There’s only one pitcher with a five-figure salary tonight, making seemingly every other pitcher a value of sorts. Having said that, I’m honing in on only two of them tonight, which is reflected below. They’re joined by a studs worth their salary section jam packed with elite hitters. Have no fear, though, there are also ample value hitting options available to allow for squeezing a few studs into lineups and staying under the cap.
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Value Plays
Pitcher
| NAME (TEAM) | OPPONENT | PRICE | MATCHUP | RISK |
| Kyle Gibson (TEX) | vs. SEA | $8.700 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Low |
| Dustin May (LAD) | vs. SD | $7,500 | ⭐⭐⭐ | Medium |
My favorite pitching options tonight make for a two-horse race. Gibson’s the more expensive option of the two, and he has a favorable matchup tonight. Thus far this year, the Mariners rank 21st in wRC+ (91) and have the 10th-highest strikeout rate (25.6%) against right-handed pitchers this year, according to FanGraphs. Gibson’s armed with the swing-and-miss stuff necessary to pile up punchouts in bunches against his American League West foes.
May comes in at a steep $1,200 discount. A three-star matchup might feel like a friendly rating on my part given the Friars strong marks against right-handed pitchers this year. However, the bulk of their best hitters are right-handed, and May’s held righties to a paltry .202 wOBA since last year. Facing them last Tuesday, he amassed 46 fantasy points racking up eight strikeouts, a quality start, and a win while yielding only two earned runs on three hits and one walk in six innings. Recency bias and a bargain salary will likely make him the chalk pitching option, but he’s also my favorite pitching option and worth eating the chalk to use.
Catcher/First Base
| NAME (TEAM) | OPPONENT | PRICE | MATCHUP | RISK |
| Matt Olson (OAK) | @ LAA | $3,500 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Low |
| C.J. Cron (DET) | vs. CHW | $3,300 | ⭐⭐⭐ | Medium |
| Miguel Cabrera (DET) | vs. CHW | $2,900 | ⭐⭐⭐ | Low |
The Tigers are well represented in the table above. Dallas Keuchel has been sharp in three turns so far this year, but his .328 wOBA ceded to right-handed batters since last year isn’t a number to fade. Further, Cron and Cabrera both boast excellent numbers against lefties with a 144 wRC+ and 152 wRC+ against them since 2017. Olson’s my favorite option at first, though, owning a .316 ISO and 157 wRC+ against right-handed pitchers on the road since 2017.
Second Base
| NAME (TEAM) | OPPONENT | PRICE | MATCHUP | RISK |
| Jonathan Schoop (DET) | vs. CHW | $3,100 | ⭐⭐⭐ | Medium |
| Howie Kendrick (WAS) | @ NYM | $2,500 | ⭐⭐⭐ | Low |
| Luis Arraez (MIN) | @ MIL | $2,200 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Low |
Second base is my favorite spot to punt tonight with two excellent options at $2,500 or cheaper. In 277 plate appearances against lefties since 2017, Kendrick’s ripped off a .390 OBP, .211 ISO, and 144 wRC+ against lefties. Arraez is even cheaper with a much shorter track record of success against righties, but his .389 OBP and 128 wRC+ against them since debuting for the Twins last year certainly plays at just a couple hundred dollars more than the minimum salary.
Third Base
| NAME (TEAM) | OPPONENT | PRICE | MATCHUP | RISK |
| Yoan Moncada (CHW) | @ CHW | $3,500 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Medium |
| Matt Chapman (OAK) | @ LAA | $3,400 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Medium |
| Andy Young (ARI) | @ COL | $2,500 | ⭐⭐⭐ | High |
For full disclosure, my two favorite options at the hot corner are both featured in the studs worth their salary section below. If you’re fading them both, the power of Moncada and Chapman as well as the power and Coors Field boost provided to Young at a tiny salary have merit for usage in GPPs.
Shortstop
| NAME (TEAM) | OPPONENT | PRICE | MATCHUP | RISK |
| Jorge Polanco (MIN) | @ MIL | $2,900 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Low |
| Niko Goodrum (DET) | vs. CHW | $2,800 | ⭐⭐⭐ | Medium |
| Marcus Semien (OAK) | @ OAK | $2,700 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Medium |
My favorite shortstop option is also below in the studs worth their salary section. Having said that, the cases for using any of the trio of sub-$3,000 salary options is stronger than pivoting off my two favorite options at the hot corner for the value options listed above.
