DFS MLB Game by Game Breakdown – Saturday, August 18

Welcome into the Saturday edition of the DFS MLB Game by Game Breakdown! We have a large 11 game slate on tap so let’s get rolling!

We were once again reminded why DFS MLB baseball is a fickle beast. Cleveland drew one of the worst pitchers in baseball…and managed one measly two run home run by Jose Ramirez. It was nice to have him in every single lineup, but it was still a colossal flop. The Giants didn’t do much better in Cincinnati and it seems like our offense just doesn’t want to cooperate anymore, even when we get a great start from Cole Hamels. Let’s try to change that today because there are a lot of good offenses on the board tonight.

DFS MLB – Cubs at Pirates

Cubs Probable Starter – Tyler Chatwood, RHP 

5.06 ERA, 1.80 WHIP and 18.2 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .313 average, .400 wOBA, 16.0 K rate, 28.3 fly ball rate and 35.3 hard hit rate

Vs RHH – .144 average, .288 wOBA, 20.9 K rate, 29.7 fly ball rate and 25.9 hard hit rate

This was going to be a start for Mike Montgomery until he landed on the disabled list. Chatwood got yanked from the rotation earlier in the year in part because he walks literally everyone. In the time I’ve done this article, I can’t remember seeing a pitcher that had a higher walk percentage than strikeout percentage but here we are. We want lefty hitters in this spot and Gregory Polanco and Josh Bell both have walk rates over 11 percent. Polanco has hit the skids lately but still has a .260 ISO and he can steal a base pretty easy if he gets on base. Adam Frazier would be a nice cheap option that has a .337 wOBA and a .154 ISO, which isn’t a bad mark for a hitter that isn’t going to hit for a ton of power. It’s going to be hard not to have a Bucco or two in the lineup seeing how bad Chatwood is. It wouldn’t be too surprising to see him on a pitch count so we’ll need to monitor that as well.

Pirates Hitters to Target 

Elite Options – Gregory Polanco, Adam Frazier, Corey Dickerson

Secondary Options –  Josh Bell, Colin Moran

Pirates Probable Starter – Joe Musgrove, RHP 

3.49 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 18.2 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .275 average, .327 wOBA, 14.7 K rate, 26.7 fly ball rate and 32.8 hard hit rate

Vs RHH – .228 average, .271 wOBA, 21.2 K rate, 38.9 fly ball rate and 32.6 hard hit rate

Musgrove is a lot like Trevor Williams was last night. Nothing stands out to a super extreme and he has a habit of not being lit up too often. Now, he is worse against lefties and the Cubbies can stack the deck with them if they choose. Chicago has been just as quiet as the Bucs have been these past two night, with just two solo home runs to show for it. I’d gravitate most towards Ian Happ and Kyle Schwarber, not just because they own those two homers. These are two hitters that strike out at least 24 percent of the time and Musgrove doesn’t strike out many lefties. They also both have and ISO over .200 and wOBA’s over .350. The ISO and xwOBA check out against the pitch data as well so I think you can go back to either hitter. It’s not a big sample but Musgrove has been getting smacked against lefty hitters at home, giving up a .386 wOBA.

Cubs Hitters to Target 

Elite Options – Ian Happ, Kyle Schwarber, Anthony Rizzo

Secondary Options – Jason Heyward, Ben Zobrist

Home Run Pick – Corey Dickerson

DFS MLB – Marlins at Nationals

Marlins Probable Starter – Wei-Yin Chen, LHP 

5.32 ERA, 1.40 WHIP and 17.5 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .207 average, .255 wOBA, 29.8 K rate, 35.7 fly ball rate and 36.8 hard hit rate

Vs RHH – .268 average, .355 wOBA, 14.3 K rate, 44.7 fly ball rate and 32.5 hard hit rate

Chen is two different pitchers and it just matters if he’s on the road or at home. He’s on the road tonight which means it’s a full stack spot for the Nats because Chen has a 10.27 ERA and a .438 wOBA overall on the road. He’s even getting smacked against lefties on the road, giving up a .308 average and a .348 wOBA. The two hitters I want the most from the Nationals are Ryan Zimmerman and Juan Soto. Zimmerman makes the most sense as a cash game play since he’s a righty and he owns the lefty fastball. That’s a pitch that Chen is throwing over 50 percent of the time and Zimmerman has an xwOBA and ISO over .700 against it. He’s also the leader in wOBA, ISO and OPS on the team versus lefty so he’s basically locked in. Soto crushes lefties with a 1.013 OPS, .282 ISO and a .429 wOBA. Soto’s pitch data is just slightly less ridiculous than Zimmerman but still near .700 on both as well. This is a terrible spot for Chen.

