BvP for MVP – July 27

Tonight we have the middle school cafeteria salisbury steak of DFS baseball slates – the Wednesday split.

This makes providing BvP plays a little more challenging, but it does help keep me on my toes I guess.

Like usual, we will focus on the night games only. Should you wish to dabble in the early slate and want some BvP options, you can check out dailybaseballdata.com (I recommend a look at Maddy-B for your pitching options, *wink*).

Less talk, more rock!

Yu Darvish – SP – Rangers – vs. Oakland Athletics

PvB: 18-for-72, 2 3B, 1 HR, 13 RBI, 13 BB, 21 Ks, 3 SB

Analysis: Yu is back…well, sort of! He hasn’t pitched more than 6 innings in a single game (but that did come in his last start). However, his strikeout rate is ridiculous! At 13.5 K/9, Yu obviously has shown no ill effects from Tommy John surgery. Tonight he is the top-priced pitcher on DraftKings and he is facing a team that doesn’t whiff very often. I don’t care though. If his stuff is on, the A’s are going truly be the swinging A’s but without much contact.

Carlos Correa – SS – Astros – vs. Masahiro Tanaka

BvP: 3-for-6, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 1 SB

Analysis: Many of you were hoping the Astros wouldn’t s*it the bed last night against the ageless C.C. Sabathia. But when you woke up this morning, did you feel anything wet, warm and moist down there? That’s the remnants of the Astros’ night (unless you rostered Marwin freaking Gonzalez!). Now the Stros’ get Tanaka (the Japanese media are going to be all over Texas tonight aren’t they?), a pitcher who doesn’t have a ton of K upside, but does pitch better on the road than at home. I actually like Tanaka at home tonight, but I like Correa more. Correa has struggled with lefties this season, but he’s crushed RH pitching all year long (.249 ISO, .383 wOBA). I think Correa’s price coupled with the matchup and recency bias make him a great tournament play tonight (but also cash games in my book).

Mike Trout – OF – Angels – vs. Danny Duffy

BvP: 3-for-6, 1 2B, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 BB

Analysis: Danny Duffy has really come into his own as a pitcher this season. With that said, there’s not a better hitter in baseball than Mike Trout. Surprisingly, Duffy has struggled more at home than on the road, having given up 9 HRs at Kaufmann and just 4 on the road. He has a respectable 3.70 ERA at home, but he is prone to long balls against righty bats, allowing 1.41 HR/9. Trout is a deadly force to roster every night of the year and tonight is no different.

Salvador Perez – C – Royals – vs. Matt Shoemaker

BvP: 6-for-8, 1 2B, 1 HR, 2 RBI

Analysis: I have two value plays tonight that should go way under owned in tournaments. My first is Salvador Perez at catcher. He’s facing the resurgent Matt Shoemaker, who like his opposition at pitcher (Duffy), has been a strong pitcher most of the season. Salvador has been on a tear of late and is a solid bat to roster at home where has 10 of his 14 homeruns this season. Also on Perez’s side is Shoe’s reverse splits, allowing a .331 wOBA and a 1.41 HR/9 to the right side of the plate. In my opinion, Perez is going to make flip flops out of Shoemaker.

Justin Morneau – 1B – White Sox – vs. Jason Hammel

BvP: 7-for-14, 5 2B, 3 RBI, 4 BB

Analysis: Low and behold we have a Justin Morneau siting!!! What in the hell is wrong with me? Lots of things, but Morneau is my official BvP “Darling of the Night” (Yes, we are keeping this title the REST OF THE YEAR PEOPLE!). Morneau has made his way back to the majors (probably just in time to be traded, too), but he’s been able to put some hits together since returning and while people don’t like to pick on Hammel, I do, because he’s overrated and only reliable against teams like the Phillies, Padres and Braves. Hammel has allowed a .356 wOBA to lefties this season along with a whopping 2.52 HR/9 rate for long balls. I believe I might put 100% of shares into the Island of Dr. Morneau tonight.

Only 5 picks tonight, so now on to the BvP lineup of the night.

Analysis: Archie Bradley is a sneaky play tonight for me. He has a 8.76 K/9 strikeout rate and is facing a Brewers club that strikes out a lot and is mostly RH. Bradley owns a .288 wOBA and a .200 batting average against righties this season. Anyway, Bryant and Contreras are just two of the Cubs i will have exposure to against the hapless Anthony Renaudo. Profar and Gomez round out the rest of this lineup.