DFS MLB Hitting Coach: April 21

Each slate will feature one of MLB’s best starting pitchers going at it in very good matchups. Clayton Kershaw faces the Braves on the early slate while Jake Arrieta faces the Reds on the late slate. 

 

Weather, in general, isn’t too bad, but there are showers forecasted for the Mariners/Indians game, and possibly even the Cubs/Reds game. Make sure to keep a close eye on both games if you’re looking to target any of those teams. 

 

Be sure to keep an eye on the Fantasy Alarm Daily Lineups page to confirm that these players are in their respective team’s lineups. 

 

 

 

Yasmani Grandal got a bit of a salary bump on FanDuel, but he should still be in deep consideration today against Matt Wisler of the Braves. Grandal has had two hits in three of his last four games, and his OBP right now is a cool .571. 

 

Jonathan Lucroy is 4-for-9 (.444 AVG) throughout his career against Ricky Nolasco. While he is currently homerless in 2016, he has come close a few times now. Nolasco is very dependent on his slider, and that happens to be a pitch that Lucroy has had a lot of success against.

 

 

Salvador Perez is having a ridiculous series against the Tigers. He is currently 5-for-7 (.714 AVG) with two homers, two doubles, and six RBIs against Tigers pitching. My guess is that he’s going to continue to produce tonight because of his matchup against Mike Palfrey. Perez is 5-for-15 (.333 AVG) against Pelfrey throughout his career. 

 

Jarrod Saltalamacchia is so scorching hot right now that he’s probably a guy that I’ll have to take my chances with tonight. He has reached base safely multiple times in each of his last four games, and has homered in four of his last six games. 

 

 

 

Edwin Encarnacion went 5-for-12 (.417 AVG) with two homers, a double, and two walks against Chris Tillman in 2015. He is also currently in the middle of an 8-game hitting streak, where he has accumulated two homers, three doubles, and 7 RBIs. 

 

Eric Hosmer isn’t going to be my favorite play in GPPs because he lacks the power upside that you expect from your first basemen, but he is just so damn consistent. His matchup against Mike Pelfrey is definitely a good one, and especially so considering he has batted .400/.571/.500 against him throughout his career. 

 

John Jaso just continues to get on base. He is similar to Hosmer in the sense that you’re not going to be rostering if you’re looking for a guy with “double dong” potential. He is simply there to accumulate points from a variety of different ways. He has reached base safely two or more times in eight of his last nine starts. 

 

 

 

Jose Altuve has a .339 ISO this season. No really, Jose Altuve! He continues to deliver in every way imaginable, whether it’s getting on base, hitting for power, or stealing some bases. And get this, he has accumulated 21 FanDuel points or more in six of his last 10 games. Just unreal. 

 

Ian Kinsler is a guy who continues to kill it this season. He is on pace to have his best season in the Majors since his days with the Rangers. Kinsler is 6-for-17 (.353 AVG) lifetime against Edison Volquez. 

 

Ryan Goins could be a good source for salary relief tonight, especially if you’re paying up for Jake Arrieta. Goins is 9-for-23 (.391 AVG) with a homer against Chris Tillman of the Orioles. 

 

 

 

Josh Donaldson went 4-for-14 (.286 AVG) with a homer and two doubles against Chris Tillman last season. Donaldson doesn’t come cheap, but his upside on any given night is ridiculous, and especially so with a good matchup like Tillman. 

 

Manny Machado continues to be Money in the Bank. In his last 10 games, he has had seven games where he was able accumulate 18 FanDuel points or more. While Marco Estrada had a solid 3.13 ERA last year, his xFIP was a terrible 4.93, which was the 3rd worst in the Majors. If he gets a hold of one, it’ll be out of the park. 

 

Mike Moustakas is the anchor of my three expensive third basemen in the late slate. “Moose” basically resurrected his career from the dead after taking a new approach at the plate where he wasn’t afraid to go the other way with the pitch. That helped his game out significantly to the point where he had a career year last season. He gets Mike Palfrey tonight, who he has had a lot of success against, going 4-for-12 (.333 AVG) with a homer, three walks, and zero strikeouts. 

