DFS MLB Hitting Coach: April 23

Published: Apr 23, 2016

When I write this article on Saturdays I cannot help but compare the early and late slates, and I often find it is useful to compare the two when I construct my lineups. Both slates are very strong in the outfield, with fewer options at the other positions. On a whole, the early slate is weaker for hitters, but there are some opportunities to load up against a few weak pitchers in both slates.

CATCHER

					Prob Pit		2015			2016
Player	Tm	Bat	P	Opp	Pitcher	Throws	AVG	OBP	SLG	AVG	OBP	SLG	wOBA	FD	DK	Aces
Josh Phegley	OAK	R	C	TOR	J.A. Happ	L	0.25	0.3	0.45	0.38	0.41	0.44	0.38	2100	3200	3700
Yan Gomes	CLE	R	C	DET	Anibal Sanchez	R	0.23	0.27	0.39	0.2	0.21	0.31	0.25	2500	3100	4400
Francisco Cervelli	PIT	R	C	ARI	Rubby De La Rosa	R	0.3	0.37	0.4	0.33	0.43	0.4	0.36	2800	3400	4500
Yadier Molina	STL	R	C	SD	Cesar Vargas	R	0.27	0.31	0.35	0.34	0.39	0.46	0.36	3100	3100	4200

Josh Phegley remains very cheap despite a .770 career OPS against left-handed pitchers.EARLY SLATE

Yan Gomes is 4-for-9 with a home run against Anibal Sanchez, and he is probably the safest catcher play of the early slate.

LATE SLATE

Francisco Cervelli is 8-for-24 in his last six games, and he may be the safest play if you are looking to take advantage of Rubby De La Rosa.

Yadier Molina has been great so far this season, and I see no reason to believe he will slow down Saturday against a rookie making his MLB debut.

FIRST BASE

					Prob Pit
Player	Tm	Bat	P	Opp	Pitcher	Throws	AVG	OBP	SLG	AVG	OBP	SLG	wOBA	FD	DK	Aces
Byung-Ho Park	MIN	R	1B	WSH	Tanner Roark	R				0.23	0.33	0.56	0	3200	4100	3850
Joe Mauer	MIN	L	1B	WSH	Tanner Roark	R	0.27	0.34	0.38	0.33	0.46	0.47	0.41	3300	3800	4400
Jose Abreu	CWS	R	1B	TEX	Colby Lewis	R	0.29	0.35	0.5	0.18	0.27	0.34	0.28	3200	4400	5000
John Jaso	PIT	L	1B	ARI	Rubby De La Rosa	R	0.29	0.38	0.46	0.37	0.43	0.49	0.42	2700	3300	4200
Dae-Ho Lee	SEA	R	1B	LAA	Hector Santiago	L				0.25	0.29	0.63	0	2400	2800	3000
Ben Paulsen	COL	L	1B	LA	Kenta Maeda	R	0.28	0.33	0.46	0.32	0.38	0.56	0.4	3100	3300	4850

EARLY SLATE

Either Byung-Ho Park or Joe Mauer will sit with the Twins playing in a National League park yet again Saturday, but whichever one plays will be useful. Park has home runs in three of his last four starts while Mauer has at least one hit in 15 of his 17 games this season.

Jose Abreu is 4-for-10 in his career against Colby Lewis, and for his career, Abreu has a .395 wOBA at U.S. Cellular Field against righties.

LATE SLATE

I would be lying if I said I know what kind of hitter Dae-Ho Lee is, but I know he will probably start for Hector Santiago, and he has looked good enough so far to be worth a play at such a cheap price.

I have recommended John Jaso a lot over the first few weeks of the season, but I love a guy who is cheap, gets on base and leads off in a good lineup against a weak starting pitcher.

Ben Paulsen is 9-for-23 over his last seven games, and he is a great option for some relatively cheap exposure to Coors.

SECOND BASE

					Prob Pit
Player	Tm	Bat	P	Opp	Pitcher	Throws	AVG	OBP	SLG	AVG	OBP	SLG	wOBA	FD	DK	Aces
Jed Lowrie	OAK	B	2B	TOR	J.A. Happ	L	0.22	0.31	0.4	0.28	0.32	0.31	0.29	2400	3500	3950
Daniel Murphy	WSH	L	2B	MIN	Phil Hughes	R	0.28	0.32	0.45	0.41	0.48	0.68	0.49	3500	4600	4900
Josh Harrison	PIT	R	3B	ARI	Rubby De La Rosa	R	0.29	0.33	0.39	0.33	0.36	0.42	0.33	3200	3700	4350
Chase Utley	LA	L	2B	COL	Tyler Chatwood	R	0.22	0.28	0.33	0.29	0.36	0.43	0.35	3600	4500	5000
Neil Walker	NYM	B	2B	ATL	Jhoulys Chacin	R	0.27	0.33	0.43	0.29	0.29	0.58	0.42	3300	3900	4800

EARLY SLATE

Jed Lowrie had a .908 OPS against left-handed pitching last season, and that is great production considering his low price.

