It’s always nice to get some variation with the sizes of the different slates. Tonight, we are looking at an 11-game DFS MLB slate and the return of Coors Field.
When it comes to weather, there are some concerns in the Northeast with the Marlins/Phillies, Orioles/Yankees, Braves/Reds all forecasted to have showers at some point during the game. Definitely keep an eye out for the latest weather forecasts as we get closer to roster lock. You definitely don’t want to take a big fat donut because of weather.
Keep in mind that players in my Hitting Coach tables are always organized from highest to lowest salary at each position using FanDuel pricing.
Let’s get down to business.
| 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 |
| Stephen Vogt | OAK | L | HOU | Mike Fiers | 267 | 76 | 8 | 33 | 30 | 16 | 0 | .285 | .786 | .172 | .308 | .334 | 22.8% | 28.8% | 93.6% | $3,300 | $4,000 | $4,200 |
| Victor Martinez | DET | S | MIN | Ricky Nolasco | 323 | 96 | 17 | 38 | 54 | 22 | 0 | .297 | .842 | .201 | .309 | .356 | 23.8% | 40.3% | 91.4% | $3,100 | $3,700 | $5,100 |
| J.T. Realmuto | MIA | R | PHI | Aaron Nola | 293 | 92 | 5 | 35 | 26 | 13 | 9 | .314 | .765 | .106 | .367 | .331 | 17.8% | 29.3% | 90.2% | $2,900 | $4,800 | $4,400 |
| Evan Gattis | HOU | R | OAK | Kendall Graveman | 237 | 51 | 13 | 27 | 36 | 20 | 1 | .215 | .701 | .207 | .233 | .293 | 14.9% | 30.9% | 83.3% | $2,900 | $2,900 | $4,200 |
Stephen Vogt may be the one player who has helped win me money with the most consistency this season. He has reached base safely in 15 of his last 27 plate appearances while homering in two of his last three starts. Matches up much better than what his BvP numbers suggest against Mike Fiers.
Victor Martinez has batted .500/.588/.643 in 17 career plate appearances against Ricky Nolasco of the Twins.
J.T. Realmuto has quietly been one of the best catchers in baseball this season. Contrary to what most people believe considering Mattingly regularly bats him at the top of the lineup against lefties, he is actually a monster against righties, batting .346/.376/.456 with four of his five homers.
Evan Gattis is only $2900 on both FanDuel and DraftKings and provides his usual big upside at a very good price tonight.
| 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 |
| Joey Votto | CIN | L | ATL | Matt Wisler | 306 | 80 | 14 | 50 | 42 | 62 | 6 | .261 | .842 | .190 | .324 | .362 | 28.0% | 45.0% | 82.6% | $3,600 | $4,900 | $5,000 |
| Eric Hosmer | KC | L | CLE | Corey Kluber | 345 | 103 | 13 | 47 | 51 | 31 | 4 | .299 | .829 | .174 | .346 | .355 | 16.6% | 35.2% | 86.9% | $3,200 | $2,900 | $5,150 |
| Marwin Gonzalez | HOU | S | OAK | Kendall Graveman | 272 | 70 | 7 | 35 | 25 | 13 | 9 | .257 | .714 | .158 | .315 | .307 | 24.4% | 31.9% | 88.2% | $3,200 | $3,400 | $4,300 |
| Jose Abreu | CHW | R | SEA | Wade LeBlanc | 353 | 96 | 11 | 33 | 52 | 23 | 0 | .272 | .757 | .159 | .315 | .321 | 18.5% | 31.7% | 87.8% | $2,800 | $3,400 | $5,150 |
Joey Votto was a solid 6-for-12 (.500 AVG) this past weekend against the Brewers and gets a great matchup against Matt Wisler who is giving up a pathetic 37.2% Hard Hit Rate. He is also 3-for-3 in his previous meetings against Wisler.
Eric Hosmer is only $2900 on DraftKings tonight. He has the best history of all of the Royals against Corey Kluber, with nine of his 12 career hits off of Kluber going for extra bases. Can even consider Kendrys Morales who is even cheaper and eligible in the outfield on DraftKings.
Marwin Gonzalez was smoking the ball left and right this past weekend in Seattle. Quietly swinging a hot bat with four of his five hits on 13 at-bats (.385 AVG) this past weekend going for extra bases.
