter of time.
Adrian Beltre has gone 3-for-7 (.429 AVG) with a home run, double, and five RBIs in his previous meetings against Josh Tomlin. Beltre is coming off of a great homestand in Arlington, where he went 7-for-21 (.333 AVG) with two homers, six runs, and five RBIs.
Jose Ramirez is getting a ton of playing time in the absence of Michael Brantley. Over his last seven games, Ramirez has gone 8-for-23 (.348 AVG) with two homers, six walks, seven runs, four RBIs, and two stolen bases.
Aaron Hill currently has a 6-game hitting streak, and has clearly earned the trust of his Manager, Craig Counsell. Just a lot of things to like from Hill’s advanced statistics, especially his 93.2% Z-Contact rate.
LATE SLATE
Jung-Ho Kang has a 1.143 OPS, .571 ISO, and a .472 wOBA against left-handed pitching this season. Yeah, that’s good.
Martin Prado puts the ball in play more than anyone in baseball, and rarely strikes out. That has been the case against Jeff Locke throughout his career over 16 plate appearances. Even though he hasn’t gone deep this season, i think it’s pretty interesting that Prado has hit 2 homers off of Locke in those 16 plate appearances.
| 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 |
| Xander Bogaerts | BOS | R | BAL | Tyler Wilson | 208 | 73 | 6 | 42 | 28 | 17 | 7 | .351 | .915 | .163 | .401 | .395 | 19.8% | 33.0% | 89.8% | $4,700 | $5,300 | $5,350 |
| Eduardo Nunez | MIN | R | OAK | Kendall Graveman | 151 | 51 | 5 | 21 | 20 | 5 | 9 | .338 | .876 | .172 | .383 | .375 | 18.7% | 28.2% | 88.2% | $3,300 | $4,200 | $4,350 |
| Brandon Crawford | SF | L | ATL | Michael Foltynewicz | 177 | 46 | 6 | 20 | 28 | 19 | 3 | .260 | .759 | .169 | .296 | .316 | 18.8% | 33.6% | 84.6% | $3,100 | $3,900 | $4,700 |
| Aledmys Diaz | STL | R | MIL | Junior Guerra | 167 | 54 | 7 | 34 | 25 | 9 | 1 | .323 | .906 | .228 | .326 | .378 | 19.2% | 34.4% | 92.2% | $2,900 | $3,900 | $4,650 |
| Brad Miller | TB | L | KC | Ian Kennedy | 146 | 34 | 5 | 13 | 15 | 14 | 4 | .233 | .732 | .199 | .282 | .316 | 18.7% | 33.3% | 86.5% | $3,000 | $3,600 | $4,150 |
| Danny Espinosa | WSH | S | PHI | Jeremy Hellickson | 159 | 32 | 5 | 13 | 18 | 16 | 1 | .201 | .613 | .113 | .243 | .267 | 18.5% | 32.2% | 81.8% | $2,300 | $2,500 | $3,800 |
EARLY SLATE
Xander Bogaerts is now the King of Boston with JBJ’s hitting streak ending at 29 games. Bogaerts has a 22 game hitting streak himself. Just to give some perspective, he is batting .404/.436/.606 with five homers and seven doubles in the month of May.
Eduardo Nunez has a 5-game hitting streak where he has hit two home runs and a double with five runs, three RBIs, and a stolen base. I love his matchup against Kendall Graveman, and especially considering Nunez should be very underowned today (Twins stack, anyone?).
Brandon Crawford destroyed Michael Foltynewicz last season, going 3-for-6 (.500 AVG) with two home runs.
Aledmys Diaz’s production has dropped off a bit, but it still doesn’t change the fact that he is still in a great spot if he remains in the #2 hole in front of Matt Holliday and Stephen Piscotty.
LATE SLATE
Brad Miller has had good success against Ian Kennedy in their handful of meetings. Miller is 3-for-4 (.750 AVG) with a homer, two doubles, a walk, and zero strikeouts in his career against Kennedy.
