Oakland Athletics

The Athletics are at home and come in with an implied run total sitting at 4.45, which is right around the middle for today, but in a good spot to hit the over on that. They are up against Clay Buchholz , who will be making his second start for the Diamondbacks this year. Since he doesn’t have a lot of stats to look at, we need to go back to 2016 to see his numbers. That year he gave up a .342 wOBA to left-handed hitters, along with giving up 1.74 HR/9 to right-handed hitters. This means we can really target whoever we want from the Athletics since Buchholz is showing to struggle against both types of hitters.

Matt Joyce is someone to look at, since he is so cheap, and comes in with a .172 ISO vs right-handed pitchers this season. Matt Olson is way, way too cheap on FanDuel today at only $3K, and comes in with a .222 ISO this season vs RHP. The switch-hitting Jed Lowrie is also a welcome addition to a stack, along with Dustin Fowler , if he grabs the leadoff spot again.

 

Texas Rangers

The Rangers have an implied run total sitting at 5.33, which is highest on the slate outside of Coors Field. They are up against Ian Kennedy , who is a fly ball pitcher, which will almost certainly end badly for him today. We are looking to have a very hot game in Texas today, temps up around 100. This is a solid boost for hitters, on top of the 41% hard contact rate Kennedy is giving up this season. He is also giving up 2.12 HR/9 to right-handed hitters which is flat out terrible, along with giving up a .336 wOBA to lefties. Really like the salaries for the Rangers today on FanDuel, since there are no players above $4K, highest is Jurickson Profar at $3.7K.

On FanDuel, Joey Gallo is too cheap at $3.2K, so you should be looking to roster him in a lot of spot today. Yes, he strikes out a lot, but he has a .259 ISO vs right-handed pitchers this season, which is massive, and they type of hitter who can have a multi-home run game. Don’t forget about some of the cheaper hitters on the Rangers, who will allow you to get up to the higher priced pitchers. Ronald Guzman is cheap on FanDuel and has a .211 ISO vs right-handed pitchers. Great hitting weather, good prices, and up against a fly ball pitcher.

 

Milwaukee Brewers

Listen, Jason Vargas is not a good pitcher. There is really no other way to put it, and I don’t care what kind of start he had in his most recent outing. He has only four starts under his belt this year, so if we look back to last season, we can get a better idea of who he is. Last year he gave up 1.34 HR/9 or higher to both lefties and righties, along with a .356 wOBA to lefties and a .319 wOBA to righties. Guess what? Those are some bad numbers and exactly the type of pitcher you want to target.

The power bats for the Brewers are all firmly in play, Travis Shaw , Christian Yelich and Lorenzo Cain . Don’t forget about Jesus Aguilar , who has a .397 wOBA and a .214 ISO vs left-handed pitchers this season. Tyler Saladino , Domingo Santana , and Hernán Pérez , who can offer some salary relief if they crack the lineup today. I would try and focus on the bigger bats at the top of the lineup vs Vargas today.