Jeremy Hazelbaker Daily Fantasy News, Rankings, Projections

Ryan Vogelsong has just a 7.5 K-BB% with a 3.56 ERA more than a run below his estimators because 18.5% of his runs have been unearned. He's in a nice park to suppress RH power in Pittsburgh, but LHBs have continued to torch him. They have a .378 wOBA and 32.3 Hard% since last season. While Matt Carpenter's offense is a major blow to this offense, it still doesn't interest us in Vogelsong, but does make Kolten Wong (104 wRC+ vs RHP since 2015) more interesting. He's just $3.3K on DraftKings ($1K less on FanDuel) and brings a 233 wRC+ (55.6 Hard%) over the last week to the top of the lineup tonight. Matt Adams (95 wRC+, .190 ISO vs RHP since 2015) is another cheap LHB we can look at on FanDuel ($3.5K). Brandon Moss (136 wRC+, .336 ISO vs RHP this season) is the top bat here, but has a -34 wRC+ and 11.1 Hard% over the last week. Jeremy Hazelbaker (122 wRC+, .262 ISO vs RHP) costs just $2.1K on FanDuel.

A .262 BABIP has helped Chad Kuhl keep his ERA below four and a run below his estimators despite just a 9.6 K-BB%. Although this park destroys RHBs, LHBs have hit him very well so far (.345 wOBA, 34.6 Hard%). While there don't appear to be any great bargains in this lineup, the LHBs have to be looked at and Matt Carpenter (151 wRC+, .259 ISO vs RHP since 2015) projects well in almost any spot against a RHP. Matt Adams (95 wRC+, .192 ISO vs RHP since 2015) returns, but that's probably a downgrade for this lineup forcing Brandon Moss to the bench. Hazelbaker (120 wRC+, .262 ISO vs RHP) and Wong (104 wRC+ vs RHP since 2015) are both just above the minimum price on Fanduel.

Jose Urena has an ERA above five with estimators to match in 93 major league innings with just an 11.8 K%. He's shown almost no split with LHBs having a .340 wOBA against him and RHBs just two points lower. The Cardinals lose a bit of potency without Stephen Piscotty tonight, but still have several affordable bats on FanDuel that project well for the cost, while that's harder to say on DraftKings with higher price tags. Greg Garcia (138 wRC+ vs RHP this season) is a great value at 2B in the leadoff spot for $2.1K as is Aledmys Diaz (149 wRC+, .229 ISO vs RHP) at SS for $2.9K. Tommy Pham (145 wRC+, .246 ISO vs RHP this season) and Jeremy Hazlebaker (109 wRC+, .222 ISO vs RHP) are reasonable punt Outfielders lower in the batting order.

Matt Carpenter is on paternity leave, but Holliday and Grichuk sit tonight as well because Joe Ross has a major platoon split (.345 wOBA vs LHBs, .225 vs RHBs). While the initial thought was that Carpenter's absence would give him a boost, that doesn't appear the case with the Cardinals severely altering their lineup to match up against him with just three RH bats. These are all LH bats with a 107 wRC+ or better vs RHP since last season too with just Kolten Wong (80 wRC+) dropping below that mark this year. Jeremy Hazlebaker (128 wRC+, .278 ISO vs RHP) hasn't gotten much playing time recently, but gets a major bump at leadoff for less than $4K on DK and $3K on FD. Matt Adams (162 wRC+, .250 ISO vs RHP this season) and Brandon Moss (138 wRC+, .337 ISO vs RHP this season) are both red hot bats (200+ wRC+ over the last seven days each) who are strong overall and value plays tonight for less than $3.5K. Aledmys Diaz is on the tougher side of the platoon split, but is still an affordable SS hitting 2nd with a 156 wRC+ and .252 ISO vs RHP. Ross has spiked a double digit SwStr% in three of four starts, which is encouraging, but his struggles with LHBs against a good offense from either side of the plate makes him a difficult sell for $8K tonight.

Brandon Moss was very likely going to be a popular play tonight against Jered Weaver (4.72 ERA, 5.32 SIERA), who has allowed a .341 wOBA to LHBs since last season. The Cardinals have a 122 wRC+ vs RHP, built on RHBs that hit righties well. This is a strong lineup with every batter holding a 99 wRC+ or better vs RHP since last season. The top half are all strong plays tonight, led by Matt Carpenter's 151 wRC+, .254 ISO vs RHP. In fact, the top three along with Grichuk and Hazlebaker are all above a 120 wRC+ vs RHP since 2015. The Cardinals are a great and more affordable alternative to an Orioles stack tonight.