Semien’s 109 wRC+ against righties since 2017 is the worst mark of the trio against the handedness of pitcher they’re facing tonight, but I’m bullish on the A’s scoring outlook tonight. Goodrum has stack appeal with either or both of the aforementioned Cron and Cabrera, and Polanco can be used in conjunction with his double-play mate in the middle infield for the Twins, too.
Outfield
| NAME (TEAM) | OPPONENT | PRICE | MATCHUP | RISK |
| Ramon Laureano (OAK) | @ LAA | $3,500 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Medium |
| Michael Brantley (HOU) | vs. SF | $3,300 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Low |
| Matt Kemp (COL) | vs. SD | $3,300 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Low |
| Mark Canha (OAK) | @ LAA | $2,800 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Low |
| Alex Dickerson (SF) | @ HOU | $2,500 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | High |
Laureano charged the Astros’ dugout yesterday after being hit by a second pitch last night, so gamers will want to make sure he hasn’t been levied a suspension and begun serving it before using him. With the A’s well represented in the tables, suffice to say I’m expecting them to rough up Julio Teheran. He wasn’t sharp in his first start of the year, and his 3.81 ERA in 33 starts spanning 174.2 innings last year was in stark contrast to his 5.11 SIERA. Enter Laureano and Canha as great exposure to his mediocrity — or worse — as well as the previously touted A’s.
Kemp should be pretty chalky at a cheap-ish price playing at Coors Field against struggling lefty Robbie Ray. That’s for good reason, though. He hasn’t been a world beater against lefties in the twilight of his career, but his .193 ISO and 107 wRC+ against them since 2017 are decent marks. Most importantly, he gets the Coors Field bump tonight without a bloated Coors Field salary bump. If you need a reminder of just how far ahead of the field Coors Field is in park factor boosting runs, check out our MLB Park Factors landing page.
5 Studs Worth Their Salary
- Mike Trout (LAA) $4,500: There’s basically always a case for using MLB’s best player, but facing scuffling Sean Manaea (8.03 ERA in 12.1 innings this year) makes Trout’s case especially compelling for usage tonight.
- Trevor Story (COL) $4,200: Story’s a monster at home against southpaws, and Ray’s out of sorts. I don’t expect him to turn things around at Coors.
- Nolan Arenado (COL) $4,200: I could copy and paste Story’s write-up here and it would apply. These are my two favorite options from the game in Colorado tonight.
- Anthony Rendon (LAA) $4,000: Rendon makes for another excellent piece of exposure to the struggling Manaea.
- J.D. Martinez (BOS) $3,900: Nobody’s been better against lefties since 2017 than Martinez, and he draws one on the bump opposing him tonight. Getting him below $4,000 is gravy.
5 Notable Players to Fade
- Patrick Corbin (WAS) $10,800: Corbin’s largely the victim of needing salary available for the top hitters on tonight’s slate. Having stellar alternatives in the form of Gibson and May makes him an even easier fade tonight.
- Fernando Tatis Jr. (SD) $4,300: Tatis Jr. smoked a homer last night, but paying more than $4,000 to use a righty against May and his .202 wOBA allowed to righties since last year isn’t wise.
- Cody Bellinger (LAD) $4,100: Bellinger’s struggling early, and his 4.6% barrels per plate appearance is tied for 121st out of 263 qualified hitters this year, per Baseball Savant.
- Ketel Marte (ARI) $4,100/Starling Marte (ARI) $3,800: You can’t roster all of the options at Coors Field tonight, and both Ketel and Starling Marte make for obvious fades for me. Like Bellinger, both are struggling to barrel the ball as measured by barrels per plate appearance. Further, Ketel Marte’s off to a mediocre start, and, even though Starling Marte is raking early, Jon Gray‘s a surprisingly stout matchup in his home digs.
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Josh Shepardson is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Josh, check out his archive and follow him @BChad50.
