Every day this season, our team shares who we believe has the best chance to leave the yard. From one-off plays to core parts of daily stacks, we hope this fun article will help you build winning lineups along the way.
Today’s Picks
James: Salvador Perez – “I am sticking with my call of yesterday as if Perez didn’t go deep on Friday, his odds to on Saturday feel even better as the man has 42 long balls on the year. While allowing home runs hasn’t been Michael Pineda’s issue this year, he still has allowed 15 in just 88 innings of work. It is also true that Perez slugs lefties at a higher rate, but lets not discount his 25 home runs against righties on the year and his slugging that is still over .500. And while I do not play this card often, Pineda is just a guy that Perez has seen a lot in his career – 28 times to be exact – and Perez has 11 hits and two long balls against him. While that data sample is pretty small, it still carries enough plate appearances to come into play for me.”
Zach: Jarred Kelenic – “After a dry spell my home run calls have come through for me two days in a row. I believe I am going to extend my streak to three days tonight but I will admit I am going a little bit off the wall with my pick in Kelenic. Kelenic has struggled in the majors so far in his short career but looks like he is finally starting to get comfortable. The top prospect has hits in six of his past seven games with three extra-base hits in those games including a home run. Kelenic is not only starting to show his elite skill set but I also love his match-up against Humberto Castellanos and the Diamondbacks awful bullpen. The Diamondbacks bullpen has the sixth-worst HR/9 rate this season and Castellanos has allowed left-handed hitters to slug .500 this season.”
Jared: Peter Alonso – “There is simply no denying how well Alonso’s been hitting the ball lately. In his last 8 games, he has a 30% barrel rate (8 barrels), a .484 ISO, .499 wOBA and 18.2 degree launch angle. Only 3 of those barrels have left the yard in that time, but he’s certainly setting the stage for plenty more. Corey Kluber’s return from a lengthy IL stint hasn’t gone too smoothly, with a 8.22 ERA in his last couple outings and 2 long balls in just 7.2 IP. Given Alonso’s elite recent form and the fact he’s facing a rusty pitcher with a high fly ball tendency – not to mention a scuffling bullpen right now – Kluber and the Yanks are who I’m picking on tonight with Alonso’s big bat at the helm.”
Overall Standings
| James | 33 |
| Zach | 26 |
| Jared | 41 |
