The following Spotlight Hitters were selected by Awesemo.com writer Jake Hari. For more analysis on the slate, check out the MLB Strategy Video and Night Shift Podcast.
Buster Posey ($3,700 DK/$2,700 FD)
I’m not a huge believe in Jose Quintana this season, and that mostly has to do with his struggles against right-handed bats. He’s striking them out under 20% of the time while allowing over 40% hard-contact against righties this season, and Posey has mashed lefties for his career. This year is no different for him, as he’s posted a 43% hard-contact rate and just a 6.5% K-rate with a .216 ISO. Quintana may be a popular option in tournaments, but I love Posey chances to do some damage against him at low ownership.
Eugenio Suarez ($4,900 DK/$4,400 FD)
Speaking of lefty-mashers, Suarez has been one of the best hitters in the MLB against lefties this year, and being in Coors Field should only help. While I do have respect for Anderson (and am even considering rostering him tonight, Suarez’s numbers against lefties are too good to ignore, as FanGraphs has him at 75% (yes, 75%) hard-contact against southpaws on the season with a .556 ISO and .568 OBP. He’s up there with the best of the best bats tonight in a great hitting environment in Colorado.
Max Kepler ($3,400 DK/$3,200 FD)
Kepler will not be popular in tournaments because of the lefty/lefty matchup against Wade LeBlanc, but he has been a much improved hitter against lefties this season and is very cheap. While it is a short sample, this year Kepler is rocking the highest wRC+ (207), highest ISO (.400), and highest wOBA (.480) on the Twins vs. lefties while striking out just 11.8% of the time. His average exit velocity of 91.6 MPH backs up some of the raw numbers he’s posted, and there’s no doubt he can generate a ton of power against soft-tossers like LeBlanc, regularly attaining above 100 MPH exit velocities against similar pitchers.