Nationals Hittes to Target 

Elite Options – Ryan Zimmerman, Juan Soto, Anthony Rendon

Secondary Options – Bryce Harper, Trea Turner

Nationals Probable Starter – Tommy Milone, LHP 

5.24 ERA, 1.43 WHIP and 20.4 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .174 average, .191 wOBA, 29.2 K rate, 60.0 fly ball rate and 31.3 hard hit rate

Vs RHH – .370 average, .429 wOBA, 17.6 K rate, 41.4 fly ball rate and 41.7 hard hit rate

This game stack looks awfully appealing considering Milone is just as bad as Chen is. It’s only 8.2 innings but Milone is giving up a 4.15 HR/9 to right handed hitters at home so Marlins righties have to be at least a little appealing. People may run to J.T. Realmuto and I can certainly understand why. He does have just a .287 wOBA and a .171 ISO so it’s not exactly a home run play by the stats. Brian Anderson is someone I want regardless of if we game stack this one or night. At just $2,800 on FanDuel, he has a .475 xwOBA and a .275 ISO versus the lefty fastball. Starlin Castro is another hitter that doesn’t look like he’s anything special but the matchup is so skewed in his favor, it might not matter.

Marlins Hitters to Target 

Elite Options – Brian Anderson, Starlin Castro

Secondary Options – J.T. Realmuto

Home Run Pick – Ryan Zimmerman and Trea Turner

DFS MLB – Rockies at Braves

Rockies Probable Starter – Antonio Senzatela, RHP 

4.56 ERA, 1.33 WHIP and 18.1 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .257 average, .312 wOBA, 16.5 K rate, 30.9 fly ball rate and 33.3 hard hit rate

Vs RHH – .244 average, .306 wOBA, 19.1 K rate, 35.2 fly ball rate and 41.8 hard hit rate

As much as I want to keep playing Ronald Acuna while he’s insanely hot, a price tag of $4,700 is pretty steep. The thing with Senzatela is he doesn’t give up a ton of power so he’s not the gas can to attack. He does live on his fastball since he throws it 70 percent of the time for both sides of the plate. Freddie Freeman is always in play against any righty and he has a .200 ISO against righty fastballs. Ozzie Albies and Nick Markakis are both on the right side of the splits as well and both have an xwOBA over .360 and an ISO over .185. Still, I might be cautious with the Braves hitters here because Senzatela isn’t that bad of a pitcher. His ERA is higher than his FIP now, which means there’s positive regression as we go deeper into the year.

Braves Hitters to Target 

Elite options – Freddie Frreeman, Ronald Acuna

Secondary Options – Ozzie Albies and Nick Markakis

Braves Probable Starter – Mike Foltynewicz, RHP 

2.86 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and 27.8 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .187 average, .291 wOBA, 26.5 K rate, 39.9 fly ball rate and 34.1 hard hit rate

Vs RHH – .230 average, .277 wOBA, 29.2 K rate, 35.5 fly ball rate and 34.7 hard hit rate

Foltynewicz has gotten to the point where I just don’t want to target hitters against him. That’s going to be the case again this evening and he’s one of my favorite players on the slate. The Rockies are a terrible offense on the road and they strikeout just a hair under 24 percent of the time. If you have to take a shot, I would go with Nolan Arenado and Charlie Blackmon since they’re the best hitters Colorado can offer. Trevor Story would be a deep GPP option with a .234 ISO against righty pitching. I would not be surprised to see Foltynewicz hit at least eight strikeouts with double-digit upside.

