We have a 14 game slate tonight, and half of them are expected to be offensive affairs. Speaking of offense, watch the weather in Colorado (it doesn’t look good). Let’s break down the best plays of the day.
Make sure to sign up for DraftKings to play tonight’s featured tournament:
Details (MLB)
-$300,000 prize pool.
– First place wins $100,000
– Only $3 to enter (FREE with first deposit)
– Top 25,930 finishing positions are paid.
– Starts today at 7:05 PM EST
– Salary Cap Style Drafting. $50,000 to select 10 players: 8 position players and 2 pitchers
– Roster Format: 2 pitchers, 1 C, 1 1B, 1 2B, 1 3B, 1 SS and 3 OF
Pitchers
1. Jordan Zimmerman: He hasn’t quite been at his best this season, but he’s coming off a strong start against the Padres. Vegas likes him as a strong favorite at home against Adam Warren and the Yankees.
2. Jake Odorizzi: He’s allowed 1 earned run or less in 5 of his 8 starts, has a 2.36 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, 44 K’s in 53 IP, and he faces off against a rookie tonight (Williams Perez). The only drawback is that he will make this start on the road. The Braves, however, aren’t an intimidating matchup (16th in runs scored).
3. Carlos Rodon: Rodon is my sleeper pitcher of the day. He’s a big favorite at home, and the Indians notoriously struggle against left handed pitching. He could have a big day if he can avoid issuing free passes.
Catchers
1. Russell Martin: 7/13 over his last 3 games. 8/30 vs. Weaver with a HR.
2. Wilson Ramos: He’s been excellent all season (.311-2-20). He homered last night and he’s batting 6th tonight.
3. James McCann: 7/15 with 3 XBH’s over his last 4 games. Lohse was good his last time out, but could run into trouble on the road against a potent Tiger’s offense.
Other top plays: Salvador Perez, Blake Swihart
First Basemen
1. Miguel Cabrera: Every day seems like a good day to invest in Miggy, that’s especially the case today. 4/13 with 2 HR’s vs. Lohse.
2.Eric Hosmer: 2 words–Jason. Marquis.
3. Edwin Encarnacion: He’s at home and 3/8 with a HR vs. Weaver.
Other top plays: David Ortiz, Mitch Moreland, Adrian Gonzalez
Second Basemen
1. Ian Kinsler: .938 OPS over the last days. Doesn’t hurt that he’s 3/6 with a HR vs. Lohse.
2. Dustin Pedroia: 2/5 with 2 doubles last night. Squares off against a shaky rookie tonight.
Other top plays: Danny Espinosa, Justin Turner
Third Basemen
1. Josh Harrison: One of the hottest player’s in baseball right now with 13 hits in his last 23 AB’s with 5 XBH’s.
2. Mike Moustakas: 3/4 with 2 doubles last night, and he gets Marquis tonight.
Other top plays: Uribe, Beltre, Paredes
Shortstops
1. Ian Desmond: Starting to heat up going 7/18 over his last 4 games, including a HR. He’s also been moved up to the 2nd spot in the batting order tonight.
2. Yunel Escobar: 7/16 over his last 4 games. He’s been moved up to 3rd in the order for tonight’s game.
Other top plays: Crawford, Escobar, Peralta
Outfielders
1. Shin-Soo Choo: had been the hottest player in baseball until finally cooling down over his last couple of games. I like him to get hot again in his matchup vs. Joe Kelly, who he’s 3/6 against with a HR.
2. Yoenis Cespedes: 2/3 with 2 HR’s vs. Lohse. It was probably just one big game, but too hard to ignore.
3. Bryce Harper: Best hitter in the universe right now.
Other top plays: Avisail Garcia, Lorenzo Cain, Dexter Fowler, Denard Span, Carlos Gomez, Ryan Braun, Joc Pederson, Delmon Young, Adam Jones, Mookie Betts, JD Martinez
