Yoan Moncada Daily Fantasy News, Rankings, Projections

With most of the useable pitchers costing a decent amount, players will likely need to slot in a few value bats to complete their lineups. PlateIQ projections for FanDuel (which are fluid and updated throughout the day) suggest that the most value may be found in the Chicago (AL) lineup against Brad Keller. Batters from either side are between a .298 and .320 wOBA and xwOBA against him (essentially league average). The White Sox have a 4.81 team run total, while A.J. Pollock (65 wRC+ vs RHP this year), Yasmani Grandal (40 wRC+) and Yoan Moncada (64 wRC+) have all done very little this year, but have a longer track record of offensive success and all cost less than $2.5K. The sports books are expecting those five runs to come from somewhere.

The Minnesota Twins have one of the highest implied run lines on the board (5.26) and while Jorge Polanco is the only bat among the top 10 overall projections tonight, both Nick Gordon (110 wRC+, .164 ISO vs RHP) and Alex Kirilloff (89 wRC+) project as top of the board FanDuel values against Matt Manning, who hasn’t thrown a major league pitch since April, for $2.3K or less. Gordon is also the top projected DraftKings value on the board for $2.1K, but the only Twin among the top 10.

Tyler Anderson is no easy pickings with RHBs within three points of a .280 wOBA and xwOBA against him this year, but the Giants offer several cheap and potent right-handed platoon bats, who will likely get three shots against the lefty. Austin Slater (155 wRC+, .171 ISO) and Yermin Mercedes (151 wRC+ .171 ISO) have been equally proficient against LHP this year and each cost within $100 of $2.5K on FanDuel.

On DraftKings, Lars Nootbaar (103 wRC+, .202 ISO vs RHP) and Corey Dickerson (84 wRC+, .143 ISO) project as top of the board values against a fairly effective Keegan Thompson (19.4 K-BB% last seven starts). LHBs have just a .293 wOBA and .280 xwOBA against him, but the Cardinals do have a 4.8 run team total and both cost exactly the minimum.

Victor Reyes (103 wRC+ vs RHP) and Akil Baddoo (-3 wRC+) are both top of the board DraftKings values within $100 of the minimum against Chris Archer (LHBs .302 wOBA, .335 xwOBA). Down to a 5.7 K-BB% for the season, all of Archer’s estimators are well more than half a run above his 4.04 ERA.

Michael A. Taylor (121 wRC+ vs RHP) and Vinnie Pasquantino (88 wRC+) are also a pair of top projected DK values within $100 of the minimum against the cheap, but struggling Lucas Giolito, who is still much better against LHBs (.278 xwOBA, .281 xwOBA) than RHBs (.415 wOBA, .363 xwOBA).

A top pitcher to jump on tonight is Casey Mize in Chicago. The White Sox are not among the top four offenses above five implied runs tonight, but are just two more spots below at four and a half, which should keep them from being too popular. There’s also the perception that Casey Mize has improved this year. His velocity is up and 55.2% of his contact is on the ground. This doesn’t immediately appear like a pitcher we want to attack, but there are plenty or red flags here too. The first is that he’s not missing any bats (15.4 K%, 8.0 SwStr%) and the second is that ground balls have not precluded Barrels. Though he’s generated just 18 fly balls over four starts, six of them have been Barrels and five have left the yard with most of that coming over his last two starts. A stunning stat is that Mize has now faced just over 100 batters from each side of the plate in his career and LHBs are still well above a .400 wOBA and xwOBA against him, while RHBs haven’t exactly suffered either (.294 wOBA, but .356 xwOBA according to Statcast). Yoan Moncada (129 wRC+, .214 ISO vs RHP since 2019) is the top bat here. He does cost more than $5K on DraftKings (as do several White Sox), but is a full $2K less on FanDuel. Some extra added incentive is that the Tigers have had the worst bullpen in baseball (5.83 ERA, 5.32 FIP) this year.

It may not need to be said, but the bullpen to attack, without a doubt tonight, is the Detroit Tigers. Adding up their ERA, SIERA, xFIP and FIP and dividing by four puts them at 5.20. No other team is above five and only two more are above four and a half. The Detroit starter tonight, Jose Urena, has a 12.9 BB%, which should run up his pitch count quite quickly, though he has completed seven innings in back to back starts with just three walks. To make it even more enticing, Gregory Soto threw 26 pitches last night and may not be available. Since 2019, Urena has a large split (LHBs .398 wOBA), which greatly enhances Yoan Moncada’s outlook tonight (130 wRC+, .216 ISO vs RHP since 2019). RHBs also have a .321 xwOBA against Urena over that span, so full stacks are certainly warranted for a projected lineup that sees just one batter below a 100 wRC+ vs RHP since 2019. Only the Yankees have a higher implied run line than the White Sox tonight.

