DFS MLB Game by Game Breakdown – Tuesday, June 5

Welcome into the Tuesday edition of the DFS MLB game by game breakdown! We have the normal monster Tuesday slate ahead of us tonight so let’s get busy!

I had a feeling that the small Monday night DFS MLB slate was going to be tough and it turned out I was right. About the only thingsI got right was Leonys Martin over a chalk Brett Gardner and Jefry Marte had a massive game. Nothing else really worked all that well and the only thing that hit for me was a random GPP lineup that went for 179. It’s a good thing I put that in just the quarter arcade and nothing else. Let’s dig in!

DFS MLB – Dodgers at Pirates

Dodgers Probable Starter – Ross Stripling, RHP

1.68 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and 30.4 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .242 average, .251 wOBA, 35.5 fly ball rate and 17.5 hard contact rate

Vs RHH – .233 average, .286 wOBA, 30.6 fly ball rate and 30.2 hard contact rate

I don’t know what Stripling has to do to get his price to raise even more, but he’s still under $9,000 on FanDuel after three consecutive 50+ point performances. He gets a favorable park in PNC and the Pirates offense is just about average in a lot of offensive categories. They seem to be very hit or miss on any given night. The Bucs are capable of putting up a crooked number and they’re capable of almost getting no-hit by Michael Wacha. I really side with Stripling in this spot and he’s a great pivot off the pitcher who will likely be the chalkiest right in the same range. The Pirates don’t rate well against the slider and Stripling throws it near 40 percent of the time. I’ll have virtually no Pirates in my lineups tonight.

Pirates Hitters to Target

Elite Options – None

Secondary Options – Starling Marte, Austin Meadows, Francisco Cervelli, Colin Moran

Pirates Probable Pitcher – Joe Musgrove, RHP

0.64 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and 21.4 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .235 average, .254 wOBA, 35.7 fly ball rate and 42.9 hard contact rate

Vs RHH – .229 average, .247 wOBA, 23.1 fly ball rate and 15.4 hard contact rate

It’s only been two starts for Musgrove in 2018 but he’s made me look like a fool both times out. I’m going to keep riding that horse because I don’t believe that Musgrove is near as good as he’s shown. That’s not a hot take since his metrics have looked so good but his fly ball and hard contact rate to lefties certainly would point to a worse pitcher. This is a spot where you have to take a stand. Musgrove is worth a shot in GPP’s because his price is still very reasonable. A 40 point effort would smash his price tag. If you think the Dodgers can get to him, I’d chase their lefty hitters.

Dodgers Hitters to Target 

Elite Options – Yasmani Grandal, Max Muncy

Secondary Options – Joc Pederson, Cody Bellinger(GPP only because he is ice cold)

Home Run Pick – Max Muncy

DFS MLB – Rays at Nationals

Rays Probable Starter – Nathan Eovaldi, RHP

*This will be his second start and he took a no hitter through 6 innings in the first*

It’s always a fun story when a pitcher comes back from Tommy John surgery and pitches well. Eovaldi did exactly that in his first start but faces another tough challenge on the road against the Nationals offense. When we take a look at his numbers from 2016, he was better against righties than lefties. Matt Adams salary is finally coming back down but he is nursing a foot injury so we’ll see if he’s in the lineup. The main two hitters I’d have interest in here are Bryce Harper and Juan Soto. Harper is definitely expensive but he and Anthony Rendon have owned Eovaldi if you like BvP data. Soto is in a weird spot salary wise. He’s not exactly cheap but he’s not terribly expensive. He’s solid but I’m not sure I’d force him into a lineup.

Nationals Hitters to Target 

Elite Options – Bryce Harper, Matt Adams

Secondary Options – Juan Soto, Trea Turner, Anthony Rendon

Nationals Probable Starter – Max Scherzer, RHP

1.92 ERA, 0.85 WHIP and 38.7 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .188 average, .270 wOBA, 55.4 fly ball rate and 28.9 hard contact rate

Vs RHH – .148 average, .197 wOBA, 39.7 fly ball rate and 38.2 hard contact rate

This side of the game is short and sweet. Max Scherzer against anyone leans towards Scherzer’s favor and I will not play a single hitter from the Rays. I just don’t like burning money for no reason. As far as the ace for Washington goes, his $12,000 salary on FanDuel makes him a little difficult to play. He had better dominate and be up around 60-70 FanDuel points to be worth that price. There are other pitchers significantly cheaper that have upside tonight.

