DFS MLB Hitting Coach: June 10

We’re back in action tonight with our usual huge 15-game DFS MLB slate. It also seems like we’re getting a little bit of everything tonight, because we get Clayton Kershaw going against the Giants in the Bay Area, AND we get the return of Coors Field. 

Fair warning, some of the salaries that I was able to spot out tonight are incredibly wacky (*cough, FanDuel* *cough, Giants* *cough, Kike*). Some of those salaries will definitely be highlighted in today’s article. 

As for weather, it is going to be a relatively calm night except in Minnesota, where there is a significant threat of rain and thunderstorms. You’ll definitely want to keep an eye on the local forecast as we get closer to roster lock. 

And as always, players are organized from highest to lowest salary based on FanDuel pricing. Plus, if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach me via Twitter @kle18.

Brian McCann probably wishes that all pitchers had the same stuff as Mike Pelfrey. McCann has OWNED Pelfrey throughout his career, going 20-for-43 (.465 AVG) with two homers, eight doubles, seven walks, and 11 RBIs.

Welington Castillo crushes left-handed pitching and gets a prime matchup against Justin Nicolino. No, seriously. I don’t think there’s enough words to describe how bad Nicolino has been this season. The guy has a 5.37 xFIP against all batters but allowing a 5.65 xFIP against right-handed hitters. Beef Welington has actually gone 2-for-3 (.667 AVG) with a homer against Nicolino this season. 

Nick Hundley is not only 4-for-7 (.571 AVG) throughout his career against Andrew Cashner, but he’s only $2800 on FanDuel on a night where he’s playing at Coors Field, a place where he has batted .301/.343/.496 with 11 home runs in 339 at-bats.

Kurt Suzuki is a very good hitter against the knuckleball. Believe it or not, since PITCHf/x has been recorded, Kurt Suzuki has been the best hitting catcher against the knuckleball in Major League History. Considering he is also swinging a pretty hot bat, going 8-for-23 (.347 AVG) over his last six starts, I think he can be a very good option tonight if you’re looking to save some cash. 

Buster Posey is an option tonight, mainly because FanDuel has lost their damn minds making EVERY single San Francisco Giant $2000. Posey isn’t THAT bad against Kershaw considering he is the only active Giant who has ever homered against him. If you are going to use a Giant to get some salary relief, it’s going to be here with Buster. 

Wil Myers seems to be the only Padres hitter that appears comfortable at the plate against Jon Gray. Myers is 3-for-6 (.500 AVG) against Gray this season with a home run and a double. On top of that, he has multiple hits in seven of his last eight starts, going 16-for-34 (.471 AVG) with five homers, four doubles, 11 runs, and 11 RBIs throughout those eight games. 

Freddie Freeman happens to bat .625/.727/1.375 with two homers, two walks, five RBIs, and zero strikeouts against Jason Hammel throughout his career. Freeman is at a good price point considering he is virtually the only big name in the very thin Braves lineup. 

John Jaso is 3-for-6 (.500 AVG) with a home run and two RBIs against Michael Wacha this season. He is a very good value throughout the industry and has gone 5-for-13 (.385 AVG) with two doubles over his last two games. 

Dae-Ho Lee is one of my favorite punt plays tonight on DraftKings at just $2800. He is hitting for a good average, yet, he still has four homers in just 55 at-bats this season against left-handed pitchers. 

Chris Johnson is someone I’m okay with rostering if you absolutely must cut some salary to roster Kershaw. Why? Patrick Corbin. Corbin is a pitcher ERA and WHIP just don’t tell the story. His peripheral stats are AWFUL. His 39.1 Hard Hit Rate is the WORST in Major League Baseball. On top of that, he has the 5th worst HR/FB rate at 19.4%, and the worst Swinging Strike Rate of his career at 8.8%. 

Daniel Murphy is 3-for-7 (.429 AVG) with a homer and two doubles against Jeremy Hellickson this season. This is easily the best matchup of the night among second basemen; however, Murphy is pretty expensive throughout the industry. If you can make it work, then make it happen. 

Robinson Cano remains a bit underpriced throughout the industry and especially so considering what he has been able to do this season. After going DOUBLE DONG last night, he now has 18 homers in just 60 games, which makes him tied for 3rd most in Major League Baseball. I don’t even mind that he’s facing a lefty in Derek Holland, and especially so because he is batting .372/.400/.628 with two homers against the southpaw throughout his career. 

