Top-Tier
Vladimir Guerrero Jr, TOR – If Vlad and/or Tatis are on the slate it almost feels like you have to play at least one of them, if not both. There is no Tatis on this slate, but we do get Vladdy in a prime matchup! He is hitting .339 while leading the AL in hits with 92 and leading the MLB in home runs (26), RBI (64), OBP (.443), and OPS (1.125). He has been insane in the month of June, hitting .376 (32-85) with 10 home runs, 22 RBI, and 21 runs scored across 23 games. Talk about being HOT. He has massive reverse splits this season too, slashing .361/.440/.750 against righties with 23 home runs and ALL 13 of his doubles, compared to .255/.453/.418 against southpaws with three home runs. Lopez is one of the worst righties in baseball with his 5.68 ERA, 5.18 FIP, 1.46 WHIP, and 1.8 HR/9.
Nelson Cruz, MIN – Cruz just keeps rolling as he is having another fantastic season, hitting .300 with 16 home runs and 39 RBI. He has been a machine for years now. He has been hot too, hitting .368 (25-68) with six home runs, 14 RBI, and nine runs scored across 19 games in the month of June. He has crushed lefties his entire career and this season has been no different as he is slashing .390/.438/.683 against southpaws, compared to .250/.339/.486 against right-handed pitching. Hentges is a low-tier lefty too as he has a 6.48 ERA and 1.89 WHIP through his first 32.1 innings at the big league level. Righties are slashing .346/.410/.538 against him, compared to lefties who have produced a .300/.382/.467 line against him. If fading stacking the Jays, Cruz is a fantastic play, despite his extremely high price tag.
Mid-Tier
George Springer, TOR – The majority of the big time Jays bats are all north of 5k, but Springer came off the IL slow and his price is very reasonable right now, making him a great play today. He is 3-8 with a home run, three RBI, and two runs scored over the last two days, racking up 16 and 12 DK points in those games. He is just 1-11 against lefties so far this season, but he is slashing .263/.333/.737 against righties so far with all of his home runs. Lopez has been bad and he has reverse splits against as well as righties are slashing .288/.363/.469 against him, compared to the .244/.331/.462 line that lefties have produced against him. Stack Jays somehow. Find a way.
Amed Rosario, CLE – Rosario is having a solid season, hitting .265 with five home runs and seven stolen bases. He is hitting .302 with three home runs, three steals, and 19 runs scored over his last 24 games. Similar to throughout his career, he has been better against lefties this season, slashing .274/.315/.464 against them, compared to .260/.321/.338 against righties. Today he faces Happ, who has a 6.09 ERA, 5.48 FIP, and 1.49 WHIP through 13 starts this season (65.0 innings). Righties have done damage agasint him, slashing .285/.351/.556, compared to the .277/.320/.404 line that lefties have produced. Rosario has also had Happ’s number in the head-to-head matchup, going 7-12 (.583) with a home run against him in his career.
Bargain Bin
Lars Nootbaar, STL – I recommended Nootbaar as a play on Friday and he had a solid game, going 2-4 with a run, a walk, and an RBI to finish the day with 12 points on DK at the minimum price. We are going to hope for a repeat performance at a near minimum price to help get pitching or a TOR stack into our lineup. He has been decent with a triple, three RBI, and two runs scored through five games played. He is hitless in three at-bats against southpaws thus far, so I like the fact that he has the platoon advantage against a righty today. He faces Kranick, who will be making his MLB debut today, but he isn’t a top prospect and he has struggled in the minors this season with a 4.37 ERA through 35.0 innings pitched split between AA and AAA.
Daz Cameron, DET – Cameron is another high upside salary saver today that I like and he comes in at the minimum price. He is hitting .256 with three home runs, three steals, nine RBI, and eight runs scored through 12 games. Production! He also has massive reverse splits thus far as he is just 1-17 against lefties, but he has crushed righties with a .409/.480/.773 slash line and all three of his stolen bases. Not too shabby, eh? Today he gets to face a righty in Odorizzi who has struggled with a 4.75 ERA. That on the heels of last season when he had a 6.59 ERA. Playing both Cameron and Nootbaar opens up your lineup so much today on DK.