Brandon Moss Daily Fantasy News, Rankings, Projections

According to the RotoGrinders Player Projections, Aaron Judge and Mike Trout are the top pieces on the board from an offensive standpoint and it's almost impossible to argue against that. Judge is on fire (376 wRC+, six HRs last seven days) and is facing a pitcher allowing 38.4% hard contact with a .386 wOBA to RHBs. Trout (191 wRC+, .358 ISO vs RHP) faces Reynaldo Lopez in Chicago. He's allowed RHBs just a 25 Hard% this season, but has struck out just four of his last 112 batters. Along with Gary Sanchez and Brett Gardner, the Yankees place three batters among the top 10 overall projections, the only offense with multiple batters at the top on either site. Several Kansas City bats (Brandon Moss, Mike Moustakas, Melky Cabrera) are priced below $3K on FanDuel and considered great values, all between 3.79 and 3.99 Pt/$/K. Jedd Gyorko (2.91 Pt/$/K) and Pedro Alvarez (2.91 Pt/$/K) are projected as top DraftKings values.

Bartolo Colon currently finds himself in the midst of a stretch since signing with the Minnesota Twins where he hasn't been completely terrible. In fact, he's managed to "limit" his opponents to four earned runs or less in all 10 outings, and somehow was able to manufacture a seven-inning shutout against the Milwaukee Brewers six short starts ago. He'll take the mound today for the eleventh time as a member of the Twins rotation against a Kansas City Royals lineup that is nothing special against right-handed pitching on the year, but are still in a perfect position to take advantage of a fastball pitcher like Colon that struggles striking hitters out (14.1% K%) from both sides of the plate. Although, on the season, Colon has been substantially worse against left-handed batters, evidenced by a 45.8% fly ball rate and 41.7% hard hit rate compared to a more respectable 49.0% groundball rate and 31.8% hard hit rate versus righties. Unfortunately, this Blue Jays squad lacks the ability to go super left-handed, but they do still possess a few bats that should be able to capitalize on Colon's low strikeout and massive hard contact numbers. This means that Eric Hosmer (153 wRC+, .404 wOBA, .205 ISO) and Mike Moustakas (129 wRC+, .370 wOBA, .287 ISO) are the premier one-off option from this Kansas City lineup given their plate skills and power upside against right-handed pitching, while Melky Cabrera (.194 ISO vs RHP) and Brandon Moss (.219 ISO vs RHP) should be firmly considered as second tier options that are viable in tournaments and members of Royals stacks. With that said, Colon isn't immune to right-handed batters by any means, but he certainly does have a better ability to control batted ball outcomes on a more consistent basis, which makes guys like Lorenzo Cain (117 wRC+, .352 wOBA vs RHP) and Salvador Perez (.222 ISO vs RHP) more effective as tournament options than core pieces to a cash game roster and are far from a priority for your lineups Sunday afternoon..

Artie Lewicki is a 25 year-old former eighth round draft pick in 2014 for the Tigers. He was names as an honorable mention (Future Value below 40) by Fangraphs in their pre-season organizational ranking in December without any standout tools. There's no pressure on him today, as the guy he's replacing in the rotation is just some marginal arm the Tigers traded away named Verlander. Lewicki has thrown just 31 innings above AA, striking out 27.1% of batters he's faced at AAA in that small sample. That's well above a league average strikeout rate he ran at AA for 177.1 innings over the last two seasons and a point or two higher below that. He has, however, exhibited solid control with a walk rate of 6.5% or below at every stop since high A ball. The Royals, who he'll host in his debut, are projected by Vegas for 4.87 runs, nearing the middle of the board, but still on the top half for the day slate. Kevin has not yet weighed in with the day's forecast, but the Weather page shows a strong wind (18 mph) potentially blowing in from right in this game. There is that element of the unknown in a pitcher making his major league debut, so the Royals may not necessarily be the offense to target for players here. Not a single bat in today's lineup has a wRC above 100 with a hard hit rate above 30% over the last week. Lorenzo Cain has a 181 wRC+ over the last week, but with a 10.5 Hard%. He has just a .130 ISO vs RHP this year. Eric Hosmer (143 wRC+, .193 ISO vs RHP) and Mike Moustakas (130 wRC+, .292 ISO vs RHP) are the top choices. Salvador Perez (104 wRC+, .221 ISO) and Brandon Moss (73 wRC+, .225 ISO) have shown power vs RHP as well. Melky Cabrera (107 wRC+, .134 ISO vs RHP) has improved on his season numbers since being returning to the Royals.

