DFS Alerts

Starling Marte placed on paternity leave by Pirates; Alen Hanson called up

The Pirates announced that their star OF has been placed on paternity leave with Alen Hanson getting the call up to take his place. No timetable on when Marte will return to action yet.

Joc Pederson is batting 8th for the Dodgers, keeping Trayce Thompson on the bench

Mike Leake allowed a wOBA of 0.314 to left-handed batters last year, serving up 1.20 HR/9 vs. left-handed batters. The Dodgers will have a substantial amount of power in the 8th spot of their lineup, considering Joc Pederson is sporting an ISO of 0.265 against right-handed pitchers this year in 99 plate appearances.

Giants left-handed batters get a chance to bat higher in the lineup in a lefty-friendly park, Chase Field

Joe Panik, Brandon Belt, and Brandon Crawford are batting 2nd, 4th, and 5th, respectively. With Rubby De La Rosa pitching for the Diamondbacks, the Giants have elected to stack the top of the order with more left-handed batters than usual. The game is in Arizona and according to the RotoGrinders Ballpark Factors tool, Chase Field is the 6th most optimal park for left-handed batters. De La Rosa has been better so far this year, but any DFS players using Giants lefties today will be hoping that today, De La Rosa will regress towards his 2015 wOBA against LHB of 0.404.

Alejandro De Aza will enjoy the opportunity to bat leadoff for the Mets at Coors Field on Sunday

Alejandro De Aza will face Tyler Chatwood in Colorado today. De Aza has been productive against right-handed pitchers, finishing 2015 with a wOBA of 0.345 against RHP, and all seven of De Aza’s stolen bases were off of RHPs. Tyler Chatwood, like many Rockies pitchers before him, is learning the consequence of pitching half of his starts at Coors Field. Chatwood’s home wOBA against left-handed batters is 0.457, compared to his much smaller wOBA of 0.102 on the road. De Aza makes for a viable value play, as he will try and take advantage of the Coors Field bump.

Ketel Marte batting second for the Mariners on Sunday

Ketel Marte will face a struggling Hector Santiago, a pitcher who has a recognizable name, but has struggled mightily over his last couple of starts, surrendering 1.86 HR/9 with a WHIP of 2.17. Marte has a wRC+ of 106 versus lefties in his career, with OBP of 0.350. If Marte can get on base, he will have Robinson Cano and Nelson Cruz batting behind him.

Ryan Braun is again absent from the Brewers's lineup

Without Ryan Braun in the lineup, Jonathon Lucroy will bat third for the Brewers today against Cesar Vargas. Vargas’s sample size is small enough that statisticians will inform you that the sample size is too small to be significant. However, we can at least focus on the exceptionally small 8.5% K% Vargas has against RHB over 10 innings. This is good news for RHBs like Lucroy and Chris Carter, who will be batting 3rd and 4th in the Brewers’s lineup, respectively.

Jordy Mercer is facing a lefty and batting leadoff for Pittsburgh

Jordy Mercer’s success against left-handed pitching seems to be common knowledge at this point in the DFS community, but in cased you were not aware, the guy thrives against left-handed pitching. Mercer has a career 144 wRC+ against LHP, along with an ISO of 0.163. While Mercer will be facing Jon Lester, he will be leading off for a team that has the best team wRC+ against left-handed pitching in 2016. The Pirates have a wRC+ of 141 against left-handed pitching, further bolstered by an impressive ISO of 0.217.

Daniel Murphy a late scratch for the Nationals

Murphy has been scratched from the Nationals’s lineup due to illness, meaning the middle infield will now be manned by Stephen Drew and Danny Espinosa. The Nationals lineup is weakened without Daniel Murphy, improving the chances of a solid outing for Marlins ace, Jose Fernandez.

Alex Gordon moves up in the lineup, batting 2nd today

Alex Gordon is facing off against Matt Wisler today in Kansas City. The lineup position is a plus, but Gordon’s power numbers have been more prolific on the road. His ISO at home is 0.113, compared to 0.147 on the road. Perhaps Matt Wisler’s wOBA of 0.377 against LHB can compensate for Gordon’s home/road ISO splits, making Gordon a viable play.

Kevin Roth explains why the NYM @ COL game is receiving a ORANGE/YELLOW rating, discussing scattered storms that will be affecting the area. Check out his full report here: https://rotogrinders.com/weather/mlb

David Ortiz will rest today, opening the door for Travis Shaw to bat 4th for the Red Sox

For anyone who has stacked the Red Sox this year, or even kept an eye on the leader boards, they are probably aware of Travis Shaw. The Red Sox third baseman who beat out Pablo Sandoval has had a quality start to the year, exhibiting a massive wRC+ versus right-handed pitchers of 205. Today, Shaw will face a RHP in Chris Devenski. Additionally, Bradley Jr. will hope to build on his incredible wRC+ of 318 over the last 7 days, good for best in the MLB among qualified hitters.

Reds leading off with Tyler Holt on Sunday, giving Zack Cozart the day off

Tyler Holt will get the guest appearance in the lead off spot for the Reds on Sunday with Zack Cozart getting the day off. Holt does not offer any power and only brings a career wRC+ versus LHP of 80 coming into today’s game. While Holt is not likely to exploit Adam Morgan’s 0.533 slugging allowed to RHB this year, Holt could benefit from the 0.333 OBP allowed to LHB.

Carlos Santana leading off with Tyler Duffey, a right-hander pitching for the Twins

Carlos Santana will get the opportunity to lead off today, since the Indians are facing a right-handed pitcher. Santana’s power numbers come largely from batting left-handed. This is evident by his 2015 splits, as Santana finished the year with an ISO of 0.194 against RHP and only 0.105 against LHP. Santana faces Tyler Duffey, who has kept lefties relatively in check so far in his young career, possessing an xFIP of 2.81 against LHB since the beginning of last year.

Miguel Gonzalez will face a gauntlet of left-handed batters today

Miguel Gonzalez has demonstrated fairly balanced splits, finishing last year with a a slightly higher wOBA against LHB, 0.357, compared to RHB, 0.332. Gonzalez will face a Yankees lineup on Sunday that includes 7 left-handed batters. Considering Gonzalez gave up a 39% FB% to left-handed batters last year, playing in Yankees Stadium could spell trouble for the right-handed pitcher. According to the RotoGrinders Ballpark Factors tool, Yankees Stadium is the 9th most favorable park for left-handed batters in the MLB, making power bats like Carlos Beltran and Brian McCann especially interesting today.

Kevin Pillar scratched, Carrera will start in center and bat 7th

Ezequiel Carrera will bat 7th in place of Kevin Pillar, but he weakens the Jays lineup slightly. Carrera has a wOBA of 0.307 against RHP this year and his .071 ISO vs. RHP is a substantial dropoff from Pillar’s power. Again, get Pillar out of your lineups if you have late swap and you should probably look to someone other than Pillar’s real-life replacement,Carrera, for home run potential.