It’s hard to believe we are almost into June. School is almost over for me, and despite having to come back to work after graduation ceremonies, it still doesn’t feel like the end of the school year.
It also doesn’t feel like we have ventured two months into the 2018 MLB season either, but here we are.
Of note, once I get out of school, Daily Overlay will be rolling out a PlayDraft-only article on Tuesdays and Thursdays (hell, maybe more if we can get some traction behind it). If you haven’t checked out PlayDraft, you definitely should. It’s by far the most fun I have playing DFS, especially MLB DFS.
More on that article to come as we get closer to launch, but expect it the week of June 11.
Now back to today. I am focusing on the evening slate for today, so while I would love to talk about the debut of Alex Reyes and how much I hate the Indians, I will stick to the script for tonight. Obviously, Coors is on the slate, so they are off limits for The Stack, per my own rules. But there’s plenty of other routes for us to take. But Nolan Arenado and Trevor Story are going to be lock buttons for me, so I will not be recommending any other 3B or SS on this slate. Chris Iannetta might make that lock button, too, but we will see. Derek Holland is on the mound for the Giants and he’s terrible and I despise him.
Anyway, let’s get to it and may the Schwartz be with you!
WASHINGTON NATIONALS
1. Bryce Harper
2. Juan Soto
3. Matt Adams
4. Mark Reynolds
Justification – No Astros, no Indians, no Red Sox, just Coors. So the Nationals are going to be chalk No. 2 tonight against Baltimore starter David Hess. I am going the lefty route hear because Story and Arenado are locks at their positions for me. Harper is seeing and hitting the ball with ease at the moment. He’s got a .392 wOBA and a .342 ISO against RH pitching. Adams’ numbers this season are even better than that with a .432 wOBA and a .363 ISO. Soto is still feeling his way around against RH pitching, but he has a 40% hard contact rate. That kind of contact is going to result in extra-base hits and Hess is the worst pitcher on the slate, in my books, so maybe today is the day. As for Mark Reynolds, he’s a career lefty masher, but he’s on a tear right now against RH pitching. If you feel like hopping on that train, Reynolds holds a .587 wOBA, a .750 ISO and a 53% hard contact rate all the while holding a .111 BABIP. And why else do I like the Nats so much? Because Hess, like I said, is awful – .420 wOBA and 1.35 HR/9 against lefties this season to go along with a 36% hard contact rate allowed and a HR/9 rate of 2.53.