Rays Hitters to Target 

Elite Options – None

Secondary Options – None

Home Run Pick – Matt Adams

DFS MLB – Yankees at Blue Jays

Yankees Probable Starter – C.C. Sabathia, LHP

3.73 ERA, 1.26 WHIP and 17.3 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .231 average, .339 wOBA, 32.1 fly ball rate and 21.4 hard contact rate

Vs RHH – .249 average, .306 wOBA, 37.0 fly ball rate and 31.9 hard contact rate

You could make the argument that this is a fairly good spot for Sabathia tonight but I’m having a hard time landing on him as an option. He’s super cheap but other than a three start stretch a few weeks back when he hit 40 points, there’s just no upside. He’s not striking out enough hitters or hitting the quality start mark often enough. The Blue Jays are average or below in most major offensive categories against lefties so far this year and only a few hitters stand out as one-off options.

Justin Smoak is their best hitters against lefties this year and has started to come to life again. You could also head towards Yangervis Solarte and Teoscar Hernandez as an upside play for tournaments although I would lean Smoak over the two. One very sneaky option as a punt play is Devon Travis. He’s hitting better since he’s been recalled and is basically the minimum on FanDuel. I’m likely not going to stack the Jays and won’t have a ton of exposure to this side of the game.

Blue Jays Hitters to Target 

Elite Options – Justin Smoak

Secondary Options – Yangervis Solarte, Teoscar Hernandez

Blue Jays Probable Starter – Marco Estrada, RHP

5.68 ERA, 1.47 WHIP and 16.5 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .274 average, .370 wOBA, 51.2 fly ball rate and 28.6 hard contact rate

Vs RHH – .303 average, .385 wOBA, 55.4 fly ball rate and 35.7 hard contact rate

I wonder how much players will be annoyed by the egg most of the Yankees laid yesterday. This lineup is in another absolute smash spot and have wrecked Estrada in his career. The active New York lineup has 209 lifetime at-bats against him and have hit 21 home runs. That’s not a small sample size and we should definitely be targeting Yankee hitters once again. I’d go right back to the well with guys like Aaron Judge, Miguel Andujar and Gleyber Torres. Andujar especially stands out since h’e $2,900 on FanDuel. Judge struck out an astounding eight times yesterday so there is a bit more risk than normal with him. This is definitely a spot where you don’t want to be too hung up with what happened the day before. New York could go big tonight. I wouldn’t be using Estrada for any reason this evening.

Yankees Hitters to Target 

Elite Options – Aaron Judge, Gleyber Torres, Giancarlo Stanton, Miguel Andujar

Secondary Options – Aaron Hicks, Brett Gardner

Home Run Pick – Miguel Andujar

DFS MLB – Orioles at Mets

Orioles Probable Starter – Alex Cobb, RHP

6.80 ERA, 1.81 WHIP and 11.5 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .412 average, .473 wOBA, 29.2 fly ball rate and 34.3 hard contact rate

Vs RHH – .311 average, .382 wOBA, 28.3 fly ball rate and 33.0 hard contact rate

The metrics are all still just terrible to look at, but Cobb has been pitching slightly better than they might appear lately. He’s still nowhere near on the radar for fantasy but it’s important to note he’s reached the quality start mark in four of his last six outings. He’s not the gas can the number say and the Mets aren’t that great of an offense but this is a bad matchup for Cobb. Brandon Nimmo is approaching a .500 wOBA against right handed pitching and is on the better size of the splits. He’s likely going to make an appearance later in the article. Asdrubal Cabrera and Michael Conforto both make interesting buy-low opportunities tonight. Neither player has been super hot lately and the price reflects that. Batting lefty in a hitter’s park has them firmly in play.

