There are a bunch of very good starting pitchers going Sunday, so some hitting positions could be difficult to fill despite a full slate. I wouldn’t say middle infield is ugly, but there are not many matchups to get excited about. You could fill those positions last, and just roll with somebody like Neil Walker or Brandon Crawford, or fill them first and get one of the few guys you can really feel good about. You should probably plan on paying up in the outfield, though there are some cheaper options to balance things out, and first base could actually be a good place to save money. Catcher is shaping up to be solid, but Sundays can be tricky, so be sure to check the lineups when they come out.
| CATCHER | |||||||||||||||||||
| Player | Team | POS | Bats | H/A | Opp | Probable Pitcher | Throws | AB | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | ISO | BB% | K% | BABIP | FD | DK | Aces |
| Yan Gomes | CLE | C | R | A | BOS | Rick Porcello | R | 119 | .185 | .220 | .387 | 0.607 | 0.2 | 4.70% | 25.20% | 0.193 | $2,700 | $3,300 | $4,550 |
| Matt Wieters | BAL | C | B | A | LAA | Jered Weaver | R | 99 | .283 | .330 | .455 | 0.785 | 0.17 | 6.60% | 23.60% | 0.343 | $2,800 | $3,100 | $4,450 |
| Cameron Rupp | PHI | C | R | H | ATL | Casey Kelly | R | 91 | .253 | .277 | .385 | 0.662 | 0.13 | 2.10% | 29.80% | 0.355 | $2,500 | $2,800 | $3,400 |
| Wilson Ramos | WSH | C | R | A | MIA | Adam Conley | L | 115 | .339 | .372 | .513 | 0.885 | 0.17 | 5.00% | 13.20% | 0.368 | $3,200 | $3,300 | $4,650 |
Matt Wieters is 9-for-16 over his last four games, and we can only hope he gets the start against Jered Weaver. Wieters has a .870 OPS against right-handed pitchers this season.
Yan Gomes is 7-for-24 with three home runs over his current six-game hitting streak. Gomes is 5-for-10 in his career against Rick Porcello, and he should start after he got Saturday off.
Cameron Rupp is 3-for-7 with two RBI since missing three games with an ankle injury, and he is a solid play if you are looking for some exposure to Atlanta starter Casey Kelly.
Wilson Ramos is 2-for-6 with two home runs against Adam Conley, and he has at least one RBI in four straight games.
| FIRST BASE | |||||||||||||||||||
| Player | Team | POS | Bats | H/A | Opp | Probable Pitcher | Throws | AB | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | ISO | BB% | K% | BABIP | FD | DK | Aces |
| Steve Pearce | TB | 2B | R | A | DET | Jordan Zimmermann | R | 89 | .303 | .400 | .573 | .973 | .270 | 13.30% | 10.50% | .278 | $3,600 | $3,500 | $4,450 |
| Max Muncy | OAK | 1B | L | H | NYY | Michael Pineda | R | 3 | .667 | .667 | .667 | 1.334 | 0 | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.667 | $0 | $2,500 | $3,200 |
| Carlos Santana | CLE | 1B | B | A | BOS | Rick Porcello | R | 141 | .241 | .359 | .482 | 0.841 | 0.24 | 15.30% | 12.90% | 0.23 | $3,500 | $4,000 | $4,850 |
| Tommy Joseph | PHI | C | R | H | ATL | Casey Kelly | R | 12 | .333 | .385 | .583 | 0.968 | 0.25 | 7.70% | 38.50% | 0.5 | $2,000 | $3,400 | $3,000 |
| John Jaso | PIT | 1B | L | H | COL | Chad Bettis | R | 141 | .312 | .380 | .468 | 0.848 | 0.16 | 9.50% | 11.40% | 0.339 | $3,200 | $3,300 | $4,300 |
| Edwin Encarnacion | TOR | DH | R | A | MIN | Phil Hughes | R | 175 | .246 | .314 | .457 | 0.771 | 0.21 | 8.80% | 23.20% | 0.279 | $3,900 | $4,700 | $5,250 |
Carlos Santana is 4-for-10 with three home runs over his last three games, and he is 12-for-39 with three home runs against Rick Porcello.
Max Muncy went 2-for-3 in his first game of the season Saturday, and he has a good chance to start Sunday with Khris Davis dealing with forearm tightness. Muncy has an .858 OPS at Triple-A this season, and left-handed batters currently have a .417 wOBA against Michael Pineda.
