It is the second to last Monday of the MLB regular season and as usual we have a shorter seven games for your DFS main slate. It is a little top heavy on strong starting pitching and then fizzles out pretty quickly after that. The calendar is starting to run thin on days left in the MLB regular season which makes DFS more difficult as some teams are playing to win each and every game while others have packed it in a while ago. Let’s take a look at players at different positions and salary levels that will give you a leg up against your competition.
Top Tier
Bryce Harper, OF, PHI – He has just been scorching hot of late hitting nearly .500 for the last week and nearly .450 over the past two weeks. In the last 14 days he has connected on seven home runs and driven in 17 runs. The Orioles will throw John Means on Monday who has allowed a home run in three straight starts and a less than ideal 26 long balls in just 23 starts this season. Harper has also been fantastic at home this season with a .332 average, 1.133 OPS and 18 of his 33 home runs in Philadelphia. It just seems like he gets it done every day right now and his hot streak is impossible to ignore.
Bo Bichette, SS, TOR – He homered yesterday for the third time in a week and drove in his 12th run over that span. He has hit .351 over the past two weeks and now has 26 home runs and 22 stolen bases on the season. The Rays will throw one of the top 25 prospects in baseball in Shane Baz tonight who has been absolutely dealing this season. However, he is a rookie facing a hot hitter who has 19 of his 26 home runs against right-handed pitching. Bichette also has 15 of his 26 home runs on the road this season even if he hits for a slightly higher batting average at home.
Yordan Alvarez, OF, HOU – He has gotten on base in 11 straight games and has hit three home runs and seven RBI in the last week. He has hit 17 of his 31 home runs on the road and will travel to Anaheim tonight. On the season his hard-hit rate is a solid 40.2% and his season wOBA is a very good .379. The Angels are going to start Jaime Barria who has an ERA just under 5.00 and a WHIP over 1.50 neither of which are good. He has allowed 12 earned runs in his last 20 innings. Alvarez has three hits in six career at-bats versus Barria and drove in two runs against him.
Mid-Tier
Paul Goldschmidt, 1B, STL – The Cardinals are red hot right now as they try to take control of the second NL Wild Card and Goldschmidt has been a big part of that. With his two hits on Sunday, he now has four multi-hit games in his last six games with three doubles, two home runs and five RBI over that span. He has hit near .400 in the last week. Brewers starter Freddy Peralta got back on track in his last start, but Goldschmidt has six hits against him in 11 career at-bats including two doubles and two home runs. He has also hit .347 with 14 doubles, 14 home runs and 34 RBI in 42 career starts at Miller Park.
Giancarlo Stanton, OF, NYY – Before yesterday’s hitless game he was hitting .310 with four home runs and seven RBI in the last week. The Yankees have faced a bunch of bad pitching lately, and while the whole team isn’t taking advantage of it, Stanton sure is. He will face young Rangers’ pitcher A.J. Alexy on Monday who was great his first two times out but was crushed for six runs over 3.2 innings against the Astros a week ago. Alexy pitched well in the Minors this year but had an ERA over 5.00 in 2019. Given the way that he is locked in and has 21 of his 30 home runs against right-handed pitching, Stanton looks like a great DFS choice on a short slate.
Value Tier
Austin Hays, OF, BAL – He has a hit in five straight games and has hit three home runs and driven in seven runs over that span. The Orioles might be an absolute disaster as a team, but they still have some hitters who are having fine seasons. Phillies pitcher Ranger Suárez has been great since being inserted into the rotation but still gives up a bunch of hits even if he hasn’t been bashed around in any start. Hays has hit .301 with 11 of his 21 home runs against left-handed pitching despite 75 fewer at-bats against them. I also like that the game is in Philadelphia which has one of the most hitter friendly ballpark in baseball.
Andrew McCutchen, OF, PHI – It has been nearly two weeks since his last home run, but I am going back at John Means and his propensity for giving up home runs with a cheap option in the Phillies outfield. McCutchen has not faced John Means before, but he is hitting .302 with a 1.063 OPS against left-handed pitching as opposed to .177 and .613 against righties. He also has 14 of his 24 home runs against lefties despite half the number of at-bats against righties.
David Fletcher, 2B, LAA – It has been a rough stretch for Fletcher of late, but he did have a two-hit game on September 17th, and I mention that because the opposing pitcher on that day was Oakland’s Cole Irvin who is a left-handed pitcher just like Framber Valdez who will face the Angels on Monday. Granted, Valdez is a better pitcher, but Fletcher has hit .300 off of him in his career and is hitting .335 against left-handed pitchers for the season which is 90 points higher than against righties. Fletcher isn’t going to ever return you 20 fantasy points in a DFS lineup, but he is a great cost savings at a tough position that can get a couple of hits and maybe steal a base.