Jason Kipnis also gets a lefty-versus-lefty matchup against Hector Santiago, but I still think he needs to be considered tonight, especially on DraftKings where he is only $3100. Santiago has a mind-numbing 47.7% career Fly Ball Rate and has a 1.92 HR/9 this season. You’re not going to get much more upside than Kipnis at that price. 

Jean Segura hasn’t been very good lately, but he’s still in a great situation batting leadoff at Chase Field tonight where he has done most of his damage this season (14 extra base hits compared to just seven away from home). He also gets an outstanding matchup against Justin Nicolino, who he has gone 3-for-7 (.429 AVG) against with a triple and a double against in their previous meetings. 

Rougned Odor’s thunder has been somewhat taken away by Jurickson Profar who happens to be eligible throughout the industry at his position, second base. None themes, he has been pretty solid since returning to the lineup after his MMA match against Jose Bautista, going 7-for-24 (.291 AVG) with two homers, two doubles, and four RBIs. He is also batting .389/.421/.611 against Hisashi Iwakuma over the course of his career. 

Nolan Arenado has gone 14-for-39 (.359 AVG) with four homers, three doubles, five walks, 10 runs, and 12 RBIs over his last 10 games. At Coors Field, his salary has been before $5000 on both DraftKings and FanDuel at different points this season. If you can afford him, I don’t think you can get much bigger upside than Nolan. He isn’t the best value on DraftKings though, so if you want big upside there, I also like Josh Donaldson. 

Yangervis Solarte has batted .294/.400/.412 with a homer and a double over his last 10 games and gets to play in Coors Field tonight; yet, somehow, he is only $3600 on DraftKings, and is eligible at both second and third base. 

Martin Prado is probably a little too expensive to roster in cash games on DraftKings, but he gets a good matchup against Patrick Corbin, he makes a ton of contact, and he is the most consistent Marlin at the plate. Over his last three games, Prado has gone 6-for-13 (.462 AVG) with three doubles, two walks, four runs, and two RBIs. 

Luis Valbuena’s PITCHf/x values suggest that he should match up well against Matt Andriese of the Rays. Andriese’s success has been largely because of his dominating slider and the slider happens to be Valbuena’s best pitch to hit against this season. He is also working on a 6-game hitting streak where he has gone 8-for-20 (.400 AVG) with a couple doubles and a couple walks. 

Matt Duffy is the other minimum priced Giant that I’m willing to roster if you’re in need for some salary relief on FanDuel. While Duffy has regressed a bit this season, the one thing that stands out is his contact rate. After putting up an 89.2% Z-Contact rate in 2014, he bumped it up to 91.9% in 2015, yet in 2016, he has increased it to a crazy high 96.8%. Clayton Kershaw is still Clayton Kershaw, but the toughest player for him to strikeout is absolutely going to be Duffy. 

Francisco Lindor gets a matchup against Hector Santiago, who has been a massive dumpster fire this season, and especially so since losing his battery partner in Geovany Soto due to an injury. Lindor is batting .342/.385/.466 this season against lefties and is a very safe play in cash games because of it. 

Trevor Story is only $3400 tonight on FanDuel and I am going to guess that he’s going to be a very popular play considering the huge upside with Coors in play. He is still striking out at a ridiculous rate, but it doesn’t change the fact that he has 34 extra base hits this season, and it doesn’t change the fact that his bat has been more lively over the last couple weeks. 

Alexei Ramirez is a very affordable way to get exposure to Coors Field tonight. He has actually struggled hard at Petco Park this season, batting just .220 with a .262 OBP. Away from Petco, he is batting .295/.320/.391. Plus, he is playing much better over his last 10 games, where he has gone 12-for-36 (.333 AVG) with two of his three home runs this season and seven RBIs. 

Marcus Semien takes that big home run upside to Cincinnati as he faces Anthony DeSclafani who will be making his first start of the season. DeSclafani had a lukewarm run in the minors this season, allowing 11 runs, and most importantly, six home runs in 22 innings pitched between Single-A, Double-A, and Triple-A. I like his price point considering the great matchup against DeSclafani along with the Reds horrible bullpen. 

Alcides Escobar may be facing a tough pitcher in Chris Sale, but it doesn’t matter to him, because he has batted a solid .375/.397/.464 against Sale throughout his career. This includes 58 plate appearances and only seven strikeouts while stealing three bases. The best thing about him is that he’s only $2200 tonight on FanDuel. 