Danny Espinosa may not have the home runs that Marcus Semien has put up this season, but he has a lot of upside based on his approach at the plate. His 45.8% Fly Ball Rate is the highest of his career, and really leaves little room for error, but definitely provides big upside as long as the matchup is right. With Jeremy Hellickson on the hill, this could very well be the matchup.
| 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 |
| Yoenis Cespedes | NYM | R | CHW | Jose Quintana | 163 | 46 | 15 | 31 | 36 | 18 | 1 | .282 | .980 | .337 | .292 | .410 | 24.0% | 37.2% | 87.8% | $4,000 | $4,100 | $5,650 |
| Jay Bruce | CIN | L | COL | Chad Bettis | 164 | 43 | 9 | 26 | 31 | 12 | 2 | .262 | .829 | .250 | .296 | .349 | 24.4% | 35.9% | 85.7% | $4,000 | $4,700 | $4,900 |
| Miguel Sano | MIN | R | OAK | Kendall Graveman | 174 | 41 | 11 | 24 | 26 | 28 | 1 | .236 | .807 | .230 | .316 | .348 | 24.5% | 41.5% | 76.9% | $4,000 | $4,400 | $4,800 |
| Adam Duvall | CIN | R | COL | Chad Bettis | 150 | 40 | 11 | 22 | 26 | 6 | 1 | .267 | .875 | .307 | .312 | .368 | 23.1% | 37.5% | 86.2% | $3,900 | $4,700 | $4,050 |
| Carlos Gonzalez | COL | L | CIN | Dan Straily | 191 | 57 | 8 | 32 | 18 | 11 | 0 | .298 | .824 | .188 | .340 | .351 | 19.9% | 29.7% | 84.1% | $3,700 | $5,200 | $5,500 |
| Khris Davis | OAK | R | MIN | Ervin Santana | 181 | 44 | 14 | 22 | 34 | 5 | 0 | .243 | .797 | .282 | .250 | .335 | 17.9% | 41.8% | 70.8% | $3,300 | $4,200 | $5,100 |
| Mitch Moreland | TEX | L | CLE | Josh Tomlin | 158 | 35 | 6 | 18 | 21 | 14 | 0 | .222 | .686 | .171 | .276 | .296 | 21.6% | 36.0% | 82.9% | $3,000 | $3,100 | $4,100 |
| Franklin Gutierrez | SEA | R | SD | Andrew Cashner | 71 | 17 | 4 | 9 | 11 | 8 | 0 | .239 | .780 | .211 | .295 | .338 | 20.8% | 41.7% | 75.3% | $2,600 | $3,100 | $4,000 |
| Michael Bourn | ARI | L | HOU | Collin McHugh | 27 | 11 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 3 | .407 | 1.039 | .148 | .458 | .448 | 34.8% | 28.0% | 91.4% | $2,400 | $2,700 | $3,850 |
| Hyun-Soo Kim | BAL | L | BOS | Steven Wright | 47 | 18 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 0 | .383 | .974 | .128 | .436 | .426 | 20.0% | 32.5% | 88.1% | $2,400 | $3,200 | $3,700 |
| Jose Bautista | TOR | R | NYY | Ivan Nova | 183 | 44 | 11 | 32 | 37 | 39 | 1 | .240 | .871 | .257 | .241 | .374 | 19.6% | 39.9% | 90.5% | $4,500 | $5,000 | $5,500 |
| Marcell Ozuna | MIA | R | PIT | Jeff Locke | 189 | 65 | 10 | 34 | 27 | 15 | 0 | .344 | .990 | .254 | .404 | .419 | 19.2% | 35.6% | 85.2% | $4,200 | $5,200 | $4,500 |
| Starling Marte | PIT | R | MIA | Justin Nicolino | 187 | 60 | 4 | 26 | 19 | 4 | 17 | .321 | .832 | .150 | .400 | .362 | 23.2% | 33.3% | 87.4% | $4,100 | $4,700 | $5,500 |
| Bryce Harper | WSH | L | PHI | Jeremy Hellickson | 155 | 38 | 13 | 32 | 34 | 48 | 7 | .245 | .958 | .297 | .229 | .388 | 14.0% | 36.1% | 89.9% | $3,900 | $4,600 | $5,850 |
| Brandon Guyer | TB | R | KC | Ian Kennedy | 122 | 38 | 6 | 22 | 14 | 6 | 1 | .311 | .955 | .238 | .352 | .409 | 26.0% | 32.7% | 86.7% | $3,600 | $3,400 | $4,400 |
| Jayson Werth | WSH | R | PHI | Jeremy Hellickson | 165 | 37 | 7 | 23 | 24 | 13 | 1 | .224 | .682 | .176 | .254 | .295 | 16.8% | 36.0% | 88.9% | $2,700 | $3,200 | $4,550 |
| Brett Eibner | KC | R | TB | Matt Andriese | 11 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | .455 | 1.136 | .182 | .556 | .487 | 44.4% | 30.0% | 82.6% | $3,000 | $2,900 | - |
| Whit Merrifield | KC | R | TB | Matt Andriese | 36 | 13 | 0 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 1 | .361 | .833 | .111 | .464 | .359 | 39.3% | 35.7% | 95.9% | $2,600 | $3,100 | $3,650 |
EARLY SLATE
Yoenis Cespedes is the BvP darling of the day. Cespedes has absolutely murdered Jose Quintana throughout their previous meetings, going 9-for-15 (.600 AVG) with four homers, a triple, two doubles, a walk, zero strikeouts, and 10 RBIs.