Rockies Hitters to Target 

Elite Options – None

Secondary Options – Nolan Arenado, Charlie Blackmon, Trevor Story

Home Run Pick – Ozzie Albies

DFS MLB – Tigers at Twins

Tigers Probable Starter – TBD 

We don’t have a starter announced for the Tigers yet so it’s near impossible to know which Twins hitters to use yet. Jorge Polanco and Eddie Rosario are going to be solid options if the Tigers throw a  righty while hitters like Miguel Sano and Max Kepler are good options against lefties.

Twins Hitters to Target 

Elite Options – TBD

Secondary Options – TBD

Twins Probable Starter – Kohl Stewart, RHP 

6.23 ERA, 2.08 WHIP and 4.8 strikeout rate(4.1 IP)

Stewart has only made one start but he loves the sinker pitch and that might not end well for him tonight. Nicholas Castellanos crushes that pitch with a .702 xwOBA and a .333 ISO. A lot of the numbers against righty pitching for the Tigers don’t look excellent so I’d lean a little more towards the pitch data tonight. Jeimer Candelario and Niko Goodrum both have an ISO of at least .250 and Goodrum has an xwOBA of 4.24. It doesn’t appear that Stewart would have a strikeout rate that would be worth it to chase, though it is still just one start. It’s dangerous to assume things after one start but if we can pick the right members of the Tigers, they could do some damage. I’m probably not going to go crazy with Detroit tonight.

Tigers Hitters to Target 

Elite Options – Nicholas Castellanos

Secondary Options -Jeimer Candelario, Niko Goodrum

Home Run Pick – 

DFS MLB – Royals at White Sox

Royals Probable Starter – Brad Keller, RHP 

3.40 ERA, 1.34 WHIP and 15.7 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .250 average, .310 wOBA, 16.5 K rate, 22.6 fly ball rate and 33.6 hard hit rate

Vs RHH – .249 average, .283 wOBA, 15.1 K rate, 27.3 fly ball rate and 33.1 hard hit rate

Keller is one of those pitchers that are basically one giant fantasy annoyance. With a strikeout rate under 16 percent, you can’t think about playing him. He’s also been pretty decent in real life with a HR/9 under 0.50 against both sides of the plate. The splits are basically equal across the board here and I’m not a huge fan of the White Sox offense. They do have some power with three players that have an ISO over .200 and if I had to pick one to play, the might be Jose Abreu since he has a .209 ISO and a .329 wOBA. Keller has only given up four home runs in 120+ innings so that seems like a spot I would want to avoid.

White Sox Hitters to Target 

Elite Options – None

Secondary Options – Jose Abreu, Yoan Moncada, Daniel Palka

White Sox Probable Starter – Dylan Covey, RHP 

6.06 ERA, 1.60 WHIP and 15.7 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .294 average, .357 wOBA, 18.3 K rate, 31.5 fly ball rate and 38.4 hard hit rate

Vs RHH – .268 average, .305 wOBA, 12.6 K rate, 20.5 fly ball rate and 33.3 hard hit rate

I don’t generally use Whit Merrifield against righty pitchers and I don’t like paying $3,000 or more for Lucas Duda very often, but that’s how bad Covey has been this year. I would be fine using both of those hitters since they have xwOBA’s over .500 and Merrifield has an ISO over .300 against the sinker, which is Covey’s main pitch. I might even grudgingly use Alex Gordon and his .320 wOBA tonight since he bats lefty. $2,600 isn’t a steep price either so you don’t need a monster game from him to pay off. Ryan O’Hearn is interesting too since he doesn’t have more than 30 at-bats but his OPS is over 1.000, ISO over .400 and a wOBA over .450. I don’t think there’s any reason to think they stay in that range but you can use him tonight.

Royals Hitters to target 

Elite Options -Whit Merrifield, Lucas Duda

Secondary Options – Alex Gordon, Ryan O’Heran

Home Run Pick – Lucas Duda

DFS MLB – Giants at Reds

Giants Probable Starter – Madison Bumgarner, LHP 

2.71 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and 19.8 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .235 average, .301 wOBA, 28.6 K rate, 29.4 fly ball rate and 31.4 hard hit rate

Vs RHH – .224 average, .291 wOBA, 18.1 K rate, 34.3 fly ball rate and 38.9 hard hit rate

I don’t want to go crazy using hitters against Bumgarner, even though his home/road splits are very poor on the road. Eugenio Suarez gets MadBum on the road and has just waxed lefties this season with a 1.169 OPS, .320 ISO and .484 wOBA. That combined with his price of just $3,300 are plenty of reason for me to want to play him tonight. Curt Casali should see some more action since Joey Votto is on the disabled list and he racks up a .238 ISO and .398 wOBA against southpaw pitching. Bumgarner isn’t pitching as well as we’re used to but some guy named Casey Kelly just walked in and kept this Reds offensive lineup in check.

