John Jaso Daily Fantasy News, Rankings, Projections

Exactly half of the teams on a 12 game slate have an implied run line above 4.75 runs, where the Rockies once again top the board at 6.71 implied runs, a full run above their opponent, the Mets (5.79). While Chris Flexen had a difficult debut in San Diego (four walks), he did have a 24.0 K-BB% in seven AA starts before making the jump. Tyler Chatwood, though, has been lit up only even making two post-All-Star break appearances totaling five runs and five walks in 1.1 innings. He has a -4.4 K-BB% in 23 innings since June 18th, in which LHBs have a .462 wOBA against him. Michael Conforto (140 wRC+, .258 ISO vs RHP since last season) and Jay Bruce (127 wRC+, .279 ISO vs RHP since 2016) both have a wRC+ above 150 with a hard hit rate above 40% over the last week and should be a staple of daily fantasy lineups tonight. Considering the stat of pitching on this slate, perhaps high cost offense is the way to go. Pittsburgh is a place where players may look at more affordable bats though. Robert Stephenson walked seven in his last start. RHBs have a .389 wOBA and 36.2 Hard% in 71.1 career innings, but LHBs have been even better (.419 wOBA, 43.4 Hard%). Adam Frazier (260 wRC+ last seven days) costs $2.7K on FanDuel, Josh Bell (115 wRC+, .208 ISO vs RHP career) is less than $4K on either site and John Jaso (106 wRC+, .162 ISO vs RHP since 2016) costs $2.6K or less on either.

While pricing generally tightens up as the season wears on and players will be hard pressed to find the kind of cheap or even minimally priced value that was often available in April and May, there should be a wider search for low cost bats with both Max Scherzer and Chris Sale on the mound. Occasionally, you'll have to go against other top pitchers in order to find them, but it can often be worth it when these hitters don't have to do much to pay off. Despite a matchup with Chris Archer, Derek Fisher is likely under-valued on either site ($3.3K DK/$2.5K FD). He leads off for Houston and may be able to take advantage of Archer's tendency for hard contact (though mostly on the ground) with a 204 wRC+, .313 ISO and 53.9 Hard% vs RHP so far. Eric Sogard is not what he appeared to be earlier in the season, but he still costs less than $3K in the leadoff spot for the Brewers and Carlos Martinez has been vulnerable to LHBs (.332 wOBA since last season). Jarrod Dyson has no such illusions of facing a quality arm. In fact, he's in Texas against Nick Martinez (LHBs .401 wOBA since last season), where his 101 wRC+, .137 ISO vs RHP this year is fine for $3.4K on DK ($1K less on DraftKings) batting second for the Mariners. Teammate Ben Gamel is only $500 more on FanDuel out of the leadoff spot. Adam Frazier costs $2.7K at the top of the lineup against Homer Bailey (LHBs .380 wOBA since returning from injury). Teammate John Jaso bats lower in the order, but costs even less ($2.6K or less on either site).

No batter currently confirmed for today's lineup on the day slate has a wRC+ above 300 over the last week. Counting unconfirmed lineups as well, light hitting SS Orlando Arcia is currently the hottest bat on the afternoon slate with a 290 wRC+, 37.5 Hard%, and three HRs over the last week. Although LHBs are preferred against Ubaldo Jimenez (.309 wOBA vs RHBs since last year), he should be batting with runners on base and does not cost much. Andrew Knapp (270 wRC+, 42.9 Hard%, no HRs) just passes the 10 PA. min requirement (11) and has a tough matchup against Jameson Taillon. John Jaso (258 wRC+, 41.7 Hard%, two HRs) faces Mark Leiter, but has not been a full time player. Rookie Luke Voit (256 wRC+, 55.6 Hard%, one HR) also has just 11 PAs, but he is in the lineup, batting cleanup for the Cardinals against Jose Urena (RHBs .329 wOBA since last season). J.D. Martinez (249 wRC+, 52.9 Hard%, two HRs) is already expected to be well represented in the lineup with the top implied run line this afternoon against Matt Cain.

