DFS Alerts
With Bryce Harper serving his suspension tonight, Wilson Ramos will tend to cleanup duties
Wilson Ramos gets an added value bump, batting 4th for the Nationals tonight and facing Kendry Flores. Flores showed observable splits in the minors in 2015, finishing the year with an OPS of 0.659 against LHB and an OPS of 0.481 against RHB. While Flores’s splits do not favor Wilson Ramos, Ramos proved in 2015 that his ISO does not fall off against right-handed pitching, and he even finished the year with a higher ISO versus RHP compared to LHP (2015 ISO vs. RHP was 0.131). Catcher can be a tough position to fill, so Ramos could serve as a value option with respectable power.
As reported by: FanGraphs and MLB Press Other tagged players: Kendry Flores
Stephen Piscotty batting second for the Cardinals today, facing a LHP
Stephen Piscotty is taking against a competent pitcher today, facing off against Scott Kazmir in Dodger Stadium. While Kazmir has been better in recent starts, his 0.360 wOBA against right-handed batters is further backed up by his xFIP of 4.76 to RHBs. Since the beginning of last year, Piscotty has established an impressive ISO of 0.244 against LHPs. Dodger Stadium is spacious, but an ISO of 0.244 points towards Piscotty being a viable play today against Kazmir.
As reported by: FanGraphs and MLB Press Other tagged players: Scott Kazmir Ryan Braun has been scratched today, replaced by Alex Presley
Braun was going to be a batter to target today, but he has been scratched from the lineup and will be replaced by Alex Presley.
As reported by: MLB Press Seth Smith facing Jhoulys Chacin, a below average right-handed pitcher making his debut for the Angels
Today sets up well for Seth Smith, a batter with significant splits, favoring at bats against right-handed pitchers. Smith has a career wRC+ against right-handed pitchers of 123 and is facing Jhoulys Chacin who struggles against left-handed batters. Jhoulys Chacin has an xFIP of 4.69 so far this year, surrendering 3 of his 4 home runs to batters from the left side of the plate.
As reported by: FanGraphs and MLB Press Other tagged players: Jhoulys Chacin Rickie Weeks Jr. batting cleanup for the Diamondbacks
Rickie Weeks Jr. is batting cleanup for the Diamondbacks today, offering modest upside, but serving as a potential value option in the outfield. One of the few positive Weeks offers is that he finished the 2015 season with an ISO of 0.149 against left-handed pitchers. According to the RotoGrinders Ballpark Factors page, Chase Field is an about average park for RHB and lacks the advantage Chase Field gives to LHB. Still, Weeks Jr. is facing Jake Peavy today, a pitcher who has given up all of his 7 home runs this year to right-handed batters.
As reported by: FanGraphs and MLB Press Other tagged players: Jake Peavy Michael Saunders leading off against the enigma that is Colby Lewis
Colby Lewis is a pitcher that always attracts the attention of fantasy pundits nationally as a pitcher to target. Lewis has a fairly high xFIP against both LHB and RHB at 4.73 and 4.61, respectively. His hard contact is between 35% and 38% against batters on both sides of the plate, yet his ERA this season sits at a respectable 3.20. Michael Saunders, a batter who finished last year with a wRC+ of 159 versus RHP, is leading off against a right-handed pitcher today. The Blue Jays stack may be a popular one today, but that is with good reason as the three batters following Michael Saunders (Bautista, Donaldson, and Encarnacion), each had an wRC+ over 140 against right-handed pitchers last year.
As reported by: FanGraphs and MLB Press Other tagged players: Colby Lewis, Josh Donaldson, Edwin Encarnacion, Jose Bautista Dillon Gee on the mound for the Royals, making the top of the Braves lineup interesting
Dillon Gee finished the 2015 season with an xFIP of 5.14 against left-handed batters. The Braves send four lefties to the plate to begin their lineup, lead by Nick Markakis and Freddie Freeman. Since the beginning of last year, Markakis has a wRC+ of 119 and last year demonstrated better numbers away from Atlanta, finishing the year with a wRC+ of 120 away, comared to a wRC+ of 95 at home. Today, Markakis faces Dillon Gee in Kansas City.
