Tonight’s DFS MLB slate features 14 games, and of course, Alex Rodriguez’s final Major League game.
Weather wise, it ain’t going to be pretty. There is rain in the forecast in New York, Cleveland, Boston, Minnesota, and Texas, so you’ll definitely need to keep your eyes glued to the latest forecasts as we inch closer to roster lock.
And as always, players in my Hitting Coach tables are organized from highest to lowest salary using FanDuel pricing. Yes, that means A-Rod is on the bottom (and rightfully so).
| 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 | ATL | Michael Foltynewicz | 348 | 117 | 18 | 52 | 63 | 28 | 0 | .336 | .933 | .213 | .347 | .396 | 22.8% | 36.3% | 89.1% | $3,400 | $4,700 | $4,800 |
| Buster Posey | SF | R | BAL | Dylan Bundy | 375 | 109 | 12 | 62 | 54 | 44 | 6 | .291 | .823 | .168 | .302 | .350 | 21.3% | 36.6% | 90.5% | $3,400 | $4,000 | $4,650 |
| Yasmani Grandal | LAD | S | PIT | Ivan Nova | 261 | 61 | 18 | 32 | 49 | 48 | 1 | .234 | .840 | .253 | .256 | .360 | 17.8% | 38.2% | 83.9% | $3,000 | $4,700 | $4,550 |
| Mike Zunino | SEA | R | OAK | Sean Manaea | 51 | 13 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 8 | 0 | .255 | 1.057 | .412 | .233 | .434 | 16.7% | 38.9% | 77.3% | $2,700 | $2,900 | $3,200 |
Wilson Ramos is working on a 7-game hitting streak, going 12-for-27 (.444 AVG) with three homers, a double, six runs, and nine RBIs.
Buster Posey’s price tag is still with in reason considering he has hits in eight of his last nine games, while going 13-for-38 (.342 AVG) at the plate with four doubles, five walks, five runs, and seven RBIs.
Yasmani Grandal will be a very popular play tonight at catcher, and rightfully so. Not only does he hit better against righties, but he has been sensational, batting .362/.492/.766 with five homers over his last 15 games.
Mike Zunino being featured in my articles may seem redundant, but what can I say, he’s still very reasonably priced throughout the industry, and packs a ton of upside. What more do you want from a catcher?
| 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 |
| Mike Napoli | CLE | R | LAA | Tyler Skaggs | 399 | 104 | 29 | 75 | 83 | 51 | 4 | .261 | .877 | .271 | .332 | .371 | 18.8% | 41.6% | 78.1% | $3,800 | $5,000 | $5,250 |
| Hanley Ramirez | BOS | R | ARI | Patrick Corbin | 388 | 105 | 14 | 54 | 64 | 39 | 7 | .271 | .784 | .168 | .314 | .337 | 18.5% | 35.9% | 87.7% | $3,500 | $4,200 | $5,000 |
| Adrian Gonzalez | LAD | L | PIT | Ivan Nova | 400 | 118 | 10 | 48 | 55 | 46 | 0 | .295 | .792 | .130 | .348 | .339 | 25.7% | 32.5% | 86.8% | $3,300 | $4,500 | $4,850 |
| Freddie Freeman | ATL | L | WSH | Stephen Strasburg | 430 | 121 | 21 | 63 | 49 | 55 | 4 | .281 | .892 | .240 | .352 | .372 | 28.6% | 41.3% | 78.0% | $3,000 | $3,800 | $4,850 |
| Mitch Moreland | TEX | L | DET | Anibal Sanchez | 325 | 83 | 19 | 39 | 48 | 25 | 1 | .255 | .798 | .225 | .286 | .338 | 20.2% | 38.3% | 83.3% | $3,000 | $4,400 | $4,300 |
Mike Napoli was my guy last night and he definitely came up big. As an Angels fan, I’ve felt the pain every single time Napoli has crushed the Angels. He always had a beef at the way he was treated by Mike Scioscia, and he plays with a chip on his shoulder every time he faces the Halos.
Hanley Ramirez and the rest of a Red Sox get to face Patrick Corbin who is giving up a 1.31 HR/9 with a 4.70 xFIP and 42.5 percent Hard Hit Rate to right-handed hitters this season. HanRam has a .645 wOBA over 11 career plate appearances against Corbin.
Adrian Gonzalez has gone 11-for-20 (.550 AVG) with a homer, four doubles, seven runs, and four RBIs over his last five games.
Freddie Freeman will be a contrarian play tonight, especially considering he is facing Stephen Strasburg of the Nationals. Freeman has had a good history against Stras, going 12-for-31 (.387 AVG) with three homers and two doubles.
