DFS MLB Hitting Coach: April 10

Saturday’s Nationals-Marlins game was rained out, and in a personal favor to me, both managers decided to push their starting pitchers back a day, so we get the same matchups we thought we would get yesterday. As such, I like the same players for that game as I did Saturday. There is no need to fix what ain’t broken.

There were a few relatively last-minute pitching changes, and they were mostly favorable for hitters. I am a bit leery of going against pitchers making their MLB debuts, but I will make an exception for Tim Melville. It was also nice to see Vance Worley get the nod in Baltimore.

CATCHER

I don’t know if Tony Wolters is any good, though it certainly doesn’t hurt he batted .406/.486/.688 in Spring Training. More importantly, he is dirt cheap on DraftKings and FantasyAces, and there is a good chance he gets to start against a righty in Coors Field Sunday.

Wilson Ramos is 5-for-13 against Tom Koehler and 4-for-13 this season. I have always liked him when he is healthy, and he appears healthy now.                                                                                                                                                                   

Be sure to check if he is in the lineup, but Stephen Vogt is 11-for-21 in his career against Felix Hernandez. He went 3-for-4 with a run and an RBI Saturday.

On a day when a lot of the top catchers will likely get a day off, Russell Martin will probably play after sitting Saturday. The matchup and the ballpark are quite favorable as well.

FIRST BASE

Kendrys Morales was actually slightly better against righties last season than Eric Hosmer, but Morales costs less across the board. Both players could have big games against Ricky Nolasco, and if you are looking for a reason to pay up for Hosmer, he is 5-for-11 in his career against Nolasco.

John Jaso is going to bat leadoff against Tim Melville. Sign me up for that. Mellville had a 4.63 ERA at Triple-A last season, and Jaso had a .380 OBP last season.

Prince Fielder has at least one RBI in five of his six games this season, and if the Rangers get to Jered Weaver the way I suspect they will, Fielder could have a few more RBI.

C.J. Cron essentially costs as much as John Jaso, and while Jaso is probably safer, Cron is far more likely to hit a home run. Cron is 3-for-6 with four RBI against Martin Perez.

SECOND BASE

Daniel Murphy is off to a nice start, going 4-for-11 with five RBI in his first three games as a National and batting fifth against righties.

Adam Rosales will likely start for Yangervis Solarte Sunday, and while he isn’t much of a hitter, he is facing a week hitter in Coors Field, and he is super-cheap on top of it. Rosales will likely bat seventh or eighth, but he would be really interesting if the Padres elect to bat him fifth or sixth.

Sticking with the Padres, Cory Spangenberg has been batting second, is a good bet to score a run or two, and he is even cheaper than Rosales on FanDuel.

Rougned Odor batted second with Shin-Soo Choo out Saturday, and it would really help his value if he bats there again Sunday. Odor is a nice value on FanDuel even if he is back to seventh, and Choo would be a nice play if he is back in the lineup.

Robinson Cano has cooled a bit since he left Texas, but he still has a hit in every game this season, and he has an excellent chance to keep the streak alive against Chris Bassitt.

THIRD BASE

Mike Moustakas is coming off consecutive two-hit games, and he could get a third against Ricky Nolasco.

David Freese is batting third in a good lineup against somebody who probably doesn’t belong in the big leagues. Freese is off to a nice start, and Great American Ballpark is a good place to hit.

Alex Rodriguez is 11-for-32 with five home runs against Justin Verlander. His price is pretty low considering how well he hit last season.

Don’t let James Shields scare you away from Nolan Arenado. Arenado is 10-for-20 with three home runs against Shields.

Yunel Escobar is a cheap leadoff hitter with the platoon advantage, and he is a nice alternative if you can’t bring yourself to trust David Freese.

SHORTSTOP

The Royals may score 20 runs against Ricky Nolasco, and Ned Yost insists on batting Alcides Escobar lead off. Escobar is 7-for-19 against Nolasco, and if he can get on base, his teammates will likely drive him in. Escobar has at least one hit in all four games this season.

I don’t love the matchup—I’m not a complete idiot—but I think Corey Seager is underpriced, and I’m not going to let Johnny Cueto scare me away. Seager has at least one hit in all six games this season, and he continues to bat 2nd every day.

There is a pretty steep drop off from Correa to the rest of the position, and when that is the case I often like to go with the expensive play, and try to save money elsewhere.

OUTFIELD

Michael A. Taylor  seems underpriced for a leadoff hitter facing Tom Koehler, especially with Anthony Rendon and Bryce Harper behind him. Harper has five home runs in 24 at-bats against Koehler, and he has already hit two homers this season.

If you have some money to spend you could make a compelling argument for Andrew McCutchen for a few others, especially if you are looking for a more contrarian play, but Matt Kemp is on fire right now, and he is pretty reasonably prices on FanDuel and FantasyAces. Kemp has a 1.053 career OPS in Coors Field.

The lesson from today’s hitting coach is to take advantage of bad managers. Craig Gentry shouldn’t bat second any more than Yunel Escobar should lead off, but Gentry has DFS value at the top of the order.

Carlos Gonzalez has at least one hit in every game this season, including a 2-for-4 outing Saturday. In his career, Gonzalez is 8-for-22 against James Shields.

Jon Jay is a cheaper way to get some Coors exposure in the outfield. He is leading off for the Padres this season and has at least one hit in all five games.

Most fantasy players think Conforto will be good when he plays, and that has largely been the case in this young season. As with Corey Seager, this may be your last chance to play Conforto at a discounted price.