Joe Votto (324 wRC+, 50 Hard%, one HR) is the hottest batter in the majors and the only one on the slate with a wRC+ above 300 over the last week (10 PA min.). That and just general all around greatness (166 wRC+, .263 ISO vs RHP since last season) are reasons for his exorbitant price tag at Coors ($5.8K DK, $5K on FD). John Jaso (281 wRC+, 33.3 Hard%, two HRs) has a difficult matchup against Aaron Nola (LHBs .317 wOBA, 29.9 Hard% career, RHBs .292 wOBA, 27.2 Hard%) as does Andrew McCutchen (274 wRC+, 38.5 Hard%, no HRs). Against a pair of LHPs though, Hanley Ramirez (278 wRC+, 50 Hard%, two HRs) and Khris Davis (274 wRC+, 45.5 Hard%, four HRs) might have better matchups. Ramirez (165 wRC+, .299 ISO vs LHP since 2016) may be a slightly better bat against southpaws, certainly under better conditions in Texas. Many probably perceive the matchup as superior as well, though Martin Perez and Carlos Rodon both have allowed a wOBA just above .340 to RHBs since 2016. Perez has allowed the harder contact (33.6 Hard% to 27.9%).

John Jaso (345 wRC+, 50 Hard%, two HRs) has the top wRC+ in the majors over the last week (10 PA min.). He's in a somewhat difficult spot at home against Johnny Cueto tonight, who is allowing a hard contact rate above 35% to LHBs this year and 8.2% Barrels/BBE overall. The biggest surprise about Jaso this year is a power spike (.222 ISO vs RHP). Caleb Joseph (337 wRC+, 85.7 Hard%, 1 HR) is the only other batter with a wRC+ above 300, but that's only in 11 PAs and Jacob Faria is probably not the guy you want to play a light hitting, bottom of the order catcher against, although weather conditions in Baltimore are expected to be ripe for power. Danny Valencia (282 wRC+, 40 Hard%, one HR) faces rookie Parker Bridwell (RHBs .352 wOBA, 45 Hard%), who has an 89.7 mph aEV so far. Khris Davis (264 wRC+, 57.1 Hard%, three HRs) hits RHP well (141 wRC+, .298 ISO this year), but Mike Foltynewicz has held RHBs to a .310 wOBA and 25.4 Hard% since last season. George Springer (260 wRC+, 31.6 Hard%, three HRs) might be the top play on this list. Michael Pineda has little platoon split (RHBs .324 wOBA since last season) and is coming off a start in which he allowed three runs. An interesting thing you'll find is that if you sort on Fangraphs by hard hit rate over the last 7 days (10 PA min. again), eight of the 12 batters at 60% or above are catchers.

The Boston Red Sox have a significant lead on the field with a 6.29 implied run line, well over half a run more than any other team. Eight more teams are implied for 4.9 runs or more. More affordable Boston bats like Dustin Pedroia, Chris Young, Sandy Leon, Jackie Bradley Jr. and whoever ends up at 1B if Hanley Ramirez misses again (Hector Santiago has actually been worse against LHBs) could provide a pathway to pay up for Max Scherzer. LH Cleveland bats should be popular against Tyson Ross as will Toronto stacks against Kevin Gausman (RHBs .373 wOBA since last season). Another spot players may want to look for affordable bats is LH Pirates. Alex Cobb has surrendered a .359 wOBA (37.3 Hard%) to LHBs since last season and the Pirates are employing a more balanced lineup in recent weeks. Adam Frazier (105 wRC+) has been a league average bat against RHP, while both Josh Bell and John Jaso have an ISO above .200 against them. On the other side of that matchup, batters from either side have a wOBA above .340 against Trevor Williams, though RHBs have a hard hit rate nearly 10 points higher (34.7% to 25.4%). The Rays have just a middling 4.42 implied run line.

Prices appear to be slowly increasing throughout the industry as we're nearly one-third of the way through the season, but with Chris Sale on the mound tonight, players are certainly looking to save and there are still quite a few bats with positive outlooks that will may allow you to do just that. John Jaso is in the middle of the Pittsburgh order tonight for just $3K on DraftKings, where he's OF eligible. He has a 114 wRC+ against RHP since last season and faces a struggling Julio Teheran (LHBs .344 wOBA since last season). Ryan Schimpf costs just $300 more and has a 244 wRC+ with a 62.5 Hard% over the last week. He, too, faces a struggling RHP (Robert Gsellman). Chris Young is likely to be the popular value play on FanDuel. He's just $2.5K against Martin Perez. Players willing to punt First Base may want to opt for Jaso's teammate Josh Bell (127 wRC+, .191 ISO vs RHP career) with a better lineup spot, hitting third tonight. Matt Adams (213 wRC+, 45.5 Hard% over the last week) is a $2.4K FD option on the other side of that matchup, against Trevor Williams. Javier Baez (115 wRC+, .188 ISO vs LHP since last season) leads off for the Cubs tonight against Matt Moore, who has allowed Barrels on 8.1% of PAs. Baez costs $2.9K on FanDuel. Andres Blanco has been about a league average bat (95 wRC+, .148 ISO vs RHP) when he gets opportunities since last season. He gets one tonight in the middle of the lineup and is eligible at several positions across the infield for less than $3K on either site, including the absolute minimum on FanDuel. Lucas Duda (103 wRC+, .178 ISO vs RHP since 2016) is another cheap First Base bat ($2.5K on FD) in the cleanup spot against Jarred Cosart.

