Hitters ----

Play of the Day: Giancarlo Stanton-- Stanton has 18 August home runs, which equals the MLB’s 80-year-old record for home runs in August. Stanton has one last day to break the record, and faces Ben Lively tonight from the Phillies. Lively gave up four home runs in his last start, and only has a 4.9 K/9 mark this year. The Marlins have one of the higher projected run totals tonight as well.

Pivot Play: Marcell Ozuna-- If you can’t afford Stanton, Ozuna makes for a great pivot option.  Stanton’s August surge has kept Ozuna off the radar, but he is having a great season. Ozuna has 31 home runs of his own to go along with his 103 RBI with a month of baseball left. He’s batting .329 at home compared to .289 on the road this season.  

Value Play: Jose Bautista-- Bautista heads to Baltimore after going 0-for-8 with six strikeouts over his last two games vs. the Red Sox. He faces Hellickson tonight, which could help him and his teammates break out of their slumps. Bautista is 12-for-33 with three home runs lifetime off of him, and is priced outside of the top-15 OF options on a short slate tonight.

GPP Play: Albert Almora Jr.-- If leading off tonight, Almora make for a nice salary relief option in the outfield. Almora has not started in a few games, but has at least one hit over his last six starts. Almora is batting .356 in 101 at-bats at home this year.

Pitchers ----

Play of the Day: Gio Gonzalez--  Gonzalez is currently an underdog tonight vs. the Brewers, but checks in with the third best ERA in the N.L. at 2.40. Gio is 5-0 with a 0.79 ERA over his last five starts, and went seven innings with eight strikeouts in a July start vs. the Brewers.  

Top Play: Kyle Hendricks-- The wind in currently predicted to be blowing in at over 15 mph in Wrigley tonight, which will only help Hendricks. Since coming off the DL, Hendricks has allowed three or less runs in all seven of his starts. He has 20 Ks over his last 19 innings, including a season-high eight Ks in his last start.

Pivot Play: Madison Bumgarner-- Bumgarner is the current favorite vs. a Cardinals team with the lowest projected run total of tonight's slate. Bumgarner is 2-2, with a 2.73 ERA over five starts this month. He had seven strikeouts in five of his last six starts.

GPP Play: Marco Estrada-- Estrada is the underdog up against the surging O’s team that has the highest projected run total tonight. On a short slate though, it is not a bad idea to try to be different. Estrada is 1-0 with a 1.31 ERA in three starts vs. Baltimore this season. Over those starts, Estrada has a 24:6 K:BB ratio over 20.2 innings.