Tonight’s roster is once again of the GPP variety. It’s headlined by the best pitching option and completely fades the game in Coors. Don’t worry, though, the offense still has plenty of firepower.
Check out today’s MLB Moonshot contest at DraftKings 
Pitcher
Max Scherzer (WAS): $12,700 vs. Padres
Mad Max is the crown jewel of pitching options on a slate with some other talented hurlers, but none as good as him or in as favorable a pitching matchup as he’s in. The Nationals are hosting the Padres as -240 favorites in a game with an over/under total of eight runs, according to Pinnacle. The Padres rank 26th in wRC+ (83) against right-handed pitchers this year, per FanGraphs, and their 24.4% K% against them is the second highest. Scherzer is pitching like his typically electric self this season, and his 32.2% K% is the fourth highest among qualified starters this year. The sky’s the limit for him tonight.
Zack Godley (ARI): $6,300 @ Brewers
There are some pricey bats on this roster, and in order to squeeze them in with Mad Max at SP1, salary relief was necessary at SP2. The good news is you get some decent bang for your buck with Godley. He’s in basically a pick ’em, and while the hitter-friendly conditions in Miller Park and an over/under total of nine runs are scary, Godley’s elite 65.1% GB% should help him avoid the homer issues a fly-ball pitcher could run into in Milwaukee. Godley’s 20.2% K% is ho-hum and below the league average in 2017 of 21.4%, but his swinging strike percentage (SwStr%) of 13.7% is much better than the league average of 10.2%, so he has bat-missing ability that belies his strikeout rate. The 27-year-old righty is in a favorable spot to pad his strikeout totals facing a Milwaukee squad with the third highest strikeout rate (24.0%) against righties this year.
Honorable Mentions
- Eduardo Rodriguez (BOS): $8,800 vs. Mariners
- Dan Straily (MIA): $7,500 vs. Angels
Catcher
Evan Gattis (HOU): $3,400 vs. Orioles
Kevin Gausman has been a punching bag this year. The right-handed pitcher has a lifetime reverse platoon split, and that’s on full display this year with a .438 OBP, .595 SLG, and .439 wOBA coughed up to the 128 right-handed batters he’s faced. Gattis is the type of slugger who can exploit Gausman’s shortcomings against righties, and the backstop has ripped off a tantalizing .228 ISO against right-handed pitchers since 2014.
Honorable Mentions
- Buster Posey (SF): $4,000 vs. Braves
- Jonathan Lucroy (TEX): $3,800 @ Blue Jays
- Salvador Perez (KC): $3,500 @ Indians
- Stephen Vogt (OAK): $3,200 @ Yankees
First Base
Yonder Alonso (OAK): $4,000 @ Yankees
Are you sick of me gushing about Alonso yet this year? I hope not. He’s been good to us this year, and he’s dropped into a left-handed hitter’s dream at Yankee Stadium tonight. Yankee Stadium has a left-handed batter park factor of 136 for homers, per the three-year rolling average at StatCorner. Think Alonso’s new fly-ball approach will fit in well there? Yeah, so do I.
Honorable Mention
- Matt Carpenter (STL): $4,600 @ Rockies
Second Base
Jed Lowrie (OAK): $4,000 @ Yankees
In addition to the robust park factor for homers the lefties in the A’s lineup will enjoy, they’ll also like Masahiro Tanaka‘s struggles with left-handed batters this year. Tanaka has yielded a .510 slugging and .351 wOBA to lefties. As I’ve pointed out when highlighting Lowrie on other DraftKings lineups, he’s joined Alonso in driving the ball in the air with authority this year. The veteran second baseman has launched a half-dozen taters with a .384 OBP, .238 ISO, and 159 wRC+ against righties this year with a batted-ball profile that supports the eye-popping numbers.
Honorable Mentions
- Daniel Murphy (WAS): $4,900 vs. Padres
- Kolten Wong (STL): $4,100 @ Rockies
- Devon Travis (TOR): $4,000 vs. Rangers
Third Base
Evan Longoria (TB): $3,700 @ Twins
Longoria isn’t talked about when discussion turns to elite players at the hot corner anymore, but he’s still a thorn in the side of southpaws. Since 2014, Longo has a .356 OBP, .190 ISO, and 123 wRC+. Southpaw Hector Santiago has done a very good job of keeping righties in check this season, but his 48.1% FB% and 32.9% Hard% allowed to them could get him into trouble with a guy who boasts the above average power Longo does.
