So I missed Star Wars Day.
And today is Cinco de Mayo.
Tomorrow is May 6th.
And tonight is another day of Major League Baseball, the best DFS sport there is.
Now, there are a lot of weather concerns going into tonight’s slate. Pittsburgh (which I hate has rain concerns), Philly, New York and Atlanta all have potential weather hazards. From the looks of it Thursday night, PIttsburgh might have the greatest chance of being postponed.
Because of the Pittsburgh weather, I will not recommend players from that game. However, SHOULD it play, here are the players you SHOULD play – Gregory Polanco (my boy), Eric Thames, Josh Bell and Travis Shaw. All of them hit RH pitching well and the pitchers they are facing give up gobs of hits to lefties.
Tonight we have 13 games, assuming all weather holds up. I love the Rockies, D-Backs, Nats, Mets and Marlins tonight. On to the Index, good luck!
Dustin Pedroia – 2B – Boston Red Sox – $4,100
Analysis: Bad pitcher, good BvP, good ballpark for right-handed bats, Pedroia hit his first home run Thursday and has struggled with right handed pitching this season. So why would we want someone who has struggled with RH bats? For one, Pedroia is 16-for-41 with 3 doubles and FIVE home runs against Twins’ pitcher Phil Hughes. Second, it’s Phil Hughes, who has allowed a ..344 wOBA, a 1.93 HR/9 rate and a 41.8% hard contact rate to right-handed bats since the start of 2016. Thirdly, yes there is a third, Pedroia has a 38% hard contact rate against RH pitching this season. What that means, is he’s hitting the ball hard, things just aren’t falling his way yet. Fourthly, Pedroia is hitting the ball right now, collecting hits in 8 of his last 11 games.
Avisail Garcia – OF – Chicago White Sox – $3,800
Analysis: The White Sox have been a Jekyll and Hyde team this season. Their Jekyll (or is it Hyde?) team comes out against lefties. Now I absolutely can’t stand Wade Miley. I don’t care what he has done this year, but it’s unsustainable. He’s not that good, in my opinion and is an overachiever. Miley is allowing a 32% hard contact rate to RH bats and a 1.49 HR/9 rate since the start of the 2016 season. In 2017, he’s allowing a 34% hard contact rate overall and walking nearly 6 batters per 9 innings. He’s going to get hit hard one of these days soon and I am going to bet the White Sox get to him, and if they do, Avisail should be a part of that club. He’s been mashing lefties this season with a .554 wOBA and a .269 ISO against southpaws. Oh and he has a 47.8% hard contact rate against them as well, so he’s seeing and clubbing the ball well.
Carlos Correa – SS – Houston Astros – $4,600
Analysis: Hey, Carlos Correa is so hot right now! In his last 10, Correa has 13 hits and 6 doubles, so don’t worry, the home runs are coming. Tonight he gets to face Jesse Chavez, a reverse-splits pitcher since 2016, allowing a .337 wOBA, a 37% hard contact rate and a 1.87 HR/9 rate since 2016. Correa is a reverse-splits hitter, and he hits right handers well.so far this season, sporing a .357 wOBA, a .208 wOBA and a 49% hard contact rate. The ballpark isn’t perfect here, but I really like Correa to be able to get his anyway.
Kenta Maeda – SP – Los Angeles Dodgers – $9,800
Analysis: So last time we tried this, Maeda got smashed at home. But for some reason, he is a much better road pitcher in his early career in the majors. Tonight he gets a great ballpark boost, taking on the Padres in Petco. The Padres have a lot of power against RH pitching, but they also strike out a ton, a 24% clip actually. Maeda has been roughed up to start the season, but his matchup has strikeout upside written all over it as Maeda has a 14.3% swinging strike rate and a 9 K/9 rate this season. He’s just been a little unlucky and also has been home prone. I am not sure where his ownership will be due to his high price tag but great matchup. He’s a cash game lock for me, if not more.
Giancarlo Stanton – OF – Miami Marlins – $4,300
Analysis: There are a lot of players on a lot of stacks I love tonight that I could easily put in the Index, but that would take forever. But one stack I like tonight that is sneaky are the Miami Marlins, who get to face some guy named Rafael Montero, who has given up a .408 wOBA and 34% hard contact rate to right-handed bats so far. Stanton is usually overlooked in RH matchups, but he destroys them too. He’s gone 9 games without a home run and Montero has yet to give up a home run this season. Oh, did I mention the wind is blowing out to left, too? Well, now you know. I also love Ozuna in this spot as well along with Yelich and Gordon, a great 4-man stack of bats that are hitting the ball well of late.