Mets Hitters to Target

Elite Options – Brandon Nimmo

Secondary Options – Asdrubal Cabrera, Michael Conforto

Mets Probable Starter – Jason Vargas, LHP

8.53 ERA, 1.86 WHIP and 18.7 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .300 average, .421 wOBA, 44.0 fly ball rate and 24.0 hard contact rate

Vs RHH – .333 average, .404 wOBA, 36.1 fly ball rate and 38.1 hard contact rate

Good old Jason Vargas was the ultimate troll the last time we saw him on the mound as he held the Atlanta Braves to two hits and no runs through five innings. I was not a happy camper that night as I was pretty heavy on Braves in quite a few spots. As far as tonight goes, I really don’t think Vargas can replicate his start against the powerful Orioles lineup. Manny Machado is dead center on my radar tonight and his price is relatively cheap for his normal rate. Danny Valencia is a lefty killer and should find his way into the lineup. You can fire away with hitters like Adam Jones, Mark Trumbo and Trey Mancini but there is one very against the grain play here. Pedro Alvarez may not be in the lineup, but if he is, he’s got a stunning .401 wOBA against lefties(in a super small sample of nine at-bats). Nobody will play him and Vargas has been poor to lefty hitters as well.

Orioles Hitters to Target 

Elite Options – Manny Machado, Adam Jones, Danny Valencia

Secondary Options – Trey Mancini, Mark Trumbo, Pedro Alvarez(GPP only)

Home Run Pick – Brandon Nimmo and Danny Valencia

DFS MLB – Rockies at Reds

Rockies Probable Starter – Kyle Freeland, LHP

3.43 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and 20.4 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .189 average, .250 wOBA, 35.5 fly ball rate and 25.0 hard contact rate

Vs RHH – .246 average, .342 wOBA, 35.7 fly ball rate and 28.6 hard contact rate

If you needed an ultra-contrarian play, Freeman might actually be a pitcher to give a shot. I wouldn’t say he’s got the highest probability of success but he’s a talented pitcher. The Reds are about an average offense and even though Freeland’s ERA is worse away, his metrics are near the same on the road or at home. The more likely scenario is he gets touched up a little bit and the Reds have a couple hitters that can do it. Scooter Gennett smashes lefty pitching despite being a lefty himself. I would side with Eugenio Suarez since he’s cheaper and on the better side of the splits with Freeland. Tucker Barnhart should be in the lineup and is an elite salary savings player tonight. He’s going to be hard to pass up.

Reds Hitters to Target

Elite Options – Eugenio Suarez, Tucker Barnhart

Secondary Options – Scooter Gennett, Joey Votto

Reds Probable Starter – Anthony DeSclafani, RHP

*Season Debut*

DeSclafani is coming off the disabled list and would not be in play at all for me. I really wish that David Dahl wasn’t on the disabled list as he would be locked in because DeSclafani got smashed by lefties in 2016. That does lead me to Charlie Blackmon to an extent and I do think he’s a good lay. It’s just a little difficult to pay up for him. For instance, I’d rather play Judge, Machado and Harper from other games in the same price range. Past Blackmon, there aren’t a ton of lefties that I’m crazy about. Both Gerardo Parra and Carlos Gonzalez are cheap but it’s not like they’re having great seasons. Desclafani probably won’t pitch for a long time no matter how well he’s doing so it might be tough to bank on any particular matchup. It’s worth paying attention to the Rockies being one of the worst offenses in baseball on the road against righty pitching.

Rockies Hitters to Target 

Elite Options – Charlie Blackmon

Secondary Options – Nolan Arenado, Gerardo Parra, Carlos Gonzalez

Home Run Pick – Tucker Barnhart

DFS MLB – Tigers at Red Sox

Tigers Probable Starter – Artie Lewicki, RHP

3.60 ERA, 1.53 ERA, 15.2 strikeout rate(15 innings)

Vs LHH – .261 average, .296 wOBA, 42.1 fly ball rate and 47.4 hard contact rate

Vs RHH – .316 average, .326 wOBA, 33.3 fly ball rate and 46.7 hard contact rate

If the Yankees are in a good spot, their divisional rival the Red Sox might be in a better one. Lewicki is making his first start of the season and we don’t have a large track record to go on here. He’s totaled 15 innings this season but when he’s pitched, righties have done a little more damage. Frankly, I have plenty of interest in all the usual suspects for the Red Sox tonight. It’s just a matter of how many I can fit and how to prioritize them. J.D. Martinez left Sunday’s game with back spasms so I’m likely off him in cash. A back injury is a little too risky for me at that price tag. Andrew Benintendi has been a monster lately and has seen his price spike. I might stay in the middle class here as Mitch Moreland and Brock Holt are both very reasonably priced and Lewicki has given up a lot of fly balls and hard contact to lefties. Holt doesn’t have power but he can hit, steal a base and score runs.

