Cameron Rupp Daily Fantasy News, Rankings, Projections

With just two part time players (Cameron Rupp 308 & Matt Szczur 306) above a 300 wRC+ over the last week (10 PA min.) players may need to lower their expectations for the league's hottest bats, although Rupp has three HRs over the last seven days as well. Jose Altuve (287 wRC+, 31.8 Hard%, one HR) could have a big night against Jordan Zimmermann (RHBs .365 wOBA since last season) and has to be considered one of the top batters on the slate. Manuel Margot (287 wRC+, 50 Hard%, two HRs) is coming off a strong home stand, but actually transitions to a park that's much harder on RH power in Pittsburgh against a pitcher who has stifled RHBs this year (299 wOBA vs Chad Kuhl since last season). Luis Valbuena (282 wRC+, 70 Hard%, three HRs) is unlikely to see opportunities against J.A. Happ. James McCann (280 wRC+, 50 Hard%, 0 HRs) only has 12 PAs over the last week, but now has a 146 wRC+ with a .308 ISO and 46.1 Hard% against LHP since last season. While he faces Dallas Keuchel tonight (RHBs .308 wOBA since last season), he hasn't seen major league action in nearly two months and may not be up to his normal standards. Austin Jackson (274 wRC+, 28.6 Hard%, 0 HRs) hasn't hit the ball particularly hard and has only the requisite 10 PAs, but he's in a great spot (RHBs .494 wOBA vs Derek Holland since the start of June) and has pummeled LHP this year (168 wRC+, .250 ISO, 34.7 Hard%).

Players paying up for pitching are likely hunting for cheap bats, which makes Dixon Machado potentially the most popular player tonight, but there are several other spots where players can save tonight. Tyler Flowers is likely to be a popular Catcher, but John Hicks has shown well against fly ball pitchers in a small sample size and costs the same as Cameron Rupp ($2.7K DK, $2.2K FD), which is $500-$900 cheaper than Flowers tonight. At First Base, Adrian Gonzalez hasn't hit this year, but both he and Matt Adams are well under $3K on FanDuel. Chase Utley is one of the hottest hitters in the league (282 wRC+ over the last week) and is a reasonable pivot from Machado for just a few hundred more. Players can consider Nick Castellanos or Luis Valbuena (vs Kyle Gibson) at right around $3K on DK and a few hundred less on FanDuel. Allen Cordoba (vs German Marquez) remains a very cheap SS atop the San Diego lineup. Kole Calhoun should be getting a lot of love in the Outfield where DraftKings has him priced just $2.6K ($100 more on FanDuel). The last thing to mention for those seeking salary relief is that the entire Milwaukee lineup costs less than $2K on FanDuel tonight. Kershaw has been a bit HR prone on occasion this year. For Strasburg enthusiasts, one Milwaukee OF bat like Keon Broxton leading off or Domingo Santana have a shot to pay dividends if they do anything and allow for more expensive choices elsewhere.

While there are potentially a number of value bats on DraftKings, if we're truly looking for cheap bargains, Rickie Weeks (152 wRC+, .321 ISO vs LHP since 2016) and Tyler Collins (113 wRC+, .153 ISO vs RHP since 2016) are each in the top half of their lineup for $2.6K or less on either site. While most players may try to find the extra few hundred for Brian McCann (vs Andrew Cashner), players who don't mind Catchers batting lower in the order and need more savings could look towards Alex Avila (135 wRC+, .209 ISO vs RHP since 2016) or Cameron Rupp (148 wRC+, .286 ISO vs LHP since 2016) for $3.1K or less on DK, $2.6K or less on FanDuel. Brandon Guyer (151 wRC+, .194 ISO vs LHP since 2016) bats sixth against a lefty (Daniel Norris), but costs less than $3K on either site. Not yet confirmed, Andrew Toles (125 wRC+, .208 ISO vs RHP career) could bat leadoff against Johnny Cueto for more than the minimum. If players are looking for a below average cheap one in the leadoff spot, Peter Bourjos (78 wRC+ vs LHP since 2016) is your man for just $2.7K on DraftKings.

Players looking to save salary tonight should probably be looking to punt Catcher more than any other position and that makes Robinson Chirinos a really interesting name despite the fact that he's batting eighth. The upside against a pitcher who allows so much hard contact (37.1% vs RHBs since 2015) may be high enough to overcome lineup spot for the cost ($3.1K DK/$2.6K FD) Chirinos has a 135 wRC+, .261 ISO vs LHP since 2015 and hits in a great park in Texas tonight. Cameron Rupp (144 wRC+, .286 ISO vs LHP since 2015) is another bat low in the order that could provide some cheap ($2.4K FD) power behind the dish. He and Willson Contreras (116 wRC+, .198 ISO vs RHP) are both $3.3K on DK. Michael Conforto ($3.2K DK) and Seth Smith ($2.8K) are two very affordable, though not incredibly cheap leadoff options. Players are much less likely to want to go cheap at First Base, but Kennys Vargas mashes lefties (220 wRC+, .388 ISO since last season) and costs just $2.4K on FanDuel, batting fifth against Cole Hamels, who hasn't been himself this year. Delino DeShields costs just $2.2K on FanDuel out of the leadoff spot for Texas, but has just an 84 wRC+, .106 ISO vs LHP since 2015. The same can be said about Jaff Decker (88 wRC+, .085 ISO vs RHP) for $2.3K on FD, $2K on DK. Although it's not confirmed yet, stay alert for the San Diego lineup, which has some potential for cheap bats up top in a great park.

