Did you know left-handed people are more prone to allergies? In the book Cerebral Dominance: The Biological Foundations, it finds lefties to be 11 times more likely to suffer from allergies than righties. I guess that explains why Patrick Corbin seems allergic to getting hitters out. Furthermore, data collected in 2008 by the Illinois Research Composium found that when given two tasks to perform simultaneously, southpaws performed best. I guess that explains how Yusei Kikuchi can both defecate all over the mound and detonate your team’s ratios at the same time.
I know I’m spending time bagging on a couple of low-(and left-)hanging fruit, but there are some lefties today that you’re going to want to roll with – Carlos Rodon (FD $10,800/DK $10,600) and Max Fried (FD $10,400).
Rodon gets to host Pittsburgh, and the numbers say he’s set to be inhospitable. The Bucs are 28th in team AVG vs LHPs and 26th in team OPS vs LHPs. Helping the case for Rodon, Pittsburgh is also 29th in team AVG and 27th in team OPS on road. Now it stands to reason that a bad team is a bad team no matter what hand the pitcher throws with and no matter what ballpark they play in, but we’ll take the added reasons here. And just to make sure you know it’s not all just about Pittsburgh, and also about how good Rodon is, he’s got a 1.76 home ERA/1.11 home WHIP with 73 Ks in 51 IP. Strong play today.
Atlanta’s Max Fried is another quality lefty who shares many of the same advantages as Rodon has today. Though Rodon has the friendly dimensions of his home park in San Francisco, Fried is on the road in similarly hitter-friendly Marlins Park. Though less dominant than Rodon, Fried hasn’t given up more than 3 ER since June 14. As for his opponent, Miami is last in MLB in AVG and OPS vs LHPs, and 24th in home OPS. Fried has been much better on the road than at Truist in Atlanta, giving up a .216/.233/.270 road triple slash with a fantastic 51:5 K:BB ratio. Another strong SP play today, Fried may come at enough of a discount to make him the pick for your teams. (***Late edit*** Fried to the concussion IL after the article was submitted. *prayer hands emoji*)
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M.J. Melendez, C: FD $3,000/DK $4,500 – MJ is the 2nd overall hitter on the Razzball Player Rater over the last seven days, going 9-for-25 with 4 HRs and 11 RBI. He’s a great play at C because PT may be more hit-and-miss for this spot, but between C, OF and DH, MJ is ED (Every Day; what did *you* think that meant? Sorry, can’t relate).
Christian Walker, 1B: FD $3,800/DK $4,100 – Coors calls for all Rockies and D-backs this weekend, and Walker is more Crusher vs. Antoni-oh-no Senzatela, going 13-for-25 with a pair of HRs in his career vs the righty. In my actual money plays, I may use many more Rox and D-backs but here I try to give you lots of different plays that may diversify your teams.
Jean Segura, 2B: FD $2,800/DK $3,600 – Segura is playing every day and the Phillies are red-hot. They’re facing Max Scherzer, Streamonator’s top-rated pitcher today. But here’s where you zig when the other DFS players zag: Segura is 12-for-33 lifetime vs. Mad Max, and he’s being largely ignored by the majority of DFS players today. A knock and a run here and you’ve turned a profit.
J.D. Davis, 3B: FD $2,500/DK $2,200 – I know Just Dong is reserved for Martinez, but it’s been far more applicable to Davis since his trade to the Bay Area, as he’s 7-for-20 with three dongs as a Giant.
Paul DeJong, SS: FD $2,900/DK $3,900 – Since his promotion back to the big club, DeJong has DeStroyed the ball. He was 9th on the Razzball Player Rater last week, going 9-for-22 with 2 HRs and 9 RBI. It’s a small sample size, but DeJong has worked over lefties this year, slashing .300/.440/.550 this year. Eric Lauer, into the bleachers, with the wood bat–the game of Clue is now over.
Luis Robert, OF: FD $3,700/DK $5,100 – Hittertron is littered with Arizona and Colorado hitters today, but the highest non-Juan Soto, non-Coors outfielder today is Robert. Detroit has been a disaster, but Robert hasn’t homered in seven games, walked in five games, and stolen a base since June 12. But if you’re on this site and you’re subscribing for these services, let’s use at least one of these spots to put faith in Hittertron.
Randy Arozarena, OF: FD $3,300/DK $4,900 – The Rice Bowl is 7 for his last 21 with a homer, five RBI and a bag. He’s got a couple of doubles too, and is walking nearly identically to his strikeout amounts. The Rays are pushing, the O’s are pushing, and Randy is a big-game player.
Steven Kwan, OF: FD $2,700/DK $4,200 – Kwan is triple-slashing .353/.421/.539 the last seven days, but it’s been empty, with three runs and no other counting stats to show for it. If you bat atop the lineup and continue to put up OPS like he has, counting stats will follow. Play the percentages.
I’m Only Happy When It Rains
Our friends at @BallparkWeather say that everything looks good, with only a few showers in the area early in the day in Colorado but a low risk of delay for Arizona @ Colorado.
Doing Lines In Vegas
Detroit is throwing either Bryan Garcia or LHP Daniel Norris against the White Sox today, and I like Eloy Jimenez at +110 to go over 1.5 Total Bases tonight.
