DFS MLB Hitting Coach: April 19

Ignoring the Brewers/Twins (1:10 PM ET start) and Mariners/Indians (6:10 PM ET start) games, we have 13 games to play with for our main DFS MLB slate, with a roster lock of 7:05 PM ET. Just a ton of options, and a ton of different ways to go about constructing your lineups.

 

If you haven’t done so already, check out my Week 2 DFS Lineup Breakdown by clicking here. It wasn’t as good as the opening week, but I was able to stay profitable.

 

There is going to be value available with your pitching, so you can definitely pay up for the high-end hitters if you choose to go that route. Otherwise, your high-end pitching option is going to be the human heart attack, Stephen Strasburg, matching up against the Marlins. 

 

The two games that may have to deal with weather issues is Astros/Rangers and Angels/White Sox, which is a bit of a bummer, because the Astros/Rangers has the highest Vegas total. 

 

Once again, players are listed in order, from highest price tag to lowest price tag, using FanDuel salaries. 

 

 

Wilson Ramos compiled 10 hits in his five games prior to going 0-for-4 last night against the Marlins. Four of those 10 hits went for extra bases. He has a pretty good matchup against Adam Conley, who he homered against last season. 

 

Victor Martinez is 4-for-13 (.308 AVG) with a couple homers in his career against Yordano Ventura. I am only considering him on FanDuel, where he is eligible at catcher, and priced at only $2800. 

 

Yasmani Grandal is 3-for-7 with two doubles and a walk against Julio Teheran of the Braves. He’s still way too underpriced considering what he’s capable of doing at the plate. He has only started in three games this season, but he is 4-for-5 (.800 AVG) with two doubles and two walks.

 

Evan Gattis can almost be mistaken for another Chris Carter, but he is eligible at a position that lacks much power upside. I love his matchup against Derek Holland, who consistently struggles to keep his xFIP below 4.50. 

 

 

David Ortiz is in play if you’re willing to take that risk going lefty vs. lefty, with Big Papi having a good history against Drew Smyly of the Rays. Ortiz is 5-for-11 (.455 AVG) with a homer and a double against the southpaw throughout his career. 

 

Eric Hosmer is just an extremely consistent producer. He is my favorite Royal to roster tonight against Shane Greene, who is allowing a line of .321/.386/.500 to left-handed hitters throughout his career. 

 

Albert Pujols has homered in two of his last four games, and has seemingly broken out of that mini-slump he had to start the season. PITCHf/x values suggest that he’s having a tougher and tougher time catching up to fastballs, but that’s out of play tonight considering he is facing Mat Latos, whose average fastball is below 90 MPH. 

 

Adrian Gonzalez is 4-for-12 (.333 AVG) with a homer, double, and two walks against Julio Teheran. Considering active Dodgers bats have hit .338/.405/.507 against Teheran, it may be wise to get a few of the boys in blue in your lineup. 

 

 

Jose Altuve was the AL Co-Player of the Week last week, going 11-for-27 (.407 AVG) with three homers, three doubles, 7 RBIs, and two stolen bases. On top of that, he is 7-for-21 (.333 AVG) with a homer, triple, and double against Derek Holland in his career. He could very well set the table to that one Astros middle-infielder that will be batting in the 3-hole. Oh, and Holland throws over 50 percent sinkers, which really puts Jeff Mans’s “short dudes vs. sinker ball pitchers” theory to the test. 

 

Ian Kinsler has seemingly picked up some of that power that we were seeing all those years with the Rangers. He is 5-for-13 (.385 AVG) in his career against Yordano Ventura. 

 

Brandon Phillips had a tough night against Jordan Lyles of the Rockies, but he’ll get a better matchup tonight against Jorge De La Rosa. Phillips is 3-for-10 (.300 AVG) with a homer and a double against De La Rosa in his career. 

 

Brett Lawrie remains in play at second on FanDuel and Fantasy Aces where he is incredibly cheap, but still packs in the production. Yeah, he had a rough night against Hector Santiago last night, but I’ll take my chances considering he is 6-for-12 (.500 AVG) with a home run against Matt Shoemaker throughout his career. 

