What’s up FANation?? We have an 11-game main slate today and it looks interesting. There are some solid pitching options with some solid stacking options, including a game at Coors Field. It’s a pretty open slate today! Let’s dive in to some of my favorite options on offense today, shall we?!
Top-Tier
Vladimir Guerrero Jr., TOR – Vlad is having a remarkable season, hitting .324 with 34 home runs, leading the AL in OBP at .419, and leading the MLB in RBI (85) and runs scored (82). That’s a TON of counting stat production. He went 0-5 in yesterday’s game, which snapped a nine-game hitting streak in which he was hitting .351 with two home runs and seven runs scored, so look for a bounce back game today from Vladdy. He has massive reverse splits, slashing .344/.419/.712 against righties with 29 home runs and 17 doubles, compared to .258/.416/.449 against lefties with five home runs and two doubles and today he gets to face a low-tier righty in Mejia. He has also been far better at home, slashing .352/.453/.788 with 22 home runs, compared to .298/.387/.525 with 12 home runs on the road. He is worth spending up for today.
Bryce Harper, PHI – Harper is hitting .360 with six home runs, 15 doubles, five steals, 18 RBI, and 22 runs scored over his last 29 games. He is hitting .455 with two home runs, four steals, eight doubles, and 10 runs scored over his last 12 games. Needless to say, he is hot. He is slashing .314/.420/.623 against righties this year with 15 home runs and 35 RBI, compared to .276/.403/.408 against lefties with two home runs and four RBI. Today he faces Espino, who lefties are hitting .016 points higher against this season than righties are. Harper should be able to keep his momentum/hot streak going today and while he is expensive, he is worth it.
Mid-Tier
Eloy Jiménez, CWS – It did not take long for Eloy to jump into the top of the mid-tier price range (or low end top-tier), despite the fact that he has mostly struggled. He only has two hits across 15 at-bats through four games, but we know the talent that he possesses. We are talking about a guy who has a career .273 BA with 46 home runs and 123 RBI across 181 career games, which is a 41 home run, 110 RBI 162-game pace. He has been far better against righties his whole career, slashing .281/.322/.547 against them, compared to .253/.302/.458 against lefties. Today he gets to face a low-tier righty in Hernandez, who has a 4.98 ERA and 1.52 WHIP. He also has reverse splits himself as righties are hitting .254 against him, compared to the .214 average that lefties have produced. On top of that, he has a 6.55 ERA and 1.91 WHIP on the road so far, compared to a 4.24 ERA and 1.33 WHIP at home.
Bargain Bin
Raimel Tapia, COL – Tapia is currently riding a seven-game hitting streak, hitting .419 with three steals, four RBI, two doubles, and six runs scored in that span. That brings his average for the year up to .288 with five home runs, 19 steals, 44 RBI, and 60 runs scored. He has hit for a lower average against righties (still a respectable .276), but all five of his dingers and 15 of 19 steals are against them, as are 45 of his 60 runs and 36 of his 44 RBI. He has been far better at home this season, slashing .309/.361/.473 in home games with all of his home runs, 34 of his 44 RBI, and 39 of his 60 runs, compared tp .267/.320/.298 on the road (50 games played at home and 50 on the road). He is too cheap today and an easy lock and load play.
Brendan Rodgers, COL – From one Rockies bat in Tapia to another in Rodgers. Rodgers is currently riding a 10-game hitting streak and in that span he is hitting .310 with four home runs, six steals, and seven runs scored. The Rockies have the highest implied run total of any team today with a mark of 5.97, so a guy like Rodgers at a very cheap price and batting second in their lineup is almost a no-brainer play. Tapia and Rodgers are both too cheap and with them hitting 1-2 in the Rockies lineup they are a super cheap and amazing way to start off a Rockies stack.
Jo Adell, LAA – Adell made his season debut yesterday and he came out with a bang, scoring 26 points on DK, going 3-4 with two doubles, a walk, three RBI, and a stolen base. Fast forward to today and he is still the minimum price and gets to face a weak lefty in Allard. Adell was crushing lefties at AAA, slashing .323/.397/.677 against them, compared to .280/.327/.569 against righties. Allard is a low-tier lefty with a 5.23 ERA this season and a career ERA of 6.03. His HR/9 this season of 1.7 is a new career high (if you don’t count his mark in 2018 when he had just eight innings pitched). Adell is a pretty easy play today as a punt play with high upside.