Mitch Moreland has quietly been batting .347/.397/.722 with eight homers and 14 RBIs over 72 at-bats since the All-Star Break.
| 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 | TOR | Francisco Liriano | 449 | 164 | 19 | 85 | 71 | 49 | 26 | .365 | 1.003 | .207 | .376 | .421 | 26.1% | 34.6% | 91.1% | $4,000 | $5,100 | $5,500 |
| Brian Dozier | MIN | R | KC | Yordano Ventura | 424 | 111 | 23 | 66 | 66 | 44 | 8 | .262 | .847 | .248 | .270 | .357 | 16.5% | 31.6% | 87.6% | $3,800 | $5,100 | $4,950 |
| Logan Forsythe | TB | R | NYY | CC Sabathia | 343 | 97 | 13 | 55 | 33 | 28 | 6 | .283 | .812 | .184 | .336 | .350 | 24.3% | 37.6% | 84.6% | $3,800 | $5,300 | $4,700 |
| Neil Walker | NYM | S | SD | Paul Clemens | 382 | 105 | 20 | 48 | 51 | 35 | 3 | .275 | .793 | .183 | .298 | .339 | 20.8% | 35.7% | 88.7% | $3,600 | $4,600 | $4,850 |
| Devon Travis | TOR | R | HOU | Joe Musgrove | 239 | 73 | 10 | 38 | 34 | 14 | 3 | .305 | .840 | .192 | .354 | .358 | 18.7% | 29.3% | 91.9% | $3,100 | $4,400 | $4,750 |
Jose Altuve is 19-for-45 (.422 AVG) with a homer, four doubles, three walks, eight runs, and nine RBIs over his last 10 games.
Brian Dozier usually gets more attention when he faces a lefty, but he has done a fine job against righties lately as well. Since the All-Star Break, Dozier has gone 34-for-111 (.306 AVG) from the plate with nine homers, two triples, 10 doubles, and a whopping 23 RBIs.
Logan Forsythe has gone 8-for-18 (.444 AVG) with two homers, four doubles, six runs, and five RBIs throughout his career against CC Sabathia.
Neil Walker is now working on a 9-game hitting streak where he has gone 17-for-37 (.459 AVG) with three homers, a double, seven runs, and six RBIs.
Devon Travis is inexplicably still a great value on FanDuel at just $3100. Over his last seven games, he has gone 15-for-31 (.484 AVG) with three homers, a triple, double, seven runs, and eight RBIs.
| 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 |
| Evan Longoria | TB | R | NYY | CC Sabathia | 439 | 123 | 25 | 57 | 64 | 34 | 0 | .280 | .858 | .246 | .313 | .358 | 22.2% | 38.5% | 81.9% | $3,800 | $4,500 | $5,300 |
| Adrian Beltre | TEX | R | DET | Anibal Sanchez | 422 | 118 | 18 | 58 | 72 | 30 | 0 | .280 | .792 | .180 | .279 | .338 | 16.5% | 33.5% | 88.3% | $3,500 | $4,300 | $5,000 |
| Todd Frazier | CHW | R | MIA | Andrew Cashner | 409 | 86 | 31 | 63 | 72 | 47 | 8 | .210 | .759 | .254 | .201 | .322 | 14.5% | 31.5% | 82.4% | $3,500 | $3,700 | $5,300 |
| Jose Ramirez | CLE | S | LAA | Tyler Skaggs | 379 | 117 | 7 | 58 | 48 | 32 | 14 | .309 | .809 | .135 | .334 | .350 | 24.9% | 24.9% | 89.6% | $3,000 | $4,200 | $4,550 |
| Alex Rodriguez | NYY | R | TB | Chris Archer | 221 | 44 | 9 | 19 | 30 | 14 | 3 | .199 | .595 | .149 | .235 | .257 | 18.4% | 29.1% | 80.4% | $696 | $2,600 | $4,100 |
Evan Longoria is 26-for-67 (.388 AVG) with six homers, nine doubles, 13 walks, and 14 runs/RBIs, lifetime, against CC Sabathia.
Adrian Beltre is batting .700/.727/.900 over 11 career plate appearances against Anibal Sanchez of the Tigers.
Todd Frazier has gone 4-for-8 (.500 AVG) with all four of his hits going for extra bases in his previous appearances against Andrew Cashner.
Jose Ramirez is a nice value on FanDuel at just $3000 even though he happens to be one of the hottest hitters in baseball right now.
