There are just six games on the main slate for Monday, so there will likely be plenty of overlap due to a small player pool. Keep this in mind when constructing your lineups today, as you’ll need to differentiate yourself even more than usual if you’re playing tournaments. Let’s take a look at a tournament lineup for FanDuel.
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Pitcher
Rich Hill (LAD) : $7,800 vs. LAA
Anytime you roster Hill you need to not only be cognizant of his injury risk, but also his inability to work deep into games. Hill has yet to pitch more than five innings through nine starts, but he’s managed to offset that risk with a healthy strikeout rate (9.68 K/9). However, it’s pretty tough to log a quality start when you can’t complete the required six innings to be eligible for that category, so that also diminishes his value. With those risks in mind, you’re really searching for an outing similar to his last one, in which he went five innings, struck out eight hitters and allowed one earned run on his way to a win. He will be in a decent position this evening, as he faces an Angels’ offense that ranks 20th against lefties in terms of wRC+ on the season, and 23rd over the last 30 days. While they don’t strikeout a lot, the flexibility that utilizing Hill creates in terms of roster construction is appealing. Hill is a high risk, high reward play tonight.
Other Notables
- Chris Sale (BOS): $11,700 vs. MIN
- Carlos Carrasco (CLE): $9,900 vs. TEX (GPP; weather risk)
- Jeff Samardzija (SF): $8,300 vs. COL (GPP)
Catcher
Yasmani Grandal (LAD) : $3,000 vs. LAA
While a lot of attention will likely be focused on Gary Sanchez (rightfully so), pivoting away to Grandal isn’t the worst move. The Angels are sending Ricky Nolasco to the mound, who is a mediocre pitcher at best. Nolasco has allowed nine home runs to lefties this season, and his hard minus soft contact rate of 23.2% suggests he’s being squared up on a routine basis. Grandal and the Dodgers are a top 10 offense against right-handed pitching, which has led to a healthy team total pushing into the mid-5s tonight.
Other Notables
- Gary Sanchez (NYY): $3,700 @ CWS
- Buster Posey (SF): $3,400 vs. COL (GPP)
- Matt Wieters (WAS): $2,400 vs. CHC
First Base
Jose Abreu (CWS) : $3,400 vs. NYY
Cody Bellinger is egregiously priced below $4,000, so I don’t mind going there, but I’m also trying to differentiate a bit in terms of projected ownership. With a short slate and Bellinger coming off a two home run outing, he should be very popular tonight, and for good reason. That being said, Abreu finds himself in a nice matchup at home, where power is conducive to right-handed hitters. Jordan Montgomery has been middle of the road in terms of his numbers against right-handed hitters, but with the White Sox at the top of the pack against lefties, he could find trouble this evening. Abreu has three home runs over his last 10 games, and his OPS sits at a healthy .976 over that span, making him a fine tournament option as a result.
Other Notables
- Ryan Zimmerman (WAS): $4,000 vs. CHC (GPP)
- Cody Bellinger (LAD): $3,800 vs. LAA
- Matt Holliday (NYY): $3,200 @ CWS (check status; GPP)
Second Base
Alen Hanson (CWS): $2,300 vs. NYY
Hanson has hit out of the leadoff spot in consecutive games, and he’d be a fine source of salary relief if he remains there this evening. As I noted above, the White Sox rank first in terms of wRC+ against lefties, which should translate to plenty of scoring opportunities atop this lineup.
Other Notables
- Daniel Murphy (WAS): $4,000 vs. CHC
- Starlin Castro (NYY): $3,100 @ CWS (check status; GPP)
- Javier Baez (CHC): $2,700 @ WAS (GPP)
Third Base
Logan Forsythe (LAD) : $2,800 vs. LAA
For as bad as Ricky Nolasco has been against lefties, he’s been even worse against same-handed hitters this season (.391 wOBA). His hard contact rate to right-handed hitters sits at a staggering 41.5%, with his hard minus soft contact rate pushing 27%. He’s allowed 14 home runs (!!) in just 42.1 IP to same-handed hitters and this puts Forsythe on the map as a result. Ideally, we’d like to see him back in the leadoff spot, but he’s been shuffled all over the batting order as of late. As long as he remains in the top six of the order, he’s a fine way to get access to this offense without breaking the bank.
Other Notables
- Nolan Arenado (COL): $4,100 @ SF (GPP)
- Justin Turner (LAD): $3,800 vs. LAA
- Kris Bryant (CHC): $3,800 @ WAS (GPP)
- Todd Frazier (CWS): $3,500 vs. NYY (GPP)
Shortstop
Trea Turner (WAS): $4,300 vs. CHC
Turner brings big time stolen base upside to the table, and he will draw a plus matchup against Eddie Butler. Butler has walked (4.89 BB/9) nearly as many hitters as he’s struck out (5.82 K/9) this season, and his xFIP (5.43) is over a full run higher than his actual ERA (4.19). Turner has fared well against same-handed pitchers in his career, having posted a .374 wOBA/.213 ISO/131 wRC+ in 530 plate appearances.
Other Notables
- Corey Seager (LAD): $3,800 vs. LAA (check status)
- Tim Anderson (CWS): $2,700 vs. NYY (GPP)
Outfielders
Aaron Judge (NYY): $4,900 @ CWS
This is a good park for right-handed power, and Judge will hold the platoon advantage over David Holmberg this evening. It’s a small sample, but Holmberg has fared well against right-handed hitters this season, but his xFIP (5.43) and BABIP (.214) tell a different tale. He’s getting hit hard (39.7%) by right-handed hitters, yet he’s managed to skate out of trouble for the most part. Enter Judge, who has punished everything in sight thus far, and you have the potential for a massive outing.
Melky Cabrera (CWS): $3,200 vs. NYY
Cabrera is locked into the second spot of the batting order, and he is providing serviceable fantasy production from there this season. I’ve noted a few times how well the White Sox have fared against lefties, so don’t be afraid to pick on Jordan Montgomery a bit tonight.
Avisail Garcia (CWS): $3,200 vs. NYY
10 of Garcia’s 11 home runs this season have come against right-handed pitching, but his overall numbers are part of the reason why the White Sox have such great team numbers against lefties. He’s posted a .480 wOBA this season against left-handed pitching, which is obviously unsustainable (.604 BABIP), but it does reinforce that he’s been better against lefties in his career.
Other Notables
- Bryce Harper (WAS): $4,500 vs. CHC
- Charlie Blackmon (COL): $4,100 @ SF (GPP)
- Michael A. Taylor (WAS): $3,500 vs. CHC (GPP)
- Joc Pederson (LAD): $3,400 vs. LAA (GPP)
My Lineup
- SP – Rich Hill (LAD): $7,800 vs. LAA
- C – Yasmani Grandal (LAD): $3,000 vs. LAA
- 1B – Jose Abreu (CWS): $3,400 vs. NYY
- 2B – Alen Hanson (CWS): $2,300 vs. NYY
- 3B – Logan Forsythe (LAD): $2,800 vs. LAA
- SS – Trea Turner (WAS): $4,300 vs. CHC
- OF – Aaron Judge (NYY): $4,900 @ CWS
- OF – Avisail Garcia (CWS): $3,200 vs. NYY
- OF – Melky Cabrera (CWS): $3,200 vs. NYY
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Adam Sutton is a correspondent at FantasyPros. To read more from Adam, follow him @DraftStars_Adam. You can find more of Adam’s work at DraftStars.net.
