For those who are unfamiliar with my thought process, I aim to add as many home run hitters as possible to my daily fantasy baseball lineups. One way of doing that is to look at a player’s isolated power numbers (ISO). The ISO statistic removes singles and provides a larger weight for each extra-base hit.
I also use the weighted on-base average (wOBA) metric. This stat takes every positive outcome into consideration.
Last year, the league average was a .150 ISO and a .313 wOBA. So, when you see me list a player’s ISO or wOBA, you know why I do it.
5 Things to Watch:
1. Here are the five highest over/unders for Monday, provided by OddsShark…
TEX/COL – 10.5
HOU/MIN – 9.5
ATL/MIL – 9
CIN/STL – 9
TB/TOR – 9
2. Always make sure to notice when a game has an over/under below seven, too. That’s the case in SF/MIA (6.5 total runs). The Marlins and Jose Fernandez are favored (-144) over Johnny Cueto and the Giants. Regardless, it should be quite the showdown in Miami.
3. For the BvP readers: Zack Cozart is 10-for-20 (.500) with three extra-base hits against Michael Wacha…Jose Iglesias is 6-for-13 (.462) with one extra-base hit against Hisashi Iwakuma…Also, Ian Kinsler is 12-for-32 (.375) with three home runs against Iwakuma in his career.
4. Julio Urias is getting the spot start for the Dodgers, but Vegas is still making him the biggest favorite on the board (-227). However, Urias hasn’t notched more than four innings of work in three straight starts.
5. No PPD concerns for Monday!
Yesterday’s recap:
D.J. Foster suggested that you stack the Orioles and Baltimore delivered with 10 runs. Chris Davis was also the must-start and he homered.
Must-Start of the day: Shin-Soo Choo, TEX
He has a .382 ISO and a .513 wOBA against lefties this year. Choo is also 6-for-16 (.375) in the past week.
Deal of the day: Devon Travis, TOR
He leads the Blue Jays with a .355 AVG over the past week. He also leads them with three home runs during that time. Travis is even getting reps in the leadoff spot.
Avoid of the day: Jose Bautista, TOR
He is 1-for-19 (.053) with six strikeouts against Jake Odorizzi.
Stack of the day: Texas Rangers
I know, taking teams at Coors is a cop-out. However, with the small slate, I’m heavily investing in Rangers. After the additions of Carlos Beltran and Jonathan Lucroy, the Texas lineup is lethal against left-handed pitchers. Shin-Soo Choo, Ian Desmond, Rougned Odor and Adrian Beltre are also playable in DFS.
Starting pitchers:
Jose Fernandez, MIA – He’s notched at least eight strikeouts in six of the past seven games. This season, Fernandez is 9-2 with a 2.11 ERA at home.
Collin McHugh, HOU – He’s had some great pitching performances in the past month. McHugh has struck out 10 batters in two of the last four starts. The Twins have struck out the seventh-most times this season (946 Ks).
Michael Wacha, STL – With the short slate, I wouldn’t stray away from these three picks. The Cardinals are one of the strongest favorites on the board tonight (-190). In two starts against the Reds this season, Wacha is 1-0 with a 2.45 ERA and has tallied eight Ks in 11 innings of work.
Catchers:
Victor Martinez, DET – He is 6-for-15 (.400) with two homers against Iwakuma in his career.
Jonathan Lucroy, TEX – He has a .227 ISO against lefties this year.
Yasmani Grandal, LAD – He has a .246 ISO against righties this season.
First basemen:
Edwin Encarnacion, TOR – He has a .265 ISO against righties this season.
Freddie Freeman, ATL – He has a .237 ISO against righties this year.
Second basemen:
Ian Kinsler, DET – (See “5 Things”)
Rougned Odor, TEX – “Stack of the day.”
Devon Travis, TOR – He’s homered three times in the past week and Travis has a .242 ISO against righties this season.
DJ LeMahieu, COL – He has a .396 wOBA against lefties this year.
Third basemen:
Josh Donaldson, TOR – He has a .291 ISO and a .411 wOBA against righties this year.
Adrian Beltre, TEX – “Stack of the day.”
Shortstops:
Jose Iglesias, DET – (See “5 Things”)
Zack Cozart, CIN – (See “5 Things”)
Outfielders:
Shin-Soo Choo, TEX – “Must-start of the day.”
Ryan Braun, MIL – He has four home runs in the past week and a .224 isO against righties this season.
Carlos Beltran, TEX – He has a .289 ISO and a .438 wOBA against southpaws this seaon.
Carlos Gonzalez, COL – He has a .271 ISO and a .353 wOBA against lefties in 2016.
Stephen Piscotty, STL – He has a .310 ISO and a .457 wOBA against southpaws this season.
Ian Desmond, TEX – “Stack of the day.”
Keon Broxton, MIL – He is 7-for-13 (.538) with two home runs in the past week.
