DFS MLB Hitting Coach: April 9

There are six games in the early slate and nine in the late slate, so I have separated my plays at each position to avoid confusion. Please keep in mind FanDuel is running a late slate only for Saturday. Snow is in the forecast in the northeast, so be sure to keep that in mind as you set your lineups. A number of aces are making their second starts of the season Saturday, so that limits some of the hitting options, but there are still plenty of strong hitters available for both slates.

CATCHER

EARLY SLATE

James McCann has a .390 wOBA at home vs. LHP, and I like his chances against CC Sabathia.

Brian McCann is 19-for-42 in his career against Mike Pelfrey, and the older McCann brother is an even better play if you can afford him.

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.                                                                                                                                                                   

LATE SLATE

Derek Norris is 6-for-10 in his career against Jorge De La Rosa, and for his career, he has a .946 OPS at Coors Field.

Carlos Ruiz is 3-for-7 with a home run through his first two games. He is your best bet if you are looking to go super cheap.

FIRST BASE

EARLY SLATE

Miguel Cabrera had a 1.016 OPS against lefties last season while Victor Martinez wasn’t far behind and .870. CC Sabathia could be in for a very long day.

If you think more of CC Sabathia than I do, and you don’t trust Justin Smoak, which is understandable, Ryan Zimmerman is awfully cheap for somebody batting fourth in a very formidable lineup.

Justin Smoak is 7-for-16 with three home runs and nine RBI against Rick Porcello. He is a sneaky play if he gets the start.

LATE SLATE

Tyler White has at least one hit in every game this season, going 9-for-13 with two homers and 7 RBI in four games. His price is still pretty low, especially against Wily Peralta.

Wil Myers broke out with three hits in Coors Field Friday, and I don’t think anybody would be surprised by another multi-hit game Saturday.

SECOND BASE

EARLY SLATE

Ian Kinsler has at least two hits in all three games on the young season, and he has an excellent chance to keep the streak going. Kinsler had a .973 OPS at home against lefties last season.

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

LATE SLATE

DJ LeMahieu has two hits in each of his four games this season, including two home runs. In his career, he has a .345 wOBA at home against left-handed pitchers and led off Wednesday against a lefty.

I really wanted to go with Brian Dozier here, but he is a bit too expensive on DraftKings and FantasyAces. Instead, Neil Walker gets the nod thanks to his .340 wOBA against right-handed pitching last season.

THIRD BASE

EARLY SLATE

Nick Castellanos has a .923 OPS at home against lefties in his career and righties slugged .502 against CC Sabathia last season. Mike Aviles would be a great play if he gets a start, but there may not be room for him in the lineup.

Alex Rodriguez had a .349 wOBA vs. RHP last season, and he doesn’t cost much more than teammate Chase Headley. Both could have big days against Mike Pelfrey, but A-Rod is the clear choice for me.

LATE SLATE

Third base is a bit underwhelming in the late slate, and it may be worth it to lock in Nolan Arenado and his .453 wOBA in Coors against left-handed pitchers, even if you have to pay through the nose to do it.

Only James Shields and Rubby De La Rosa allowed more home runs than Ian Kennedy last season, so it is no surprise Trevor Plouffe is 3-for-6 with a home run against Kennedy.

SHORTSTOP

EARLY SLATE

Xander Bogaerts is 10-for-28 in his career against R.A. Dickey, and he will bat third for a lineup that should score some runs.

Most of the shortstops in the day slate either aren’t very good or are facing a very good starting pitcher. Neither of those applies to Starlin Castro, who is batting .438 through four games and gets to face Mike Pelfrey Saturday.

LATE SLATE

Brad Miller will likely bat sixth against a guy who had a 6.04 ERA in the big leagues last season. His slow start has only served to keep his price down.

Trevor Story costs more and will likely be more highly owned, so I will take my chances with Alexei Ramirez. Righties had an .823 OPS against Jorge De La Rosa in Coors last season.

OUTFIELD

EARLY SLATE

I love Justin Upton and J.D. Martinez against CC Sabathia Saturday, and the only problem is trying to choose one over the other. Martinez is off to the better start, but Upton gets a slight edge for me if he continues to bat second.

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.

I was pretty surprised to see Carlos Beltran had a .358 wOBA against right-handed pitchers last season. He should be more than good enough to get to Mike Pelfrey.

LATE SLATE

Rich Hill looked pretty terrible on Opening Day, and you can blame that on making an emergency start if you want, but I just think he is going to struggle, especially against righties. Nelson Cruz had more home runs than anybody over the last two seasons, and Franklin Gutierrez had a .411 wOBA against lefties in 2015.

Ryan Raburn in Coors Field against a lefty is the stuff dreams are made of. He had a 1.004 OPS against lefties last season.

Matt Kemp is batting .458 with five home runs and 18 RBI against Jorge De La Rosa, and some of those at-bats didn’t even come at Coors Field.

Joey Rickard and Nolan Reimold have batted first and second respectively the last two games, and such cheap options at the top of the lineup are hard to come by right now. It also doesn’t hurt righties had a .324 wOBA against Drew Smyly last season.