Top-Tier
Pete Alonso, NYM – He has been swinging it pretty well at the dish lately, hitting .255 with six home runs and 14 RBI over his last 16 games, bringing his home run total to 17. He is hitting .259 against righties, compared to .237 against lefties and that’s something we have see throughout his career, as he has a career slash of .261/.350/.543 against righties, compared to .229/.338/.532 against lefties. Today he faces a terrible pitcher in Crowe, who has a 6.05 ERA and 1.62 WHIP with a 2.0 HR/9! On top of that, he also has reverse splits as righties have done all of the damage against him, slashing .321/.386/.580 with nine home runs, compared to .222/.336/.400 for lefties with three home runs. I would not at all be surprised to see Alonso launch one or two today. Davis is another Mets player I would consider.
Fernando Tatis Jr., SD – Nobody comes anywhere close to the 12.2 points per game average that Tatis has on DK. The season he is having is flat-out absurd as he is hitting .286 with 28 home runs (leads the NL), 21 steals (leads the NL), 62 RBI, 70 runs scored and a 1.020 OPS (leads the NL). He has been incredible on the road this season, slashing .328/.396/.748, compared to .255/.346/.580 at home. He hasn’t hit for a great average against lefties, but he has still posted a healthy .533 SLG against them. Today he faces Corbin, who has a 5.40 ERA, 1.40 WHIP, and 1.7 HR/9. Righties are slashing .284/.346/.495 against him with 16 home runs and 48 runs, compared to the .241/.291/.392 line lefties have produced with two home runs and 10 runs scored.
Mid-Tier
Cedric Mullins, BAL – Why is Mullins this cheap?? Please explain?! He is having an amazing season, hitting .317 with 16 home runs, 16 steals, 50 runs scored, and an AL-leading hit total of 108. He is currently riding a seven-game hitting streak, hitting .360 with a pair of long balls in that span. He has been good against both handed pitchers, but slightly better against righties slashing .320/.391/.564 against them (with ALL 16 of his steals), compared to .310/.370/.500 against southpaws. The steals are a major factor here though. Singer hasn’t been great either with a 4.52 ERA and 1.48 WHIP. Lefties are slashing .269/.354/.430 against him, compared to the .262/.341/.356 line that righties have produced against him.
Andrew Benintendi, KC – Benny is having a solid season, hitting .278 with 10 home runs and seven stolen bases. He appears to be on the start of a hot streak too, going 6-13 (.462) with a home run, two doubles, and two RBI over his past three games. He has had far more success against right-handed pitching, slashing .292/.345/.466 against them with eight home runs, compared to .243/.289/.371 against lefties with two home runs. Today he gets to face an awful pitcher in Lopez, who has a 5.95 ERA and 1.63 WHIP. He has struggled even more on the road with a 6.39 ERA and 1.70 WHIP, compared to a 5.49 ERA and 1.56 WHIP at home. The Royals are definitely a stack possibility today.
Bargain Bin
Albert Pujols, LAD – Pujols has actually (seemingly very quietly) been incredible in a Dodgers uniform, hitting .282 with eight home runs and 23 RBI across 110 at-bats. He is hot right now too, currently on a four-game hitting streak, going 6-11 (.545) with two home runs and three RBI in that span. Today he gets to face a lefty and he has torn them apart this season, slashing .322/.359/.655 against them with nine home runs and 22 RBI across 87 at-bats against them, compared to a .183/.231/.294 line against righties with four home runs and 13 RBI across 109 at-bats against them. Not to mention this is a Coors Field game and Pujols is incredibly cheap and Freeland has a 5.48 ERA, 5.89 FIP, 1.66 WHIP, and 1.9 HR/9 against. This is a no-brainer play in my opinion.
Harrison Bader, STL – Bader is actually producing pretty well this year with counting stats with six home runs, five steals and 16 RBI in 32 games, despite a blah batting average of .245. He is hot at the dish right now though, hitting .333 with two home runs, two steals, seven RBI, and four runs scored over his last nine games. His splits favor facign lefties slightly, but ALL five of his steals and ALL four of his doubles are against righties as are 10 of his 12 runs and 13 of his 16 RBI. He has a pretty tough matchup today, but he is cheap and he has done well against him, going 5-10 against DeSclafani in his career.
Jarred Kelenic, SEA – Not a ton of numbers to support this play, but we know he has plenty of power/speed upside and at the minimum price I have no problem taking my chances on him in a matchup with Cobb, who has a mediocre 4.23 ERA and 1.23 WHIP. Both of Kelenic’s home runs, both of his doubles, and all three of his steals are against righties.
Player News
Hunter Goodman doubled twice and homered in a loss to the Giants on Wednesday.
Goodman hit a solo homer off Camilo Doval in the ninth to bring the Rockies to within three runs at 10-7. The 25-year-old has been a solid option behind the plate in 2025 with a .289 batting average, 11 homers and 39 RBI over 246 at-bats across 65 games.
Willy Adames went 3-for-4 with a homer and three RBI in a 10-7 win over the Rockies on Wednesday.
Camilo Doval gave up a run in an inning of work against the Rockies on Wednesday.
Kyle Freeland went six innings while giving up three runs in a no-decision versus the Giants on Wednesday.
Robbie Ray surrendered four runs — two earned — over four innings while not factoring in the decision Wednesday against the Rockies.
Red Sox acquired RHP Jorge Alcala from the Twins for INF Andy Lugo.
The deal is now official. Alcala ships up to Boston as a bit of a reclamation project after posting a disastrous 8.88 ERA across 24 1/3 innings (22 appearances) to open the year. The Red Sox are dealing with several injuries to key relievers, so the move represents a relatively low-cost gamble that could pay off, especially if Alcala re-discovers the form that enabled him to register a solid 3.24 ERA over 58 1/3 innings (53 appearances) last season for Minnesota. The 29-year-old righty was due for a change of scenery. He figures to pitch in middle relief out of Boston’s bullpen.