As reported by: FanGraphs and MLB Press Other tagged players: Dillon Gee, Freddie Freeman Ryan Braun is worth consideration with Luis Perdomo pitching today for the Padres
Luis Perdomo did not exhibit very significant splits in the minors over the 2015 season, finishing the year with a higher OPS against right-handed batters than left-handed batters (OPS of 0.768 versus RHB). Braun finished the 2015 season with an ISO of 0.207 versus RHP and hopes to rudely welcome Perdomo back to the major leagues.
As reported by: Baseball Reference and MLB Press Other tagged players: Luis Perdomo 3 reasons to play Manny Machado
Over the first month of the season, Anibal Sanchez has an xFIP of 4.89, with nearly identical splits xFIP between left-handed and right-handed batters of 4.95 and 4.94. The game is in Baltimore, making right-handed batters viable options today. Secondly, Manny Machado is the perfect right-handed bat to target, since Machado has established a wRC+ of 209 so far this season against right-handed pitchers. As if we needed a third reason, he also has wRC+ of 239 at home this season.
As reported by: FanGraphs and MLB Press Other tagged players: Anibal Sanchez No Billy Hamilton in the Reds lineup today
Billy Hamilton will not be manning center field today for the Reds. Instead, Jose Peraza will play CF and bat second for the Cincinnati. In 2015, Peraza had better numbers when facing left-handed pitchers, finishing 2015 with only an OPS of 0.640 against right-handed pitchers. He will have some opportunity as a result of batting second, but does not bring a significant amount of power to the plate.
As reported by: Baseball Reference and MLB Press Other tagged players: Jose Peraza Tim Adleman did not exhibit strong platoon splits in the minors, opening the door for Maikel Franco
Tim Adleman did not exhibit significant splits during his 2015 minor league campaign, so his 2016 0.404 wOBA against lefties should be taken with a grain of salt. Equally targeting both right-handed batters and left-handed batters against Adleman is an option today, making Maikel Franco a playable option at third base. Franco’s career wRC+ versus right-handed pitchers is 107, even higher than his wRC+ versus LHP.
As reported by: FanGraphs and MLB Press Other tagged players: Tim Adleman Yonder Alonso gets a chance to bat 2nd for the Athletics against Matt Andriese
Matt Andriese has a career wOBA of 0.337 against left-handed batters, which is probably why the Athletics are giving Yonder Alonso a chance to bat at the top of the order today. Alonso has a near league average wRC+ against RHPs of 96 since the beginning of last year. Still, Alonso does have a wRC+ of 209 over the last 7 days, earning him a chance to bat from the two hole today in front of Josh Reddick and Danny Valencia.
As reported by: FanGraphs and MLB Press Other tagged players: Matt Andriese, Josh Reddick, Danny Valencia Jason Kipnis looks to keep things going today, facing Ervin Santana
Ervin Santana will make his second start since returning from the disabled list. In his first start back from the DL, Santana did not make it through 4 innings and gave up 7 hits and 3 walks, surrendering three runs to the White Sox. The Indians have not been a juggernaut through the first month of the season, but a player like Jason Kipnis makes for solid bat to target Santana with from the left side of the plate. Kipnis, since the beginning of last year, has exhibited a wRC+ of 149 against right-handed pitchers and is batting 2nd today for the Indians.
As reported by: FanGraphs and MLB Press Other tagged players: Ervin Santana Power right-handed bats in play for the Cubs today
Jeff Locke has limited the damage in his last three starts giving up 5 or fewer hits in each contest. Locke’s SIERA tells a different story, however, standing at 4.64. His xFIP against RHB this year sits at 4.96, pointing towards the powerful right-handed bats that welcomed Francisco Liriano to Chicago yesterday. This includes Kris Bryant and Addison Russel, batting 3rd and 7th, respectively.
As reported by: FanGraphs and MLB Press Other tagged players: Addison Russell, Jeff Locke Anthony Rendon batting in front of walk-machine Bryce Harper
Justin Nicolino is sitting in the boat next to Mat LatoS, with both pitchers enjoying a better ERA than the deeper numbers indicate. Nicolino has a wOBA of 0.296 against RHB, but his xFIP against righties is a generous 5.98. This may make players like Anthony Rendon and Jason Werth slightly less obvious plays today as they bat 2nd and 6th in the Nationals lineup.
As reported by: FanGraphs and MLB Press Other tagged players: Jayson Werth, Justin Nicolino