Much like the last few nights, it’s a big slate with a fair bit of weather concerns. There are currently half the games on the slate with weather concerns involving rain of some sort so pay attention as we get closer to lock.
Top Tier
Justin Turner, 3B LAD - Turner likes facing Max Scherzer. It’s really that simple. He’s gone 4-for-12 with three homers off of the Nats’ ace and he’s been hitting righties well all year with a .364 wOBA. Scherzer is gettable early in games and by righties and so while paying up against an ace like Scherzer is risky, Turner mitigates that risk with his history against him.
Jose Altuve, 2B & Yuli Gurriel, 1B HOU - Astros against lefties. That’s the mantra we’ve been living on for quite a while and hence the reason that Altuve and Gurriel are in the hitting coach. Sam Hentges is on the bump for Cleveland tonight and he’s been rocked in recent starts and things won’t get much easier against a loaded Astros lineup with guys who crush left-handed pitching.
Mid-Tier
Bryan Reynolds, OF PIT - Reynolds is 3-for-10 with a homer and two RBI off of Adrian Houser in previous match-ups and what’s even better is that he’s smoked RHPs for 11 homers, a .292 AVG, and a .390 wOBA. He’s mid priced on both sites and this is the part of the Brewers’ rotation we want to attack as well. With Reynolds being a switch-hitter he’ll have the advantage no matter the handedness of pitcher and against LHPs, like possible relievers, he’s posted a .427 wOBA.
Nick Castellanos & Jesse Winker, OF CIN - While Castellanos gets the benefit over Winker in the BvP with Castellanos nabbing four hits in seven at-bats off of Alec Mills compared to Winker going 1-for-10, both are hammering RHPs. A combined 30 homers and two wOBAs over .425 against righties tells you all you need to know and Mills for his part is getting hammered by lefties but is still getting hit well by RHHs as well. There’s a reason both are starting for the NL in the All-Star game.
Brandon Crawford, SS SF - Look who doesn’t like late night hammers of sorts? Crawford has been very good this year and has actually been better on the road with an .884 OPS compared to an .804 mark at home. He’s also posted a .387 wOBA with 12 homers off of RHPs this year and Zac Gallen has exactly stopped lefty-hitters from doing damage with a .365 wOBA allowed. The price is better on FD but he still fits well on DK as well and Arizona has been a high-scoring park all year for opponents to hit in.
Value Tier
Ryan Zimmerman, 1B WAS - Zimmerman is generally in the lineup against lefty pitchers and with the Nats facing Julio Urias tonight, we should see Zimmerman at first base. He’s been resurgent this year and especially against LHPs with a wOBA north of .400 and specifically against Urias in which he’s gone 5-for-6 off of him previously. Hitting in the middle of the lineup should also give him a shot at boosting his value too.
Garrett Cooper, OF MIA - Cooper has been warming up over the last 10 games with a .290 AVG and an .874 OPS. He’s also posted a .361 wOBA against LHPs which is top three in the lineup for Miami. There’s some risk here as he’s been far better at making contact at home than on the road, but he’s liked Braves’ pitching in general this year and lefties.
Josh Rojas, OF ARI - Rojas has been a very good leadoff hitter for Arizona this year with a .337 wOBA and 10 homers, including one last night. Even though this is a lefty-on-lefty matchup, Wood is allowing a .295 BAA and .357 wOBA to LHHs and Rojas has four homers and a .369 wOBA against southpaws. He’s a cheap bat to counter the Giants bats and get a piece of the late night games.