The 9/18 Hitting Picks — at least the main slate — is hampered by the fact that five of the 15 games are daytime starts. Rather than be completely single-minded, we’ll give a nudge or two to the daytime folk.
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9/18 DFS Hitting Picks — Catcher
Omar Navarez, SEA at PIT
DK ($4,200), FD ($2,800)
Navarez hit his 22nd homer of the season in Tuesday’s shutout win over the Pirates, continuing a run that has seen the lefty-swinging backstop hit .391 with three homers, six RBI and five runs scored over the past week. His .861 OPS versus right-handers sets him up well against Pirates hurler Dario Agrazal, who has a 7.08 ERA since July 26. Agrazal has allowed 12 homers in just 62.1 innings.
9/18 DFS Hitting Picks — First Baseman
Trey Mancini, BAL at TOR
DK ($4,900), FD ($3,900)
One of the few highlights of another dismal season in B-More, Mancini (who also has OF eligibility) has spent much of 2019 pounding Blue Jays pitching. Entering tonight’s game, Mancini has a .996 OPS with six homers and 19 RBI versus Toronto. His 8.9% walk rate has helped Mancini become more than just a masher. Mancini hits to all fields and sports a 25% HR/FB rate despite a surprisingly low 31.6% fly ball rate.
9/18 DFS Hitting Picks — Second Baseman
Ozzie Albies, ATL vs. PHI
DK ($4,800), FD ($3,400)
He’s put the hammer down this month. Albies has a 1.029 OPS in September with four homers, 10 RBI and 13 runs scored. He’s also recorded five multi-hit games over his last nine starts along with building upon an already impressive 42.4% hard contact rate. Like Mancini with the Blue Jays, Albies has thrived versus Phillies pitching, going .343/.395/.600 (.995 OPS), earning him the same vulgar looks Philly fans have given to the likes of other enemies like Joe Carter, Terrell Owens and Santa Claus.
9/18 DFS Hitting Picks — Third Baseman
Miguel Sano, MIN at CWS
DK ($5,000), FD ($3,600)
Sano’s 486-foot moonshot on Tuesday was his third blast in his last four games since the Twins returned to American League play. After missing four straight games, Sano will continue to rake, as he has recorded four hits and a .955 OPS in 10 at-bats against Ivan Nova, who gets the nod tonight against the White Sox. A cool stat about Sano: he has a .708 slugging percentage in his last 58 at-bats against curveball specialists like Nova. Hmmm…
9/18 DFS Hitting Picks — Shortstop
Adalberto Mondesi, KC at OAK
DK ($4,600), FD ($3,600)
Wait, wasn’t he not supposed to run? Mondesi didn’t get the memo, having recorded a pair of stolen bases over the past week. After a sluggish start to his return from the DL, Mondesi has stolen eight bases this month. He’s also recorded six hits over his last three games, making him an exception to the day’s main slate rule. Mondesi has a good 38.1% hard contact rate and remains a pull-centric hitter (45.9% rate). Even with missing a significant portion of the season, Mondesi will get at least 40 steals. Imagine how many more he could tally if he improved his 4% walk rate and 29.1% strikeout rate.
9/18 DFS Hitting Picks — Outfielder
Kyle Schwarber, CHI vs. CIN
DK ($4,400), FD ($3,600)
In his deepest thoughts, Schwarber must be thinking, “this is what plate discipline feels like!” He’s put together a .369 OBP this month to go along with a 1.064 OPS. Schwarber has banged out five homers, 17 RBI and 13 runs scored. Whether he can bottle that up for traditional Fantasy isn’t the issue here. What is is that Schwarber is 4-for-10 against Reds starter Tyler Mahle with a homer and an 1.155 OPS.
9/18 DFS Hitting Picks — Outfielder
Eloy Jimenez, CWS at MIN
DK ($4,000), FD ($3,900)
With a pair of three-hit games over the past three, Jimenez has tacked on 12 points to his batting average, putting him at .261. While he has scuffled against Twins pitching, Jimenez does have three homers against them and comes into tonight having hit .433 with three homers and eight RBI over the past week. Jimenez has boosted his Isolated Power to .234 along with raising his hard contact rate to 37.8%.
9/18 DFS Hitting Picks — Outfielder
Kyle Lewis, SEA at PIT
DK ($3,800), FD ($3,500)
The rookie’s 34.4% strikeout rate looks like some grotesque scene from the Saw movie franchise, but — like Jigsaw — Lewis is alive. It certainly helps to have a .467 Isolated Power and making the most of a 55% medium contact rate. There’s the prospect of a mild Mariners stack that begins with Lewis and Navarez.
9/11 DFS Hitting Stacks
9/18 Hitting Stack of the Day: Minnesota Twins: The White Sox plan to use Ivan Nova in the opener role. That means the Twins can tee off on a Chicago bullpen that has allowed 75 homers. Nelson Cruz ($3,200 FD) has two homers and an 1.134 OPS against Nova. Mitch Garver ($3,100 FD) could also be fit into a stack that would include the aforementioned Sano.
9/18 Hitting Stack Runner-Up: Houston Astros: Rangers starter Kolby Allard has a 2.28 ERA on the road. The Astros are expensive, as usual, but building with Yordan Alvarez ($5,600 DK) and Yuli Gurriel ($4.400 DK) would be helped with bargain bats Jake Marisnick ($3,700 DK) and Abraham Toro ($3,500) should both find their way into the lineup.
9/18 Hitting Stack to Consider: Cincinnati Reds: Cubs lefty Jon Lester has allowed 15 runs in his last 10.1 innings. Eugenio Suarez ($3,900 FD) has five career homers off Lester. Aristides Aquino ($3,400 FD) snapped out of a funk by hitting his 16th homer on Tuesday, Light-hitting Jose Peraza ($2,000 FD) has also tagged Lester well, having hit .353 against him 34 career at-bats.
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