The following Spotlight Hitters were selected by Awesemo.com’s Director of Content Josh Engleman. Please check back later for notes/additional picks from Awesemo himself.
Manny Machado
FD: $4500
DK: $4900
Anytime you can get a high-end hitter against his opposite hand, you have to take a closer look. Machado is in that spot tonight against Eric Skoglund. For his career, Skoglund has a 44% hard contact rate versus righties. For reference, the league average rate is 34.8%. For Machado’s career, he sports a .355 OBP, .511 SLG and .220 ISO against lefties. Plus, the Orioles have the second highes implied total of the slate. Machado is my favorite play of the day.
Mike Moustakas
FD: $3900
DK: $4100
I’m a big fan of Moose Tacos regardless of his DFS status, so I’m always happy on days where he has a good match-up. This one is as good as it gets. Over the past three years, Andrew Cashner has a 5.37 xFIP against righties. In case you’re curious, Cashner’s xFIP is the second highest in baseball over the past three years. If you prefer Moustakas’ teammate Lucas Duda, I have no problem with him either.
Josh Donaldson
FD: $4100
DK: $4600
The Blue Jays have the third highest implied total tonight, which is a big time benefit for Donaldson. While Wade LeBlanc has relatively neutral splits, Donaldson nukes lefties to the tune of a .382 OBP, .587 SLG and .299 ISO in his career. While it didn’t go well for the Jays yesterday, LeBlanc is not James Paxton. Get some Donaldson in your life.
Awesemo’s Notes
I agree with Josh on Moustakas and Donaldson; they are definitely the top 3rd basement tonight. Of the two, I prefer Moustakas for the lower price, but he might get an ownership bump after his two home runs last night. Machado I think is a good play tonight but at SS I prefer Alen Hanson leading off for a bargain price.
