While many fantasy players have checked out of baseball to get ready for football, you love baseball so much (or are just really good at gambling on baseball) that you decided to stick around for the dog days of summer. While you’re likely using a lot of this time to figure out who you’re going to draft fifth overall for football, I’m over here doing your DFS baseball research to hopefully earn you guys some cash.
Tuesday features a full 15-game slate, but the pitching is surprisingly dearth of talent. In cash games, there appears to be a clear strategy in terms of pitching. However, Coors Field will be on display, and with the way the probable pitchers are pitching, you will definitely want a piece of Rockies-Padres, so you might have to go light on pitching tonight.
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Pitcher
Kevin Gausman (ATL): $7,100 @ PIT
Your SP1 tonight in cash games has to be Blake Snell, as he is simply on a roll coming off of the DL. However, Gausman fits nicely as an SP2. He has started pitching from the stretch, and it has worked quite nicely. In three of his past four outings, Gausman has pitched at least six innings and has a 3.82 ERA. While the strikeouts have not been there this year, and the Pirates do not strike out a ton, he struck out eight Brewers two turns ago. PNC is a pitcher’s park, and the Pirates are in a slump offensively, as they have not scored more than four runs in a game since August 11th. Gausman has a good chance at a win and solid ratios.
Brett Anderson (OAK): $5,700 vs. TEX
I cannot believe that I am writing about Anderson in this space, considering how bad he was in 2017, but here we are. It seems that his back issues are completely fixed, and he holds a 2.27 ERA and 0.88 WHIP over the past month. His games have not been easy either, as he has gone into Texas and Colorado and pitched well. He gets to face a Rangers team (at home this time) that strikes out over 24% of the time and is in the bottom half of the league in average. Like Gausman, Anderson has a great shot at a win and should pitch decently deep into this ballgame.
Other Notables
Mike Leake (SEA): $6,600 vs. HOU – Leake is on a roll and Houston is slumping
Jordan Zimmermann (DET): $6,500 vs. CHC – Cubs are slumping and Zim has shown flashes of brilliance this year
Catcher
Willson Contreras (CHC): $3,600 @ DET
There are two things going against Willy the Beast tonight: 1) He is hitting .231 with one homer over the past month 2) Comerica is a pitcher’s haven. Let’s not forget that Willson was an All-Star this year and still has a 112 wRC+. He’s worth a flyer at this cheap price against a pitcher who just got lit up by the Cubs’ crosstown rivals in his last start.
Other Notables
Evan Gattis (HOU): $3,900 @ SEA – hits homers in bunches, and hit one Sunday
First Base
Matt Olson (OAK): $4,100 vs. TEX
Olson absolutely mashes righties, as he has almost five times more homers against righties (19) as lefties (4), but in only twice the amount of at-bats. The Athletics are on a tear right now, and Olson should find plenty of ways to create runs tonight against gas can Ariel Jurado. Coupled with first baseman costing a fortune tonight, if you are not willing to pay up, Olson is your best bet.
Other Notables
Carlos Santana (PHI): $3,900 @ WAS – provides a safe floor at a cheap price
Second Base
Brian Dozier (LAD): $4,100 vs. STL
While this is $4K+ territory, Dozier is turning his season around and this is great value for him. He has six stolen bases and three bombs over the past month, and looks to be back in the swing of things by going 3-for-5 on Sunday after having an irregular heartbeat scare. Notoriously a second-half performer, it’s time to get on the Dozier bandwagon before everyone else hops on too.
Other Notables
Gleyber Torres (NYY: $3,900 @ MIA – Torres has slumped lately, but playing against the Marlins should help
Third Base
David Bote (CHC): $3,400 @ DET
Bote, Bote, Bote rockin’ everywhere, especially after that pinch-hit granny he hit to destroy the Nationals’ playoff hopes. I heard our very own Bobby Sylvester call him David “Bot” on the most recent FantasyPros baseball podcast – that’s not right Bobby! It’s “booty” with a soft “o” – now you know. While it’s not guaranteed that he will start tonight, he has a great chance to with Kris Bryant still nursing a sore shoulder and Addison Russell struggling offensively. In 109 plate appearances, Bote has a 124 wRC+and a .359 wOBA. Long story short, the league has not adjusted to him yet, so he should still have a few great games in him.
Other Notables
Matt Duffy (TB): $3,700 vs. KC – if you need a safe floor in cash games, Duffy is your man
Anthony Rendon (WAS): $4,300 vs. PHI – threw an extra notable in here in case Bote does not start
Shortstop
Andrelton Simmons (LAA): $3,300 @ ARI
In terms of value, this beats even Brian Dozier. Simmons has slightly fallen off his early season clip, but he is still hitting .297 this year. Hitting against Patrick Corbin is not easy, but Simmons has struck out just eight times against lefties all season. Simmons is a great option in cash.
Other Notables
Elvis Andrus (TEX): $4,000 @ OAK – tattoos Brett Anderson (7-for-22, three walks)
Outfield
Odubel Herrera (PHI): $3,800 @ WAS
Herrera has been slumping mightily lately, but he should wake up against Tanner Roark and the Nats. Herrera is 15-for-36 against Roark lifetime with five doubles and a homer.
Tommy Pham (TB): $3,900 vs. KC
This one is a no-brainer. Pham has done well since being activated off the DL, and is motivated after a chance of scenery. Glenn Sparkman is the Royals’ starting pitcher, and he does nothing to inspire confidence. Pham could get a homer and a steal Tuesday, and pairs nicely as a contrarian stack with Duffy.
Melky Cabrera (CLE): $4,100 @ BOS
Cabrera is white-hot right now, hitting three homers in his past five games. He will be facing Nathan Eovaldi, who has been good-not-great in his short tenure with the Red Sox. After hitting a homer off of Rick Porcello, he’s certainly capable of doing the same to Eovaldi. Plus, both Francisco Lindor and Jose Ramirez are cold, meaning that they are likely to turn it around as soon as tonight, getting Cabrera plenty of opportunities to drive in runs.
Other Notables
Austin Meadows (TB): $4,100 vs. KC – yet another Ray you can use in a contrarian stack against a poor pitcher
Kyle Schwarber (CHC): $4,100 @ DET – four homers in past two weeks, mashes against righties
Be sure to pay close attention to the lineups when they are released and monitor the weather leading up to game time. For reference throughout the season, be sure to bookmark our overview of MLB Park Factors and how to Use Weather to Your Advantage in MLB DFS. Also, check out our GPP and Cash Games Primers to learn more about different daily fantasy game types specific to MLB. Best of luck and stack some Rockies!
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Carmen Maiorano is a correspondent at FantasyPros. For more from Carmen, check out his archive and follow him @cmaiorano3.