While RH Washington batters appear to have the top matchup tonight (.425 wOBA against Chris O'Grady through five starts), the complication in many other spots may be difficult park factors rather than pitcher proficiency. LHBs have a .361 wOBA (33.8 Hard%) against Matt Moore since last season, which is great for Anthony Rizzo (137 wRC+, .247 ISO vs LHP since 2016) if San Francisco weren't death to LH power. While park is not an issue in Cincinnati and LHBs have a .360 wOBA with 21 HRs against Tim Adelman since last year, among Padre regulars, Yangervis Solarte has the top ISO (.183) among LHBs against RHP since last year. RHBs are certainly an option (.339 wOBA, 37.9 Hard%). Wil Myers (.216 ISO), Jose Pirela (.220 ISO) and Austin Hedges (.253 ISO) all have an ISO above .200 against same handed pitching this year. In fact, Cincinnati is the only really power friendly environment in play tonight. RHBs have a .359 wOBA against Jordan Zimmermann since last season, but Pittsburgh has one of the lowest power factors for RHBs in the majors. While LHBs have done just as well (.345 wOBA, 35.9 Hard%), Josh Bell has been Pittsburgh's only proficient bat from that side this year (113 wRC+, .219 ISO vs RHP). LHBs have a .339 wOBA and 35 Hard% against JC Ramirez since last season, but it's another tough park and the Orioles are light in LH bats. The one big on they do have is yet another First Baseman (Chris Davis .267 ISO vs RHP this year). LHBs have a 45.3 Hard% against Ian Kennedy this season, but have only homered against him four times at home this year and of course, we're looking at First Base again (Matt Carpenter 128 wRC+, .216 ISO vs RHP this season). Carlos Martinez has similar issues against LHBs (.351 wOBA, 38.4 Hard% this year), but only Mike Moustakas (.296 ISO) and Brandon Moss (.202 ISO) have an ISO above .200 against RHP this year. At least they don't play First Base.

Despite a star studded night of pitching, there's a game at Coors as well as Ubaldo Jimenez facing the Astros, which ensures there will be some enormous implied run lines as well. Sure enough, the Rockies are once again over-valued at a slate leading 6.39 implied runs against an improving Trevor Williams (3.81 ERA/3.83 SIERA/20.5 K%/54.1 GB% over the last month), but the other team above six runs is the Kansas City Royals (6.05) facing James Shields. Kevin is forecasting a hot and humid affair with temperatures in the mid-90s. Players may be finding themselves with a number of Royals in their lineups as they are quite affordable on either site as well. They cap at Eric Hosmer's $3.4K on FanDuel with only Lorenzo Cain ($3.1K) also being above $3K. No Kansas City bat is above $4K on DraftKings. Whit Merrifield (108 wRC+, .178 ISO vs RHP this year) has turned into an actual leadoff hitter for this lineup and has a 182 wRC+ since the break. Brandon Moss could be the cheap value play here though. He has a 143 wRC+ and 50 Hard% since the break. He's now OF eligible on both sites, which means you won't have to punt First Base to roster him. Nine additional offenses currently have an implied run line of at least 4.9. Six of tonight's pitchers have an 18+ HR/FB this season, including Ricky Nolasco, who has surrendered a league leading 26 HRs this year. Interestingly, not all of these HR machines line up with the top run lines tonight, including Nolasco against a slumping Red Sox offense (4.37) with a team 59 wRC+ since the break. Andrew Moore has allowed eight HRs in four starts, but a similarly slumping Yankees offense (66 wRC+ since the break) has a run line of 4.64 tonight. Mike Fiers (20.8 HR/FB) is one pitcher who may not deserve a 5.03 run line against him. Baltimore has a 15.7 K-BB% vs RHP and Fiers has a 16.2 K-BB% and 3.5 Hard-Soft% since incorporating a sinker in mid-May.