 

 

Nolan Arenado gets to face Alfredo Simon of the Reds tonight. Simon has allowed opposing hitters to bat 12-for-33 with two homers and a line of .364/.463/.636 this season. 

 

Yunel Escobar is once again highlighted on the DFS MLB Hitting Coach. He has reached base safely in nine consecutive games, and will be in a great situation batting leadoff in front of Trout, Pujols, and Calhoun as they face an aging Mat Latos. 

 

Alex Rodriguez batted .263/.394/.532 with 10 homers in just 156 at-bats against southpaws in 2015. He may be batting .118, but he homered in the Yankees last game against the Mariners on Sunday, and has a ton of upside.

 

Jake Lamb hitting in the 2-hole in front of Paul Goldschmidt is a huge boost to his fantasy value. Limited run so far, but Cain is allowing a line of .381/.435/.571 to lefties this season compared to .182/.182/.273 against righties. Plus, last night showed what hitting in front of Goldy can do for him. He went 3-for-6 with a homer and two doubles against the Giants.

 

 

Carlos Correa has been cold since his amazing opening week of the season. The best remedy for his cold streak might just be Derek Holland of the Rangers. Correa went 4-for-5 (.800 AVG) with a walk, and two homers against Holland in 2015.

 

Zack Cozart is still swinging a hot bat, making good contact, and will continue to hit in the lead off spot. Cozart is a respectable 3-for-6 against De La Rosa, and will look to continue his 9-game hitting streak. 

 

Alexei Ramirez will put BvP to the test with a considerable amount of trials. He is 13-for-31 (.419 AVG) against Francisco Liriano throughout his career, and he is coming off of a nice series against the D-Backs where he reached base three times in two of the three games.

 

Andrelton Simmons has had plenty of meetings with Mat Latos in the National League, and he has definitely owned the veteran right-hander in their previous meetings. Simmons is 5-for-9 (.556 AVG) with two doubles, and two walks against Latos in his career. 

 

 

Giancarlo Stanton has 10 strikeouts against Stephen Strasburg, which I don’t mind as much, because he has gone 13-for-32 (.406 AVG) with three homer runs, six doubles, 10 RBIs, and five walks against the former San Diego State Aztec. 

 

Jose Bautista reached base five out of six plate appearances against Mike Wright of the Orioles in 2015. Both of his base hits went for extra bases, and one of those went out of the ballpark. 

 

Mookie Betts is 5-for-12 (.417 AVG) with a homer, double, and two stolen bases against Drew Smyly. 

 

Yasiel Puig has gone 4-for-6 (.667 AVG) with a homer, double, and two walks against Julio Teheran throughout his career. 

 

Delino Deshields Jr. has gone 11-for-22 (.500 AVG) with a home run, two doubles, and a walk over the last week. 

 

David Peralta is another play where we are looking to exploit Matt Cain’s inability to get left-handed hitters out. Peralta makes very good contact at the plate, and is one of my favorite players in DFS.

 

Kole Calhoun has been the most consistent hitter on the Angels roster in 2016. He has extra base hits in four of his last six games, and has also reached base at least two times in four of his last six games. 

 

Melvin Upton has been outplaying Justin Upton the first. We’ll put this to the test tonight in Petco, when Upton faces Francisco Liriano of the Pirates. Upton is 8-for-24 (.333 AVG) with three doubles and two stolen bases against Liriano in his career. 

 

Steven Souza Jr. loves hitting with the Green Monster in front of him. He is 12-for-26 (.462 AVG) with a homer and two doubles at Fenway Park in his career. Have to like the situation, too. He is 3-for-5 (.600 AVG) with a homer, double, and a HBP against Joe Kelly. He is currently day-to-day with a jammed finger, but if he gets the start, I’ll have to consider him in my lineups.

 

Angel Pagan should be batting higher in the lineup tonight, going up against the left-handed pitcher, Robbie Ray. Even though he has been batting at the bottom of the Giants lineup against righties, he has still been productive, accumulating hits in eight of his last nine games, and eight runs scored in that same span.

 

Chris Young is a guy who we’re always looking to roster against left-handed pitchers. In 2015, Young went 50-for-153 with seven homers and a line of .327/.397/.575 against southpaws. He also homered against Drew Smyly of the Rays.