DFS Alerts
Wade Miley makes his Orioles debut at home against new look Rangers
This is one of the more difficult situations to decipher tonight. Newly traded Wade Miley hasn’t been very good this year and gets a park downgrade, but may be rosterable tonight on two pitcher sites merely for the fact that he’s not as bad as most other pitchers (18.4 K%, 4.17 SIERA last 30 days) and did strike out nine of 23 in his last outing. The Rangers have a 90 wRC+ on the road and 101 wRC+ against LHP, but have improved their lineup with a couple of big additions this week. Jonathan Lucroy has just a 76 wRC+ vs LHP since last season however. He and DeShields are the only two bats that have a wRC+ below 110 vs LHP this year in today’s lineup. Remove Odor (110 wRC+) and everyone is above a 135 wRC+ against LHP with an ISO above .165 as well. This is a park that plays tremendously for LH power though, and Odor has a .223 ISO vs LHP this year and he’s also the only bat in the lineup with a wRC+ above 75 over the last week at 212. Since last season, Miley has held batters from either side to a hard hit rate below 28%, but RHBs do have a .338 wOBA as he has just a 9.3 K-BB% against them. Odor might seem like the most interesting and contrarian play here though.
Other tagged players: Jonathan Lucroy, Delino DeShields, Rougned Odor
Matt Moore gets first start for San Francisco today against Philly
Matt Moore will get his first start for the Giants today when they take on the Phillies and the move to the National League should benefit Moore over the long run. He’s a high-risk, high-reward option today facing a Phillies team that has some good RH bats in their lineup. The Giants face Vincent Velasquez who has been vulnerable to LH bats this season (.339 wOBA allowed) but he has been lights out at home where he is pitching today (.247 wOBA as opposed to .353 on the road). Buster Posey is sitting this one out for the Giants but the LH bats of Denard Span, Brandon Crawford, and Brandon Belt are secondary options for the afternoon slate. For the Phillies, Maikel Franco has a .388 wOBA and .250 ISO against LHP and is a top option. Carlos Ruiz is an interesting value option at catcher as he bats fifth and has a .388 wOBA and .200 ISO vs LHP this season (small sample size). Cesar Hernandez, Aaron Altherr, and Tommy Joseph are also worth a look.
As reported by: San Francisco Giants official Twitter feed Other tagged players: Buster Posey, Maikel Franco
St. Louis seeks revenge as they face left-hander Brandon Finnegan for the second time this season
Brandon Finnegan mowed down this St. Louis team when the squared off earlier this season, allowing just two earned runs and racking up seven strikeouts in seven innings of work. However, his 5.16 xFIP suggest that there’s some trouble ahead and this Red Birds lineup deserves your attention. Aledmys Diaz’ injury stings, but it did happen to coincide with the return of both Jhonny Peralta and Brandon Moss. Stephen Piscotty looks like the #1 option here as he not only smacked his 15th home run of the season in last night’s game but also sports a team high .465 wOBA against left-handed pitching this season. Tommy Pham and Jedd Gyorko stick at the top of the order, making them both fine value plays. In a day game after a night game, Yadier Molina gets a rare day of rest.
Other tagged players: Yadier Molina, Tommy Pham, Jedd Gyorko
Victor Martinez scratched
Martinez is ill and will sit out todays game for the Tigers. Miguel Cabrera will DH now with Andrew Romine moving to 1B and Tyler Collins now getting the start and playing CF. Nick Castellanos moves up to the clean up spot and gets a little increased value with the bump up in the lineup.
As reported by: George Sipple on Twitter Other tagged players: Nick Castellanos The often overlooked Minnesota Twins have a nice matchup awaiting them this afternoon in Cleveland
With rookie Mike Clevinger taking the mound for the Indians this afternoon, this Twins lineup has one of the better matchups on the board for the early slate. While Clevinger was solid at the AAA level, he’s been rudely welcomed to the big leagues and sports an ugly 7.71 ERA and 1.59 WHIP after his first four MLB appearances. Max Kepler picked up two more hits last night and now sports a ridiculous .318 average and 1.135 OPS since the All-Star break. Throw in the fact that he’s posted a .419 wOBA against right-handed pitching this season and he’s a terrific option in the outfield. Meanwhile, Brian Dozier just keeps on rolling. He’s hit four home runs in the last four games and will put his 12 game hitting streak on the line this afternoon as he bats out of the leadoff spot.