Red Sox Hitters to Target 

Elite Options – Mitch Moreland, Andrew Benintendi, Brock Holt, J.D. Martinez

Secondary Options – Xander Bogaerts, Eduardo Nunez, Rafael Devers

Red Sox Probable Starter – Steven Wright, RHP

2.25 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 21.9 strikeout rate (16 innings)

Vs LHH – .000 average, .172 wOBA, 16.7 fly ball rate and 16.7 hard contact rate

Vs RHH – .200 average, .281 wOBA, 38.2 fly ball rate and 17.7 hard contact rate

Wright is plenty cheap and we can likely take a flier on him for large field GPP’s. The issue I have with him is he’s almost impossible to really predict. Wright is a knuckle baller and they are non-exsistent in today’s game. There’s no pitch data to fall back on here and even the Tigers against righties isn’t all that helpful because the knuckle ball is such a unique pitch. This isn’t meant to be a cop out but there’s only two ways to approach this side of the game in my eyes. It’s not cash viable at all and you can either play Wright or you stack up the most dangerous hitters for the Tigers. If the knuckle doesn’t move, Wright is likely to get blitzed.

Tigers Hitters to Target 

Elite Options – None

Secondary Options – Nicholas Castellanos, Miguel Cabrera

Home Run Pick – Xander Bogaerts

DFS MLB – Brewers at Indians

Brewers Probable Starter – Junior Guerra, RHP

2.65 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and 23.0 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .210 average, .297 wOBA, 40.8 fly ball rate and 37.5 hard contact rate

Vs RHH – .202 average, .259 wOBA, 44.4 fly ball rate and 44.0 hard contact rate

If we just put the metrics up in a blind eye test, they would look very attractive. Gurrea is having a very good season and he’s over 50 innings pitched so it’s not like we’re going off three starts at this point. It’s something to file away as I’m not willing to play him against the Indians lineup. The lefties for the Indians would be the only hitters I’d have much interest in. Even then, they’re best served as GPP options. They can get the better of any pitcher but you have to pay attention to what Guerra has done so far.

Indians Hitters to Target 

Elite Options – None

Secondary Options – Jose Ramirez, Francisco Lindor, Michael Brantley

Indians Probable Starter – Corey Kluber, RHP

2.02 ERA, 0.84 WHIP and 27.6 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .193 average, .241 wOBA, 29.5 fly ball rate and 34.4 hard contact rate

Vs RHH – .202 average, .242 wOBA, 31.1 fly ball rate and 37.9 hard contact rate

I’ll be the first one to tell you I haven’t been able to get a handle on Kluber so far this year. When I do play him, I’ve gotten the floor games when he only strikes out four or five hitters. When I don’t he hits double digit strikeouts on his way to a massive game. He did see this Brewers team a few starts ago and had a very pedestrian game. I have a hard time not playing Scherzer if I’m spending in this price range for a starting pitcher. Scherzer has the easier matchup and I’d rather just find the extra $500 on FanDuel. Kluber’s strikeout rate remains down around seven to eight percentage points from last year. That’s not insignificant given how expensive he is. This seems like a perfect game to pretend doesn’t exist for cash purposes tonight.