Reds Hitters to Target 

Elite Options – Eugenio Suarez

Secondary Options – Curt Casali

Reds Probable Starter – Matt Harvey, RHP 

5.19 ERA, 1.32 WHIP and 17.6 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .272 average, .362 wOBA, 15.5 K rate, 44.1 fly ball rate and 41.1 hard hit rate

Vs RHH – .258 average, .317 wOBA, 19.8 K rate, 30.6 fly ball rate and 34.8 hard hit rate

If you played Giants last night, it was a pretty annoying night as they managed to score one run in a great matchup. Harvey has been all over the board and I’m not sure if there’s any way to accurately project what he should do at this point. His last five starts have been 33, -7, 24, 0 and 40. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do with him tonight but I think it’s an awesome spot to go back to hitters like Brandon Belt and Brandon Crawford. They’re in a near identical spot tonight as Harvey leans on his fastball and they are good against that pitch with and ISO of at least .174 and a xwOBA of at least .363. You can also throw in lefties Joe Panik, Alen Hanson and maybe even Steven Duggar. The first two have a wOBA of at least .320 while Duggar would be a deep GPP play.

Giants Hitters to Target 

Elite Options – Brandon Crawford, Brandon Belt

Secondary Options – Steven Duggar, Joe Panik, Alen Hanson

Home Run Pick – Eugenio Suarez

DFS MLB – Rays at Red Sox

Rays Probable Starter – Tyler Galsnow, RHP 

3.97 ERA, 1.32 ERA, 32.2 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .220 average, .326 wOBA, 30.0 K rate, 23.5 fly ball rate and 18.6 hard hit rate

Vs RHH – .209 average, .275 wOBA, 34.0 K rate, 30.2 fly ball rate and 34.9 hard hit rate

The young righty for the Rays is certainly red-hot right now but you have to be pretty brave to throw him tonight in Boston. The case can be made he’s cheap enough to take a shot with tonight but that’s dangerous. Part of the reason aside from the top of the Red Sox lineup is really good is Glasnow throws his four seam about 70 percent of the time. Mookie Betts, J.D. Martinez and Steve Pearce all have xwOBA’s over .500 against righty four seams. Martinez also has an ISO over .500 against the pitch so Glasnow could really struggle. The good news he’s still way cheap and you can certainly fit all the bats you want to if you rolled Glasnow. The bad news is Boston is the hardest team to strike out in baseball for a righty hitter. It would be a super risky play and likelier to blow up in your face than score a bunch of points, but Glasnow could be the ultimate GPP play.

Red Sox Hitters to Target

Elite Options – Mookie Betts, J.D. Martinez

Secondary Options – Mithc Moreland, Andrew Benintendi, Steve Pearce, Xander Bogaerts

Red Sox Probable Starter – David Price, LHP 

3.75 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and 24.1 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .234 average, .324 wOBA, 23.0 K rate, 35.7 fly ball rate and 31.6 hard hit rate

Vs RHH – .240 average, .306 wOBA, 24.3 K rate, 40.1 fly ball rate and 32.9 hard hit rate

Price has been on a roll since right before the All-Star break and I’m not sure the Rays are the team to change that tonight. Through 85 at-bats against the current hitters, Price has only allowed a .153 average and a .226 xwOBA. The only issue I have with him is he’s the most expensive pitcher on the slate. You could say his Price is too high, am I right? Awful joke aside, I don’t think the Rays are going to have much luck but I like pitchers a little more that are cheaper so I won’t have a lot of Price. Even though I like Price, an interesting play could be Mallex Smith with Price’s ever so slight reverse splits. Smith has a .363 wOBA against lefties and while the power really isn’t there, he’s swiped nine bases off of lefty pitching. Jake Bauers and C.J. Cron both have an ISO of at least .200 versus lefties but they also have been so ice-cold, it’s hard to feel too confident in them.