Jose Abreu happens to be one of the few White Sox hitters who have been able to make CONTACT lately, yet he is only $2800 tonight on FanDuel. He gets a great matchup against Wade LeBlanc, who has a career 4.61 xFIP.
| 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 |
| Brian Dozier | MIN | R | DET | Matt Boyd | 324 | 81 | 15 | 48 | 47 | 38 | 7 | .250 | .796 | .210 | .259 | .340 | 17.3% | 28.8% | 87.2% | $4,100 | $4,900 | $4,950 |
| DJ LeMahieu | COL | R | TB | Drew Smyly | 309 | 102 | 5 | 55 | 33 | 31 | 7 | .330 | .877 | .155 | .376 | .376 | 26.2% | 35.2% | 94.4% | $3,900 | $5,000 | $5,350 |
| Ian Kinsler | DET | R | MIN | Ricky Nolasco | 368 | 109 | 18 | 75 | 55 | 26 | 9 | .296 | .861 | .212 | .324 | .367 | 23.9% | 34.1% | 91.1% | $3,700 | $4,700 | $5,400 |
| Jose Peraza | CIN | R | ATL | Matt Wisler | 76 | 18 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 10 | .237 | .512 | .000 | .277 | .233 | 23.8% | 15.4% | 93.7% | $2,200 | $3,700 | $3,950 |
Brian Dozier is uber-expensive tonight but rightfully so considering he is batting .310/.417/.676 with six of his 15 homers in just 71 at-bats this season.
DJ LeMahieu will never be the Rockies bat that you’ll be the most giddy to roster, but he is as solid as it gets in that uniform. He has also crushed it at Coors this season, batting .380/.461/.599.
Ian Kinsler went 6-for-12 (.500 AVG) with two homers, a double, four runs, and three RBIs this past weekend against the Royals. He matches up well against Ricky Nolasco, who he has gone 9-for-23 (.391 AVG) against in their previous meetings.
Jose Peraza may get another start with Brandon Phillips dealing with a calf injury. Just a great price point for a guy who has 10 stolen bases in 11 attempts and that’s in just 28 games played this season.
| 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 |
| Kris Bryant | CHC | R | NYM | Steven Matz | 341 | 96 | 25 | 74 | 65 | 44 | 3 | .282 | .941 | .282 | .316 | .396 | 22.0% | 40.8% | 80.1% | $3,700 | $5,000 | $5,650 |
| Danny Valencia | OAK | R | HOU | Mike Fiers | 263 | 80 | 12 | 41 | 33 | 19 | 0 | .304 | .845 | .186 | .354 | .361 | 24.0% | 36.3% | 85.5% | $3,000 | $4,000 | $4,750 |
| Luis Valbuena | HOU | L | OAK | Kendall Graveman | 264 | 69 | 12 | 36 | 37 | 40 | 0 | .261 | .820 | .201 | .322 | .352 | 21.2% | 37.5% | 83.1% | $2,800 | $4,200 | $4,300 |
| Ryan Schimpf | SD | L | STL | Mike Leake | 66 | 15 | 5 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 0 | .227 | .902 | .333 | .233 | .376 | 16.7% | 43.8% | 84.0% | $2,200 | $3,500 | $3,000 |
Kris Bryant knows how to crush the sinkerball and that happens to be Steven Matz’s bread and butter pitch. He even took Matz deep earlier this season and has a reasonable salary on FanDuel. Another suggestion for this game would be Wilmer Flores who had a heck of a game against Jon Lester last time around, but he’s just a little too expensive for my taste tonight. If you’re thinking of spending your money a little differently, than you probably can’t go wrong with either Nolan Arenado or Evan Longoria.
Danny Valencia has gone 4-for-6 (.667 AVG) with two homers, three walks, and three runs throughout his career against Mike Fiers of the Astros. I also like Jhonny Peralta or Pedro Alvarez around this price point tonight.
Luis Valbuena is absolutely one of my favorite plays of the night. Yes, 4-for-10 (.400 AVG) without any homers doesn’t exactly scream MUST PLAY, but I feel he’ll be overlooked in GPPs, and according to PITCHf/x, he matches up better against Kendall Graveman than anyone else on the Astros roster. If you need anyone cheaper at third tonight, I also approve of Alex Rodriguez, who has stunk it up this season, but has a great history against Kevin Gausman.
