Tuesday brings a 14-game main slate starting at 7:05 p.m. ET. There is a lot of weather concerns (both rain and wind) with these games, so please consult the Lineups page before final lock.
Pitchers
Blake Snell is the best pitcher for both sites by a significant margin, according to the Bales Model. This makes a ton of sense. Snell’s price has come $1,500 since the start of the year, due to some of his struggles His biggest issue, which it has been for a few years now, is lasting long in games. He has only recorded 16 outs in a game once this season. Even with electric strikeout stuff, that is going to limit his upside in daily fantasy contests.
He matches up with the Colorado Rockies tonight at home. He just faced these Rockies and went four innings giving up two runs and recording seven strikeouts in Coors Field. The Rockies have been one of the more brutal offense on the entire season and were goose-egged by Yu Darvish last night. If there was a “get right” game for Snell it is tonight. He will be extremely popular in all formats.
The second-best option on both sites, is even cheaper: John Gant. Gant is having an interesting season with the St. Louis Cardinals. His WHIP (1.63) is almost as high as is ERA (1.83). He has only allowed one home run on the season, but has 27 walks given up in 34 1/3 innings. Not surprisingly, his FIP is 4.35 with those numbers, so there should be an expectation for regression.
He faces the Pittsburgh Pirates tonight, who own one of the lightest hitting offense in the league. Dealing with some injuries, the bottom half of their lineup is tough to watch. He has already faced the Pirates this year, going five innings giving up one run on two strikeouts. The smaller strikeout counts really hurt is upside. Of course, that is going to be priced in to his salary. The Bales Model has him predicted for 4.77 strikeouts tonight, which is above his average for the season. I like him as a bit of a contrarian option.
Andrew Heaney could be a decent option tonight against the Cleveland Indians. Heaney has been a lot of all-or-nothing this year. He has three starts that have combined for 16 earned runs, while his other four have combined for three. He has been bringing some strong wipeout pitches to the table, with 49 strikeouts in 36 innings. He has more than a strikeout per inning in every start this year. The Indians still have one of the weaker offenses in the MLB, as they are 21st overall at 4.03 runs per game.
The Marlins have been a great team for which to target opposing starting pitchers. They feature a bottom-10 run producing offense and are the fourth most likely team to strikeout. Zack Wheeler gets to oppose them tonight, at a price point of right around $10,000 on both sites. The Bales Model does not have him or Brandon Woodruff (who is also in a nice matchup) nearly as high due to their price points being so expensive. I’ve liked Wheeler all year. He’s just a touch above a strikeout per inning and lasts long into games, but his price is really starting to reflect that. You can lock him or Woodruff into your lineup and probably “know” what you are going to get — your bats are just going to suffer for it.
Hitters
Notable Stack
The top stack of the night belongs to the Tampa Bay Rays:
- 5. Yandy Diaz (R)
- 2. Austin Meadows (L)
- 1. Randy Arozarena (R)
- 4. Brandon Lowe (L)
This group of four is projected for 49.7 FanDuel points on a salary of $13,000. If you have been following baseball this season, you know that the Rays have had a tough time scoring runs. So, it is surprising to see them listed as the top stack. That has more to do with the Bales Model fading the arm of Matt Harvey than anything else. Harvey had his first real blow-up game last time out against his former team, the New York Mets. The Rays have an implied run total of 5.0, which is one of the best on the slate. Oriole Park at Camden Yards has become a launching point for the other teams in the AL East in recent seasons, too.
Other Hitters
Xander Bogaerts is keeping the Boston Red Sox offense afloat with J.D. Martinez. The Bales Model has Bogaerts as a 99% Bargain Rating and he gets to hit against left-hander Hyun-Jin Ryu tonight. He is hitting .344 on the year and .370 in May. In his last four games, he is 6-for-13 with two doubles and two home runs.
I will keep leading the “D.J. LeMahieu is underpriced” bandwagon. He got off to a slow start, but really feels to be picking it up as of late. In his last four games, he is 6-for-15 with three walks. If he continues to get on-base, he will score runs at a high clip. He is the favorite hitter on the Bales Model for tonight.
I still feel like Francisco Lindor will soon find his footing in New York City. He started to heat up about a week ago, but only has one hit in his last three games. He is too good of a hitter to be under .200 for a whole half of a season. The Atlanta Braves look to be starting Tucker Davidson, a young left-hander, which means that it could be more of a bullpen game.
Photo Credit: Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images
Pictured: Blake Snell