Honorable Mentions
- Jake Lamb (ARI): $5,400 @ Brewers
- Jedd Gyorko (STL): $4,600 @ Rockies
- Manny Machado (BAL): $4,400 @ Astros
Shortstop
Carlos Correa (HOU): $4,100 vs. Orioles
Here’s another righty to attack Gausman’s giving nature to right-handed batters. Since reaching The Show, Correa has beaten up on righties to the tune of a .361 OBP, .199 ISO, and 131 wRC+. Minute Maid Park’s right-handed batter park factor of 106 for homers is yet another reason to believe Gattis and Correa fully take advantage of Gausman’s struggles with righties.
Honorable Mentions
- Francisco Lindor (CLE): $4,400 vs. Royals
- Aledmys Diaz (STL): $4,400 @ Rockies
- Didi Gregorius (NYY): $4,100 vs. Athletics
Outfield
Bryce Harper (WAS): $5,300 vs. Padres
It’s never hard to rationalize using Harper. I don’t need to expand upon how damn good he is against righties — or all pitchers, for that matter. Instead, I’ll point out why tonight he goes from a desirable hitting option to an indispensable one. It’s all about the pitching matchup. Luis Perdomo has coughed up a .471 OBP, .613 slugging and .460 wOBA to lefties. He also struggles mightily to strand base runners, so if the table setters get on for Harper, the uber-talented outfielder is a better bet than usual to cash in on his ducks on the pond.
Carlos Beltran (HOU): $3,200 vs. Astros
Beltran won’t bat right-handed against the righty Gausman since he’s a switch-hitter, but don’t worry, Gausman hasn’t been particularly good against left-handed batters, either. This year, Gausman has allowed a .347 OBP and .326 wOBA to lefties. This year could prove to be a cliff season for Beltran, but I’m not ready to make that declaration after just 169 plate appearances when he tallied a 124 wRC+ last year. Furthermore, since 2014, he has a .328 OBP, .196 ISO, and 116 wRC+ against right-handed pitchers, and he completes a three-man stack of what could be the 4-6 of Houston’s lineup.
Delino DeShields (TEX): $3,300 @ Blue Jays
I nearly selected Matt Adams for this outfield spot at the same cost, but my goodness, AT&T Park’s homer-suppressing ability was too much for me to overlook. Instead, I’ll suggest using DeShields. Since Jeff Banister stopped screwing around with DeShields and handed him the regular left field gig on April 26, DeShields has responded by hitting .322/.390/.391 with five stolen bases and an 115 wRC+. He typically brings up the rear in the lineup against righties, but he has also spent time atop the order and hit leadoff against a righty as recently as May 16. Obviously hitting leadoff would be preferable for point-scoring upside, but a bottom-of-the-order assignment could have the benefit of depressing his ownership rate. Either way, a matchup with Mike Bolsinger is good. Bolsinger should consider waving the white flag against right-handed batters since they’ve tattooed him for a .538 OBP, .655 slugging, and .499 wOBA. As an added bonus, Bolsinger has demonstrated some troubles at times controlling the running game. This year, he’s only allowed one stolen base in three starts, but last year he allowed five in six starts, and in 2015, he allowed nine stolen bases in 21 starts.
Honorable Mentions
- Charlie Blackmon (COL): $5,500 vs. Cardinals
- Andrew Benintendi (BOS): $4,500 vs. Mariners
- Dexter Fowler (STL): $4,500 @ Rockies
- Michael Brantley (CLE): $4,400 vs. Royals
- Nelson Cruz (SEA): $4,200 @ Red Sox
- Matt Joyce (OAK): $3,600 @ Yankees
- George Springer (HOU): $3,600 vs. Orioles
- Matt Adams (STL): $3,300 @ Giants
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Josh Shepardson is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Josh, check out his archive and follow him @BChad50.