Other tagged players: Brian Dozier Jose Quintana looks to continue hot streak as White Sox take on Tigers
Jose Quintana of the Chicago White Sox will face off against Jordan Zimmermann of Detroit in one of five afternoon games this Thursday. Quintana looks to continue off an impressive July that saw him post a 1.95 ERA while striking out 29 in 32 1/3 IP. It’s a tough match up against a powerful Tigers lineup but Quintana has been one of the safer SP options this season – his upside is somewhat limited though so bear that in mind if you are going to roster him. Zimmermann has been unimpressive this season, especially at home (.380 wOBA allowed to RH hitters), and at his price point there are better options out there (Quintana being one of them). Zimmermann has exhibited reverse splits this season so the RH bats of Jose Abreu, Timothy Anderson, and Todd Frazier are your top options from the White Sox. While Quintana has been tough, there’s a solid argument to make for stacking some Tigers in a lineup or two as they mash LH pitching and have loaded their lineup with nine RH bats. The top of the order (Kinsler, Iglesias, Cabrera, Victor Martinez, and J.D. Martinez) are the top options for that stack.
As reported by: George Sipple on Twitter Other tagged players: Jose Abreu, Ian Kinsler Reds still pack some punch - have upside against Mike Leake
Despite trading away one of their best hitters in Jay Bruce, the Reds still have the ability to put up runs especially when facing an average pitcher like Mike Leake of the Cardinals who has allowed a .318+ wOBA to both sides of the plate this season. He’s slightly more vulnerable to lefties having given up 11 HR’s in 58 1/3 IP making Joey Votto the top play from the Reds side. Scott Schebler is in play as a value option batting sixth and Billy Hamilton always has upside leading off with his ability to steal bases. Adam Duvall rounds out the Reds you’ll want to target today. Brandon Finnegan takes the mound today and is coming off of arguably his best start of the season (6 innings of shutout ball). The Cardinals struggle somewhat against LHP but there are better SP options out there today and the risk of a disastrous outing is higher than the likelihood of a good one.
As reported by: Reds official Twitter feed Other tagged players: Scott Schebler The Ice-Cold Royals look to turn things around against Drew Smyly - Lorenzo Cain sitting out
The Royals own an abysmal (and easily MLB worst) .261 team wOBA since the all-star break, and therefore it’s just hard to get too excited about any of their fantasy outlooks at this point. However, Drew Smyly has served up an unhealthy 46.9% fly-ball percentage and subsequent 1.69 HR/9, making it dangerous to fade Kansas City entirely. Cheslor Cuthbert won’t draw much attention, but he’s quietly punished lefties this season; posting a .391 wOBA and .210 ISO. Don’t ignore Kendrys Morales or Salvador Perez either as they both swing dangerous bats in the middle of this order. Lorenzo Cain would have been a fine option too, but he’ll be watching this one from the pine.
Other tagged players: Lorenzo Cain, Salvador Perez, Kendrys Morales Tampa looks to stay hot this afternoon in the series finale with the Royals
Tampa’s bats were held silent in the first two games of this series, but they finally erupted for 12 in last night’s game. They have another fine matchup on tap this afternoon as Ian Kennedy not only owns an ugly 5.40 ERA in four starts since the All-Star break, but has also served up a troubling 1.93 HR/9 in 2016. Evan Longoria snapped out of a four game hitless streak last night and not only owns a team high .358 wOBA against right-handed pitching this season, but has also thrived in afternoon games where he’s posted a .327 average and 1.004 OPS.
There's some added home run potential for the Cleveland right-handed batters this afternoon against the fly-ball pitching Hector Santiago
Hector Santiago will make his Minnesota debut this afternoon, and while he’s pitched admirably down the stretch, his 5.12 xFIP and 1.49 HR/9 both add some appeal to this Indians lineup today. The usual suspects of Carlos Santana, Francisco Lindor and Mike Napoli are all fine options and Rajai Davis, Jose Ramirez and Brandon Guyer all see a nice fantasy boost in this matchup against a left-hander. Davis owns a solid .346 wOBA against southpaws during his career and slides into the leadoff spot this afternoon. The newly acquired Brandon Guyer may offer the best “bang for your buck” as he owns a .338 average and .460 wOBA against left-handed pitching this season.