Michael Fulmer has a declining strikeout rate (just nine of his last 81 batters), but strong contact management (85.6 mph aEV, 27.4% 95+ mph EV) has led him to a .266 BABIP and 6.3 HR/FB that may not be sustainable, but could serve him well against an impatient Kansas City offense (6.3 BB% vs RHP) without much power (9.1 HR/FB). He's gone at least eight innings in three of four starts and these Kansas City traits should keep his pitch count low enough that it's a strong possibility again. A warm and humid forecast makes it a more power friendly environment than that big park usually is, which is somewhat of a concern when paying more than $9K for mostly contact managment. The Royals are smack in the middle of the board with a 4.44 implied run line, but the Daily K Predictor only has Fulmer for 3.84 tonight (second lowest) even though the RotoGrinders Player Projections have him as either the third or fourth best arm tonight without any Kansas City bats grading out particularly strongly. Eric Hosmer (120 wRC+, .178 ISO vs RHP since last season) does have a 100.5 mph aEV (seven BBEs) with a HR against him in 13 PAs. Hitting the ball hard has never been his problem though. It's been getting it off the ground (24.7 FB% vs RHP since last season vs Fulmer's 48.2 GB% vs LHBs). Fulmer has little platoon split for his career, holding all batters below a .280 wOBA, though LHBs have a 31.3 Hard% (exactly four points higher than RHBs). While both Mike Moustakas and Salvador Perez have a 120+ wRC+, .240+ ISO vs RHP this year, neither has a wRC+ above 50 since the All-Star break. Aside from Whit Merrifield (177 wRC+), it's been the bottom of the Kansas City order than's come out hammering since the break. Alcides Escobar (177 wRC+, 40 Hard%) and Brandon Moss (136 wRC+, 33.3 Hard%) are the only other batters in the lineup above a 75 wRC+ over the last week. This spot seems to call for either siding with Fulmer or fading, but buyer beware that he may not have the strikeout capabilities to make up for any trouble he finds himself in tonight. One additional consideration is that Fulmer throws his slider 30% of the time to RHBs and PlateIQ tells us that most Kansas City RHBs have handled the slider well this year, while Moustakas and Moss handle the change fairly well (Fulmer's favored secondary pitch against LHBs).

Nick Martinez will be making his first start of the season in tonight's game against the Kansas City Royals. To put it mildly, Martinez is not a Major League caliber starting pitcher, evidenced by a career 11.9% strikeout rate to lefties and a 13.4% strikeout rate to right-handed batters leading to a 5.17 SIERA. The low strikeouts combined with a minuscule 34.7% ground ball rate to left-handed batters and inability to induce soft contact or limit hard contact has led to a career .348 wOBA to lefties and .358 wOBA to righties. In other words, this is a great spot to target a Royals offense, that is on the road with a significant ballpark upgrade, that should go overlooked with other high total games on the board. The primary reason they will likely fly under the radar is that they are typically an underwhelming lineup to target given their lack of overall power in a pitcher's park at home but are more than playable on Saturday's slate in a matchup with an equally underwhelming pitcher on the road. Mike Moustakas (129 wRC+, .360 wOBA, .282 ISO vs RHP since 2016) is the Royals bat that clearly possesses the highest upside, but Eric Hosmer (113 wRC+, .343 wOBA, .169 ISO since 2016) also hits right-handed pitching well and should have an easier time launching the ball in the air against Martinez, effectively adding to his home run probability. Brandon Moss (.302 ISO) is off to a horrendous start out of the gate this season, but he did exhibit massive power in 2016 versus righties and should have an easier time making contact in this matchup. The remaining Royals hitters like Salvador Perez, Lorenzo Cain, and Alex Gordon are better utilized to round out a stack in tournaments, though a case can always be made for Perez (.196 ISO vs RHP since 2016) as a one-off considering the typical dearth of options at the catcher position on a nightly basis.