Rays Hitters to Target 

Elite Options – None

Secondary Options – Mallex Smith, Daniel Robertson, C.J. Cron, Jake Bauers(if active)

Home Run Pick – J.D. Martinez

DFS MLB – Brewers at Cardinals

Brewers Probable Starter – Wade Miley, LHP 

2.23 ERA, 1.24 WHIP and 13.3 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .219 average, .311 wOBA, 12.5 K rate, 33.3 fly ball rate and 55.6 hard hit rate

Vs RHH – .211 average, .266 wOBA, 13.5 K rate, 23.7 fly ball rate and 42.3 hard hit rate

Miley continues to pitch way above his head and I want to be there when things start to catch up to him. His xFIP is 4.35 against righties and it’s a monstrous 6.62 against lefties. I think Matt Carpenter is a really great option tonight since the price has come down a couple hundred dollars and he’s carrying an absurd .309 ISO against lefties so far this year. Given the amount of hard hits that Miley is giving up, Carpenter should be able to do some damage. Despite being on one of the more ridiculous paces lately, Carpenter is third on his team in wOBA against southpaws and Jedd Gyorko and Harrison Bader both sit above .400 on the season. Their prices are a little higher than normal but if you believe Miley is a Jon Lester-light, they are still very reasonably priced tonight. The Cards might go under the radar but I think they’re a prime stacking option.

Cardinals Hitters to Target 

Elite Options – Jedd Gyorko, Harrison Bader, Matt Carpenter

Secondary Options – Marcell Ozuna, Jose Martinez, Paul DeJong

Cardinals Probable Starter – Miles Mikolas, RHP 

2.85 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and 16.9 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .270 average, .304 wOBA, 15.3 K rate, 29.5 fly ball rate and 37.8 hard hit rate

Vs RHH – .184 average, .212 wOBA, 18.8 K rate, 24.2 fly ball rate and 28.8 hard hit rate

Mikolas is far from my favorite pitcher on any given slate. He has zero strikeout upside so he’s always overpriced and you can’t play righty hitters against him, so it’s a pretty small box to be in when he pitches. Even if you like some of the Brewers lefties at home, be careful to not go overboard. Mikolas has yet to give up more than four earned runs in any start this year. For instance, Travis Shaw rates as the best option with a .279 ISO versus righties and an xwOBA of .427 and ISO of .311 versus the main two pitches for Mikolas. Still, can you really pay $4,000 for him? That’s a little dicey and I would rather take my chances with Christian Yelich at a cheaper price. The ISO is lower but you just feel safer with Yelich. He’s rock steady and rarely lets you down. Eric Thames and Mike Moustakas are on the radar with wOBA’s over .350 but I can’t see going full bore lefty stack.

Brewers Hitters to Target 

Elite Options – Travis Shaw, Christian Yelich

Secondary Options – Eric Thames, Mike Moustakas

Home Run Pick – Matt Carpenter

ARLINGTON, TX – SEPTEMBER 26: Elvis Andrus #1 of the Texas Rangers hits an RBI single in the first inning of a baseball game against the Houston Astros at Globe Life Park in Arlington on September 26, 2017 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Richard W. Rodriguez/Getty Images)

DFS MLB – Angels at Rangers

Angels Probable Starter – Andrew Heaney, LHP 

3.88 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and 23.1 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .205 average, .214 wOBA, 25.0 K rate, 18.8 fly ball rate and 25.3 hard hit rate

Vs RHH – .238 average, .318 wOBA, 22.6 K rate, 40.4 fly ball rate and 42.2 hard hit rate

It’s only 41 at-bats but Heaney has been crushed whenever he’s seen the Texas hitters in this lineup, giving up a .415 batting average and a .475 xwOBA. Three of the biggest culprits of those numbers are righty hitters Elvis Andrus, Adrian Beltre and Robinson Chirinos. What’s interesting is Beltre and Andrus haven’t been very good against lefties this year. Beltre has a .311 wOBA but a tine 0.56 ISO while Andrus is under .300 for the wOBA. Heaney is mostly a sinker/curve pitcher and Andrus does lead the team in xwOBA and has the best ISO against that mix among regular players, so I think the seasonal numbers are something we can not put all the weight in tonight. Beltre seems iffy to play at best since he’s been nursing a hamstring injury. If the Rangers use a lefty heavy lineup, Heaney could be a dark horse pitcher since he’s yet to give up a homer to lefty hitters. Just be aware that he’s far worse on the road and it’s not a route I’m taking. Chirinos is always a solid option against lefties but he does have a strikeout rate over 35 percent, so he’s best reserved for GPP.

