Cleveland Indians pitcher Shane Bieber pitches during a spring training baseball game against the Chicago White Sox Sunday, March 24, 2019, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
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Opponent - KC (Brad Keller) Park - KC
FD - 42.57 DK - 23.75
Despite the main slate being just seven games, we get three aces at the top but the decision is pretty easy here, at least for cash games. Shane "don't call me Justin" Bieber has been the top of the class of MLB pitching as he sits tied with Max Fried with a 1.35 ERA but separates himself as he also leads the league with an outstanding 1.57 xFIP, more than a half-run better than deGrom in second.
Tonight, he gets the best matchup of the big three as a -220 favorite against the Royals who rank 20th or worse in wOBA(.316) and wRC+(95) and have struck out 24% of the time vs. right-handed pitching. All things considered, Bieber is my top pitcher in all formats.
Opponent - MIL (Eric Lauer) Park - MIL
FD - 30.67 DK - 15.1
There is more than one way to go about pitching tonight in cash games but with all the offenses' in great spots, I want to steer clear of the double pay-up and look for a value option. One way to go would be to use Max Fried as a SP2 but that still puts us over $20K combined on DK so let's go even deeper. Trevor Williams got blown up by the White Sox in his last start but was very solid for cash games before that hitting at least 12 DK points in four straight before that. That is all I am looking for tonight if it means I can load up on a few more bats.
Opponent - MIN (Rich Hill) Park - MIN
FD - 10.75 DK - 8.17
Opponent - MIN (Rich Hill) Park - MIN
FD - 10.71 DK - 7.94
The White Sox have the #1 offense in baseball when looking at key metrics like wOBA(.350), wRC+(123), and ISO(.220) and sit just two back of the Dodgers in home runs. On a small slate that includes a game in Coors, we definitely have some pivot options and the Sox are right near the top of the list. They face lefty Rich Hill who is more than due for some regression as his xFIP(4.99) sits near a run and a half higher than his ERA(3.55) and his xwOBA(.409) is far worse than his wOBA(.273) to start the season.
More good news here with the White Sox as they have two viable options at first base in different price tiers. Jose Abreu is the pay-up option and has been red-hot with hits in 13 straight and sits with an elite .418 wOBA and 169 wRC+. Encarnacion is on the wrong side of 35 and is very streaky but is going at the moment with hits in five of his last eight games including four home runs. Nost of all, he is cheap on both sites and can be paired with Abreu on FanDuel with the flex spot.
Opponent - WSH (Erick Fedde) Park - PHI
FD - 13.78 DK - 10.17
Right in the middle of the two White Sox hitters, in terms of pricing, is Rhys Hoskins who has really come on since a very slow start. Since August 9(18 games), he has posted an elite .419 wOBA and 166 wRC+ whole averaging 14.5 FD/8.9 DK points per game. Tonight, he and the Phillies get a plus matchup against Erick Fedde who has more walks(10) than strikeouts(6) and sits with an xFIP(5.57) that is two runs higher than his ERA(3.57). At these prices, Hoskins is a core play for me in all formats.
Opponent - PHI (Spencer Howard) Park - PHI
FD - 11.05 DK - 8.51
Kendrick got a day off on Sunday but it wasn't performance-related as he enters Monday red-hot with hits in five straight and 11 of his last 13 games. We normally target him against lefties where and that is where the upside lies but the good news here is that he has been consistent against righties as well with a .327 average over 59 plate appearances. Either way, he comes with a nice price in the middle infield in a plus matchup. He is in play in all formats.
Opponent - MIN (Rich Hill) Park - MIN
FD - 6.99 DK - 5.4
Opponent - MIN (Rich Hill) Park - MIN
FD - 7.82 DK - 6.17
The middle infield is a great spot to punt and I will go back to the White Sox for that tonight. The team eventually wants their 2018 first round(4th overall) pick, Nick Madrigal, to be the everyday guy and the good news is that since he returned from the injured list he has five hits in two games. He has much more upside but if Mendick gets back in the lineup, I am ok with him as a cash punt as he has been solid with hits in nine of his last 11 games.