Daniel Murphy has been held hitless just twice in 16 games this season, and at least you know he should get you something against Phil Hughes.

LATE SLATE

Chase Utley’s price is very reasonable for a guy on a five-game hitting streak leading off in Coors Field.

Neil Walker is 9-for-26 with four home runs over the last week, and I love to ride Walker’s hot streaks whenever possible.

Josh Harrison has two or more hits in six of his last eight games, including a 3-for-4 effort Friday.

THIRD BASE

					Prob Pit
Player	Tm	Bat	P	Opp	Pitcher	Throws	AVG	OBP	SLG	AVG	OBP	SLG	wOBA	FD	DK	Aces
Adrian Beltre	TEX	R	3B	CWS	Carlos Rodon	L	0.29	0.33	0.45	0.34	0.39	0.58	0.4	3900	4400	5050
Luis Valbuena	HOU	L	3B	BOS	Clay Buchholz	R	0.22	0.31	0.44	0.21	0.3	0.25	0.25	2300	3100	4150
Jake Lamb	ARI	L	3B	PIT	Juan Nicasio	R	0.26	0.33	0.39	0.31	0.39	0.57	0.41	3100	3800	4300
Adonis Garcia	ATL	R	3B	NYM	Steven Matz	L	0.28	0.29	0.5	0.31	0.4	0.38	0.33	2300	3100	4000
Matt Carpenter	STL	L	3B	SD	Cesar Vargas	R	0.27	0.37	0.51	0.22	0.36	0.42	0.38	4200	3800	5150

EARLY SLATE

Adrian Beltre is 9-for-18 over his last five games. He had a .393 wOBA against left-handed pitchers last season, good for 18^th among qualified hitters.

There isn’t much to like at third base in the early slate, so if you don’t trust Adrian Beltre, you may as well go super-cheap with Luis Valbuena. Left-handed batters own a .443 wOBA against Clay Buchholz this season.

LATE SLATE

Jake Lamb is 8-for-19 over his current five-game hitting streak, and Juan Nicasio has been awfully hittable over his last two starts.

Adonis Garcia has a .914 OPS against lefties in his career, and you cannot beat his price or his spot in the batting order.

Matt Carpenter will lead off against rookie Cesar Vargas, and Carpenter had a .394 wOBA against righties last season.

SHORTSTOP

					Prob Pit
Player	Tm	Bat	P	Opp	Pitcher	Throws	AVG	OBP	SLG	AVG	OBP	SLG	wOBA	FD	DK	Aces
Marcus Semien	OAK	R	SS	TOR	J.A. Happ	L	0.26	0.31	0.41	0.21	0.3	0.43	0.33	2700	4100	4300
Eduardo Nunez	MIN	R	3B	WSH	Tanner Roark	R	0.28	0.33	0.43	0.41	0.45	0.51	0.45	2800	3200	3950
Corey Seager	LA	L	SS	COL	Tyler Chatwood	R	0.34	0.43	0.56	0.25	0.3	0.4	0.26	4000	3200	5300
Erick Aybar	ATL	B	SS	NYM	Steven Matz	L	0	0.04	0	0.15	0.17	0.2	0.18	2100	2600	4000
Daniel Castro	ATL	R	SS	NYM	Steven Matz	L	0.24	0.26	0.34	0.27	0.3	0.31	0.26		2500	3000

EARLY SLATE

Marcus Semien is 7-for-10 against J.A. Happ., and his price is quite good on FanDuel and FantasyAces.

Eduardo Nunez continues to lead off for the Twins, and he batted .286 with four runs, five RBI and two stolen bases over the last week. That has value on a weak slate for shortstops.

LATE SLATE

Sometimes the simple play is the best one, and in this case, it is the talented Corey Seager against a weak right-hander in Coors. Seager has two home runs and a stolen base over the last week, and this may be your last chance to get him relatively cheap if he is on the verge of a breakout.

