Matthew Boyd ($7,900) had a tough time in his first two starts this year, but a night against the Pirates is what Boyd needs to bounce back. The Pirates were the weakest lineup in baseball against left-handed pitching last year with a .289 wOBA. They’ve hit lefties well so far this season, but I’m willing to bet against that small sample performance… glances in the direction of Philip Evans and Guillermo Heredia… I wouldn’t be worried about Boyd tonight. After posting a 30.2% K-rate last year, Boyd’s got lots of upside to chase in GPP tournaments.
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Yusei Kikuchi, SP: $7,200 – Kikuchi is back on the fantasy radar after six scoreless innings against the A’s where he struck out nine and walked just one. He’s added velocity to his fastball, so there’s reason to believe he may not be the same guy from last year. He’s facing the Rockies in Seattle, who will have a Coors hangover in their first game off of a home stretch. They had just a .288 wOBA on the road last year with mostly the same cast of hitters.
Rhys Hoskins, 1B: $3,200 – Hoskins is one of the Phillies you want to target tonight as he’s batting second against Kyle Wright. Wright nearly has as many walks (7) as strikeouts (8) with a 7.50 ERA. This should play in Hoskins’ favor as he had a 16.5% walk-rate last year, so expect him to get on base and score some runs.
Howie Kendrick, 2B: $2,400– King Kendrick lights up lefties, last season he batted a ridiculous .376 with a 1.036 OPS against southpaws. He’s a must-play on the early slate against Tommy Milone, owner of a 5.63 ERA.
Rafael Devers, 3B: $3,400 – Devers is off to a cold start, but a series back at home in hitter-friendly Fenway Park can certainly help out with that. He’ll be batting second in a great spot for runs and RBI against Tanner Roark, who had a 4.67 FIP in 2019.
Bo Bichette, SS: $3,200 – Bichette has a ton of upside batting leadoff against Ryan Weber in Fenway. Weber might be the worst starter on the slate after allowing nine earned runs in seven innings this year, so the Jays present a cheap stack opportunity.
Marcell Ozuna, OF: $3,500– Ozuna has great odds of hitting a home run tonight against Vince Velazquez, who had a 1.99 HR/9 last year along with a 5.21 FIP. Ozuna is scorching hot to start the year with a 153 wRC+. Pair him with other Braves hitters for another stack to build around.
Shohei Ohtani, OF: $3,100 – Ohtani’s pitching injuries and issues clearly don’t affect him as a hitter, as he went deep last night and has now homered in three of his last four games. He’s batting cleanup for the Angels with a career.948 OPS against righties.
Michael Conforto, OF: $2,800 – Conforto’s price is oddly low for a guy who’s started the season off with a 158 wRC+. He will face a depleted Marlins pitching staff that has lost many of their relief options to the Injured List.
I’m Only Happy When It Rains
Keep an eye on the Braves-Phillies matchup which has a 38% chance of rain at its start.
Doing Lines In Vegas
The Rays at -105 with Blake Snell and the Tigers at -105 with Boyd are slight favorites I feel good about.
