Ohhhh Monday how you annoy us. This is definitely the case with zero day games and only seven night games. Can we just go back to the weekend already? Well, we have to make do with what we have and that’s what I plan on doing. There is still plenty of action on Draftstreet today and you’ll be seeing me in plenty of action over there.

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Weather:
CHC/CIN: Rain 90-100%. DO NOT USE FROM THIS GAME
TB/CWS: Rain 70-50%

Positional Breakdown:

Starting Pitchers

Madison Bumgarner is my top pitcher of the day as he goes against the Padres at home. The game has the lowest total of the day according to Vegas (6.5) and he faces a really bad lineup. He has 32 strikeouts in 28.2 innings, so the upside is there. With the limited amount of options today, I really don’t mind Tyson Ross. He was bad in Milwaukee last week, but he has been much better than that this season. Lately, the Giants have faced some really struggling/bad pitchers and fared just average. I will be strongly considering both of these pitchers today.

If you want to spend top dollar for pitcher and don’t like Bumgarner then I would look Michael Wacha’s way. So he struggled against the Mets in his last start, but he did notch ten strikeouts. He faces a Brewers lineup that is without Braun and Segura and looked weak against Hammel yesterday. If you want to go cheap then Franklin Morales is as low as I would go. He won’t be pitching at Coors Field and so far this season has a 3.86 ERA right now.  I do like some Diamondback hitters and honestly this is a stack situation, but that’s because of the lack of options tonight. This is a risky play there is no doubt about it.

Others to Consider: Sonny Gray, Yu Darvish

Catchers

The player pool is weak all around, but there are surprisingly a lot of catchers I don’t mind. Hank Conger is going to be a solid cheap option and even though he’s hitting against Justin Masterson, he’ll be hitting from the right side. And by right side I mean that he’s a lefty and those are who you want to target against Masterson. Yan Gomes is always an option when he’s in the lineup against a LHP, so if that’s the case today then strongly look at him.

If you’re looking to spend a little more on catcher today then Yadier Molina is the guy I want. He’s just under 6k and he’s got numbers to prove he should cost more. He’s hitting .344 on the season with three home runs. Gallardo is pitching great, but on a small day you have to pick some hitters against good pitching.

Others to Consider: Wilin Rosario, Ryan Hanigan

First Basemen

Please do not pay for Albert Pujols against Masterson today. The matchup isn’t there for the highest priced 1B on the board and he’s not hitting that great against RHP. Instead, spend on a guy like Paul Goldschmidt. He’s hitting .306 on the season and he’s hitting .333 against LHP this season. I also like Adam Dunn against the young RHP, but I’m scared for the rain. If this game is likely to be played, Dunn is likely to be my guy. He’s hitting just under .300 against RHP and has 5 home runs on the season.

Matt Adams has seen his price drop a good bit since his last few games and I like that for today. He is so much better against RHP and gets Gallardo tonight. It might have been a dream, but I do believe he hit a triple yesterday. Crazy. If for some reason the Reds and Cubs game gets in then you have to consider Joey Votto. Sure, Samardzija is a stud, but Votto makes big bucks for a reason.

Others to Consider: Brandon Belt, Jose Abreu

Second Basemen

Second base was a position I really liked yesterday and that doesn’t change tonight. Aaron Hill has crazy extra base hit numbers in his last five games. In those games, he has nine hits with four of them being for extra bases. He’s a solid option against Franklin Morales. Don’t be scared off by the LHB/LHP situation in Los Angeles. Jason Kipnis hit .308 last season against LHP. He could be a very nice GPP play if his ownership is low.

If DJ LeMahieu is in the lineup tonight then I’m a fan of him as a value guy. He’s hitting .350 in his last 15 days and gets a LHP to match up against tonight. Wade Miley isn’t an ace, so I can see DJ do well against him.