Opponent - MIN (Rich Hill) Park - MIN
FD - 11.53 DK - 8.98
Opponent - PHI (Spencer Howard) Park - PHI
FD - 12.51 DK - 9.66
The shortstop position is very interesting tonight in that it is absolutely loaded at the top with four elite options. On DraftKings, they are all separated by just $600 so pick your favorite in correlation with the rest of your lineup construction. On FanDuel, at least in cash games, the choice is narrowed down a bit more as Turner and Anderson are much more separated in salary from Story and Tatis.
For Anderson, he has picked up right where he left off after breaking out last year and comes into tonight with a .343/.380/.618 slash line. What stands out the most are the splits as he has been otherworldly against left-handed pitching hitting .516 over 34 plate appearances with five home runs and a .710 wOBA/367 wRC+.
The decision isn't easy, however, as Turner has been scorching hot himself with hits in 15 straight including multi-hit efforts in three straight(11 for 15) giving him a .360/.417/.616 slash line on the season. Both players hit leadoff for their respective teams and both teams are in great spots tonight so fire either up in all formats.
Opponent - MIL (Eric Lauer) Park - MIL
FD - 8.62 DK - 6.76
If for some reason you decide to fade one of the four elite options at the top, Erik Gonzalez is once again my favorite punt play at the position. Unlike those guys mentioned above, he will not be winning you many GPP's but is a very solid cash game play as long as he remains the leadoff hitter against left-handed pitching. He took over the role on the 20th of August and has since tallied a hit in eight of 11 games. He is best used in cash games as a salary relief option but could be put into a Pirates contrarian stack, as well.
Opponent - COL (German Márquez) Park - COL
FD - 10.96 DK - 8.28
The lack of Padres and Rockies thus far has nothing to do with the projections and much more to do with the high price tags making them tough to target in cash games. If you are targeting this game, I do prefer the Padres who have scored 26 runs through three games at Coors. Machado gets the nod over Tatis only because he is cheaper but both have been scorching hot and Manny comes in with a 12 game hitting streak which includes nine multi-hit efforts and 11 extra-base hits.
Opponent - BOS (Colten Brewer) Park - BOS
FD - 7.94 DK - 5.97
We are never going to confuse Austin Riley with a consistent hitter(.220 avg) but he has caught my attention lately. He went into Sunday's game with hits in eight of his last nine games and is currently 2 for 3 with a home run on Sunday Night Baseball. What he lacks in consistency he more than makes up for with power upside and gets a plus matchup against a struggling Colten Brewer(4.57 ERA, 4.53 xFIP) and while he will likely have a short outing, the Red Sox bullpen can most definitely be picked on(5.54 ERA, 18% HR/FB rate). While he is best used in GPP formats, Riley can be considered a cash play with a combination of a low price, hot form, and plus matchup.
Opponent - PHI (Spencer Howard) Park - PHI
FD - 14.58 DK - 10.86
Opponent - PHI (Spencer Howard) Park - PHI
FD - 10.83 DK - 8.34
Fading Coors is most definitely an option tonight and this Nats/Phillies game is the perfect pivot. If you are spending up there is no one else but Juan Soto who somehow looks better than he did a year ago when he hit 34 home runs with 110 RBI and 110 runs scored. Through 22 games going into Sunday, he has posted a .395 wOBA and 215 wRC+ and already has nine home runs. Now he faces a rookie pitcher who has struggled mightily against left-handed bats.
If you are paying up for pitching or some Coors bats, you can still get exposure to the Nats with some value and it starts with Adam Eaton. He hasn't been great this season but better as of late with hits in 11 of his last 15 games with 11 RBI and 10 runs scored. The intrigue goes down some if he is back down in the 5/6 spot but is still cheap on both sites and like I mentioned with Soto, Spencer Howard really struggles with lefties.
Opponent - BOS (Colten Brewer) Park - BOS
FD - 7.78 DK - 5.95
Markakis originally opted out of the season with COVID-19 in mind but that didn't last long as he re-joined the team in late July and got back on the field August 5. The Braves have more than welcomed the veteran outfielder back in the lineup and while he hits down in the order, he has been a steady contributor hitting .340 with an elite .397 on-base percentage. The Braves have a plus matchup tonight against Red Sox and with a small slate that involves a game at Coors and some elite pitching we are going to need to the value more than ever. Markakis is in play in all formats.
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