Top-Tier
Joey Votto, CIN – Votto has been hot for a long time now, hitting .367 with 15(!) home runs, 36 RBI, and 22 runs scored over his last 26 games. Just silly production. He has crushed righties this year, slashing .308/.401/.656 against them with 23 home runs, compared to .233/.325/.398 against lefties with just three home runs. He has also been great at home, slashing .299/.381/.571, compared to .266/.373/.580 on the road. But wait, there’s more! (as the late Billy Mays would say) He has been amazing in this head-to-head matchup, going 13-34 (.382) with four home runs against Hendricks in his career. Fade Votto at your own risk tonight.
Trevor Story, COL – Story is finally hot after spending most of the season slumping, he is hitting .356 with three home runs, 10 doubles, 10 RBI, and 13 runs scored over his last 17 games. He has been great against lefties all season though, slashing .287/.357/.539 against them, compared to .245/.321/.428 against righties. He’s also been fantastic at home all year, slashing .312/.369/.528 at Coors, compared to an ugly .200/.292/.389 on the road. So we have a home game against a low-tier lefty while he is already hot… what more do you need? Well here’s a bit more if you need it, he is 3-7 (.429) with a pair of dingers against Strahm in his career.
Mid-Tier
Whit Merrifield, KC – Whit is hot at the dish right now, hitting .327 with seven steals, four RBI, and nine runs scored over his last 12 games as he is now hitting .276 with eight home runs and an MLB-leading 34 steals on the season. He has been great against left-handed pitching, slashing .313/.361/.450 against them and he has actually stole more often and more successfully against lefties (which is very odd) as he is a perfect 17-17 in swipe attempts against southpaws this season. This is a home game too, which is great as he is slashing .295/.343/.440 at home this season, compared to .257/.299/.341 on the road. On top of all that, he is a perfect 3-3 with a home run against Valdez in his career.
Jake Cronenworth, SD – Cronenworth is having a nice season, hitting .278 with 17 home runs, four steals, 58 RBI, and 79 runs scored. He has performed well at Coors Field this season, slashing .292/.346/.500 across seven games with a home run, two doubles, and six runs scored. The matchup isn’t amazing, but really this just comes down to Cronenworth being too good of a player playing at Coors Field to be this cheap. Take advantage.
Bargain Bin
Mike Zunino, TB – Back-to-back days with a catcher in the hitting coach for me… what is the world coming to?? Well, Zunino might as well have flames coming out of right now with how hot he is. He is currently riding an eight-game hitting streak, hitting .407 with FIVE home runs, two doubles, seven RBI, and nine runs scored in that span. He has also been flat-out absurd against lefties this season, slashing .341/.413/.829 against them, compared to .149/.246/.422 against righties. That is not a typo, he has an .829 SLG against lefties in 92 PA and a 1.242 OPS. Ridiculous. Means has been very prone to the long ball with a 1.8 HR/9 this season and a 2.5 HR/9 last season. Righties have accounted for 18 of the 20 home runs he has given up this year. Too many reasons to like Zunino tonight to not play him at this price.
Connor Joe, COL – Joe is extremely hot at the dish right now, hitting .329 with seven home runs and 19 RBI over his last 21 games (16 starts). He has been great against lefties, slashing .286/.354/.571 against them with four home runs in 42 at-bats. He has been a walking videogame at home this season too, slashing .380/.429/.740, compared to .234/.314/.338 on the road. Tonight he gets a home game against a low-tier lefty and he’s still at a sub-3k price? He has been used as the Rockies leadoff hitter since Tapia landed on the IL (seven games ago). No-brainer play.
Frank Schwindel, CHC – Schwindel is somehow only $2,300 on DK, which makes zero sense. He has scored double-digit fantasy points in five straight games, scoring 21, 28, 11, 14, and 10 points on DK in that span. Despite that, you can have him for nearly the minimum price against a mediocre pitcher in Gutierrez? Yes please. He is hitting .373 with four home runs, six doubles, and 13 RBI across 15 games with the Cubs. Ride the hot bat at a cheap price.