The Reds (4.82) and Rockies (4.73) are the next worst bullpens on our list and while both play in West Coast parks tonight, players rarely need additional incentive to attack Chi Chi Gonzalez (in San Francisco) or utilize Dodger bats. The Dodgers and Reds also went an extra-inning last night in a game where Tejay Antone and Lucas Sims both exceeded 30 pitches for Cincinnati.

Jordan Zimmermann is a below average pitcher with exceptional control, but too much hard contact (9.0% Barrels/BBE), which pushes his 6.32 ERA well above estimators just below five, though a 6.19 DRA and .365 xwOBA. He has a .424 xwOBA at home this season, but more importantly, LHBs have a .406 wOBA and .425 xwOBA against him this year. The White Sox don’t offer a lot from that side, but Yoan Moncada (149 wRC+, .246 ISO vs RHP this season) looks like a beast tonight. He has a 215 wRC+ and 57.9 Hard% over the last week and is a great one off choice tonight. Another interesting bat from the left side would be Zack Collins (94 wRC+, .255 ISO). He’s a cheap catcher in a great spot and hopefully finds himself in a decent lineup spot, but considering the matchup and price, he may be playable in any spot.

On a steady decline since 2016, Felix currently has a 6.96 ERA / 5.16 xFIP on the year with a 1.56 WHIP, 2.32 HR/9, 43.8% hard contact rate and an 8.9% SwStr over 54 and 1.3 innings in 2019. He spent almost 4 months on the IL with a shoulder problem from May to late August, and since returning on 8/24 has posted an 8.04 ERA with a 4% K-BB, 1.72 WHIP, 2.9 HR/9, 40% hard contact rate and .422 xwOBA allowed. Felix faces the White Sox tonight, who are not a great offense but could provide both some value in cash games and some low-owned upside in GPPs. Yoan Moncada (.400 xwOBA vs. RHP this year), Jose Abreu (.357), Eloy Jimenez (.346), Tim Anderson (.326), James Mccann (.314), Zack Collins (.299) and Leury Garcia (.264) are all potential options. Zack Collins had a 140 wRC+ / .265 ISO over 367 PA in AAA this year and has upside in the catcher slot at just $2.9k on Draftkings. Leury Garcia isn’t a great hitter, but does mix in a few steals (15 this year) and should leadoff at just $3.8k. Eloy Jimenez is crushing it over the past 2 weeks with a .479 xwOBA, followed closely by Jose Abreu with a .469 mark. The White Sox have currently have a 4.75 implied total, a number I wouldn’t be surprised to see them easily surpass.

The Chicago White Sox don’t contain a lot of firepower in their lineup, but a matchup with Glenn Sparkman may be too much to pass up. Aside from having just a 13% strikeout rate, Sparkman has allowed the highest aEV on the board (90.6 mph), which has led to a .362 xwOBA, which is tied for the worst mark on the board. While batters from either side of the plate have at least a .340 wOBA and xwOBA against him, LHBs have really punished him with a .385 wOBA, .374 xwOBA and 47.2 Hard%. This pushes the White Sox up to a 5.6 implied run line that’s currently seventh best on the board. Yoan Moncada (149 wRC+, .254 ISO vs RHP) is the lone elite LHB in the lineup, but consider Tim Anderson (133 wRC+, .188 ISO), Jose Abreu (100 wRC+, .221 ISO) and Eloy Jimenez (105 wRC+, .238 ISO) from the right side as well. Zack Collins (75 wRC+, .167 ISO) is a cheap Catcher eligible bat, who had a 140 wRC+ at AAA.

Lefty Brock Burke will be making his 2nd career star this afternoon vs. the White Sox after throwing 6 scoreless innings in his debut. Per Fangraphs, Burke has a future value of 40+ and is ranked 23rd prospect in the Rangers organization. Burke did post a respectable 3.18 ERA / 3.25 xFIP over 45 innings in AA this year, but still remains largely unproven and isn’t someone to shy away from. Recently returning Yoan Moncada and Eloy Jimenez to the lineup, the White Sox lineup has some good options for this matchup vs. Burke. Jose Abreu (162 wRC+, .250 ISO vs. LHP this year), Leury Garcia (114 wRC+, .156 ISO), Yolmer Sanchez (109 wRC+, .113 ISO), Tim Anderson (107 wRC+, .110 ISO), Eloy Jimenez (99 wRC+, .220 ISO), Yoan Moncada (95 wRC+, .193 ISO) and Wellington Castillo (84 wRC+, .210 ISO) are all good options this afternoon. Leury Garcia is a nice value, leading off at just $3.9k on Draftkings. Eloy Jimenez is just $4k, while Wellington Castillo is just $3.2k at a shallow catcher position and has a career wRC+ vs. LHP of 124. The White Sox currently have a 4.75 implied total and make for a nice contrarian GPP stack given their very low projected ownership.