Others to Consider: Leury Garcia, Scooter Gennett

Third Basemen

Adrian Beltre has been very good since being back and he showed it yesterday. He hit a double and added a run for the Rangers. Tonight against Sonny Gray I see a moderately tough matchup, but with the way Beltre hits, Gray doesn’t scare me. He’s also very affordable at just over 7k on Draftstreet. Aramis Ramirez sees his stock fall when Braun is out of the lineup and that is the case tonight. He is priced at mid 5k though, so you must consider him. Wacha is a very good option tonight, but he won’t blank the Brewers.

Martin Prado has hit LHP pretty well in his last few seasons ending 2012 hitting .323 and 2013 hitting .291 against them. I know he is currently struggling, but he provides good value at 5k.

Others to Consider: Pablo Sandoval, Matt Carpenter

Shortstop

Troy Tulowitzki is the stud with the best matchup tonight, so it’s probably worth paying up for him tonight. He’s hitting .342 on the season with five home runs and although he isn’t at home, playing in Arizona is almost as nice. He has eight home runs in 130 at bats against ARI between 2011 and 2013. Jed Lowrie is a tough call tonight. He is hitting it very well recently with a six game hit streak, but faces Yuuuuuuuu Darvish. I won’t be rostering him, but I wouldn’t hate you if you did.

Asdrubal Cabrera is a solid buy low candidate for one big reason. He’s facing a LHP tonight and he’s hitting .324 against them in 37 at bats. He’s got seven extra base hits against them as well. Jhonny Peralta is the main value option tonight with a 4k price and some very odd splits. He’s hitting 1 for 14 against LHP and just .221 against RHP, but has all six home runs from those RHP. He has five hits in his last three games including two doubles and two home runs.

Others to Consider: Jeff Bianchi, Erick Aybar

Outfielders

There are a bunch of outfielders I like in that likely rainout game (CWS/TB), so let’s get them out of the way right now. I wouldn’t mind paying 8k for Matt Joyce and his great splits against RHP. He’s hitting .350 on the season and faces Rienzo who isn’t going to be a force tonight. Desmond Jennings is a fastball hitter and against Rienzo he matches up very well. Rienzo is known for his fastball/sinker/cutter mix. He has used those three pitches a total of 76% of the time this season. Dayan Viciedo is hitting .415 against RHP this season with eight extra base hits, so of course I like him against Odorizzi.

When it comes to the other games, there are plenty of other options. Angel Pagan has been great against RHP this season and gets another one tonight. He hit a double for me last night. Chris Denorfia is 5 for 15 this season against LHP and has hit .341 in his career against Bumgarner in 44 at bats. Michael Bourn gets a LHP tonight in Skaggs and surprisingly he has done well against them lately. He’s just 2 for 7 against LHP in 2014, but in 2013 he hit .277 (20 points higher than against RHP) in 159 at bats. He has a seven-game hit streak and ten hits in his last five games.

One of the best value plays of the day is Brandon Barnes as he goes up against Miley the LHP. He went 3-4 yesterday including a few hits against Ryu yesterday. He hit just under .300 against them last season. I feel dirty saying this, but Elian Herrera is an option today with the way hitters are and his price. He’s minimum priced at $2,500 and should be starting for Ryan Braun. With the lack of value out there for pitchers, he would help you fit in some better pitching.

Others to Consider: Matt Holliday, Cody Ross

Pitching Combos:

Pitching is going to be very tough tonight. With such a small player pool to choose from, tonight is going to be tough. Because I think outfield is just too good to punt an option there, I think going with two starting pitchers and a closer is the way to go. I fit all the top hitters that I liked tonight and didn’t have to take the risk that is Franklin Morales. A few closers I like are Trevor Rosenthal, Sergio Romo, and Joakim Soria.

Top Stacks:
CLE: Bourn/Kipnis/Swisher/A.Cabrera/Gomes
ARI: Hill/Goldschmidt/Ross/Prado
COL: Tulowitzki/Barnes/C.Gonzalez/Blackmon

Lineup:

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