DFS Alerts
Both the Cubs and the Reds mixing it up at leadoff with Tommy La Stella and Scott Schebler
Zobrist is getting the day off and Tommy La Stella will be leading off for the Cubs against a below average Alfredo Simon. On the other side, Scott Schebler will get an opportunity to leadoff after hitting his first HR of the year yesterday.
As reported by: MLB Press Other tagged players: Tommy La Stella, Alfredo Simon
Throwback to 2015 with Vogt batting cleanup
Stephen Vogt has been a streaky hitter, but when he making good contact, he is viable option against right-handed pitching. Vogt and his 0.353 wOBA versus RHP in 2015 will face Drew Hutchison in Toronto. Hutchison was actually worse against right-handed batters in 2015, but still posted a wOBA of 0.325 against LHB. Pairing Vogt with Billy Burns, Mark Canha, or Josh Reddick batting 1,2, and 3 would not be a poor strategy.
As reported by: MLB Press and FanGraphs Other tagged players: Drew Hutchison, Josh Reddick, Mark Canha, Billy Burns Dickerson cleaning up against a touchable Pineda
Michael Pineda hasn’t been great so far this season and he was not untouchable last year. In 2016, Pineda gave up 16 of his 21 HRs at home. It is hard not to like Corey Dickerson’s 0.280 ISO versus right-handed pitchers in New York today.
As reported by: FanGraphs and MLB Press Other tagged players: Michael Pineda Under the radar 1B option, Justin Bour batting 5th
Justin Bour is batting fifth tonight for the Marlins and faces a pitcher who gave up 1.26 HR/9 to left-handed batters in 2015. With a wOBA of 0.280 allowed, Peavy was not a complete mess versus lefties, but his HR/9 shows that he is capable of giving up the long ball.
As reported by: FanGraphs Other tagged players: Jake Peavy Ketel Marte batting second for the Mariners
Facing Hector Santiago tonight, Marte gets an opportunity to bat in front of Cano and Cruz. Marte’s wOBA is actually much better against RHP, but Seattle still is giving him (and his 0.316 wOBA versus LHP) a chance at the top of the lineup.
As reported by: FanGraphs and MLB Press Scooter Gennett batting second for the Brewers in the second best ballpark for LHBs
Charlie Morton has lopsided splits, giving up a 0.384 wOBA to left-handed swingers in 2015. Combine this fact with the location of the game, Miller park is been the second best place for lefties to hit according to RotoGrinders Ballpark Factors rating tool that ballpark OPS compared to league average OPS.
As reported by: RotoGrinders Park Factors and FanGraphs Other tagged players: Charlie Morton Michael Wacha
Only because it is baseball can we not already pencil in Michael Wacha for 7 innings and 5+ Ks. Against right-handed pitching, the Padres are ranked 29th, with only the Angels having a lower wOBA. To go with the 0.252 wOBA versus righties, the Padres are whiffing 26% of the time. There will always be outlier games, but the statistics point to Wacha being in one of the best match-ups of the week.
As reported by: FanGraphs Maikel Franco and Chase Anderson combine for an optimal hitting situation
Maikel Franco actually had a higher wOBA against right-handed batters in 2015. Okay, it was only 0.001 higher than against lefties, but come on, 0.360 is still very strong. Chase Anderson on the other hand possessed a identical wOBA when facing both left-handed batters and right-handed batters at a wOBA of 0.325. Wtih Anderson’s HR/9 of 1.19, Franco would have been a much more sneaky play if he had not hit two home runs last night.
As reported by: FanGraphs Other tagged players: Chase Anderson Jhoulys Chacin has had a strong start to 2016, but faces a gauntlet of left-handed batting Mets
Jhoulys Chacin actually has had the best SIERA over the last 14 days of any pitcher pitching tonight. Still, his wOBA versus lefties last year was 0.420 in limited action and over 0.330 for his career. Five of the first six Mets batters will be batting form the left side of the plate tonight. If Chacin regresses to his historical numbers, he should have a hard time through the Mets lineup.
As reported by: FanGraphs and MLB Press Other tagged players: Lucas Duda, Curtis Granderson, Michael Conforto, Neil Walker, Asdrubal Cabrera David Peralta cleaning up, Jake Lamb batting second for the D-backs
Juan Nicasio had a 0.412 wOBA versus left-handed batters in 15 innings worth of plate appearances. He somehow gave up zero homeruns, with 28% of his batted balls by lefties being flyballs. Perhaps David Peralta will change that with his 0.397 wOBA against right-handed pitchers last year. Jake Lamb had a more modest 0.322 wOBA versus lefties, but he was still a developing player in 2015.
As reported by: MLB Press and FanGraphs Other tagged players: Jake Lamb, Juan Nicasio Brock Holt starting at SS for Boston, no Xander Bogaerts
Brock Holt is batting 6th for Boston, facing off against Mike Fiers in Houston.
As reported by: MLB Press Other tagged players: Brock Holt, Mike Fiers Daniel Murphy missing from the Nationals lineup today
Daniel Murphy is not in the lineup today, giving Stephen Drew an opportunity to bat 5th against Phil Hughes on Saturday.
As reported by: MLB Press Other tagged players: Stephen Drew Carlos Rodon is facing 5 RHB and three of them are Andrus, Holaday, and Desmond
The Rangers and White Sox game features two pitchers, Carlos Rodon and Colby Lewis, that are the epitome of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Of the 20 pitchers with the worst SIERA so far this season, Carlos Rodon is one of two pitchers on that list who has a K% of greater than 20%. The only other pitcher in that group, Joe Kelly, just headed to the DL with a shoulder injury. Even though Rodon has a 0.376 wOBA versus righties, the fact that the Rangers strike out the 8th most in the league this year against left-handed pitchers (26% of the time), leads one to believe we might see the more effective version of Rodon today (Beltre and Desmond are the only power RHB in the Rangers lineup!).
As reported by: MLB Press and Fangraphs Other tagged players: Adrian Beltre, Ian Desmond, Bryan Holaday, Delino DeShields Eddie Rosario and Miguel Sano get to face a struggling Tanner Roark in Minnesota
Tanner Roark has historically been an equal opportunity pitcher, giving up production to batters on both sides of the plate. In a few start sample size, he is keeping up the trend with a 0.446 wOBA versus right hand batters in his first few starts. Miguel Sano has been swinging the bat well lately and both of his homers this year have come off right handed pitchers, leading to his 0.354 wOBA versus RHP. Eddie Rosario is batting second, earning a higher spot in the batting order with his recent production.
As reported by: MLB Press and Fangraphs Other tagged players: Eddie Rosario, Tanner Roark Tanaka should not fear the predictably left heavy Rays lineup
The Rays strike out 26.8 % of the time against RHP this year and Masahiro Tanaka is on the mound for the Yankees on Saturday which means the analytically driven Rays can construct a lineup full of lefties. Tanaka was about equally effective when facing both righties and lefties last year with wOBAs of 0.296 and 0.280, respectively, making Kevin Kiermaier and Corey Dickerson deceptively below average plays today. Look elsewhere unless you think Tanaka’s solid start to the 2016 is a mirage.
As reported by: MLB Press and FanGraphs Other tagged players: Kevin Kiermaier, Masahiro Tanaka, Logan Morrison, Mike Miller