Top-Tier
Fernando Tatis Jr., SD – Tatis is having a big season, hitting .283 with 38 home runs, 25 steals, 89 RBI, and 91 runs scored over 110 games played. His .630 SLG is the best in all of baseball. He has massive reverse splits, slashing .295/.379/.659 against righties with 31 home runs and 21 steals, compared to .242/.336/.537 against lefties with seven home runs and four stolen bases. He has been far better on the road this year too, slashing .333/.399/.728 away from San Diego, compared to .236/.340/.538 at home. He is very expensive, but he should be able to pay off the price point and with some strong value options on the slate it makes it easier to make the price point work.
Francisco Lindor, NYM – Point-chasing after his three-homer game last night? It could be viewed that way, but clearly he is feeling good at the dish. Even before last night’s game, he had three home runs, eight RBI, and nine runs scored over his last eight starts, add in the three dinger, five RBI game from last night and we have a guy hitting .314 with SIX home runs, 13 RBI, and 12 runs scored over his last nine starts. I wouldn’t call it point-chasing, but more so that he is just in groove. Of his 17 home runs this season 13 of them are against righties. On top of all that, he has been far better at home this year, slashing .235/.327/.449, compared to .219/.317/.367 on the road.
Mid-Tier
Michael Conforto, NYM – Conforto continues to swing a hot bat as he is slashing .283/.387/.528 over the last 15 games with four home runs, a steal, 15 RBI, and 11 runs scored. He isn’t being priced like he should be as he is full Conforto form right now and not whatever it was he was at the start of the year when he couldn’t hit the ball to save his life. He has done all of his damage against righties as he is slashing .241/.349/.446 against them with ALL 12 home runs, 41 of his 46 RBI, and 15 of his 17 doubles, compared to a gross .188/.333/.208 line against lefties. The matchup is tough as Waino has been great this year, but the price point and recent production are enough for me to consider Conforto a solid play.
Jarred Kelenic, SEA – Kelenic has scored 16, 0, 14, and 18 points on DK over the last four games. Sure, the zero is a dud, but that is still a very strong four-game span, especially for someone at this price range (could honestly be in the bargain bin). He’s been hitting much better of late in general, hitting .256 with three home runs, a steal, eight RBI, and six runs scored over his last 10 games. He is slashing .169/.272/.343 against righties with eight of his 10 home runs and all four of his steals, compared to .162/.200/.257 against lefties. Today he faces Eovaldi, who is a righty with a 4.87 ERA on the road and a 1.36 WHIP; compared to a 2.88 ERA and 1.04 WHIP at home (this is a road game for Eovaldi). I’ll take my chances on Kelenic staying hot and delivering at a cheap price.
Bargain Bin
Jesús Sánchez, MIA – Sanchez has homered in three straight games, scoring 18, 14, and 27 points on DK over that span. He is hitting .261 with SIX home runs and 14 RBI over the last 13 games. He now has 10 home runs and 26 RBI across 48 games played this season. He has been great on the road too, slashing .275/.367/.522, compared to .218/.269/.446 at home. Today he gets to face Espino, who has a 4.35 ERA, 4.38 FIP, and 1.6 HR/9 this season. Lefties have hit .277 against him, compared to the .232 mark that righties have produced. Sanchez should be able to keep the hot bat going tonight and at this price on a smaller slate, it’s a pretty easy play.
Leody Tavares, TEX – Tavares has scored 10, 12, 14, and 10 points on DK over his last four games. It goes back even further than that though as he is hitting .292 with three home runs, three steals, seven RBI, and six doubles/triples (four doubles and two triples) over his last 11 games. He has been far better at home, slashing .200/.263/.429 with five steals, compared to .141/.173/.256 on the road with two steals. He is far from a sure thing, but given that he has been producing well lately and is nearly the minimum price, he makes for a strong upside/value play.