Brewers Hitters to Target 

Elite Options – None

Secondary Options – Lorenzo Cain, Christian Yelich, Travis Shaw, Jesus Aguilar

Home Run Pick – Jesus Aguilar

DFS MLB – A’s at Rangers

A’s Probable Starter – Sean Manaea, LHP

3.60 ERA, 0.97 WHIP and 18.4 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .222 average, .290 wOBA, 31.8 fly ball rate and 14.9 hard contact rate

Vs RHH – .204 average, .272 wOBA, 34.1 fly ball rate and 45.9 hard contact rate

Manaea has really hit the skids these last few starts. He’s only eclipsed 30 FanDuel points once in his last six starts and I’m not really expecting anything different tonight. I will say the majority of the big hitters for the Rangers are lefty, which Manaea is a little better against with fly balls and hard contact. I don’t love a ton of hitters from Texas but Adrian Beltre is still very affordable. The power hasn’t been there and some of his skills may have been sapped by his injuries this year. I wish the Rangers had a few more righty hitters I felt I could trust. As it stands, I’m not really too excited about this side of the game from any perspective.

Rangers Hitters to Target 

Elite Options – None

Secondary Options – Jurickson Profar, Adrian Beltre, Delino DeShields

Rangers Probable Starter – Matt Moore, LHP

7.85 ERA, 2.00 WHIP and 16.5 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .441 average, .511 wOBA, 51.7 fly ball rate and 55.2 hard contact rate

Vs RHH – .320 average, .390 wOBA, 37.6 fly ball rate and 44.7 hard contact rate

My goodness, how many A’s do I want to play in a cash lineup tonight? Moore is one of the worst pitching options on the slate and the A’s should have their way with him tonight. The low end options that will save you a ton of salary are Chad Pinder and Mark Chana. They’re both super cheap and hit lefties extremely well. The high end players include Khris Davis, Matt Chapman and Matt Olson. Davis should be fairly popular but Olson might go very under the radar. W’ve said it before that players don’t want to play a lefty-on-lefty matchup. Olson holds his own against lefties and Moore has been destroyed by them. It doesn’t hurt that Olson is white hot with four home runs in four games. There’s basically not an A’s bat that I would talk you out of tonight.

A’s Hitters to Target 

Elite Options – Khris Davis, Mark Chana, Chad Pinder, Matt Olson

Secondary Options – Matt Chapman, Marcus Semien, Jed Lowrie

Home Run Pick – Mark Chana

DFS MLB – Phillies at Cubs

Phillies Probable Starter – Zach Eflin, RHP

4.50 ERA, 1.31 WHIP and 25.7 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .268 average, .379 wOBA, 55.6 fly ball rate and 46.4 hard contact rate

Vs RHH – .234 average, .283 wOBA, 34.8 fly ball rate and 27.1 hard contact rate

It’s finally starting to look like Eflin is coming back to Earth after a few good starts to kick off his season. Lefty hitters have to stand out especially in Wrigley Field. If the wind blows the right way tonight, the Cubs are one of the better offenses to target. I definitely want a piece of the lefties because of the fly balls and hard contact that Eflin gives up. Ben Zobrist is actually leading the Cubs squad with a .398 wOBA against righties so far and he’s been on a tear. I think Anthony Rizzo is up there for the best play from Chicago and Kyle Schwarber is an incredible GPP play with is amount of power against righty pitching. I would at least pause before playing right handed hitters from the Cubs tonight as the splits are pretty severe.

Cubs Hitters to Target 

Elite Options – Ben Zobrist, Anthony Rizzo, Kyle Schwarber

Secondary Options – Kris Bryant, Javier Baez

Cubs Probable Starter – Kyle Hendricks, RHP

3.19 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and 19.1 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .213 average, .305 wOBA, 38.8 fly ball rate and 32.5 hard contact rate

Vs RHH – .235 average, .282 wOBA, 27.3 fly ball rate and 32.8 hard contact rate

I basically assumed that I wouldn’t have any exposure to the Phillies hitters tonight. That’s mostly the case but the salary for Cesar Hernandez and Odubel Herrera on FanDuel have me thinking about them. They’re both under $3,000 and Hendricks does give up a few more fly balls to lefty hitters. It’s not difficult to see a scenario where Herrera especially pops a cheap homer just into the basket out there in the outfield. Past that, this isn’t the most exciting game. Hendricks is a better real life pitcher than he is for fantasy. Philly is really missing Rhys Hoskins and they strikeout almost 27 percent of the time against righties, worst in the league. I guess Hendricks could strike out a few more than normal but he’s still not a main target on a slate this size. I would admit he has a much higher ceiling than normal.