Rangers Hitters to Target 

Elite Options – Elvis Andrus, Robinson Chirinos(GPP), Jurickson Profar

Secondary Options – Adrian Beltre(if active), Isiah Kiner-Falefa

Rangers Probable Starter – Martin Perez, LHP 

6.71 ERA, 1.96 WHIP and 12.6 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .327 average, .392 wOBA, 11.1 K rate, 22.2 fly ball rate and 34.8 hard hit rate

Vs RHH – .365 average, .429 wOBA, 13.0 K rate, 30.6 fly ball rate and 45.0 hard hit rate

It’s tough to know what is going to win out tonight, the ineptitude of Perez or the fact the Angels stink against lefty pitching. I wish Mike Trout was playing, but I suppose that would be true no matter who was pitching. Perez loves his sinker and unfortunately, the best option against that pitch is Jefry Marte. He kills it with a .529 xwOBA and .600 ISO in a very limited sample size and therein lies the problem. If you play him, he better do his damage early because he’s likely to get pinch hit for at some point. He didn’t even play the last time they faced a lefty but Albert Pujols did and he’s right behind Marte in xwOBA versus lefty sinkers at .519 and he’s got a .333 ISO. Kole Calhoun would be interesting at the leadoff spot. He’s not great against lefty pitching but Perez is that awful.

Angels Hitters to Target 

Elite Options – Albert Pujols, Jefry Marte(GPP), Justin Upton

Secondary Options – David Fletcher, Kole Calhoun

Home Run Pick –  Elvis Andrus

DFS MLB – Diamondbacks at Padres

Diamondbacks Probable Starter – Zack Godly, RHP 

4.20 ERA, 1.42 WHIP and 23.7 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .251 average, .322 wOBA, 21.4 K rate, 23.1 fly ball rate and 36.8 hard hit rate

Vs RHH – .247 average, .311 wOBA, 26.0 K rate, 31.9 fly ball rate and 38.4 hard hit rate

Godley has really been picking up steam lately with at least six strikeouts in his last three starts, including a double-digit effort against the Rangers. The Padres strikeout at around the higher clip in baseball(they go back and forth with Philly everyday) and despite his struggles, Godley has a HR/9 under 1.00 to each side of the plate. I don’t want any Padres tonight even though Godley does have significant home/road splits and if I don’t use Foltynewicz, I think Godley is a strong candidate. He and Folty have very similar ceilings tonight.

Padres Hitters to Target 

Elite Options – None

Secondary options – None

Padres Probable Starter – Clayton Richard, LHP 

4.98 ERA, 1.33 WHIP and 16.0 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .228 average, .292 wOBA, 18.8 K rate, 9.5 fly ball rate and 32.0 hard hit rate

Vs RHH – .253 average, .332 wOBA, 15.2 K rate, 25.4 fly ball rate and 42.1 hard hit rate

Richard certainly does not like seeing the trio of Paul Goldschmidt, A.J. Pollock or Nick Ahmed all that much. Maybe it’s because they all crush the sinker with ISO’s of at least .300 but all three hitters have an average over .300 against Richard and Pollock and Goldy have an xwOBA of at least .377. Ahmed is lower so his average is a bit emptier but we can use the “he got ejected last night and is mad” narrative if you really wanted to. The lowest ISO on the season between these three and Steven Souza and Ketel Marte is .259, which is a huge issue for Richard. The wOBA’s are all over .360 as well. The lineup is built to beat up on lefties at the top of it. All five of these hitters should make the lineup and if they do, a Diamondbacks stack looks like a pretty good bet this evening.

