Third Base, High End Spend
Christian Villanueva, $4,400
1.000/1.000/4.000 with 2 HRs in 2 at-bats
It’s not often I want to play someone other than Nolan Arenado at third base when the game is at Coors Filed but this could be one of those times. Even thou Kyle Freeland is a good ground ball pitcher, that’s not going to stop me from at least one or two Padres. The full stack is a bit riskier than some might think, but Villanueva is smashing lefty pitching in his very limited career sample size. Keeping in mind it’s only 40 at-bats, he carries a .447 average, 1.580 OPS, .658 ISO and a .656 wOBA. While those numbers will obviously regress, Villanueva might just be very good against lefties. The price should be high. Just make sure he’s in the lineup as he was a late scratch last night.
Also Consider – Nolan Arenado, $5,100
Mid-Range
Ryan Flaherty, $3,100
N/A
This game is a another great reason to play the all day and Flaherty is in a great spot at a decent price point. He’s been hitting righties well so far this year with a .358 average and a .420 wOBA. Those numbers are extremely high compared to his career numbers and will surely come down at some point. However, that point might not be today because Reds pitcher Tyler Mahle can’t get lefty batters out in his major league career. Keeping in mind it’s only 70 plate appearances, Mahle has allowed a .286 batting average, 1.017 OPS and a .433 wOBA. Those numbers aren’t very good at all but it’s fun to attack with hitters.
Also Consider – Daniel Robertson, $3,200 and Jedd Gyorko, $3,100
Value
Colin Moran, $2,700
N/A
One way to get some leverage on the slate might be to attack Detroit starter Jordan Zimmermann, who has been terrible in 2018. His ERA is almost 8.00 and his WHIP is over 1.50 He’s having trouble with lefty batters, giving up an average of .314 and a wOBA of .384. Moran isn’t anything special against righties so far this season but Zimmermann just isn’t any good at this point in his career.
Also Consider – Kike Hernandez, $2,500