 

 

 

Troy Tulowitzki is still only $3100 on FanDuel, and I think he’s definitely in play against Chris Tillman, who has struggled mightily against the Jays throughout his career. Batting from the 5-hole has its pros and cons for Tulo, but I like the fact that he’ll be getting plenty of at bats with some of his teammates on the bases. 

 

Elvis Andrus just continues to produce at the plate. He is currently riding a 7-game hitting streak that has a good chance to continue tonight, even though he is matched up against Dallas Keuchel of the Astros. Andrus was 4-for-14 (.286 AVG) last season against the AL Cy Young Award winner. 

 

 

 

Bryce Harper kills Tom Koehler, plain and simple. Harper is batting .308 against Koehler in is career, but of his eight hits, five went out of the ballpark. 

 

Christian Yelich can be an under-the-radar option for the early slate, considering he’s matched up against Max Scherzer. Scherzer was vulnerable to the long ball last season, having the 23rd worst HR/9 (1.06) in the Majors in 2015. While he was already one of the Marlins best hitters coming into 2016, when you consider his current OBP is right at .500, it’s clear that Yelich has taken his game to a whole new level.

 

Miguel Sano and his reverse splits throughout his career will matchup against Taylor Jungmann and his reverse splits in 2016. Not many trials, but Jungmann is allowing a line of .394/.429/.844 with a .524 wOBA to right-handed pitching this season. 

 

Michael Taylor is still a bargain batting from the leadoff spot on a loaded Nationals lineup. So far in his series against the Marlins, he has batted 4-for-13 (.308 AVG) with a homer, two doubles, and three runs scored. He may be close to a must play if you’re looking to pay up for Kershaw on the early slate. 

 

Oswaldo Arcia didn’t let anyone down last night, smashing a homer off of Jimmy Nelson in the 6th inning. He is 8-for-20 (.400 AVG) with two homers, two walks, and five RBIs in his last five games. 

 

Brandon Guyer almost exclusively plays against left-handed pitching. It makes sense because in the last three seasons, he has batted .281/.379/.435 with eight home runs off of southpaws in 299 at bats. 

 

 

Mark Trumbo has had a quiet homestand after absolutely going ham on Baltimore’s most recent road trip, hitting five homers in six games. Matchups haven’t exactly been in his favor, but it could work out tonight against Marco Estrada, and his 52.3% fly ball rate (2nd worst in the Majors).

 

Dexter Fowler continues to produce night after night after night. As I’ve mentioned before, I love him even more against southpaws. He has batted a cool .325/.411/.459 against left-handed pitching in the last three years.  

 

Lorenzo Cain has been struggling a bit this season, but I wouldn’t be surprised if facing Mike Palfrey tonight fixes everything. Cain has gone 7-for-14 (.500 AVG) with two doubles, two HBPs, two stolen bases, and four RBIs against Palfrey throughout his career. 

 

Carlos Beltran has been the most consistent Yankee in 2016. He is currently in the middle of a 7-game hitting streak, and has hit two homers in his last four games. I don’t mind the matchup against Rich Hill, either. Beltran took Hill deep last season when Hill made a late season start with the Red Sox. 

 

Michael Saunders in the leadoff spot has absolutely worked out phenomenally for the Blue Jays. Saunders is 6-for-17 (.353 AVG) batting at leadoff in 2016, and if he keeps this up, he’ll be there for the entire season. Saunders has been able to hit two homers off of Chris Tillman in his career, while maintaining a respectable line of .273/.385/.818.

 

Jon Jay has batted .288/.355/.391 against right-handed pitching throughout his career. He’s a high on-base guy who is generally going to be a good target for cash games. I know he’s facing Gerrit Cole, but I don’t mind his .273/.467/.455 line against the former UCLA Bruin from his time with the Cardinals.

 

Billy Burns is definitely snapping out of his little funk. He is 6-for-17 (.353 AVG) with two triples, two doubles, and three runs scored in his last four games.