Daily Dime: Jacob deGrom and a collection of Dodgers
Monday's pool offers plenty of well priced players, despite the light slate. Boston and Minnesota are postponed due to ugly weather, so avoid that mess. Please, as always, remember to check the pregame forecasts and scan MLB lineups as they're released. Let's get to it...
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Andre Ethier, OF, at Col (Kendrick), $2600 at FanDuel: This one almost feels too obvious. Ethier is dirt-cheap, hitting at Coors Field and facing a sketchy right-hander. Kendrick has allowed four or more earned runs in seven of his ten starts this season. For what it's worth, Ethier has homered twice in his career off Kendrick.
Howie Kendrick, 2B, at Col (Kendrick), $2800: It's a classic Kendrick-vs.-Kendrick battle, with a clear edge to Howie. He homered and doubled off Kyle at Dodger Stadium earlier this year, and now he gets him at Coors. Howie is slashing .290/.350/.430 on the season, typically batting third or fourth in the lineup.
Yasmani Grandal, C, at Col (Kendrick), $2700: Grandal is back from the D.L., and he homered in his return to the lineup on Saturday. He's reaching base at a .402 clip this season, and Kendrick has never really given him problems (3-for-11, double, four walks). Assuming he starts on Monday, I'm interested.
Freddie Freeman, 1B, at Ari (Bradley), $3200: Freeman has homered twice over the past three days, he's hitting in a friendly road park and facing a righty who's allowed 14 earned runs over his last 10.2 innings. At this price, Freeman is a gift.
Jacob deGrom, P, at SD (Cashner), $9900
: Monday's matchup isn't particularly scary, and deGrom has of course been carving up opposing lineups. Over his last three starts, he's struck out 26 batters and walked only one, earning a pair of wins and allowing just three runs. He's $2100 cheaper than Felix and $1900 less than Kershaw today, yet the strikeout upside is similar.
Justin Bour, 1B, vs. CHC (Hammel), $2600: Bour has homered in back-to-back-to-back games, nudging his season slash to a silly .369/.414/.646. I'm not saying it's a sustainable level of performance over the long haul, but he's binging at the moment. He's a red-hot LHB facing a non-dominant RHP, available at a stellar price.
Andrelton Simmons, SS, at Ari (Bradley), $2200: Simmons is priced at the minimum, despite the nine-game hitting streak and a not-so-intimidating matchup. Bradley, as mentioned above, has been struggling. Simmons has three multi-hit games in his last five, and he's a relatively good bet to produce a positive point total on Monday.
Miguel Montero, C, at Mia (Urena), $2800 : So far, everybody hits the right-handed Urena. Montero has lived on base this year (.377 OBP), and he's batting fifth for the Cubs on Monday, behind Bryant, Rizzo and Soler. Not such a bad spot to drive in a run or two.
Jason Hammel, P, at Mia (Urena), $8800: Hammel is opposed on Monday by right-hander Jose Urena, a not-at-all-overpowering 23-year-old who's allowed 14 hits and eight earned runs in his 7.2 major league innings.
Neil Walker, 2B, at SF (Vogelsong), $2800: Vogelsong got himself right in the month of May, so perhaps this matchup isn't a layup. But Walker is 7-for-16 in his career against the right-hander, with four doubles and zero Ks. I'll be stunned if he doesn't make a positive contribution in this one, earning his $2800.