Erick Aybar and Daniel Castro batted first and second the last time the Braves faced a lefty, and that has value even in a weak lineup like Atlanta’s. Castro is not available on FanDuel despite getting four consecutive starts, but he is an excellent play on DraftKings and FantasyAces.

OUTFIELD

					Prob Pit
Player	Tm	Bat	P	Opp	Pitcher	Throws	AVG	OBP	SLG	AVG	OBP	SLG	wOBA	FD	DK	Aces
Mookie Betts	BOS	R	CF	HOU	Mike Fiers	R	0.29	0.34	0.48	0.28	0.31	0.54	0.31	4500	4800	5500
Mark Canha	OAK	R	LF	TOR	J.A. Happ	L	0.25	0.32	0.43	0.17	0.16	0.5	0.27	2800	3200	3800
Ian Desmond	TEX	R	LF	CWS	Carlos Rodon	L	0.23	0.29	0.38	0.15	0.23	0.24	0.22	2900	3500	4300
Ezequiel Carrera	TOR	L	CF	OAK	Chris Bassitt	R	0.27	0.32	0.37	0.18	0.18	0.24	0.15	2100	3000	3300
Bryce Harper	WSH	L	RF	MIN	Phil Hughes	R	0.33	0.46	0.65	0.3	0.39	0.79	0.5	5900	5400	6150
Miguel Sano	MIN	R	RF	WSH	Tanner Roark	R	0.27	0.39	0.53	0.26	0.39	0.46	0.35	3500	4300	4650
Ryan Braun	MIL	R	LF	PHI	Charlie Morton	R	0.29	0.36	0.5	0.33	0.42	0.54	0.42	4400	4400	5000
Jeff Francoeur	ATL	R	RF	NYM	Steven Matz	L				0.25	0.27	0.25	0.25	2200		3300
Chris Owings	ARI	R	2B	PIT	Juan Nicasio	R	0.23	0.26	0.32	0.28	0.31	0.34	0.25	2300	3200	3500
Gregory Polanco	PIT	L	RF	ARI	Rubby De La Rosa	R	0.26	0.32	0.38	0.3	0.42	0.49	0.37	3500	4300	4700
Nelson Cruz	SEA	R	RF	LAA	Hector Santiago	L	0.3	0.37	0.57	0.27	0.35	0.51	0.37	4100	4600	5300
Franklin Gutierrez	SEA	R	CF	LAA	Hector Santiago	L	0.29	0.35	0.62	0.22	0.37	0.26	0.28	2000	2800	4200
Stephen Piscotty	STL	R	LF	SD	Cesar Vargas	R	0.31	0.36	0.49	0.24	0.33	0.43	0.36	3200	3500	4300

EARLY SLATE

Mookie Betts is 8-for-14 with eight runs, two home runs, five RBI and a stolen base over his last three games.

Mark Canha is batting second Saturday, and he hit a home run in his last start Thursday.

It looks like Ian Desmond is beginning to break out of his early-season slump, going 4-for-13 with four runs, a home run and four RBI after he got two days off last week. Perhaps more importantly, Desmond has a .323 wOBA against lefties this season.

Miguel Sano has broken out in a big way this week, but his early-season slump has kept his price down, especially on FanDuel. Sano is 10-for-25 with three home runs over the last week.

Ezequiel Carrera led off Friday with Michael Saunders out, and he would be a fantastic play if he bats first again Saturday. As an added bonus, Carrera is 4-for-6 with two stolen bases against Chris Bassitt.

Phil Hughes allowed 1.68 HR/9 last season, second-worst in baseball among pitchers with at least 150 innings. Bryce Harper has six home runs in his last nine games, and he has an excellent chance at another home run Saturday.

LATE SLATE

Ryan Braun is 8-for-23 in his career against Charlie Morton. In his last five games, Braun is 8-for-16 with four runs and five RBI.

Jeff Francoeur has a career .331 wOBA against lefties, and he will likely bat fifth or sixth against Steven Matz Saturday.

Chris Owings is 5-for-11 against Juan Nicasio. Owings is 7-for-19 with two stolen bases over the last week.

Stephen Piscotty continues to bat second, and that could be quite valuable against Cesar Vargas Saturday.

Every Pirate is worth considering against Rubby De La Rosa, but Gregory Polanco is batting .333 respectively over the last week, and left-handed batters had a .404 wOBA against De La Rosa last season.

Nelson Cruz and Franklin Gutierrez had a 1.107 and .973 OPS respectively against left-handed pitchers last season.

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