DFS Alerts
White Sox in Good Spot vs. Aaron Sanchez
Aaron Sanchez has been incredibly lucky this year with a 3.21 ERA despite a 5.11 xFIP and 5.34 SIERA. Sanchez has a 5.5% K-BB, as well as an 8.3 Barrel%, 89.8 aEV and 43.3% Hard hit rate, all near the bottom of the league per Statcast. His .370 xwOBA ranks 19th worst in the league among 137 qualified starters. Sanchez has been worse vs. LHB in his career with a .356 xwOBA vs. LHB compared to a .314 xwOBA vs. RHB. Yonder Alonso (.342 xwOBA vs. RHP since 2018), Yoan Moncada (.338) and Charlie Tilson (.294) all are in the middle of the order for the White Sox and are good options. Moncada is enjoying a breakout year with a .419 xwOBA vs. RHP so far. Also a LHB, Leury Garcia (.279 xwOBA vs. RHP since 2018) will lead off and has run more this year with 5 steals in 2019. Jose Abreu (.365 xwOBA vs. RHP since 2018) is also firmly in play despite not having the platoon advantage vs. Sanchez. The White Sox have a 4.18 implied line vs. Sanchez and the Blue Jays Sunday Afternoon.
Other tagged players: Jose Abreu, Charlie Tilson, Leury Garcia, Yonder Alonso, Aaron Sanchez
Slugger Facing Struggling Starter
Hudson continues to struggle against lefties, allowing an awful 1.314 OPS to that handedness. 8 of his 9 homers allowed have also been against lefties. The Pirates should have a bunch of lefties in their lineup if they’ve picked up on this, which includes Adam Frazier, Gregory Polanco, Josh Bell, Melky Cabrera, Colin Moran and Cole Tucker. I don’t love this Pirates team as a whole, but Polanco, Bell and Frazier really make a nice three-man stack. Feel free to roll out a full-on lefty stack if you’d really like, but I really have my eyes set on Polanco and Bell, with Frazier being a valid one-off for some salary relief too.
MIA-NYM postponed due to inclement weather Sunday
The game between the Miami Marlins and New York Mets on Sunday afternoon has been postponed due to forecasted inclement weather throughout the remainder of the day and into the evening hours. The teams have already announced that today’s previously scheduled game will be made up on Monday, August 5 at 4:10 pm EST as part of a traditional, single-admission doubleheader. Players from this matchup will not accrue fantasy points on Sunday’s daily fantasy slates across the industry, so be sure to remove them from lineups as soon as possible.
As reported by: the New York Mets via Twitter
Cheap Leadoff Hitter Getting A Chance
With Matt Carpenter getting a day off for the Cardinals, Harrison Bader draws the start for St. Louis and will bat leadoff. He’s cheap around the industry and will hold the platoon advantage over lefty Steven Brault. Behind Brault is an even worse Pirates bullpen. I love Bader for his pop and speed, and he’s a cash game target of mine.
Good Spot for Martin Perez this Afternoon
With weather concerns it certain spots today, there really isn’t a ton of safe SP options on the main slate. Martin Perez could be a solid option vs. the Tigers, who have a middling 100 wRC+ and a 6th worst 27.6% K rate on the year vs. LHP. Perez is currently having a breakout year with a career high in K rate at 22.8% thanks to a much improved 11% SwStr, up almost 4 points from last year. Perez’s success has largely been the result of his new cutter, which he is throwing 35% of the time to the tune of a .199 xwOBA allowed. His ERA at 2.83 is much higher than his estimators (4.38 xFIP, 4.36 SIERA) but his .256 xwOBA ranks 7th best in the league among 137 qualified starters. The Tigers projected lineup today features just 3 batters with an xwOBA > .305 vs. LHP since 2018. The Tigers have just 3.51 implied runs vs. Perez and the Twins.
Sneaky Stack
I like stacking the Cardinals up in GPPs against the lefty Steven Brault. The Cardinals lineup is loaded with a bunch of righties that do well against left handed pitching. Guys like DeJong, Ozuna, and Martinez have a 278 ISO or higher to left handed pitching and the Cardinals are bottom 10 in strikeouts to lefties. I think this could be a low owned sneaky stack today in GPPs.