On a non-Coors slate, a surprising four teams of 20 teams on the night slate have an implied run live of five or more with the Freeman-less Braves even closing in on that mark at 4.95 against Trevor Williams (6.04 ERA, 5.12 SIERA) at home. Although projected for just 4.55 runs, an interesting semi-stack might be the other side of that matchup for players looking to save money to pay up for Chris Sale. Julio Teheran has not enjoyed his new ballpark. He has allowed eight HRs in total this season with six of them to LHBs. Since last season, LHBs a .344 wOBA and 35.2 Hard% against him, while he's held RHBs to a .248 wOBA and 31 Hard%. While Pittsburgh is still a predominantly RH lineup, there are a few LHBs (some with mulit-positional eligibility on DK), who have been getting some playing time recently. Although they don't possess a lot of power, Josh Bell, John Jaso and Adam Frazier all have a wRC+ between 114 and 127 against RHP since last season and have at least a wRC+ between 170 and 187 over the last week. None are more expensive than $3.9K on DraftKings or $3.3K on FanDuel, allowing those who roster one or more of them potential salary flexibility in other areas of their lineup. Watch for lineup alerts to make sure that these players are in the confirmed lineup tonight.

Ian Happ is the easy and likely to be very popular cheap bat ($2.7K or less) in the middle of the top projected offense tonight. Further down in the same lineup, Miguel Montero ($3K DK, $2.5K FD) should be a popular cheap Catcher. The batting order spot shouldn't matter much as few Catchers have envious lineup spots tonight. Stephen Vogt (unconfirmed) could be an alternative option for a couple hundred more. John Jaso ($3.1K DK, $2.3K FD) bats second against Jacob Turner as well as Adam Frazier ($3.3K DK, $2.3K FD) as a Happ alternative out of the leadoff spot. Luis Valbuena costs an absurd $2.2K on FanDuel, hitting cleanup against Miguel Gonzalez. Looking for Outfield affordables at the top of the lineup brings players potentially Matt Joyce ($3.3K DK, $2.7K FD), who should be in the Oakland lineup, and Leury Garcia ($2.6K on DK) leading off for the White Sox.

Marwin Gonzalez bats seventh and is merely a league average bat against RHP, but has a league high 405 wRC+ over the last week with four HRs and Houston has the highest implied run line of the night against Nick Martinez. At just $3K on DK and $2.5K on FD, he should get strong consideration as an alternate bat in stacks as a salary saver with three to four strongly viable $10K pitchers on the mound tonight. John Jaso (119 wRC+, .160 ISO vs RHP since 2015) bats second against Rookie Davis (LHBs .553 wOBA) for just $2.3K on FanDuel, where the biggest obstacle appears to be weather related. Andrew Toles (125 wRC+, .206 ISO vs RHP career - $3.2 DK/$2.7 FD) is leading off for in the Dodger against Jeff Samardzija (LHBs .355 wOBA since 2015). Tim Beckham (118 wRC+, .168 ISO vs LHP since last season) bats leadoff for $2.9K on either site against Adam Conley (RHBs .316 wOBA since 2015). Batting sixth, FanDuel players have to look at Steve Pearce (139 wRC+, .243 ISO vs LHP since last season) for $2.2K against C.C. Sabathia (RHBs .343 since 2015). Joey Rickard (115 wRC+, .153 ISO vs LHP since last year) does not have a strong matchup against Drew Pomeranz (RHBs .300 wOBA since 2015), but does present a leadoff bat at the absolute minimum on FanDuel. Gorkys Hernandez (not yet confirmed), Carlos Sanchez, and Ben Gamel represent extremely cheap, but below average bats at the top of the lineup tonight.