Matt Shoemaker is off to a relatively uninspiring start to his 2017 campaign after failing to pitch past the fifth inning in both starts this season, cumulating in a brutal outing his last time out, allowing seven runs (six earned) in just 4.1 innings pitched against the Seattle Mariners. A huge reason for his struggles is an astronomical 11.9% walk rate, which is significantly higher than the 4.5% walk rate he posted last season. When you combine the walks and an oddly low 11.9% strikeout rate, it's not surprising to see why Shoemaker has struggled the early going. On the positive side, Shoemaker has induced an 11.0% swinging strike rate through two starts, which is basically in line with his career mark, meaning we can expect his strikeout rate to begin to normalize towards the 21.4% he posted in 2016. Conveniently, he draws a matchup with a Kansas City Royals squad that is striking out at a 23.4% clip versus right-handed pitching thus far, which is currently good for eighth-worst in the league. On a five-game slate, it's difficult to say any stack is out of play, but the Royals stack certainly checks in towards the bottom of the list given their overall lack of power throughout the order. Mike Moustakas (139 wRC+ .375 wOBA, .310 ISO vs RHP in 2016/17) appears to be the biggest threat for Shoemaker to work around given his low 12.9% strikeout rate versus right-handed pitching the last two seasons, while Brandon Moss (.302 ISO vs RHP) is a more boom or bust one-off option with his massive 30.4% strikeout rate to right-handed pitching last season (38.7% in 2017). That is, of course, if siding with the Royals side of this matchup in tournaments, which is not the recommended optimal strategy.

Robert Stephenson allows a ton of walks (9.9%) with fly balls (42.4%) leading to some significant home run issues (2.17 HR/9). That is a terrible recipe for a pitcher, but a great combination for the St. Louis hitters tonight. He has sketchy control and allows the fly balls to both right and left-handed batters, which puts Cardinals batters into play in all formats. They can be used in cash games, stacks, or as one-offs. Stephen Piscotty (.166 ISO vs RHP) is ridiculously priced at $3.4K on DraftKings, and is basically a must play in cash games, and at $3K on FanDuel, we can use him in cash there as well. Matt Carpenter (142 wRC+, .385 wRC+, .261 ISO vs RHP) returns to the lineup tonight and is the clear best second baseman option. Jhonny Peralta (.151 ISO vs RHP) is also underpriced on DraftKings at $3.1K. Anyone in this lineup could homer tonight, but the players to focus on are Brandon Moss (.304 ISO, 42.8% hard hits vs RHP) and Randal Grichuk (.243 ISO, 42.2% hard hits vs RHP).

Tim Adleman has allowed 13 HRs in 57.2 innings with just an 8.7 K-BB%. His ERA would be well over five if not for a .247 BABIP and 85 LOB%. Despite the fairly neutral park and unfriendly power environment, this is a pitcher players can look to target with a run projection of five runs for a reshuffled Cardinals lineup without Matt Carpenter tonight. While batters from either side have hit Adleman well (.330+ wOBA), it's interesting that the Cardinal bats range from a 99 wRC+ to 123 vs RHP this season, but cleanup bat Matt Adams may be the most attractive with a .213 ISO vs RHP as well and a 276 wRC+ over the last week for less than $3K on FanDuel. Grichuk, Gyorko and Moss all add ISOs above .240 vs RHP this season, though Moss (-74 wRC+ over the last week) has been ice cold for a while now.