Sneaky Stack
I like stacking the Cardinals up in GPPs against the lefty Steven Brault. The Cardinals lineup is loaded with a bunch of righties that do well against left handed pitching. Guys like DeJong, Ozuna, and Martinez have a 278 ISO or higher to left handed pitching and the Cardinals are bottom 10 in strikeouts to lefties. I think this could be a low owned sneaky stack today in GPPs.
Sneaky Stack
I like stacking the Cardinals up in GPPs against the lefty Steven Brault. The Cardinals lineup is loaded with a bunch of righties that do well against left handed pitching. Guys like DeJong, Ozuna, and Martinez have a 278 ISO or higher to left handed pitching and the Cardinals are bottom 10 in strikeouts to lefties. I think this could be a low owned sneaky stack today in GPPs.
Sneaky Stack
I like stacking the Cardinals up in GPPs against the lefty Steven Brault. The Cardinals lineup is loaded with a bunch of righties that do well against left handed pitching. Guys like DeJong, Ozuna, and Martinez have a 278 ISO or higher to left handed pitching and the Cardinals are bottom 10 in strikeouts to lefties. I think this could be a low owned sneaky stack today in GPPs.
Sneaky Pitching Option In GPPs
Griffin Canning has looked pretty good in his first two major league starts. He gets a matchup with the Orioles who are bottom 10 in ISO and wOBA to right handed pitching this season. Canning has 13 strikeouts in his first two starts with only two walks. He gets an extreme pitcher’s umpire behind the plate with winds blowing in. As long as they let him go a little deeper into the game, I think he has upside especially on FanDuel at 7300.
Great Power And Speed Combo
The Royals get the lefty Cole Irvin in his major league debut. Cole has struggled in the minors striking batters out this season with only a 15% strikeout rate. Whit Merrifield is one of my favorite one offs today. This season, Whit has been awesome against lefties with 405 ISO, 408 wOBA, 51% fly ball rate, and 41% hard hit rate. Whits power and speed combination makes him my top spend up at the position.
Top Spend Up In GPPs
Caleb Smith is my top spend up in tournaments today. So far this season, the Mets strikeout the fourth most in major league baseball to left handed pitching. Smith’s numbers so far this season have been awesome with a 34% strikeout rate and a 16% swinging strike rate. He is my preferred pivot off Noah Syndergaard chalk today in GPPs.
A Great Spot For A Lefty Masher
Cruz has always flashed more power potential against left-handed pitching, and he’s one of my favorite plays of the day with a matchup against a mediocre lefty in Daniel Norris. Cruz has an ISO around .290 against lefties since the start of the 2018 season, and the Twins also get a Tigers bullpen that’s likely a bit tired after playing a double-header yesterday. Don’t be surprised if Cruz gets a hold of a long ball this afternoon.
Tons Of Potential
A lot of people still think of Giolito as a gas can, but this has always been a pitcher with a ton of potential. He’s starting to capitalize on that, with a sub-4.00 SIERA and xFIP so far this year to go along with a 29% strikeout rate and a solid bump in swinging strike rate. This is a fine matchup against a disappointing Blue Jays offense, and Giolito remains affordably priced on every DFS site. If you’re looking for upside at a reasonable salary tag, this is a great spot to look.
Top Arm Thanks To Weather
The weather is not looking good in New York today, and the Marlins/Mets game seems likely to get rained out. This requires a pivot away from the obvious answer of Noah Syndergaard. That works out just fine, as Snell is a perfectly viable pivot on the high end. He rebounded from a few poor outings with an absolutely dominant performance against the Diamondbacks his last time out, allowing just one hit while piling up nine strikeouts over six scoreless innings. He threw just 83 pitches and didn’t have to go deeper into the game since the Rays had a huge lead. His 2019 numbers are elite with a 35% strikeout rate, a 2.77 SIERA, a 2.71 xFIP, and a 25.6% hard contact rate. Even against the Yankees, this is a great spot.