JaguarLou here, providing you with the go-to batters and need-to-know DFS information as well as my Monkey Knife Fight pick of the night.
Catcher
Roberto Perez ($2,500 FD & 3,700 DK): This is a solid value play on a team that is expected to score and score big! Perez has been solid over his last six games, averaging 10.98 FanDuel PPG and should see an uptick in potential RBI and runs against a vulnerable Manny Banuelos. He owns a 10.60 ERA against Cleveland so far this season over two starts. In those starts, Cleveland totaled five homers over only 8.1 total innings, averaging a team .353 BA. Stack those Indians!
First Base
Cody Bellinger ($4,800 FD & $5,800 DK): This is where we are going to be spending up tonight, as Cody Bellinger is on fire! The Dodgers cleanup man has averaged 21.34 FanDuel points over his last five games while homering in three of the five. Although Bellinger crushes right handed pitching (and Vargas is no right-hander) there’s a slight misconception that he can’t hit lefties but it couldn’t be further from the truth. Bellinger owns a .343 BA with seven home runs against left handed pitching in just 67 at-bats so far this season. My hope is that Bellinger goes lower owned than he should due to the L/L matchup but the facts are, he’s one of the hottest hitters in the league facing an unimpressive Mets pitching staff at home in Dodger Stadium.
Second Base
Rougned Odor ($2,700 FD & $3,900 DK): Rougned Odor has massive potential in a high over/under that favors left-handed power bats. While Globe Life Stadium hasn’t allowed as many home runs as it usually does, these numbers will even out, Globe Life Park in Arlington is always one of the more premier hitting parks in the Majors. So with the mere 1.024 HR/game that the stadium is currently allowing, I fully expect to increase and quickly. Odor faces Jakob Junis, who has been inconsistent at best and has allowed 50% more home runs on the road than he does at home due to the fact that Kansas City’s Kauffman Stadium is huge. Tonight in Globe Life, balls should be flying!
Shortstop
Elvis Andrus ($3,800 FD & 5,200 DK): Elvis Andrus has a nice matchup against the struggling Jakob Junis. His splits indicate that Junis has struggled on the road, in night games, as well as allowing a .292 BA to opposing lefties. Junis has also struggled at times with the HR ball and in Globe Life Park, this is what we’re banking on, the home run ball! Rougned Odor and Elvis Andrus are likely going to be batting second and third and should see an array of opportunities for fantasy goodness. Texas is favored by -150 with a 10.5 under/over, Andrus becomes one of my favorite plays, especially due to his reasonable price of $3,800 on FanDuel. Andrus’ high price of 5,200 on DraftKings gives me even more confidence in him as the shortstop play of the day on FanDuel.
Third Base
David Freese ($2,900 FD & $3,900 DK): David Freese is a high risk, high reward player, as his ceiling has reached 38 FD points as recently as the 24th of May, yet we’ve also seen his floor (zero) just three days prior. The question remains, what will we see tonight as Freese sets out to face the left-handed Jason Vargas? While I do NOT always follow BvP stats, I mention them on the rare occasions when they are very strong. This is one of those occasions. Freese owns a .571 BA with three home runs in 15 at bats against Vargas. In addition, Vargas is currently sporting very poor road splits, allowing a 6.75 ERA in four road starts this season. The Dodgers are favored at -260 with an 8 point under/over and Freese will have increased RBI opportunities as I fully expect him to be batting fourth or fifth in the lineup.
Outfielder
Starling Marte ($3,600 FD & $4,600 DK): Starling Marte owns a .481 BA with three doubles, one triple and two homers in 30 career at-bats against Chase Anderson. He struggled in his last two starts, allowing three earned runs over four innings at home against the Phillies and one week prior Anderson only lasted four innings against the Braves after walking four batters on just 76 pitches. While I don’t necessarily want to stack the Pirates against Anderson, I will have high exposure to Marte as the Pirates are slight underdogs with an 8.5 under/over.
Monkey Knife Fight Prop Picks
Cleveland seems to have every statistical advantage in this game. I expect Carlos Santana and Francisco Lindor to significantly outperform Tim Anderson and Jose Abreu. Chicago has a tough matchup against Carlos Carrasco ,who has held the White Sox to a team .190 BA over 198 at bats. That is what I like to call consistent, long-term production. And in the end that’s really what we’re looking for, Consistency. Lock and load the overs on the Indians players in the props below:
Remember to sign up for MonkeyKnifeFight.com and get 100 percent bonus!