Alex Rodriguez MUST be considered tonight, which will be his final MLB game. Obviously there are all of the narratives involved, but FanDuel has lost their damn minds making his salary $696. This mirrors the Kike Hernandez situation earlier this season, only A-Rod and the rest of the Rays and Yankees have to worry about the weather. If the weather clears up, he will absolutely provide enough salary relief to help you stack some more bats.
| 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 |
| Carlos Correa | HOU | R | TOR | Francisco Liriano | 421 | 115 | 18 | 58 | 78 | 59 | 10 | .273 | .850 | .209 | .318 | .365 | 23.2% | 37.8% | 86.2% | $3,900 | $3,900 | $5,200 |
| Trea Turner | WSH | R | ATL | Michael Foltynewicz | 98 | 28 | 2 | 14 | 12 | 4 | 8 | .286 | .800 | .194 | .356 | .339 | 22.7% | 40.0% | 90.2% | $3,400 | $3,900 | $4,550 |
| Troy Tulowitzki | TOR | R | HOU | Joe Musgrove | 319 | 79 | 19 | 39 | 58 | 31 | 1 | .248 | .781 | .213 | .261 | .334 | 16.9% | 36.1% | 85.4% | $3,300 | $4,400 | $5,200 |
| Brandon Crawford | SF | L | BAL | Dylan Bundy | 393 | 109 | 11 | 46 | 71 | 39 | 4 | .277 | .785 | .165 | .319 | .330 | 21.7% | 36.6% | 83.7% | $2,700 | $4,600 | $4,400 |
| Orlando Arcia | MIL | R | CIN | Homer Bailey | 36 | 8 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 1 | .222 | .606 | .083 | .250 | .271 | 16.1% | 28.1% | 84.8% | $2,600 | $2,900 | $4,000 |
Carlos Correa now has a 7-game hitting streak and has homered in back-to-back-to-back games. It definitely appears that he has overcome his little slump.
Trea Turner has the potential to lead the league in stolen bases. Obviously he isn’t touching Villar or Hamilton this season, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s in the conversation within a year or two. He matches up very well against Mike Foltynewicz and he is especially a good value on DraftKings.
Troy Tulowitzki has gone .278/.338/.486 with four homers in 72 at-bats since the All-Star Break.
Brandon Crawford is now four days removed from his epic 7-for-8 night against the Marlins. He capped off the Marlins series with a 2-for-4 outing with a home run. Like his matchup against Dylan Bundy, and I like his price tag even more on FanDuel.
Orlando Arcia makes the Hitting Coach again thanks to another night with a reasonable salary. He now has a 7-game hitting streak where he has gone 8-for-30 (.267 AVG) from the plate with a triple, double, four walks, and most importantly, seven runs scored.
| 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 |
| Ryan Braun | MIL | R | CIN | Homer Bailey | 354 | 115 | 19 | 56 | 58 | 36 | 13 | .325 | .935 | .220 | .350 | .393 | 20.1% | 33.8% | 90.7% | $4,000 | $4,800 | $5,300 |
| Nelson Cruz | SEA | R | OAK | Sean Manaea | 411 | 117 | 28 | 64 | 72 | 47 | 0 | .285 | .908 | .255 | .330 | .383 | 17.4% | 35.6% | 82.9% | $3,900 | $4,900 | $5,050 |
| Charlie Blackmon | COL | L | PHI | Jake Thompson | 413 | 131 | 15 | 73 | 54 | 33 | 14 | .317 | .875 | .182 | .349 | .373 | 27.2% | 34.3% | 92.2% | $3,800 | $5,200 | $5,400 |
| Jayson Werth | WSH | R | ATL | Michael Foltynewicz | 367 | 93 | 15 | 60 | 50 | 53 | 4 | .253 | .784 | .185 | .299 | .339 | 17.0% | 39.1% | 87.3% | $3,800 | $4,000 | $4,750 |
| Adam Jones | BAL | R | SF | Matt Cain | 444 | 123 | 23 | 70 | 66 | 28 | 1 | .277 | .789 | .191 | .292 | .337 | 16.6% | 32.8% | 84.3% | $3,600 | $4,400 | $4,750 |
| Billy Hamilton | CIN | S | MIL | Jimmy Nelson | 333 | 85 | 3 | 55 | 15 | 26 | 48 | .255 | .656 | .090 | .315 | .289 | 22.7% | 18.9% | 90.3% | $3,400 | $5,000 | $4,600 |
| Travis Jankowski | SD | L | NYM | Logan Verrett | 187 | 49 | 1 | 39 | 8 | 32 | 25 | .262 | .718 | .080 | .378 | .326 | 25.4% | 22.3% | 90.0% | $3,400 | $4,900 | $3,850 |
| Max Kepler | MIN | L | KC | Yordano Ventura | 240 | 62 | 15 | 39 | 52 | 30 | 4 | .258 | .859 | .263 | .272 | .358 | 15.5% | 37.6% | 90.4% | $3,400 | $5,200 | $4,850 |
| Adam Duvall | CIN | R | MIL | Jimmy Nelson | 384 | 92 | 26 | 61 | 74 | 28 | 4 | .240 | .812 | .279 | .268 | .340 | 19.1% | 37.1% | 86.0% | $3,300 | $4,900 | $4,800 |
| Jacoby Ellsbury | NYY | L | TB | Chris Archer | 390 | 106 | 4 | 48 | 38 | 37 | 17 | .272 | .708 | .100 | .308 | .312 | 20.6% | 27.7% | 94.1% | $3,200 | $3,700 | $4,000 |