Steve Pearce is 4-for-9 with two home runs against Jordan Zimmermann, and 6-for-13 with two home runs over his last four games.
Phillies manager Pete Makanin said he might give Tommy Joseph a start Sunday, and Joseph could provide good value on FanDuel and FantasyAces if Makanin follows through. Joseph homered in his last start and is batting .333 on the season.
I may have written this earlier this season, but John Jaso might be the safest hitter in DFS. Jaso is 11-for-22 over the last week and he has a .382 OBP against right-handed pitching this season.
As you might expect, Edwin Encarnacion has been great against Phil Hughes, going 15-for-42.
| SECOND BASE | |||||||||||||||||||
| Player | Team | POS | Bats | H/A | Opp | Probable Pitcher | Throws | AB | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | ISO | BB% | K% | BABIP | FD | DK | Aces |
| Robinson Cano | SEA | 2B | L | A | CIN | Alfredo Simon | R | 173 | .289 | .346 | .566 | 0.912 | 0.28 | 6.40% | 13.80% | 0.281 | $4,200 | $5,300 | $5,400 |
| Jose Altuve | HOU | 2B | R | H | TEX | Cole Hamels | L | 173 | .335 | .421 | .595 | 1.016 | 0.26 | 11.90% | 10.40% | 0.338 | $4,600 | $5,400 | $5,750 |
| Johnny Giavotella | LAA | 2B | R | H | BAL | Ubaldo Jimenez | R | 114 | .263 | .286 | .368 | 0.654 | 0.11 | 3.30% | 9.90% | 0.277 | $3,200 | $3,100 | $3,500 |
Just in case you needed a reason to play a Seattle lefty in Great American Ballpark, Robinson Cano is 5-for-12 with a home run against Alfredo Simon.
Jose Altuve is 5-for-9 with a homer against Cole Hamels, and he will probably be in a lot fewer lineups than Robinson Cano.
Johnny Giavotella is 10-for-26 over the last week, and is a solid alternative if you want to save money at second base.
| THIRD BASE | |||||||||||||||||||
| Player | Team | POS | Bats | H/A | Opp | Probable Pitcher | Throws | AB | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | ISO | BB% | K% | BABIP | FD | DK | Aces |
| Martin Prado | MIA | 3B | R | H | WSH | Max Scherzer | R | 149 | .362 | .398 | .430 | 0.828 | 0.07 | 5.60% | 8.10% | 0.391 | $2,800 | $2,700 | $4,500 |
| Yunel Escobar | LAA | 3B | R | H | BAL | Ubaldo Jimenez | R | 169 | .302 | .364 | .414 | 0.778 | 0.11 | 8.00% | 12.80% | 0.336 | $3,200 | $3,300 | $4,450 |
| Kyle Seager | SEA | 3B | L | A | CIN | Alfredo Simon | R | 155 | .258 | .341 | .510 | 0.851 | 0.25 | 10.20% | 14.20% | 0.26 | $4,200 | $4,800 | $4,900 |
| Eugenio Suarez | CIN | SS | R | H | SEA | Wade Miley | L | 161 | .242 | .295 | .435 | 0.73 | 0.19 | 6.40% | 24.30% | 0.273 | $2,900 | $4,400 | $4,800 |
| Anthony Rendon | WSH | 2B | R | A | MIA | Adam Conley | L | 166 | .253 | .344 | .343 | 0.687 | 0.09 | 12.20% | 16.40% | 0.301 | $4,000 | $4,000 | $4,600 |
Martin Prado is 10-for-31 in his last seven games, and 11-for-22 against Max Scherzer. Prado could be a smart contrarian play.
Batting lead off against Ubaldo Jimenez is enough to get you into the hitting coach eight days a week, but it certainly doesn’t hurt that Yunel Escobar is 8-for-23 with a home run and a stolen base against Ubaldo.
Kyle Seager has a .966 OPS against right-handed pitchers, and Alfredo Simon may be the worst pitcher in baseball. Sounds like a winning combination to me.
Eugenio Suarez has a .460 wOBA against left-handed pitchers this season, and he has a very nice price on FanDuel.
