Well, it was a good run while it lasted.
No, I am not talking about DFS, instead my summer vacation.
Today I have returned to the working world, and the only positive thing I can take out of it right now is that football season is right around the corner.
But with two months of the regular season remaining, there’s lots of baseball to be played, and while I might be back to work full time, we can always squeeze in a little daily fantasy baseball.
I will be interested to see how a new job at a new school plus a stay-at-home mom, an infant and fantasy baseball mix together. But I shall make this work!
Tonight we have a full slate of action around the league, including games at Coors and Chase Field. There are a couple big boys toeing the rubber, but pitching seems fairly weak tonight, in my opinion. It could be a night where scores are above average and lots of different stacks on our Expert Consensus that publishes later today.
Prior to checking lineups, if you haven’t yet, and enjoy BvP data, please check out dailybaseballdata.com for all stats for tonight’s games.
You can pick your friends, but you can’t pick your friends nose. That’s the saying right? Well, I am just talking about picks here anyway…
Daniel Murphy – 2B – Nationals – vs. Jeff Samardzija
BvP: 6-for-12, 1 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 4 RBI
Analysis: Will this man ever slow down? Daniel Murphy is slashing .358 on the season with 21 HRs and 80 RBIs. I believe many will flock to Jose Altuve tonight being the Murphy is the top 2B, but Murphy, for me, is the better option for cash games. If I am right on ownership, he becomes a nice tourney option, especially with the Coors bats in play. Samardzija has really fallen off the planet of late and has a .358 wOBA along with a 1.57 HR/9 rate to lefties. Murphy has three straight multi-hit games and smokes balls at home.
Evan Longoria – 3B – Rays – vs. Ervin Santana
BvP: 8-for-20, 3 HR, 4 RBI, 1 BB, 1 SB
Analysis: Despite the Rays season in the tank, Longoria has been one of the few bright spots for this lineup. He’s having one of his better years so far. Ervin comes into the Trop with reverse splits and Longo seems to always play better at home. Santana is not a bad tourney option, but I like Longo to send one of Santana’s balls gone-zo with 3 HRs in 8 hits against Erv.
Justin Morneau – 1B – White Sox – vs. Yovani Gallardo
BvP: 6-for-11, 2 2B, 2 RBI, 4 BB
Analysis: Last time I suggested The Island of Dr. Morneau, he didn’t play, so I’ve included him and another 1B tonight. Morneau has a nice little hitting streak going since getting the call up for the Sox and seems to be swinging the bat well at the plate. In worse form is Gallardo, whose .390 wOBA and .297 batting average against lefties is one of the worst in his career. This game is in a hitter’s park and Morneau comes in as a nice cheap option at 1B that will clearly have low ownership in tournies.
Carlos Beltran – OF – Rangers – vs. Dallas Keuchel
BvP: 6-for-15, 2 2B, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 BB
Analysis: After a sluggish start in his first game with his new team, Beltran has made a nice impact the past two games. I like Beltran tonight even against the extreme-ground ball inducing Keuchel, who also pitches well at home. I am playing narrative street that Beltran will want to stick to his former team, even if it has been a few years since donning an Astros’ uni. This is a tournament play only for me.
Paul Goldschmidt – 1B – Diamondbacks – vs. Chase Anderson
BvP: 2-for-3
Analysis: The top option at 1B for me is Goldy. He’s at a reduced price on DraftKings tonight and is facing a reverse-splits pitcher at the very hitter-friendly Chase Field. While Chase Anderson might want to stick it to his former team, I will take the bats having the upper hand on Chase, knowing his tendencies perhaps more than another opponent would. Anderson has struggled against RH bats this season as well, giving up a .421 wOBA, a .330 batting average against, a 2.08 HR/9 rate and 40% hard contact.
Marcell Ozuna – OF and Giancarlo Stanton – OF – vs. Jorge de la Rosa
Ozuna BvP: 4-for-8, 1 2B, 3 HR, 3 RBI
Stanton BvP: 3-for-13, 1 2B, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 3 BB
Analysis: Rounding out tonight’s picks is the duo of Ozuna and Stanton at Coors. Ozuna is the BvP Darling of the Night for me with 3 HRs in 4 hits against JDLR. Factor in Coors and you don’t need me to tell you anything else about that matchup. As for Giancarlo, he’s a little different than usual BvP picks. He has just 3 hits in 13 ABs as you can see, but he does have 3 walks and JDLR isn’t getting any better. I like Stanton overall at Coors, like most people will.
Lastly, tonight’s BvP lineup.
Analysis: Braden Shipley gets his first major league start at home against the Brewers. The Brewers tagged him for 6 ER in his first start of the season, so I am going to take the narrative that he was nervous in that road game and this time around he will have learned from his mistakes. In that game, he fanned 8 anyway and logged a respectable amount of fantasy points anyway. Taillon gets the Reds at home, so that’s one of my favorite plays at pitcher. Zunino (or Iannetta) will be my catcher against Lincecum. Segura gets the nod at SS as a little stack against reverse-splits Chase.
