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 four highest over/unders for Tuesday, provided by OddsShark...
2. The good and bad news is that the TEX/COL game is scheduled for 3:10pm (EST). The bad news is that you can't take advantage of the high over/under (12 projected runs). However, the good news is that you don't need to allocate a ton of money toward Coors Field hitters.
3. We have one interleague game on Tuesday night: LAA/CHC. The Angels lose their DH and Jered Weaver is forced to pitch to a homer-happy lineup. Chicago is also the strongest favorite of the slate (-210).
4. The lowest over/under from Tuesday's schedule is PHI/LAD. Kenta Maeda will toe the rubber for the Dodgers and is a heavy favorite (-180) against the Phillies.
5. For the BvP enthusiasts: Josh Donaldson is 8-for-17 (.471) with three home runs against Drew Smyly. ... Jacoby Ellsbury is 12-for-28 (.429) with four homers against Rick Porcello. ... Also, Matt Kemp is 7-for-14 (.500) with two extra-base hits against Wily Peralta.
Yesterday's recap:
Devon Travis was the bargain and excelled way beyond his price point. He went 4-for-5 and even hustled for a triple last night. We also received home runs from Yasmani Grandal, Edwin Encarnacion and Adrian Beltre.
Must-Start of the day: Kenta Maeda, LAD
Other than the fact that Vegas loves Maeda tonight, he's struck out at least five batters in six of the past seven starts.
Deal of the day: Brandon Phillips, CIN
He is 13-for-27 (.481) with two home runs in the past week. Phillips also carries a .314 wOBA against righties this season. In a small sample size, he is 4-for-6 with two double against Mike Leake, too.
Avoid of the day: Carlos Santana, CLE
He is 3-for-39 (.077) with eight strikeouts in his career against Max Scherzer.
Stack of the day: Cincinnati Reds
Former Reds righty Mike Leake is on the hill tonight, and he's been dreadful in his last three starts: 19 ER in 16 innings. Leake's last outing was against Cincinnati, too: 5 IP, 7 ER. Adam Duvall has homered off of Leake twice. Billy Hamilton is 4-for-5 against Leake. Brandon Phillips has solid BvP numbers, too.
Starting pitchers:
Max Scherzer, WAS - He's notched at least 10 strikeouts in two of his last three starts. Also, since the All-Star break, Mad Max is 2-0 with a 2.17 ERA and has tallied 34 Ks in 29 innings of work.
Kenta Maeda, LAD - "Must-start of the day."
Rick Porcello, BOS - Whether it's luck or skill, Porcello is 10-0 with a 3.21 ERA at Fenway Park this season. He also has two starts against the Yankees in 2016. In those two outings, Porcello is 1-1 with a 1.93 ERA and has tallied 11 strikeouts in 14 innings of work.
Catchers:
Evan Gattis, HOU - He has a .284 ISO against lefties this season.
Gary Sanchez, NYY - He has .250 ISO against righties this year.
First basemen:
David Ortiz, BOS - Even in his "slump," Ortiz has a .362 ISO and a .444 wOBA against right-handed pitchers this season. Big Papi is also 3-for-5 against Luis Severino, with those three hits being home runs.
Anthony Rizzo, CHC - He has a .296 ISO against righties this year.
Edwin Encarnacion, TOR - He has a .323 ISO against lefties this season.
Freddie Freeman, ATL - He has a .236 ISO against righties in 2016.
Second basemen:
Ben Zobrist, CHC - He has a .362 wOBA against righties this season and a .296 career AVG (8-27) against Weaver.
Brandon Phillips, CIN - "Deal of the day."
Third basemen:
Kris Bryant, CHC - He has a .228 ISO against righties this year.
Josh Donaldson, TOR - He has a .255 ISO and a .427 wOBA against lefties this season.
Shortstops:
Marcus Semien, OAK - He has a .320 ISO against southpaws this season.
Troy Tulowitzki, TOR - He has a .328 wOBA against lefties this year.
Outfielders:
Mookie Betts, BOS - He has a .229 ISO against righties and a .400 AVG (12-30) in the past week.
Matt Kemp, ATL - He has a .193 ISO against righties this season.
Jacoby Ellsbury, NYY - (See "5 Things")
Adam Duvall, CIN - He has a .297 ISO against righties in 2016.
Chris Carter, MIL - He has a .222 ISO against righties this year.
Ryan Braun, MIL - He has a .218 ISO against righties this season.
Nick Markakis, ATL - He has a .339 wOBA against righties this year and a .417 AVG in the past week.
Michael Saunders, TOR - He has a .337 ISO and a .418 wOBA against lefties this year.
Jorge Soler, CHC - He has a .193 ISO against righties in 2016.