Carlos Beltran is one of the hottest players in baseball right now. He absolutely destroyed my Halos, going 7-for-15 (.467 AVG) with three homers, two doubles, and 10 RBIs throughout the four game series. He happens to get a matchup tonight against Mike Pelfrey who is giving up a line of .339/.390/.512 against left-handed hitters. 

Dexter Fowler only has 13 plate appearances against Bud Norris, but he clearly has a good read on what he’s getting from the veteran right-hander. I guess you must have a good read if you bat .667/.833/.833 with zero strikeouts over 13 plate appearances against any pitcher. 

Matt Kemp is under $4000 on FanDuel and is $1000 cheaper than CarGo on DraftKings. Definitely a plus considering he is now batting .297/.292/.531 with four homers over his last 15 games and has absolutely killed it in Coors Field throughout his career. 

Gregory Polanco has batted .412/.444/.647 in his previous meetings against Michael Wacha. I think his price is quite reasonable on FanDuel and Aces for someone who bats .322/.392/.565 at home and .319/.399/.564 against right-handed pitching. 

Marcell Ozuna gets that juicy matchup against Patrick Corbin and is a great value on FanDuel and Aces. For those unaware, Ozuna is batting .432/.468/.864 with five homers in just 44 at-bats this season against southpaws.

Jason Heyward makes another return to Turner Field to face his former club, and gets a great matchup against Bud Norris, who he has homered against in the past. It’s only a matter of time before Heyward turns up his play, and considering he has hit two of his three home runs this season in his last six starts, I think that time might be now. 

Andrew McCutchen is 4-for-6 (.667 AVG) against Michael Wacha this season and 12-for-22 (.545 AVG) with a homer, triple, and two doubles against Wacha over the course of his career. He still isn’t the Andrew McCutchen we know in recent years, but he is looking more comfortable at the plate, and is heavily discounted ($3100 on FanDuel).

Curtis Granderson, once again, is mainly a FanDuel play. He matches up much better against right-handed pitching, and gets a matchup against Junior Guerra, who has allowed a horrid 37% Hard Hit Rate and 40% Fly Ball Rate this season. 

Nomar Mazara has an 8-game hitting streak, where he has gone 13-for-31 (.419 AVG) with a homer and four RBIs. He is a great value tonight at under $3500 on both DraftKings and FanDuel.

Justin Upton has been the recipient of much disdain throughout his rough run in the Motor City. Still, I have to give him some props because he has been more productive at the plate lately. Over his last six games, he has gone 8-for-24 (.333 AVG) with one homer, two doubles, four runs, six RBIs, and a stolen base. 

Melky Cabrera, I must tell you, is one of the most streaky hitters I’ve seen in baseball. When he goes on a hot run, he goes on quite the run. When he sucks, man does he suck. Well, it does seem like he’s on one of his hot runs right now, going an impressive 7-for-12 (.583 AVG) with three doubles and three RBIs throughout the recent 3-game series against the Nationals. He is also 4-for-10 (.400 AVG) throughout his career against Ian Kennedy of the Royals.

Ben Revere is still under $3000 on FanDuel and is starting to finally look like the Ben Revere we know and love. Over his last three starts, he has reached base safely eight out of 16 plate appearances, while scoring four runs and driving in two. Not a bad player to own in your cash games at that price. 

Khris Davis is still a question mark tonight because he’s still dealing with a sore elbow. If he does get the start, I just love his upside because of his matchup against Anthony DeSclafani, and potentially the miserable Reds bullpen. As I’ve said multiple times before, Davis = GPP play. 

Hyun-Soo Kim happens to be incredibly consistent. It’s pretty doubtful for you to get a huge multi-homer game from him but his price is right and he’s going to be productive. He has hit safely in each of his last seven starts, going 12-for-31 (.387 AVG) with three doubles, five runs, and a stolen base. Love his value on DraftKings. 

Nick Markakis has a great history against Jason Hammel. Markakis is 9-for-19 (.474 AVG) with a home run against Hammel in their previous meetings. The stat that I like most here is that Markakis has yet to strikeout against Hammel. Should be a pretty safe value option if you’re looking to pay up for the big boys. 

Enrique Hernandez does not have a good matchup against Johnny Cueto. I repeat. Enrique Hernandez does not have a good matchup against Johnny Cueto. Well why is he here then, Ken? Well go to FanDuel and look up his salary. If he gets the start, he’s in play. Period.

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!