Matt Harrison Daily Fantasy News, Rankings, Projections

The big news would seem to be Freddie Freeman's (161 wRC+, .432 xwOBA, .279 ISO vs RHP since 2017) presence in the lineup tonight after it was feared he had suffered another major hand injury after a HBP last night. It's difficult to decide what to do with that. Perhaps a look at his projected ownership later (available to premium subscribers via the Projected Ownership page or LineupHQ) will better inform the thought process for players. If it looks as if there is some hesitancy due to potential effects, higher exposure may be worth the risk. The opposite may also be true if ownership rates project to be normally high. Matt Harvey has not excelled against RHBs since last season (.335 wOBA, 52.6 GB%), but has really been lit up by LHBs (.421 wOBA, .418 xwOBA, 37.1 Hard%, 31.9 GB%) and that has continued to be true through a few starts in 2018. He's gone exactly five innings in each start (four ERs in each of the last two) with a reasonable 19.4 K% (8.7 SwStr%) and 3.81 SIERA, but doesn't really seem to be fooling anybody (46.2 Z-O-Swing%) and continues to get hit hard (.392 xwOBA, 89 mph aEV). The Braves don't have enough RHBs to make this work despite the low cost on DraftKings ($6.3K). The confirmed lineup has just a 17.7 K% vs RHP since last season (PlateIQ). Harvey has been frequently throwing his fastball and slider against batters from either side of the plate this season, mixing in 15% changeups to lefties. Not only has Freeman hit all of those pitches well, but so has Ozzie Albies (98 wRC+, .170 ISO vs RHP) according to PlateIQ. Albies also has a lineup leading 205 wRC+ (44.4 Hard%) over the last week. His price is climbing, but he also adds a speed dimension against a combination that can be liberally run on. Preston Tucker (163 wRC+, .275 ISO, 46.7 Hard%) also seems like a low cost flyer worth taking ($2.8K DK) with Kevin forecasting a 15 mph sustained wind out towards right.

Several batters have multiple HRs against the pitcher they are facing tonight with strong supporting exit velocity rates. Jose Abreu has punished Corey Kluber with three long balls and a 93.7 mph aEV on 14 BBEs, though he has also struck out in 10 of 38 PAs. Players might be inclined to side with Carlos Santana against Miguel Gonzalez, who has been punished by LHBs with a wOBA above .400 with a 40% hard hit rate over the last month, but it's Edwin Encarnacion, who has homered three times in 38 PAs against him with a 93.7 mph aEV on 10 BBEs with just three strikeouts. Matt Kemp has also handled Matt Harvey well with three HRs in 15 PAs (two this year) and a 94.8 mph aEV on nine BBEs. Interestingly, three of the batters with two HRs against tonight's pitcher are Mets (Curtis Granderson, Lucas Duda, and Jay Bruce) with Bruce having the highest aEV (94.8 mph) and the fewest PAs (29).