Carlos Ruiz Daily Fantasy News, Rankings, Projections

Interesting would be one word to describe the Dodgers lineup tonight in Coors. The team opened with a projection of 5.8 runs and now are down to 5.1 runs, which is a very low total for Coors. Carlos Ruiz (143 wRC+, .152 ISO) is the only above average hitter against LHP in the lineup tonight, though Kike Hernandez (98 wRC+) still has a .193 ISO vs LHP. It's shocking in a fairly low priced lineup (only Turner is above $4K on Coors) that there aren't many bats to like. Part of the reason for that is Tyler Anderson, who has struck out 18 of his last 49 batters. He has a 16.7 K-BB% home and road with a 54.1 GB% and 7.1 Hard-Soft% at home. That's quite an accomplishment in that park. He's had success in this park and the Dodgers now have a 76 wRC+ against LHP since being nearly no-hit by Matt Moore last week. It's not really a terrible spot despite the park and he costs $6.2K on either site. Tyler Anderson is very playable tonight and expected to be owned less than 3% according to our Projected Ownership page.

Mike Montgomery struck out five of 15 Rockies in Colorado in his first start for the Cubs. He threw just 60 pitches though, which is a concern for tonight, but the Dodgers have great difficulty against LHP, as we saw last night, and now have just a 78 wRC+ (third worst) against them with just a 10.6 HR/FB. The Red Sox didn't win a World Series for nearly 90 years after trading Babe Ruth and the Dodgers could be in a similar situation here. The curse of A.J. Ellis is real. Though Carlos Ruiz shows up tonight, he bats sixth and is not even available on DraftKings tonight. He and Seager (120 wRC+, .199 ISO) are the only above average bats in this lineup vs LHP. Nobody else has a wRC+ above 90 and only Justin Turner also has an ISO above .130. Even expected to go just five innings, Mike Montgomery could make some sense in a good spot in your second DraftKings spot for just $5.3K.

Scott Kazmir may be a potential fade candidate with projected ownership above 30% on DraftKings (Rotogrinders Projected Ownership Page) and a $9K price tag on FanDuel because although the Phillies are the worst offense in baseball both at home (69 wRC+) and vs LHP (72 wRC+), they have an impressive 19.4 HR/FB and 11.8 BB% over the last week and those are two categories where he’s struggled this season with six HRs over his last six starts, while walking seven of his last 48 batters. Additionally, the Phillies are now able to run out a couple of lefty mashers in the middle of that lineup. Cameron Rupp, who is one of those mashers, is OUT, but Carlos Ruiz still has a 149 wRC+ and .185 ISO vs LHP since last season, while Maikel Franco (119 wRC+, .234 ISO vs LHP career) and Tommy Joseph (114 wRC+, .221 ISO vs LHP) have both flashed significant power against southpaws. Contrarian minded players could add Cesar Hernandez (109 wRC+ vs RHP since last season), who has a 201 wRC+ over the last week as part of a sneaky stack.

Wei-Yin Chen has been inconsistent and not very good this year. He's allowed 19 HRs, but more importantly, the Phillies have a 63 wRC+ with a 16.4 K-BB% at home and 64 wRC+ with a 17.9 K-BB% vs LHP. Additionally, they have a 22.0 K-BB% and 14.9 Hard% since the All Star break. By default and just by showing up, Chen becomes a top pitcher tonight, especially for just $6.8K on DraftKings, even if the Phillies do line up all RHBs, who have a .343 wOBA and 33.1 Hard% because many of those RHBs can't hit LHP. They have the second lowest run projection tonight (3.76). He did fail to strike out a Phillie in one of his two starts against them, but sent down six of 24 on strikes in the second attempt. The absence of two of Philadelphia's top bats in Herrera and Rupp tonight only strengthens his position, though Carlos Ruiz has remained strong vs LHP this season (149 wRC+, .231 ISO). Tommy Joseph (195 wRC+, .357 ISO vs RHP) is the one bat players should definitely not punt as he might be the top 1B bat behind Ortiz tonight, but Maikel Franco (109 wRC+, .232 ISO vs LHP career) is the only other bat near average against LHP this or last year, but he has a -91 wRC+ and 20 Hard% since the break. One thing in Philadelphia's favor tonight is umpire Laz Diaz expected to be behind the plate, who Swish Analytics rates as very hitter friendly.

Wei-Yin Chen struck out 12 of 27 Brewers in his last outing with his highest average velocity of the season, near last year's levels, but preceded that by striking out ZERO of these Phillies through five innings and has been a difficult pitcher to figure out. He does have an 11.2 career HR/FB and 0.98 GB/FB, making him a difficult start often in small parks without high strikeout upside. The Phillies are terrible (65 wRC vs LHP), so you might make an exception, but there are plenty of tremendous pitchers on the board tonight. That also means you're going to need to look into some low cost bats to afford them and Tommy Joseph has just seven major league PAs in two games this week, but he's a Catcher eligible bat hitting cleanup for the minimum cost, which makes him an automatic punt consideration at a tough position tonight. Carlos Ruiz (153 wRC+, .235 ISO vs LHP since 2015) might be the stronger bat behind him at a much higher cost though. Maikel Franco (122 wRC+, .267 ISO vs LHP) is a moderately priced power threat.

The Phillies are only the 2nd worst home offense (68 wRC+, 23.4 K%) and vs LHP (64 wRC+, 24.1 K%) because the Braves exist. They are likely the 2nd best matchup too tonight, making an inconsistent Adam Conley one of the top available pitchers on a weak and short slate. He's allowed four runs in three starts and none in three others with walks and strikeout numbers all over the place. There is at least some consistency in a 9.5 SwStr% in six of seven starts. He's occasionally been hit hard (35.1 Hard%), but even that number has only been above 30% in one of his last four starts and his aEV for the season is a modest 88 mph. If we're looking at Philly bats, we probably shouldn't because Conley has exhibited a reverse platoon split, holding RHBs to a .293 wOBA in his career, but Tommy Joseph may be a punt at Catcher for no other reason than he's batting 5th at the minimum cost. Carlos Ruiz has a 158 wRC+, .242 ISO vs LHP since last season and is more affordable on FanDuel, while it's difficult to pay up $3.7K on DK for even a cleanup hitter in a barren lineup.

The Phillies have just a 58 wRC+ that's worse than the Braves against LHP and sit Ryan Howard tonight, but still may offer more opportunity than the pitcher they face. Brandon Finnegan has struck out more than he's walked in just two of his last six starts and only by a combined three in those two starts. His ERA sits above four with a .214 BABIP. It's a shame we can't use him in this spot, but a few Philly bats offer some upside. Leadoff hitter Odubel Herrera remains hot (170 wRC+, 38.1 Hard% last seven days) in the $3.5K range on either site. Maikel Franco (132 wRC+, .280 ISO vs LHP) has a 45.0 Hard% over the last week, while Carlos Ruiz moves into the cleanup spot and has owned LHP since 2015 (159 wRC+, .246 ISO). None of these players cost more than $4K on either of the top two sites. It's telling the Phillies have a run projection (4.37) on the middle of the board despite their complete inability to create offense vs LHP this year.