Your Wednesday night Bargain Basement team is headed by several min-priced bats in the leadoff spot tonight, including last night's start Gorkys Hernandez (although tonight against a RHP), Joey Rickard (131 wRC+ vs LHP last season) and Andrew Toles ($2.1K), who sits atop a Dodger lineup projected to score 4.7 runs tonight according to our Vegas Odds page. Tommy Joseph and Cameron Rupp are also $2.4K or less with ISOs greater than .280 vs LHP, though weather could potentially move that game off the board. Leadoff men Toles, Hernandez and Rickard are also $3K or less on DraftKings tonight, where Matt Joyce ($2.4K) also projects for some value atop the Oakland lineup tonight. He bounced back with a 141 wRC+ and .234 ISO vs RHP last year.

The Phillies RH bats towards the heart of the order absolutely have upside this evening, especially as low-cost GPP options. Brandon Finnegan allowed 27 HRs to RH bats last season, good for a 1.83 HR/9 rate, a number that jumped to 2.27 in Cincinnati, where he'll be pitching tonight. The Phillies themselves certainly aren't lefty mashers - they ranked 2nd to last in ISO against LHP last season, better than only Atlanta - but Finnegan's issues keeping the ball in the yard puts guys like Maikel Franco, Tommy Joseph, Aaron Altherr and Cameron Rupp into play. Tommy Joseph is arguably the most intriguing of the group - not only is he available for minimum price at FanDuel, but he finished a short 2016 with strong splits against LHP (.383 wOBA, .281 ISO) and it definitely doesn't hurt matters that he'll get to do battle in one of the more hitter friendly parks in the league. Franco also displayed solid power numbers against lefties last year (.238 ISO), which sets him up as one of the better mid-range plays at 3B. Weather could be an issue in Cincinnati on Wednesday, so make sure to stay up to date with Kevin Roth's weather updates as well as the DFS Alerts App.

James Shields has been a bit all over the place with his performance this season, but he has spent much more time on the absolutely terrible side of the map. For the season Shields has a 16.0% strikeout rate and a 10.0% walk rate with a 5.18 ERA and a 5.84 SIERA. He has eight starts where he’s allowed six or more runs and 15 starts with three or fewer strikeouts. When Shields has been off, he has been worse than any pitcher in the majors. He has bad control to left-handed batters (11.9% BB%) leading to a ton of base runners, with fly balls (41.9%) and hard hits allowed to right-handed batters (40.0%). Tommy Joseph (.251 ISO vs RHP), Maikel Franco (.155 ISO vs RHP) and Cameron Rupp (.173 ISO vs RHP) are the Phillies hitters with the most upside and can be sprinkled throughout tournament lineups or as a core to a Philadelphia stack. Don’t ignore Odubel Herrera (122 wRC+, .356 wOBA, .164 ISO vs RHP), who won’t be highly owned due to his salary but will be right in the middle of the action if the bad Shields shows up tonight.

Cameron Rupp (172 wRC+, .431 wOBA, .321 ISO vs LHP), Tommy Joseph (131 wRC+, .370 wOBA, .247 ISO vs LHP), and Maikel Franco (128 wRC+, .366 wOBA, .252 ISO vs LHP) all have the ability to take advantage of Rodon in this spot. Even Aaron Altherr can be thrown into the mix as well, but he is basically a strikeout waiting to happen (28.6% K%). Outside of those three Phillies hitters, there is not much reason to fear using Rodon in this matchup. While some of the Phillies have some pop against left-handed pitching, there is a reason they have the third-worst wOBA (.288) and the second-worst ISO (.113) in the big leagues against left-handed pitching. In tournaments, Rodon is one of the main pitchers we should look to roster, as he provides similar floor and upside to some of the higher priced pitchers on the slate for a discounted price.

Ross Stripling went seven innings in his last start, despite five runs (two HRs) and only struck out four Pirates. He has a below average 9.8 K-BB% with a 34.5 Hard% and is probably no better than a fifth or spot starter on a decent team. He is in a great spot though. The Phillies have been a bit better recently (113 wRC+ last seven days), but are still the worst home offense (69 wRC+, 15.9 K-BB%) and second worst vs RHP (82 wRC+, 14.8 K-BB%) in the majors. He's not a poor choice on a two pitcher site like DraftKings for $5.6K if paying up for a top pitcher, but may struggle to cover $7.2K on FanDuel. Interestingly, he's been much worse vs RHBs (.328 wOBA, 37.5 Hard%) as has also been the case in the minors, which makes the Philadelphia RH bats slightly interesting in a favorable park for RH power. Franco, Altherr and Rupp are all nearly average hitters vs RHP with some power, but not enough to talk too much about. Rupp's $2.7K cost behind the plate on FanDuel might be the most intriguing. Ryan Howard (104 wRC+, .249 ISO vs RHP since 2015) has been hammering the ball recently (226 wRC+, .45.5 Hard%) and Odubell Herrera has been their best bat vs RHP (119 wRC+ since 2015), costing just $2.8K on FanDuel. Perhaps it's situation to avoid offensively on DraftKings though, as the pricing algorithm seems to like Phillies bats more than Vegas (4.0 runs).