Not all lineups have been released yet and likely won’t be until soon before lock on this extended afternoon slate for FanDuel. Stayed tuned to our VIP Slack chat throughout the day, I’ll have any adjustments needed from this article in #AdotWalsh-MLB. You can also follow me on Twitter ( @14AdotWalsh ) for any other inquiries.
CATCHERS:
Yadier Molina (STL @ MIL)
Solid .467wOBA/.375 ISO vs righties over L14… MIL’s Anderson has been much worse vs righty bats.
Elias Diaz (PIT vs ARZ)
Willing to give him the chance, usually does well when given the chance… Cervelli recently went on the DL, so the catching job is Diaz’s for a few days. Greinke has been hit hard by righties and Diaz comes at a nice $3300 DK/$2300 FD discount.
FIRST BASEMEN:
Anthony Rizzo (CHC @ CIN)
Huge fan of the Cubs today, so it’s only natural that their best hitter makes the list. CIN’s DeSclafani has struggled vs lefty bats throughout his career… perfect fit.
Carlos Santana (PHI @ WSH)
2 HR, 7 RBI, 4 runs, 3 BB over the last 3 games… had two great extra-base hits (one of them a HR) that went opposite field last night, oppo field hits are a good indicator of how well a player is swinging the bat. Santana has solid numbers against the sinker, a pitch that WSH’s Fedde will throw nearly 50% of the time.
Eric Thames (MIL vs STL)
STL’s Mikolas is a good pitcher, but he does have some rough metrics vs lefties that could benefit Thames in this matchup. Thames also has team-leading numbers vs all four of Mikolas’ pitches.
SECOND BASEMEN:
Rougned Odor (TEX @ MIN)
Odorizzi’s struggles vs lefties make Odor at $3600 DK/$2500 FD a value that I’m not going to pass up. He’s 2-for-9 w/ 2 HR vs Odorizzi.
Brian Dozier (MIN vs TEX)
9-for-18, 3 XBH (1 HR) vs Gallardo – I can’t believe I’m going to do this, but Dozier is in play for GPPs. I have loathed the idea of just blindly rolling him out there against lefties (.206avg, 1 HR), oddly enough he’s got those same exact numbers in home games. Well, Gallardo starts for TEX and it could seriously get ugly here… he’s actually been far worse against righty bats, and 9 of Dozier’s 10 HR this year have come against righty pitchers.
Cesar Hernandez (PHI @ WSH)
Phils poised for a big day against WSH’s Fedde who gets hammered by lefty bats. If all goes well, Cesar can get himself 5 plate appearances and his on-base skills have been nothing short of amazing this season.
THIRD BASEMEN:
Nolan Arenado (COL vs MIA)
On a massive tear over the last 4 games (all multi-hit efforts)… 4 HR, 11 RBI, 6 runs. MIA’s Richards has splits that massively favor righty bats.
Travis Shaw (MIL vs STL)
4-for-6, 2 doubles vs Mikolas – Sure, the sample size is small, but Shaw has an average exit velo of 91.8mph and a launch angle of 21.8 (<— ideal LA is about 25mph) in these meetings. Mikolas has also fared much worse vs lefty bats this season.
Colin Moran (PIT vs ARZ)
If they don’t raise Moran’s price, he’ll always have a spot here. He’s $3300 DK/$2600 and Greinke is giving up hard contact all over the joint this season.
SHORTSTOPS:
Tim Anderson (CHW vs OAK)
Team-leading ISO numbers vs Mengden’s range of fastballs (90-92mph) = solid indicator that he can wait back on the ball. Mengden’s numbers also indicate that righty bats are in a better spot for power today. Best of all, Anderson comes at an outstanding $3400 DK/$2600 FD value.
Jordy Mercer (PIT vs ARZ)
Greinke is allowing a .227 ISO to righty bats and Mercer has some good Statcast numbers against him in 11 career plate appearances. $3200 DK/$2600 is a nice value at the shortstop position.
OUTFIELDERS:
Odubel Herrera (PHI @ WSH)
Rhys Hoskins
Nick Williams
Odooobs is the most important one on this list, he’s got 6 HR now in his last 5 games and went 4-for-5 last night… lefty bats have been more responsible for damage on Fedde Wap. Hoskins actually has team-leading numbers against the sinker (Fedde’s most-used pitch, 48%) this season, albeit in much fewer at-bats… regardless, could be. Williams is way too cheap for a guy with a .402xwOBA/.240 ISO vs righties over L14.
Lewis Brinson (MIA @ COL)
Cameron Maybin
Not as much risk as we automatically have with these two, and EVEN BETTER is that they come at a massive discount compared to the rest of the bats at Coors Field. COL’s Anderson goes today so both guys will have the platoon advantage for at least their first two at-bats, and looking at the numbers over L14, Maybin leads the Marlins in xwOBA vs lefties and has a very low 13.8% K-rate in that split over that span. Brinson’s .393xwOBA vs lefties is third-best on the team over L14.
Shin-Soo Choo (TEX @ MIN)
Nomar Mazara
Joey Gallo
Lefty bats have been crushing Odorizzi forever… lots of HR potential from everyone in this trio.
Kyle Schwarber (CHC @ CIN)
Ian Happ
Jayson Heyward
Schwarber has team-leading xwOBA/ISO numbers vs righties over L14… great hitter’s park for all bats today. DeSclafani (CIN’s starter) doesn’t have many recent numbers because of injuries, but does have a history of struggling with lefty bats so Happ and Heyward make sense here as well. I know the Cubs have been sleep-walking at the beginning of this series but enough is enough. HR Derby!
Marcell Ozuna (STL @ MIL)
Tommy Pham
We’re in luck here as 2 Cards bats have a similar profile… MIL’s Anderson has been worse against righty bats and Ozuna/Pham have solid BvP metrics against him.
Andrew McCutchen (SF vs SD)
12-for-21, 5 XBH (2 HR), 2 BB, 2 Ks vs Lyles – Disappointed a bit yesterday in such a great matchup but gets another one today. Lyles allowing .355wOBA/.178 ISO to righty bats this season.
Dustin Fowler (OAK @ CHW)
Not thrilled about too many A’s hitters because of Covey’s massive ground-ball rate. However, Fowler is leading off at a bargain-bin price on FD ($2100) and can slap the ball/steal some bags.