Ryan Schimpf’s post All-Star Break numbers come out to 4-for-6 (.667 AVG) with a homer, triple, and three RBIs. I like the outlook against Mike Leake, and he is dirt cheap on FanDuel tonight.
| 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 |
| Trevor Story | COL | R | TB | Drew Smyly | 326 | 85 | 21 | 55 | 57 | 31 | 5 | .261 | .871 | .279 | .337 | .365 | 23.8% | 43.1% | 79.7% | $3,900 | $5,400 | $5,400 |
| Aledmys Diaz | STL | R | SD | Christian Friedrich | 304 | 95 | 13 | 59 | 48 | 32 | 4 | .313 | .912 | .217 | .328 | .383 | 16.5% | 32.8% | 92.5% | $3,600 | $4,900 | $4,500 |
| Tim Anderson | CHW | R | SEA | Wade LeBlanc | 136 | 38 | 4 | 19 | 10 | 2 | 3 | .279 | .738 | .169 | .382 | .314 | 21.7% | 28.4% | 77.3% | $3,000 | $3,900 | $4,350 |
| Asdrubal Cabrera | NYM | S | CHC | Jon Lester | 330 | 88 | 13 | 39 | 31 | 21 | 1 | .267 | .758 | .170 | .301 | .325 | 22.9% | 36.3% | 87.4% | $2,600 | $4,200 | $4,650 |
Trevor Story and the rest of the Rockies face Drew Smyly who currently has a career worst 1.79 HR/9, 4.10 xFIP, and 47 percent Fly Ball Rate.
Aledmys Diaz is batting .339/.456/.661 with three homers in his last 15 games. May not be the first name you think of when you’re looking to pay up at shortstop, but he is as consistent as it gets and his 13 home runs this season isn’t too shabby.
Tim Anderson had a series to forget about this past weekend against the Angels, going 0-for-11 against Angels pitching. I like his chances a little better against Wade LeBlanc of the Mariners. Prefer him on FanDuel or Aces.
Asdrubal Cabrera has a good price on FanDuel and gets to bat right-handed against the southpaw, Jon Lester. He is batting .308/.372/.423 against lefties in 2016.
| 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 |
| Ian Desmond | TEX | R | LAA | Nick Tropeano | 362 | 114 | 16 | 66 | 56 | 29 | 15 | .315 | .888 | .204 | .389 | .377 | 22.1% | 31.7% | 81.5% | $4,700 | $3,800 | $5,000 |
| Mike Trout | LAA | R | TEX | A.J. Griffin | 332 | 105 | 18 | 70 | 59 | 60 | 15 | .316 | .978 | .241 | .357 | .411 | 21.4% | 39.7% | 86.7% | $4,400 | $5,400 | $5,550 |
| Mark Trumbo | BAL | R | NYY | Ivan Nova | 359 | 103 | 28 | 55 | 68 | 26 | 1 | .287 | .910 | .284 | .328 | .382 | 18.3% | 38.1% | 81.9% | $4,100 | $5,000 | $5,700 |
| Jay Bruce | CIN | L | ATL | Matt Wisler | 325 | 86 | 18 | 49 | 64 | 24 | 3 | .265 | .850 | .268 | .286 | .354 | 22.4% | 36.9% | 86.7% | $3,900 | $4,600 | $5,000 |
| Carlos Beltran | NYY | S | BAL | Kevin Gausman | 310 | 92 | 19 | 45 | 58 | 17 | 0 | .297 | .876 | .245 | .312 | .368 | 18.6% | 35.2% | 91.0% | $3,700 | $3,200 | $4,900 |
| Stephen Piscotty | STL | R | SD | Christian Friedrich | 329 | 97 | 12 | 55 | 51 | 34 | 4 | .295 | .858 | .191 | .335 | .370 | 20.0% | 33.8% | 85.7% | $3,600 | $5,200 | $4,850 |
| Ryan Raburn | COL | R | TB | Drew Smyly | 149 | 36 | 8 | 20 | 25 | 15 | 0 | .242 | .785 | .228 | .301 | .334 | 15.8% | 35.6% | 81.2% | $3,500 | $4,100 | $4,400 |
| Giancarlo Stanton | MIA | R | PHI | Aaron Nola | 290 | 69 | 20 | 43 | 52 | 40 | 0 | .238 | .835 | .262 | .308 | .353 | 16.2% | 40.8% | 80.4% | $3,100 | $4,900 | $5,200 |
| Cameron Maybin | DET | R | MIN | Ricky Nolasco | 190 | 65 | 2 | 32 | 25 | 20 | 10 | .342 | .813 | .068 | .401 | .359 | 21.3% | 21.3% | 94.8% | $3,100 | $3,700 | $4,900 |
| Adam Duvall | CIN | R | ATL | Matt Wisler | 312 | 77 | 23 | 49 | 64 | 16 | 2 | .247 | .826 | .295 | .274 | .343 | 20.5% | 39.1% | 85.7% | $3,100 | $4,800 | $5,050 |
| Nelson Cruz | SEA | R | CHW | Chris Sale | 334 | 94 | 23 | 55 | 58 | 38 | 0 | .281 | .906 | .257 | .324 | .381 | 16.9% | 36.0% | 83.7% | $3,000 | $4,400 | $5,400 |
| Travis Jankowski | SD | L | STL | Mike Leake | 111 | 28 | 1 | 23 | 6 | 21 | 16 | .252 | .687 | .063 | .386 | .316 | 27.7% | 21.9% | 89.3% | $2,800 | $3,800 | $3,500 |