Phillies Hitters to Target 

Elite Options – None

Secondary Options – Cesar Hernandez, Odubel Herrera

Home Run Pick – Anthony Rizzo

DFS MLB – Mariners at Astros

Mariners Probable Starter – James Paxton, LHP

3.13 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 32.0 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .346 average, .441 wOBA, 31.4 fly ball rate and 28.6 hard contact rate

Vs RHH – .150 average, .212 wOBA, 49.3 fly ball rate and 32.4 hard contact rate

I’m a big Paxton fan and I think he’s a great GPP play tonight. You pretty much don’t play pitchers against Houston in cash. However, Paxton has utterly dominated right handed hitters and the Astros will likely put a lineup out that has nine righties. Paxton has the stuff to smoke any lineup in baseball, including the Astros. This side of the game is not in lay for me for cash games because I’m not trying to pick on Paxton with hitters and I won’t generally love a lefty pitcher against Houston. I wouldn’t get too cute if you go after the Astros bats and just play the hitters at the top of the lineup.

Astros Hitters to Target 

Elite Options – None

Secondary Options – George Springer, Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa

Astros Probable Starter – Dallas Keuchel, LHP

3.65 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 19.4 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .259 average, .313 wOBA, 17.1 fly ball rate and 31.7 hard contact rate

Vs RHH – .238 average, .299 wOBA, 26.7 fly ball rate and 32.5 hard contact rate

This is another side of a game I won’t be all that heavy on. Maybe I miss out on some good starts but I almost never play Keuchel in daily fantasy. His strikeout rate is just OK and the Mariners don’t strikeout a lot as a team for him to fall back on. It’s usually not the best idea to go hard after Keuchel unless he’s facing a dominant offense. Mitch Haniger is one of the better hitters for Seattle against lefties and is at a fair price and Nelson Cruz could take anyone out of the yard at any point. I could have gotten on board with Jean Segura but he’s just too pricey tonight. This game isn’t great for fantasy potential in cash games.

Mariners Hitters to Target 

Elite Options – None

Secondary Options – Mitch Haniger, Nelson Cruz

Home Run Pick – Mitch Haniger

DFS MLB – Marlins at Cardinals

Marlins Probable Starter – Jose Urena, RHP

4.41 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 20.1 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .255 average, .313 wOBA, 30.8 fly ball rate and 42.6 hard contact rate

Vs RHH – .226 average, .293 wOBA, 32.5 fly ball rate and 40.5 hard contact rate

There’s really not much of a reason to pitch Urena tonight even though the Cardinals are loaded with righties. I don’t like a ton of options from this side of the game because the highest wOBA against righty pitching so far this year that is active for the Cardinals is Tommy Pham at .349. Matt Carpenter is a little pricey for me even with him hitting so well lately. I guess you could punt with Kolten Wong but I’d rather play Devon Travis at a cheaper price. This side of the game has very little that I’m really interested in on a slate this size. I can’t get on board with righty bats against Urena.

Cardinals Hitters to Target 

Elite Options – Matt Carpenter

Secondary Options – Kolten Wong, Tommy Pham

Cardinals Probable Starter – Carlos Martinez, RHP

1.62 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 22.4 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .173 average, .251 wOBA, 32.0 fly ball rate and 31.6 hard contact rate

Vs RHH – .187 average, .269 wOBA, 26.4 fly ball rate and 32.1 hard contact rate

I typically have a policy that I don’t start pitchers after a lengthy stay on the sidled list. While I’m thinking about maybe breaking that policy later on in the slate, Martinez would be a fine option given who he’s facing tonight. There’s not a lot of Marlins bats that you want to chase in this matchup. If Martinez is right, his metrics are excellent and it’s not someone you want to target against. I won’t have any Marlins bats because there’s no need for it tonight. Miami has ruined quite a few nights for me this season as it seems like every time I pitch against them, said pitcher gets lit up. While Martinez could be very good tonight, I’d rather find the extra salary for another studly pitcher that’s up here in a bit.