Anthony Rendon is 3-for-7 against Adam Conley, and 9-for-20 over the last week.
| SHORTSTOP | |||||||||||||||||||
| Player | Team | POS | Bats | H/A | Opp | Probable Pitcher | Throws | AB | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | ISO | BB% | K% | BABIP | FD | DK | Aces |
| Jean Segura | ARI | SS | R | A | STL | Jaime Garcia | L | 186 | .328 | .352 | .495 | 0.847 | 0.17 | 2.10% | 14.00% | 0.364 | $3,700 | $3,800 | $5,150 |
| Brandon Crawford | SF | SS | L | H | CHI | Kyle Hendricks | R | 150 | .260 | .333 | .440 | 0.773 | 0.18 | 9.90% | 19.30% | 0.289 | $3,200 | $3,400 | $4,300 |
| Jordy Mercer | PIT | SS | R | H | COL | Chad Bettis | R | 145 | .303 | .391 | .372 | 0.763 | 0.07 | 11.60% | 12.70% | 0.347 | $2,800 | $2,700 | $4,400 |
I still expect Jean Segura to slow down at some point, but not Sunday. Segura is 9-for-26 against Jaime Garcia.
Jordy Mercer is 11-for-25 over the last week, and he could move up in the batting order if Jung Ho Kang is out.
Brandon Crawford has three multi-hit games in his last five starts, including two home runs. He has an .870 OPS against righties this season.
| OUTFIELD | |||||||||||||||||||
| Player | Team | POS | Bats | H/A | Opp | Probable Pitcher | Throws | AB | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | ISO | BB% | K% | BABIP | FD | DK | Aces |
| Mark Trumbo | BAL | RF | R | A | LAA | Jered Weaver | R | 160 | .300 | .353 | .588 | 0.941 | 0.29 | 6.40% | 25.40% | 0.34 | $3,900 | $4,400 | $5,500 |
| Lorenzo Cain | KC | CF | R | A | CWS | Carlos Rodon | L | 155 | .271 | .329 | .406 | 0.735 | 0.14 | 7.60% | 22.90% | 0.324 | $3,400 | $4,400 | $5,250 |
| Paulo Orlando | KC | RF | R | A | CWS | Carlos Rodon | L | 57 | .368 | .390 | .509 | 0.899 | 0.14 | 1.70% | 23.70% | 0.476 | $2,600 | $2,600 | $3,850 |
| Yoenis Cespedes | NYM | CF | R | H | MIL | Chase Anderson | R | 138 | .297 | .378 | .659 | 1.037 | 0.36 | 10.30% | 21.20% | 0.297 | $4,200 | $4,700 | $5,500 |
| Carlos Beltran | NYY | RF | B | A | OAK | Jesse Hahn | R | 153 | .268 | .294 | .516 | 0.81 | 0.25 | 4.30% | 21.50% | 0.286 | $3,200 | $4,100 | $4,850 |
| Tyler Goeddel | PHI | 3B | R | H | ATL | Casey Kelly | R | 72 | .264 | .284 | .361 | 0.645 | 0.1 | 2.70% | 18.70% | 0.316 | $2,000 | $3,800 | $3,100 |
| Ian Desmond | TEX | LF | R | A | HOU | Dallas Keuchel | L | 161 | .267 | .328 | .453 | 0.781 | 0.19 | 7.30% | 22.60% | 0.319 | $4,000 | $4,600 | $4,600 |
| Michael Taylor | WSH | CF | R | A | MIA | Adam Conley | L | 120 | .192 | .234 | .325 | 0.559 | 0.13 | 5.50% | 28.90% | 0.238 | $2,400 | $3,400 | $3,900 |
Mark Trumbo has a .411 wOBA against right-handed pitchers this season, and Jered Weaver is allowing a .387 wOBA to right-handed batters.
Lorenzo Cain is batting .329/.367/.534 in May, and he has a .911 OPS against lefties this season. Cain’s teammate Paulo Orlando has a 1.026 OPS against lefties, and Orlando is 10-for-18 over his last five games.
Yoenis Cespedes is 9-for-23 with three home runs over his last seven games. He has 14 home runs on the season, and Chase Anderson has surreneded 1.30 HR/9 in his career.
Jesse Hahn has more earned runs than strikeouts this season, and Carlos Beltran is the one Yankee I actually trust to take advantage. Beltran is 10-for-26 with two home runs over the last week.
I don’t know that I will play Tyler Goeddel on DraftKings, where he probably costs about what he should, but I will definitely target him on FanDuel and FantasyAces. Goeddel is 9-for-22 with a home run over the last week, and I like his chances against Braves starter Casey Kelly.
Ian Desmond is 8-for-25 over the last week, and 3-for-5 with a home run against Dallas Keuchel. Desmond is an especially nice value on FantasyAces.
Michael A. Taylor has been leading off against lefties, against whom he has an .800 OPS this season. The price is certainly right against Miami lefty Adam Conley.
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