| Josh Reddick | OAK | L | HOU | Mike Fiers | 199 | 58 | 6 | 28 | 21 | 26 | 4 | .291 | .804 | .141 | .311 | .343 | 20.3% | 30.1% | 91.9% | $2,800 | $2,700 | $4,550 |
| Justin Upton | DET | R | MIN | Ricky Nolasco | 332 | 77 | 9 | 40 | 38 | 25 | 6 | .232 | .663 | .145 | .321 | .285 | 22.6% | 34.8% | 77.8% | $2,300 | $3,300 | $4,650 |
Ian Desmond tends to have low ownership, likely because of his high price tag throughout the industry. Still, it’s a mistake to ignore him, because if his stats were attached to a name like “Andrew McCutchen,” I’m guessing he would have higher ownership on a nightly basis. Like his matchup against Nick Tropeano, and his price on DraftKings is rather appealing.
Mike Trout is pretty boom or bust against A.J. Griffin of the Rangers, homering two times out of 17 at-bats, but he matches up better than the BvP suggests. Price may be too expensive to use in cash, but GPPs are definitely an interesting option.
Mark Trumbo just flat out destroys Ivan Nova, batting .526/.524/1.053 with three homers and five RBIs against the Yankees righty over 21 career plate appearances.
Jay Bruce should have a field day against the fireworks inducing repertoire of Matt Wisler. I know Wisler’s 4.47 ERA and 1.28 WHIP are generally solid, but his peripheral stats are terrible and he is giving up an .807 OPS to left-handed hitters.
Carlos Beltran will be more of a DraftKings play considering his great price point of $3200. He has come on strong after dealing with some injury issues prior to the All-Star break and does matchup well against Kevin Gausman.
Stephen Piscotty, once again, is batting .350/.469/.625 against left-handed pitching this season. You may be hearing something like that a few more times this season.
Ryan Raburn has a .266 ISO this season against left-handed pitching, and as sad as this sounds, may be dollar-for-dollar the best value on the Rockies roster tonight.
Giancarlo Stanton is an absolute steal at just $3100 on FanDuel. He has never faced Aaron Nola in his career, but one of his best pitches to hit against, according to PITCHf/x, is the two-seam fastball, and that happens to be a pitch that the struggling Aaron Nola throws close to 40 percent of the time.
Cameron Maybin has been a model of consistency this season. Not much power, but he’s absolutely a great cash game option tonight going up against Ricky Nolasco, who he has gone 5-for-7 (.714 AVG) with four runs scored as well as three stolen bases.
Adam Duvall gets a nice matchup against Matt Wisler and is only $3100 on FanDuel. Probably not as good of a play as Stanton at that same price, but he’ll likely have lower ownership if that’s what you’re looking for with your GPPs.
Nelson Cruz and the rest of the Mariners are at a great price point tonight on FanDuel against Chris Sale. Nevertheless, Cruz has an outstanding history against the White Sox ace, batting .438/.500/.812 with two homers throughout his career.
Travis Jankowski will probably be overlooked today, but I love his matchup against Mike Leake from a PITCHf/x perspective. Leake throws predominately Sinkers and Cutters, and those are the two pitches that Jankowski has excelled the most against in the Majors.
Josh Reddick is a mere $2700 on DraftKings tonight. Not the best history against Mike Fiers, but he has homered off of him in the past. Can’t really go wrong at that price.
Justin Upton made his return to the lineup yesterday against the Royals. I’m usually not to enthused to roster anyone coming back from an extended absence, but he’s only $2300 on FanDuel, and has a decent history against Ricky Nolasco.
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!
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