Marlins Hitters to Target 

Elite Options – None

Secondary Options – J.T. Realmuto, Justin Bour

Home Run Pick – Kolten Wong

DFS MLB – Royals at Angels

Royals Probable Starter – Brad Keller, RHP

2.13 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 15.7 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .189 average, .227 wOBA, 15.6 fly ball rate and 25.0 hard contact rate

Vs RHH – .228 average, .261 wOBA, 26.1 fly ball rate and 28.3 hard contact rate

There’s only a 22 inning sample size for Keller and we don’t even know how long he can go in this game. I think this is a spot where you play the big names or nothing from this side of the game. The Royals don’t have a very good bullpen this season so even if Keller’s outing is short, the Angels will be in a good spot. Trout can hit any pitcher and you could follow through with players like Justin Upton, Shohei Ohtani and Andrelton Simmons. This offense could fly pretty far under the radar since it’s alate game and there are so many other offenses in good spots. Most of the offense that hits at the top of the order are all fine plays.

Angels Hitters to Target 

Elite Options – Mike Trout, Justin Upton, Andrelton Simmons

Secondary Options -Shohei Ohtani

Angels Probable Starter – Andrew Heaney, LHP

3.66 ERA, 1.26 WHIP and 25.0 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .257 average, .260 wOBA, 20.8 fly ball rate and 15.4 hard contact rate

Vs RHH – .238 average, .317 wOBA,  37.5 fly ball rate and 40.0 hard contact rate

This is flat out not a good spot for Heaney. He’s facing an offense that can be tough against lefties as they are 11th in wOBA against the handedness. They have three players with a wOBA over .400  even though Hunter Dozier only has 16 at-bats. Whit Merrifield and Jorge Soler both have smashed lefties so far and the price is fair for them.  I would definitely stick with the righty bats for  Kansas City as the fly ball and hard contact rate are both very low for Heaney. Even Alcides Escobar is a fine punt tonight with some stolen base upside.

Royals Hotters to Target 

Elite Options – Whit Merrifield, Jorge Soler

Secondary Options – Alcides Escobar, Salvador Perez

Home Run Pick – Jorge Soler

DFS MLB – Braves at Padres

Braves Probable Starter – Sean Newcomb, LHP

2.73 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and 24.6 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .162 average, .307 wOBA, 39.3 fly ball rate and 32.1 hard contact rate

Vs RHH – .207 average, .258 wOBA, 33.1 fly ball rate and 26.1 hard contact rate

Newcomb is one of the best pitching plays on this slate. The Padres are slightly better against lefty pitching but might be without Christian Villanueva and are still third in baseball in strikeout rate against such paws. Newcomb has the stuff to carve up the San Diego lineup and I can’t find a reason to play and Padres hitters. Julio Teheran bit me last night but this is a spot where you have to put the previous night out of your mind. The Padres have a little bit of power through the lineup but that comes with a tradeoff of a very high strikeout rate. Newcomb isn’t giving up a lot of hard contact and he should be bale to post a quality start tonight.

Padres Hitters to Target 

Elite Options – None

Secondary Options – None

Padres Probable Starter – Jordan Lyles, RHP

3.65 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and 23.4 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .190 average, .265 wOBA, 45.9 fly ball rate and 32.8 hard contact rate

Vs RHH – .238 average, .297 wOBA, 34.7 fly ball rate and 32.9 hard contact rate

The Atlanta offense has been really quiet these past few games and I’m likely steering clear until they wake up a little bit. Lyles has been a little bit better against left handed hitters which doesn’t bode well for the top of the Atlanta lineup. The one lefty I might make an exception to is Ender Inciarte because he’s got stolen base upside. It’s difficult to chase home runs in this park with how the offense has been playing lately. I really think this game is Newcomb or bust. The rest of the players just don’t stack up against a lot of other options.

