MLB Daily Plays: September 27, 2013
We are down to 3 more days of regular season baseball and the final day of the season will likely be a bad day to play because everyone will be focused on their football lineups instead of joining MLB leagues. Basically, you have two more days to get your MLB fix in. Today is also the last day to come and check out the MLB Expert Chat where you can come and ask any lineup questions that you may have. The chat runs from 5 – 6:30 ET.
Follow me on Twitter: @RG_Notorious
Player Pricing Note: Daily Plays will help you find some of the best plays each day across the major sports. Just keep in mind that players’ prices vary from site-to-site. To check the price of a player for the site that you play on, make sure to click on the $ dollar-sign icon next to a player’s name for a list of their prices on each site.
Top 4 Pitching Plays
1) Kris Medlen – There are a lot of good pitching options tonight and while most people will likely take the top aces, there are a few pitchers that I think will pitch just as well that are much cheaper. The first is Medlen. In 4 September starts, he has a 1.23 ERA while striking out 26 batters over 28 innings. We’ve been waiting all season for Medlen to look like he did last season and ladies and gentlemen, Medlen is back. I love the matchup against the Phillies and think he could be the top scoring pitcher tonight.
2) Yovani Gallardo – I don’t think many people will be taking Gallardo tonight, but I will be one of the few that does. Gallardo has really pitched well since the All-Star break with an ERA right around 3. His price is very affordable and he gets to face the Mets who are only batting .221 at home this season. If you don’t mind 7 strong innings with 5-7 K’s and a win, then take Gallardo tonight.
3) Lance Lynn – Lynn is a pitcher that is in play at home and avoidable on the road. Luckily for us, he is pitching at home tonight. Lynn is facing the Cubs tonight who are batting .237 as a team this month. The best part about Lynn is that the Cardinals are still fighting for that number 1 seed in the NL so they are going to do all they can to win this game. He’s another option that’s cheaper than the aces with a good matchup.
4) Jeremy Hellickson – Here is my risky play of the night. Hellickson has been awful in the second half of the season with an ERA over 6.0. However, the Rays are in a must win game as they still only have a 1 game lead over the Rangers for the Wild Card. Hellickson has pitched well against the Blue Jays this season and I love taking pitchers in meaningful games. He’s so cheap that he doesn’t need to do much to make value.
Top 4 Stud Plays
1) Miguel Cabrera – Miggy is back on top of the daily plays. He can’t stay off the top plays for long. I love the matchup against Koehler even though this game is in Marlins Park. Miggy is batting .337 against righties this season with 31 HR’s. Best part about Miggy is that his price has been creeping down on sites across the board. Definitely in play against Koehler.
2) Yadier Molina – Molina has been crushing left hand pitching all season long and even though Wood has been very good this season, Molina seems to have his number. Molina is 10/26 with 3 HR’s against Wood. The Cardinals still need to win so I fully expect Molina to be in the lineup.
3) Ian Kinsler – The Rangers just can’t catch a break, they keep winning but so do the Indians and the Rays. The Rangers are still a game out of the Wild Card so they need to win out to have any chance of getting into a tiebreaker. Tonight they face C.J. Wilson at home and they have really hit well against him this season. Kinsler is swinging a hot bat and crushes lefties.
4) Alex Rios – Rios is always a much better play against lefties. He disappointed last night, but tonight’s matchup is much better. Rios is batting .319 against lefties this season and is one of the few players in baseball that can steal a base and hit a HR in the same game.
Top 4 Value Plays
1) Josh Hamilton – Hamilton’s price is slowly creeping up, but he still fits the mold of a value play. He has had his best month of the season batting .321. He is also facing his former team which is always a source of a little extra motivation. I really like the matchup against Ogando and think that this game is going to be a shootout.
2) James Loney – Loney has been on fire this month, he seems to reach base every time he gets up to bat. He’s batting .435 in the month of September with an OPS of 1.219. Time to ride the hot streak. He doesn’t have the best matchup, but Dickey has been known to give up big games.
3) Ryan Raburn – The Indians are facing another lefty tonight which means Raburn will be in the lineup once again. I love taking Raburn on sites where he is cheap. He has a great matchup tonight against Hernandez who is giving up a .345 batting average to right hand hitters this season.
4) Asdrubal Cabrera – I like Asdrubal for the same reason that I like Raburn. Hernandez really struggles against hitters from the right side of the plate. The Indians need to win to keep their 1 game lead over the Rangers and they are in a very good spot against Hernandez.
If you have any questions, comments, or feedback just let me know! And follow me on Twitter: @RG_Notorious
DAILY MLB LINEUPS PAGE – SPLITS, SALARIES & WEATHER ALL IN ONE PLACE!
Click here for a walkthrough of how to use the Lineups page.