Diamondbacks Hitters to Target 

Elite Options – Paul Goldschmidt, A.J. Pollock, Nick Ahmed

Secondary Options – Steven Souza, Ketel Marte

Home Run Pick – A.J. Pollock and Steven Souza

DFS MLB – Dodgers at Mariners

Dodgers Probable Starter – Rich Hill, LHP 

3.57 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 24.8 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .190 average, .272 wOBA, 19.0 K rate, 42.6 fly ball rate and 34.4 hard hit rate

Vs RHH – .250 average, .331 wOBA, 26.9 K rate, 39.1 fly ball rate and 48.3 hard hit rate

There’s really only two hitters from the Mariners team that I would really chase in this spot. With shortstop Jean Segura on paternity leave, Mitch Haniger and Nelson Cruz are the two righties that would be most likely to take Hill out of the yard. Of the two, Cruz has the higher ISO and wOBA through the season and then also has the higher xwOBA and ISO against the fastball/curve combo that is about all that Hill throws right now. He’s also got the versus lefties at home mojo working with a 1.039 OPS, .460 ISO and .418 wOBA. Hill himself really isn’t a terrible option. He’s been in a major groove since a little bit before the All-Star break, giving up two earned runs or fewer in seven of his last eight starts. The strikeouts have been a little hit or miss but he’s under $9,000.

Mariners Hitters to target 

Elite Options – Nelson Cruz

Secondary Options – Mitch Haniger, Mike Zunino

Mariners Probable Starter – Erasmo Ramirez, RHP 

6.75 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 14.3 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .368 average, .523 wOBA, 10.5 K rate, 47.1 fly ball rate and 44.1 hard hit rate

Vs RHH – .130 average, .269 wOBA, 20.0 K rate, 33.3 fly ball rate and 55.6 hard hit rate

Welp, I’m here to take the L last night on not liking the Dodgers last night as they lit up Wade LeBlanc and launched home run after home run. Brian was of course on them, but that just means the day ended in Y so I’m not sure how much credit he gets (just kidding, of course). *EDITORS NOTE: Well played Adam – Sincerely The West Coast Whisperer.

Let’s hope he’s not accurate with this take because it’s a Dodgers night once again.

Ramirez did troll us with five scoreless innings at Houston last start but that’s not happening tonight. Max Muncy has been hitting lower in the batting order but he still has an ISO over .330 on the season and went yard last night. $2,900 for him is thievery and FanDuel is begging you to play him, it would be rude to ignore them. Hopefully Joc Pederson and his .305 ISO can crack this loaded lineup but hitters like Cody Bellinger and Yasmani Grandal are really great options as well, with ISO’s over .220 and wOBA’s over .360. I’m not even sure how much I’m sweating the splits for Ramirez, because Justin Turner, Manny Macahdo and Brian Dozier should be able to figure him out without much of an issue. Any Dodgers hitter 1-8 in the lineup is a fine option tonight with lefties being the priority. We saw last night what can happen when they get hot.

Dodgers Hitters to Target 

Elite Options – MOAR DODGERS

Secondary Options – See Elite Options

Home Run Pick – Max Muncy, Cody Bellinger and Justin Turner

DFS MLB – Sample FanDuel Lineup

P – Mike Foltynewicz 

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C/1B – Ryan Zimmerman

2B – Ketel Marte

3B – Eugenio Suarez

SS – Elvis Andrus

OF – Gregory Polanco, Harrison Bader, Cody Bellinger

Utility – Max Muncy 

I can’t get away from Folty yet and the price is so reasonable it’s not too difficult to build an offense that looks pretty good on paper. All of these hitters are in great spots and they all have some serious upside. Zimmerman is a lefty destroyer and so is Marte. Matter of fact, Suarez is as well even though he draws the “toughest” lefty of the bunch. Andrus doesn’t have great seasonal numbers but Heaney can be had on his sinker. Finish off with a Dodgers two man to get in on the West Coast fun and we could be ready to roll.

The Core – Ryan Zimmerman, Max Muncy, Mike Foltynewicz

Pitching to Consider 

High End – David Price, Mike Foltynewicz, Zack Godley

Mid-Range – Rich Hill, Brad Keller

Punt – Tyler Galsnow(crazy GPP)

Stacks to Consider – Los Angeles Dodgers, Washington Nationals, St. Louis Cardinals, San Francisco Giants, Arizona Diamondbacks

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.