Shelby Miller has been a disaster in Arizona. His devastating 8.59 ERA actually matches his FIP and it doesn't get any easier tonight with his old team coming to town. Matt Holiday left yesterday's game with an injury and remains out, while Matt Adams sits for the 2nd night in a row forcing a bit of a shakeup in the St Louis lineup. Jeremy Hazelbaker (163 wRC+, .419 ISO vs RHP) returns to the lineup to bat leadoff, pushing Matt Carpenter (150 wRC+, .252 ISO, 41 Hard% vs RHP since 2015) into the three spot. Stephen Piscotty (120 wRC+ vs RHP) and Randal Grichuk (145 wRC+, .284 wRC+ vs RHP) should be a part of your Cardinals exposure too in the two and four spots in a friendly hitting environment. Additionally, three Cardinals (Carpentar, Grichuk, and Moss) in tonight's lineup have an average batted ball distance above 250 feet this year, all top 20 marks in the majors (20 batted ball minimum).

The Cardinals continue to shuffle batters in and out of the cleanup spot as Stephen Piscotty is the one with a seat tonight in favor of Matt Adams. It didn't help them last night as they were shut out at home. Tonight they have to deal with not only Jason Hammel, but also potential thunderstorms (you'll want to watch for Kevin's late update). Hammel has only allowed one run, but walked seven in his 12 innings so far. He's in a tough spot, not cheap, and rarely sees the 7th inning, but could be a formidable opponent for these Cardinals. Hammel has no real platoon split and St Louis has several tough bats against RHP, including Carpenter (154 wRC+ vs RHP since last season), Hazelbaker (165 wRC vs RHP), and Grichuk (146 wRC+ vs RHP). Matt Holliday hits RHP well too and has a 255.97 average distance so far, one of the better marks in the league with Carpenter and Grichuk also above 250 feet. While the best move is to probably avoid this game with all of the uncertainty, the more interesting move might be some of the St Louis bats.

John Lackey is a pretty average pitcher at this point. He'll strike out about an average number of batters, but don't expect him to strand over 80% of his batters like he did last year again. As such, he is a bit over-priced taking on his old team in St Louis, where the Cardinals are tattooing the ball (163 wRC+, 14.2 K%, 37.2 Hard%, 18.6 HR/FB at home, 146 wRC+, 17.5 K%, 34.0 Hard%, 17.3 HR/FB vs RHP). They won't keep up those rates, especially in a home park that's not exactly power friendly, but it's a good lineup, making us skeptical of Lackey at current cost tonight. He has been much stronger against RHBs (.269 wOBA) than LHBs (.337 wOBA) since last season, which is perhaps why Grichuk sits in favor of Moss (99 wRC+, .219 ISO vs RHP since last seaon) in the cleanup spot tonight. Matt Carpenter would be the premier option in this lineup vs RHP at the top (155 wRC+, .254 ISO, 41.0 Hard% vs RHP since last seaon) as well as Hazelbaker (190 wRC+, .370 ISO, 30.4 Hard% vs RHP in his rookie season), though his price has gone up and he's not a proven commodity yet. Holliday (131 wRC+) and Piscotty (122 wRC+) both hit RHP at a well above average rate too, but we're not too enthusiastic about attacking Lackey too hard from that side of the plate tonight. He's average, not bad.

Last season, Brewers SP Wily Peralta gave up a .376 wOBA to LH bats and a .349 wOBA to RH bats. Facing a potent Cardinals offense is a recipe for DFS goodness and there are plenty of bats to target on the St. Louis side of things. Matt Carpenter, the red-hot Jeremy Hazelbaker, and Brandon Moss are left-handed bats to target and we can also stack those three with the likes of Matt Holliday and Randal Grichuk. The Brewers struggling offense face Jaime Garcia who might be the safest play of the early slate. The Cards are the biggest favorites of the early slate and Garcia doesn't give up a ton of HR's (6 allowed last season). He doesn't have big strikeout upside though so his ceiling is limited. On sites like FanDuel though that 12 point win bonus is huge. If you are going to target any Brewers, it needs to be Ryan Braun who had a .421 wOBA last season against LHP.

Chase Anderson struck out five in five shutout innings against Houston, but lasted just 18 batters for whatever reason and had an average 9.4 SwStr% against a team that swings and misses often. The Cardinals don't strike out as much and Anderson had just a 17.3 K% last season. Though it's a pitcher's park it's really not an enviable spot for a marginal pitcher against the Cardinals for $7.5K on DraftKings. There's not a ton of interest on either side of this matchup with several pitchers to pick on tonight, though Carpenter excels against RHP (155 wRC+, .251 ISO, 40.7 Hard% vs righties since last season). Hazelbaker in the two spot has been hot (274 wRC+), while the three through five hitters (Holliday, Piscotty, and Grichuk) are all at least a 120 wRC+ vs RHP since 2015. A St Louis stack might not be out of the question.