Like a goat at a dog park, Gary Sanchez stands well ahead of the competition at catcher on Thursday and is one of the top plays on FanDuel at any position. While Sanchez isn’t on the same torrid pace he was last year, he enters play with a solid 113 wRC+ and is batting second in the high-powered Yankees lineup. Sanchez is facing Marco Estrada at the Rogers Centre, a launching pad for hitters, and while Estrada has been good this year, he is still giving up his fair share of homers. Estrada has a 1.18 HR/9, so Sanchez has a good shot at taking him deep. At $3,400, he’s the most expensive catcher, but far cheaper than other elite plays, making him almost impossible to pass up. Best of all, Sanchez just had a day off on Wednesday, so it’s a lock that he’ll be in the lineup Thursday – you won’t have to scramble to check lineups and find a replacement.
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Corey Kluber, SP: $10,000 – Kluber’s back! Wait, maybe I shouldn’t say that… Kluber’s returning! This will be Kluber’s first start back from the disabled list, and I’m totally fine with paying up for him. Thursday’s pitching slate is complete garbage, so I think it’s best to pay for an ace on a day like this. He should have no trouble with Oakland’s lineup, and after going five innings in his rehab start, Kluber should be able to take on a full workload.
Zack Greinke, SP: $10,400 – Again, since there are really no middle-tier options that I find tolerable, I think the best strategy today is to pay up for pitching and find some cheaper bats. Greinke has been shredding this season, posting a 10.45 K/9 with just a 1.74 BB/9, and is away from Chase Field on Thursday, one of the best hitter’s parks in the league. He faces a Marlins lineup that is 21st in wOBA against right-handers, with a .311 mark, at the spacious Marlins Park. Greinke looks like a legit ace again.
Adalberto Mejia, SP: $6,100 – If you absolutely insist on taking a cheap starting pitcher, go with the cheapest of them all with Mejia. The Twins starter has been decent in his return to the majors, posting a 3.75 ERA in his 12 innings, and he has 19 strikeouts in his last 19 1/3 innings. Mejia faces what might now be the worst lineup in baseball, the Trout-less Angels, and at punt-level prices, he could pay off big-time.
Sandy Leon, C: $2,100 – If you’re playing the early slate and can’t take Sanchez, I would pretty much punt the position and hope that Leon gets the start. He’s been platooning every other day with Christian Vazquez, who caught yesterday, so it will be Leon today if the pattern continues. He’s got the power to do some damage at Camden Yards, and is at a basement price.
Eric Thames, 1B: $2,900 – I think Thames has got his swagger back, after he homered last night and reached base four times on Tuesday. It looks like his leg issues have gone away, but he’s still priced like he’s slumping on FanDuel. There probably isn’t much time left to get in on Thames while he’s this cheap. His opposition, Zack Wheeler, is worse against lefties, and left his last outing with a blister that could screw with him in this start.
Danny Valencia, 1B: $3,000 – It’s way less fun now that he’s away from Coors, but Danny Valencia is still a nice value play at first against Kyle Freeland. Valencia murks lefties, with a career 138 wRC+ against them, and thus he bats second in the Mariners lineup whenever they face a southpaw. Freeland’s 3.43 ERA is insane when you see that he has a 5.62 K/9 and a 4.06 BB/9, so the Mariners should cash in on some regression fairy fun.
Jason Kipnis, 2B: $3,300 – Kipnis has been crushing the ball over the last two weeks, hitting .281 with four homers and an .849 OPS. He’s leading off for the Indians, making him an outstanding play against A’s starter Jharel Cotton, who has a 5.56 ERA. An entire Indians stack, or simply pairing Kipnis with a guy like Francisco Lindor or Michael Brantley, could be a very effective strategy.
Chris Owings, SS: $2,900 – I don’t know why Owings is still this cheap, because the dude just keeps on hitting. Owings is batting .315 on the year with six homers and nine steals, a nice combo of power and speed. When the DBacks are feeling extra stupid, they lead off Gregor Blanco, but most of the time it’s Owings. Owings can produce no matter where he is in the order against Jeff Locke, and should see plenty of run and RBI opportunities in this matchup.
Jedd Gyorko, 3B: $3,300 – Gyorko looks like a word Trump would accidentally tweet. He also looks like a guy primed for a good day against Brandon McCarthy. McCarthy isn’t a bad pitcher, but Gyorko has been such a monster that he’s pretty much matchup-proof. Gyorko has eight homers on the year with a .927 OPS and is at a low price on Thursday.
Mark Trumbo, OF: $3,600 – Trumbo at home against a lefty? Say no more. In his last month, Trumbo is batting .305 with five home runs, so he’s put his poor start behind him and is producing the power numbers you’ve come to expect.
Kevin Pillar, OF: $3,300 – Most Blue Jays hitters are very expensive on Sunday, as they should be against CC Sabathia. However, even as their leadoff man, Pillar is coming in at a much lower price. Pillar has fantastic fantasy numbers, with seven homers and eight steals to go with a .278 average and 33 runs. The Jays are going to put up some crooked numbers against CC, so getting their leadoff man is a good way to go.
Chris Taylor, OF: $3,200 – CT3 has got some regression coming his way, but he’s hella hot right now and worth getting into your lineups. Taylor has been walking a ton this year, with a 14.6% BB, and also hitting for power with a .540 SLG. He should fare well against Adam Wainwright.
I’m Only Happy When It Rains
No threats of rain anywhere! The wind is blowing out pretty heavy to right field in the Brewers-Mets game, which should boost offense there, but nothing really notable outside of that.
Doing Lines In Vegas
I’m loving the Rockies at +122 against Yovani Gallardo and the Mariners, since Gallardo has been trash. I also like the Orioles at +109 against Boston, as Wade Miley could put in some work, and Orioles hitters like Trumbo and Mancini feast on opposing lefties like Eduardo Rodriguez. Finally, Milwaukee at +138 is a strong bet, since their lineup is far better than the Mets, so they could easily run up the score on them.
