Top-Tier
Salvador Perez, KC – Perez has had an absolutely incredible season, playing in 160 games (mostly as a catcher!) and hitting .273 while leading the MLB in home runs with 48 and in RBI with 121. He has done that in an offense that isn’t high-powered by any means. Today he gets a matchup with a lefty and he has destroyed southpaws this season, slashing .302/.335/.640 against them, compared to .262/.307/.509 against righties. This is also a home game for the Royals and that’s a great thing for Perez as he is slashing .299/.346/.598 at home this season, compared to .248/.282/.492 on the road. He is expensive, but he is by far the best catcher play on the slate today and he has massive upside.
Anthony Rizzo, NYY – Rizzo has had arguably the worst year of his career this season, but he can look to end it strong today. He is coming off a game in which he swatted a home run, his second in the past three games. He has faced off in this head-to-head matchup a bunch and it has been very one-sided as he is 21-46 (.457) with three home runs against Wacha in his career. Wacha has a 5.26 ERA and 1.35 WHIP this season with a 1.7 HR/9. He’s been even worse on the road with a 6.05 ERA and 1.48 WHIP. I wish Rizzo was a bit cheaper to match his season, but I think he should win this battle today.
Mid-Tier
Austin Meadows, TB – Meadows slugged his 27th home run of the season yesterday and while he is only hitting .233 on the season, he does have 106 RBI and 28 doubles to go along with those home runs. Nearly all of his damage has been against righties as he is slashing .253/.338/.540 against them with 24 home runs and ALL four of his steals, compared to a very lousy .193/.266/.283 line against southpaws with just three home runs. Today he gets to face Taillon, who has not been good with a 4.40 ERA and 4.46 FIP. Left-handed bats have swatted 12 home runs in 22 at-bats against him, compared to the 12 home runs in 311 at-bats that righties have produced against him.
Bargain Bin
Harrison Bader, STL – Bader was a core play for me yesterday and he did not disappoint as he came through with 16 points on DK as he went 1-5 with a solo home run and an additional run scored. The home run gives him 16 on the year and the RBI gives him 50 to go along with nine steals and a .266 batting average. He has reverse splits this season, hitting .271 with a .328 OBP against righties, compared to .243 and .293 against lefties, respectively. Today he gets to face Mills, who has been a dumpster fire with a 5.09 ERA and 1.44 WHIP. Bader has a lot of upside with his blend of power/speed and this is a great matchup with a cheap price!
Andrés Giménez, CLE – It was kind of a lost year for Gimenez, but he is ending the year on a high note. He is currently on a seven-game hitting streak and over the last 12 games he is slashing a robust .371/.395/.686 with three home runs, a steal, seven RBI, and six runs scored. He has been better against righties this year than lefties, slashing .228/.293/.362 against righties, compared to .194/.237/.333 against southpaws. He’s also been far better on the road this season, slashing .281/.360/.404, compared to a lousy .167/.210/.313 line at home in Cleveland. Today he faces Dunning, who has a 4.32 ERA and 1.42 WHIP and lefties have slashed a strong .275/.339/.430 against him.