Today’s MLB action is a tad odd. There are two early games and the rest are all night games. Make sure you know which game format you’re joining before you do it. With the rain that is in the forecast, joining the early slate seems very risky. On Draftstreet there are plenty of plays without using that early game, so don’t be afraid to just wait it out.

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Weather:
PIT/BAL: Rain 90-100%
SEA/NYY: Rain 70-80%
NYM/PHI: Rain 90-100%
TB/BOS: Rain 40-50%
LAD/MIN: Rain 40-50%

Positional Breakdown:

Starting Pitchers

I didn’t write about him yesterday, but I will today. Zack Greinke is a top option against the Twins and we see him a tad cheaper than yesterday. The Twins have been great offensively, but all because of walks. Greinke has walked 5 in 29.1 innings so far this season. Shelby Miller is probably my second favorite option tonight against the Brewers. I know I preached Lance Lynn, but more times than not that thinking is going to win you money. Miller is a great home pitcher as his 1.68 career home ERA shoes.

Tony Cingrani is barely cheaper than Greinke and another good option tonight against the Cubs. His left handedness takes away Anthony Rizzo’s effectiveness leaving the Cubs with two good hitters. He didn’t do that great against the Cubs on the 19^th, but I think he’ll bounce back fine.

There’s no reason not to like Aaron Harang against the Marlins. We saw Wood get blown up yesterday, but Harang has been even better and is a RHP. He even has 33 strikeouts in 31.1 innings. The top value play for me is Drew Hutchison against the Royals. Like McGowan yesterday, Hutchison is much better away from home. He has a 7.71 ERA at the Rogers Centre and a 1.08 ERA in almost double the innings.

Others to Consider: Tim Hudson, Nathan Eovaldi

Catchers

Derek Norris had a big game yesterday with a few doubles and three RBI against the LHP. Tonight he gets another LHP in Robbie Ross Jr. He could have another big game for 5.6k. Buster Posey was great for us last night hitting a home run in his first at bat. He faces another LHP in Erlin, so there’s no reason not to load up on him again.

For value, Alex Avila would be a great option if you’re playing the early slate and he’s in the lineup. He was scratched yesterday, but was available to pinch-hit. He’s a great option today against Noesi and he’s under 4k. My MLB doppelganger, Nick Hundley, is under 4k as well and hitting over .300 on the season. He’s 0 for his last four, but 3 for his last 5 before that and gets a RHP tonight.

Others to Consider: Yadier Molina, Miguel Montero

First Basemen

Joey Votto is a great cash option with solid upside against the Cubs. He has a walk in seven straight games and eight hits in his last ten games. He has struggled in his last few games, but that was against Jeff Samardzija and two Braves pitchers. Edwin Jackson isn’t on that level. Adrian Gonzalez is going to cost you a good bit, but he should be worth it against Gibson and in the middle of that great lineup.

Mike Napoli against the RHP, Chris Archer, doesn’t scare me. He’s hitting .310 against RHP with 9 of his 11 extra base hits against them. He’s also hitting .321 at home this season. His price has dropped a tad over on Draftstreet, so he provides solid value there. My other value option is Matt Adams. He has great limited splits against Garza and against RHP this season. He’s hitting .327 on the year and that really is because of how he hits against RHP.

Others to Consider: Jose Abreu, Marc Krauss

Second Basemen

Anthony Rendon against the LHP seems like the top second basemen play today. He’s 10 for 20 with four extra base hits against them on the season. That’s .500 for you non-math majors. If you’re not rolling with Rendon then you should be aboard the Dee Gordon train. He’s a great option with his speed and likelihood of getting on base against the RHP tonight.

If DJ LeMahieu hits second again tonight then it’s really hard not to like him. He’s hitting .305 and will be in front of Tulowitzki, Gonzalez, and Morneau. The only spots better to be in are ones that are rated R.

With the way Brandon Phillips is hitting this season, I really don’t want to pay up for him ever. His price sits under 4k today, so if you’re going to go cheap at second base then he’s your man. Edwin Jackson is a weak SP option tonight, so take advantage of it.

Others to Consider: Emilio Bonifacio, Scooter Gennett

Third Basemen

The top third basemen for me is definitely Evan Longoria. We see his price under 8k, which is nice for a stud. He hit .301 with 26 extra base hits in just 173 at bats against them last season. Juan Uribe is a mid-range option tonight and I can’t get mad at it at all. He’ll be after some stud hitters and has been very good against RHP this season.

Carlos Santana was a guy I said would be a buy low guy yesterday and I hope you did. He hit another home run this time against a RHP. I like him again tonight as he faired well against the LHP, Skaggs, two nights ago. He’s under 5k tonight and a great value option.

Others to Consider: Josh Donaldson, Kyle Seager

Shortstop

We must all praise the man that is Troy Tulowitzki. Seriously, He notched another home run and added another hit as well. The guy is unstoppable right now. He has five home runs in his last seven games. Pay up for this guy at 10k. Although I do like Cingrani tonight, I have no problem rostering Starlin Castro as well. He should fare well tonight and is on a bit of a hot streak. He has a four game hit streak with two home runs during that time.

I can only condone paying up for Tulowitzki and then Castro as the mid-range option, so the value guys are simple. I still think Everth Cabrera is a great under 4k hitter. He had a hit yesterday and has two stolen bases in his last three games. Hudson is going to give up some hits, so I see at least one from Cabrera tonight.

Others to Consider: Troy Tulowitzki, Troy Tulowitzki

Outfielders

Giancarlo Stanton doesn’t seem to care about big fences or tough pitchers. Last night he hit a home run and he could easily do that again tonight. Harang has been great, but nobody can legitimately stop Stanton right now. He has two home runs in his last three games. If you’re playing early games then you must consider Austin Jackson. He’s hitting .311 and gets a great matchup against Noesi. He’s a reverse splits hitter and you want to target him against RHP.

Angel Pagan lead off the Giants order with a home run last night and added another hit, so he might be on to something from the right side. He faces another LHP tonight, so I don’t mind using him with the way that swing looked so sweet last night. Jay Bruce only had one hit yesterday, but that was a tough game to play in with all the starting and stopping. I think he’ll be great against Edwin Jackson tonight.

Billy Hamilton is another Reds’ hitter I like tonight. He hit a home run yesterday, which is amazing to me on so many levels. He has great speed (obviously) and should get at least one chance tonight to steal a bag with Edwin Jackson being a rough pitcher.

Jason Kubel is a value play I like and talked about yesterday. He’s got a tough matchup, but he hits RHP so well that it’s a nice calculated risk. Will Venable is so cheap it’s sickening. I was high on him before the season and especially after that Cameron Maybin injury, but he hasn’t done that much with his playing time. He’s not a bad flier tonight against Hudson.

Others to Consider: Alex Gordon, Jayson Werth

Pitching Combos:
It’s not tough at all to roster a bunch of great hitters with three starting pitchers in your lineup. I think you’ll have to roster Hutchison and two mid-range options to do this, but I think that’s a great way to do it. As much as I like Greinke and Cingrani, I like Harang and Miller just as much when it comes to value.

Top Stacks:
San Francisco: Pagan/Pence/Posey/Morse
Detroit: Kinsler/Cabrera/V.Martinez/Jackson
Cincinnati: Hamilton/Votto/Bruce/Frazier
Colorado: LeMahieu/Tulowitzki/Gonzalez/Arenado

Lineup:

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