Braves Hitters to Target 

Elite Options – None

Secondary Options – Freddie Freeman, Nick Markakis, Ender Inciarte, Ozzie Albies

Home Run Pick – None, I think the offense are going to disappoint people

DFS MLB – Diamondbacks at Giants

Diamondbacks Probable Starter – Patrick Corbin, LHP

2.99 ERA, 0.94 WHIP and 33.1 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .196 average, .283 wOBA, 29.4 fly ball rate and 34.3 hard contact rate

Vs RHH – .184 average, .249 wOBA, 33.1 fly ball rate and 42.9 hard contact rate

Corbin has already seen this Giants team twice and he’s scored 34 and 61 points. He hasn’t been in the greatest form lately and it’s hard to play him over Newcomb. Granted, Newcomb hasn’t been great lately either but his matchups have been much more difficult. The other thing that kind of hurst Corbin is his win chances are a little lower than they would normally be. The best slider hitter for San Francisco is Evan Longoria and Andrew McCutchen hits lefties well and is heating up. Its just hard to deploy hitters against a pitcher of Corbin’s caliber on a 14 game slate.

Giants Hitters to Target 

Elite Options – None

Secondary Options – Evan Longoria, Andrew McCutchen, Buster Posey

Giants Probable Starter – Madison Bumgarner, LHP

*Season Debut* 2017 stats – 3.32 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 22.4 strikeout rate

At least on FanDuel, pitching Bumgarner is awfully tempting even in cash games. If we have an idea of a pitch count  before the games starts up, maybe he becomes a lock. Bumgarner is an incredibly talented pitcher and normally wouldn’t be under $9,000. I have zero interest in any Diamondbacks hitters tonight because if Bumgarner is his normal self, that should be at least five innings well pitched baseball. This game is another where you play the pitchers or stack the offenses in the hopes of Corbin or Bumgarner blowing up.

Diamondbacks Hitters to Target 

Elite Options – None

Secondary Options – Paul Goldschmidt, John Ryan Murphy

Home Run Pick – Andrew McCutchen

DFS MLB Sample Lineup (with Max Scherzer) 

More from FanSided

• Cardinals Rumors: Surprise extension, Dylan Carlson-Yankees link, Rays trade idea
• USWNT vs. Vietnam: Key takeaways before they take on the Dutch
• NFL rumors: 49ers trending toward contract drama with defensive star
• Steelers avoid any camp drama with latest roster move
• MLB Rumors: Potential Braves reunion, Lance Lynn no-trade clause and Orioles deadline intentions

P – Max Scherzer

C/1B – Tucker Barnhart

2B – Devon Travis

3B – Matt Chapman

SS – Brock Holt 

OF – Adam Jones, Chad Pinder, Jorge Soler

Utility – Matt Olson 

It’s almost too easy to make a lineup with Scherzer tonight. Barnhart and Travis are punts but they’re not just shots in the dark. The A’s are in a wonderful spot and are pretty cheap, which makes it easy to fit with Scherzer. We also get a small piece of the Red Sox, Orioles and Royals offense. This almost makes me feel like it’s a trap because it came together far too easily.

DFS MLB Sample Lineup (No Max Scherzer)

P – Sean Newcomb 

C/1B – Anthony Rizzo 

2B – Devon Travis

3B – Eugenio Suarez

SS – Manny Machado

OF – Ben Zobrist, Chad Pinder, Khris Davis

Utility – Danny Valencia

If you’re not pitching Scherzer, I think Newcomb should be one of your priorities in the pitching slot. We go after some one offs with Travis and Suarez before moving onto a few two man stacks. We hit the Cubs with Rizzo and Zobrist, take a piece of the Orioles with Machado and Valencia and the we polish it off with Pinder and Davis. A slate like this is so large that things can change during the day and we’ll have to keep our eyes on a lot of news as it comes out.

The Core – A’s hitters, Cubs lefties and Orioles hitters(It’s a bit vague so far but it’s hard to narrow down the offenses we really want)

Stacks to Consider – Yankees(at Toronto), A’s(at Texas), Orioles or Mets, Cubs(vs Philadelphia) and Red Sox(vs Detroit)

Next: Fantasy Baseball - 3 DL Players to Stash

As always, may fortune be on your side and make sure to follow me on Twitter @bucn4life as MLB allows late swap. If there’s a late scratch and/or lineup cards aren’t put in for the late games, this article will always be updated on Twitter ASAP.