Other tagged players: Mike Napoli, Rajai Davis Danny Valencia out of the Athletics lineup tonight, Jered Weaver has 5.9% K-BB% on the year
Weaver (5.56 SIERA) has struggled almost equally with batters from both sides of the plate making an Oakland stack a completely viable option in tournaments as a cost saving strategy. Weaver is allowing a 48.8% fly ball rate and 33.9% hard contact rate which makes him prone to blowups. He also has the ability to maneuver his way through outings without giving up too much damage if the BABIP goes his way. The top options in consideration for an Oakland stack would be Khris Davis (118 wRC+, .344 wOBA, .277 ISO vs RHP), Coco Crisp (.205 ISO vs RHP), and Stephen Vogt (.163 ISO vs RHP). Davis is the only Athletics bat that would viable for a one-off play if going that route.
As reported by: FanGraphs Other tagged players: Coco Crisp, Stephen Vogt, Jered Weaver
Dustin Pedroia and Hanley Ramirez missing from the Red Sox lineup tonight, LHB in decent spot versus Hisashi Iwakuma
Iwakuma is good control pitcher that doesn’t walk a ton of batters or strike them out frequently. Iwakuma has some struggles with left-handed batters as well, only inducing a 36.5% ground ball rate and allowing a 33.0% hard hit rate. Loading up on Red Sox bats may not be the way to go as Iwakuma rarely ever gets shelled, but David Ortiz (186 wRC+, .454 wOBA, .371 ISO) and Jackie Bradley Jr. (147 wRC+, .397 wOBA, .281 ISO) have mashed right-handed pitching and are firmly in play despite the ballpark downgrade. Mookie Betts (140 wRC+, .387 wOBA, .238 ISO) and Xander Bogaerts (128 wRC+, .369 wOBA, .158 ISO) both sacrifice the platoon advantage but still hit right-handed pitching well and should be included in any Red Stox stack. Brock Holt (.162 ISO vs RHP) would be the best candidate to round out the stack, if going that route, as he gets the bump up to the two-hole with Pedroia out of the lineup.
Other tagged players: Jackie Bradley, Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts, Hisashi Iwakuma Dodgers hitters could make for an interesting fade in tournaments tonight
The Dodgers definitely got the short end of the stick in regards to pitching matchup in this contest at Coors Field. Tyler Anderson (3.46 SIERA) has proven thus far that he is #good, even pitching well in his starts at home. Anderson has exhibited great control, only walking 4.4% of batters while inducing a 56.1% ground ball rate. This is the type of pitching profile that can play well at Coors Field since Anderson doesn’t solely rely on strikeouts to have success. Even with the high total, a Dodgers fade in tournaments could prove to be an interesting strategy as the Dodgers will attract ownership just due to the Coors Field affect. In fact, Anderson seems to be the preferred play in tournaments in this spot, although, I’m not sure we need to go there with some of the other pitching options in his price range. If targeting Dodgers bats, Scott Van Slyke (129 wRC+, .361 wOBA, .188 ISO vs LHP), Howie Kendrick (127 wRC+, .357 wOBA vs LHP), Enrique Hernandez (117 wRC+, .343 wOBA, .258 ISO vs LHP) are the options to consider.
Other tagged players: Scott Van Slyke, Howie Kendrick, Enrique Hernandez Kendall Gravemen struggling mightily on the road this season
Kendall Gravemen has been more or less an average pitcher in Oakland, but he tends to look much worse away from home. While he won’t experience much of a park drop off tonight, he’s still expected to struggle and targeting a handful of the Angels power bats could pay big dividends. Albert Pujols has been much better against LHP this year, yet he still owns some solid numbers against RHs (.325 wOBA, .174 ISO vs. RHP at home) and makes for one of the more interesting GPP plays at first base. Mike Trout (.448 wOBA, .254 ISO vs. RHP at home) is among the top overall plays at any position tonight, and Gravemen’s inability to keep the ball in the yard on the road only further increases Trout’s appeal. Kole Calhoun is also playable in this spot but he’s been ice cold lately and doesn’t possess very strong numbers against RHP (.132 ISO). Andrelton Simmons is one of the more viable punt plays at SS given his spot in the order, with Jefry Marte also potentially having some upside as part of an Angels stack.
Other tagged players: Albert Pujols, Kole Calhoun, Andrelton Simmons, Kendall Graveman
Kevin Roth's evening forecast expresses some concern in Colorado per usual
As Kevin states in his evening forecast, some risk seems to be the norm in Colorado around this time of year, but there is probably not enough concern at YELLOW/ORANGE to recommend fading two of the three highest projected run totals tonight. Read his full report on our Weather Page (linked below) to see the full forecast and follow him on Twitter (@KevinRothWx) for further updates.
As reported by: RotoGrinders Weather Page