Jay Bruce homered off of Chad Bettis in their last meeting at the GAB. He gets Bettis again today, but the park boost is in effect at Coors Field. Enough said.
Miguel Sano loves facing right-handed pitching and gets a matchup against Kendall Graveman, who is allowing a line of .325/.357/.595 with six homers this season against right-handed hitters. He is in the middle of a 4-game home run streak (one upping Joe Mauer), and I would not be surprised if he extends the streak today in Oakland.
Adam Duvall is a pure home run hitter that gets to play his first series this season in the home run haven called Coors Field. He has four homers over his last seven games, and is getting every opportunity in the world to get some playing time, even playing third base for the first time this season against the Brewers.
Carlos Gonzalez is going to be the chalk play of the day with his improved bat and, of course, Coors Field in play. After a horrific run, his season seemed to be rejuvenated after a series in Boston. Since then, he has hit three homers while going 6-for-13 (.462 AVG) in his most recent series against the Giants.
Khris Davis is a very streaky hitter. He is working on a 5-game hitting streak where he has gone 8-for-19 (.421 AVG) with two homers, four doubles, four runs, and five RBIs.
Mitch Moreland has homers in back-to-back games, and gets a phenomenal matchup against Josh Tomlin, who has a career Fly Ball Rate of 40.5% combined with a Hard Hit Rate of 39.2% this season, which is the second worst in Major League Baseball.
Franklin Gutierrez is getting starts against righties and lefties now that Leonys Martin is out for a few weeks. He has been scorching hot over the last week or so, going 8-for-20 (.400 AVG) with three homers, five runs, and six RBIs. I love his upside and I love his matchup against Andrew Cashner.
Michael Bourn is a great value today for someone who is smokin’ hot and likely to hit in front of Paul Goldschmidt. In his last start on Saturday, he went 3-for-4 with a triple, two runs, two RBIs, and a stolen base.
Hyun-Soo Kim is way too cheap to ignore for someone who is getting a very good look as the Orioles’ #2 hitter. He responded yesterday with his first career Major League home run.
LATE SLATE
Jose Bautista is batting .333/.471/.556 with a homer, three doubles, and seven walks throughout his career against Ivan Nova. Believe it or not, batting leadoff has actually been a positive transition for Bautista, considering he is batting .308/.372/.641 with four of his 11 home runs in just 39 at-bats.
Marcell Ozuna is simply the hottest player in baseball. In the month of May, he has batted .434/.469/.745 with seven home runs, two triples, eight doubles, and 17 RBIs. When you add the fact that his OPS this season against southpaws is a ridiculous 1.513, uh, yeah, PLAY HIM.
Starling Marte is batting .300/.323/.467 with a homer and five stolen bases over this last seven games. Marte has also hit all four of his homers this season away from home, and gets a nice matchup against Justin Nicolino, who is giving up a 39.3% Hard Hit Rate in 2016.
Bryce Harper gets a premium matchup against Jeremy Hellickson today in Philly. In 11 plate appearances against Hellickson, Harper has batted .500/.727/.667 with a double and two stolen bases.
Brandon Guyer is officially an everyday player with the Rays now that Kevin Kiermaier is on the DL. He has responded with some of the best play in his career. Over his last nine games, Guyer has gone 12-for-35 (.343 AVG) with two homers, five doubles, and seven runs scored.
Brett Eibner displays more power than Whit Merrifield, yet has still hit for a very good average over his last two seasons at AAA Omaha. This season, he has been tearing apart the Pacific Coast League, batting .455/.500/.636 with 10 homers in just 149 at-bats.
Jayson Werth is a very good value on FanDuel, and is coming off of a pinch hit Grand Slam yesterday against the Cardinals, that really blew open the game.
Whit Merrifield, as I mentioned before, is not a power hitter but he hits for super high contact. Based on his early play, much of his peripheral stats mirror another 2B/3B/OF utility man, who has blossomed into an every day third baseman, and that’s Martin Prado. His 95.5% Z-Contact Rate is extremely promising, and reinforces the fact that he is still a superb value play.
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!