| Franklin Gutierrez | SEA | R | OAK | Sean Manaea | 187 | 47 | 11 | 28 | 28 | 22 | 1 | .251 | .803 | .214 | .316 | .346 | 18.4% | 43.2% | 77.7% | $3,200 | $3,800 | $4,300 |
| Alex Dickerson | SD | L | NYM | Logan Verrett | 113 | 32 | 7 | 18 | 22 | 7 | 3 | .283 | .874 | .265 | .266 | .362 | 24.0% | 37.6% | 93.2% | $2,900 | $3,400 | $3,300 |
| Keon Broxton | MIL | R | CIN | Homer Bailey | 105 | 23 | 3 | 14 | 10 | 20 | 12 | .219 | .706 | .143 | .370 | .317 | 23.6% | 36.2% | 79.6% | $2,800 | $4,200 | $4,350 |
| Coco Crisp | OAK | S | SEA | Ariel Miranda | 347 | 81 | 10 | 44 | 45 | 36 | 6 | .233 | .713 | .176 | .248 | .306 | 22.9% | 25.2% | 89.3% | $2,800 | $4,200 | $4,350 |
| Ben Revere | WSH | L | ATL | Michael Foltynewicz | 282 | 61 | 2 | 30 | 21 | 16 | 11 | .216 | .558 | .078 | .231 | .247 | 18.3% | 22.5% | 96.3% | $2,500 | $3,100 | $4,300 |
Ryan Braun is 12-for-35 (.343 AVG) with five homers, six walks, six runs, and 12 RBIs over his last eight games. It’s also nice to know that he is batting .353/.405/.647 with two homers throughout his career against Homer Bailey of the Reds.
Nelson Cruz went 7-for-12 (.583 AVG) with a homer, triple, two doubles, two walks, three runs, and two RBIs in his last series against the Tigers. Obviously a good sign, plus he gets to face Sean Manaea of the A’s, who Cruz has gone 2-for-3 against with a homer in limited action.
Charlie Blackmon has been able to continue his hot streak away from Coors. He is working with a 6-game hitting streak while going 16-for-29 (.551 AVG) with three homers, a triple, two doubles, nine runs, and nine RBIs.
Jayson Werth has homered in back-to-back games, and has hit three homers while going 12-for-38 (.316 AVG) with two doubles, five walks, nine runs, and six RBIs.
Adam Jones matches up quite well against Matt Cain of the Giants, and he’s swinging a very confident bat, having gone 14-for-31 (.452 AVG) with two homers, a double, five runs, and three RBIs over his last seven games.
Billy Hamilton had a rough game against Jaime Garcia last time around, but should be more comfortable facing Jimmy Nelson. Hamilton has been a better hitter against righties this season and happens to have five career stolen bases against Nelson.
Travis Jankowski is batting .329/.439/.400 with nine stolen bases over his last 15 games. Most importantly, the Mets have been awful at holding runners throughout the season.
Max Kepler has cooled off a tad, but he is still batting .333/.424/.630 with five homers and 16 RBIs over his last 15 games.
Adam Duvall happens to be the best sinkerball hitter on the Reds roster, and he gets a matchup against a sinkerball pitcher in Jimmy Nelson. Duvall is 4-for-7 (.571 AVG) in limited action against Nelson.
Jacoby Ellsbury is batting .643/.688/.786, lifetime, against Chris Archer of the Rays. That equates to a .639 wOBA.
Franklin Gutierrez will be one of my favorite plays tonight. Obviously he’s facing a lefty in Sean Manaea, but most importantly, he’s facing a lefty that doesn’t throw too many breaking pitches. Gutierrez has always been a good fastball/changeup hitter, and that’s what Manaea throws roughly 85 percent of the time.
Alex Dickerson is 8-for-28 (.286 AVG) a homer, three doubles, three walks, four runs, and five RBIs over his last eight games. He and the rest of the Padres will face Logan Merrett, whose peripheral numbers are lacking (4.95 xFIP, 5.00 FIP, 5.96 K/9).
Keon Broxton isn’t a household name and isn’t even on the list of top five Brewers to roster in DFS, but he is quietly doing work, having gone 9-for-18 (.500 AVG) with a homer, double, five walks, four runs, four RBIs, and four stolen bases over the last week.
Coco Crisp will be one of my favorite under-the-radar plays tonight against Ariel Miranda of the Mariners. Crisp almost always has super low ownership, hits better against lefties, and matches up well against Miranda’s repertoire.
Ben Revere has a reasonable chance at cracking the lineup tonight considering he went 3-for-4 with three extra base hits against Mike Foltynewicz in his only other appearance against the hard throwing righty.
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!