MLB Cash Game Picks : 6-27-15

Cash Game Locks: MLB Daily Fantasy Baseball

Weather Note: Baltimore-Cleveland has been postponed.

Pitcher

Garrett Richards once again finds himself the top dog of the slate, even though his numbers have been far from top dog status. Seattle has an 85 wRC+ off right-handed pitching, ranking 24th in the league. They also have the fourth highest strikeout rate, 22.7%. Richards has a 2.45 career ERA against the Mariners, which is over six starts, with 49 strikeouts in 55 innings total. Nothing is coming off the bat hard against Richards this season, lefties only have a 19.7% hard hit ball rate, while right-handed bats have a line drive rate of 8.9%. He still has a healthy swinging strike rate of 10.9%. His ERA drops three runs when he is pitching at home compared to on the road, and the Angels are a nice favorite. On such a small slate, I am not turning from Richards tonight in cash games.

Comparing Richards and Michael Wacha tonight, Wacha may have the higher upside in strikeouts. The Cubs have a 24.9% strikeout rate versus right-handed pitching and have given some big lines to pitchers from time to time. He has a 4.21 ERA in the month of June, yet a 1.83 FIP with a low LOB%. Nothing to keep me away from Wacha tonight, and given the condition of the slate, he is one of the two top options. The Cardinals should provide plenty of run support, and Wacha has always pitched exceptionally well when he is at home. While I am not a fan of the $10,200 price tag on DraftKings, I don't mind Andrew Cashner as an SP2. His main struggles have been against left-handed bats, which Arizona only brings one threat from the left side.

Catcher

With Matt Wieters rained out, Yadier Molina stands out as the only guy I don't believe will go 0-4. While Chris Iannetta is a fine punt play, Molina's price tag doesn't cause any salary problems. Iannetta is more sutied for DraftKings, where it is a zero rather than dipping into the negatives. Donn Roach is a pitch to contact, ground-ball pitcher, with little experience in the majors. The big issue with Molina is that nothing is coming off his bat for power, or even extra base hits. He is still hitting .311 off right-handed pitching and has upped his hard hit ball rate by 5% from May.

First Base

The Machine is locked and loaded right now, with 12 homers this month, and 23 on the season. Albert Pujols has a whopping 42.3% hard hit ball rate this month, and he will take on the lefty J.A. Happ tonight. While things have slowed down against lefties over the last few years, he still possesses a wOBA over .400 in his career. Even though the stadium move isn't a huge difference in park factor, Happ still has an ERA over five on the road. Right-handed bats also have a 24% line drive rate off him on the season.

Yonder Alonso is your cheaper option at first tonight, and Jeremy Hellickson's struggles against lefties makes him a solid value play. Hellickson has allowed a .396 wOBA to lefties this season, with a 35.2% hard hit ball rate. Another thing to like about Alonso is his low strikeout rate, just 11.9% against right-handed pitching this year, and he has a .346 wOBA to go with that. He will hit third, and depending on who is in the second spot, those two could have really nice value tonight.

Second Base

It is hard to look anywhere other than the Cardinals top of the order bats tonight, and Kolten Wong will start the trend off. He has a .366 wOBA off right-handed pitching this season and has an impressive 25% line drive rate. Roach does not have swing-and-miss stuff, but may produce a ton of ground balls if everything is working. St. Louis has been in a zone over the last two weeks, with a 114 wRC+, and it is mainly due to these bats and a surging Jason Heyward.

Third Base

Both Wong and Matt Carpenter are excellent plays today, especially on FanDuel, where their price tags are a steal. Carpenter is only hitting .186 this month after a hot start to the season. His line drive rate came down from 40% in May to 27% in June, so more just averaging out over the two months. His walk rate has gone up, and strikeout rate has dropped a little from May, so it looks like just one of those months nothing is falling. I am not worried about it tonight, and he will be my cash game third baseman. David Freese is also in play at the hot corner, especially since you have a limit of Cardinals you can play at FanDuel. Freese owns a .362 wOBA and a .186 ISO against lefties since 2012.

Shortstop

Shortstop is absolutely brutal tonight, and that has been the case quite a few times this year. Jhonny Peralta is your guy, hitting third in the order against an average right-handed pitcher. No other shortstop can offer what Peralta brings to the plate in tonight's slate. Peralta has a .362 wOBA off right-handed pitching with a nice 26% line drive rate. His improvement against right-handers has been noted in the Cards' success this season.

Outfield

With such a small slate, I want one of the best players in baseball, Mike Trout. His price isn't too bad, just given the surrounding salaries on tonight's slate. The upside Trout brings night in and night out is among the tops in our game, and facing the lefty, I love his ceiling. He has a .394 wOBA this season, which is on par with the numbers above, and he has a whopping 33% line drive rate. Get some Trout in your diet this evening.

Jason Heyward has been on an absolute tear over the two weeks, and is now hitting .321 this month, with four homers. I am not sure what it was that sparked him, but it could have been the move up into the cleanup spot of the lineup. He has a .205 ISO this month, and he will face a pitcher with not much to offer on the mound. Despite only hitting .246 against righties this season, I will ride the hot streak into tonight.

Rounding out a third outfielder is a little tough tonight, and I mentioned Arizona only being able to offer one real lefty to expose Cashner's struggles. David Peralta is that guy. Cashner has allowed a .394 wOBA to lefties this season with 10 homers tacked on. They also have a 38% hard hit ball rate. Peralta has a .343 wOBA off right-handed pitching, with better than average batted ball stats. While Petco is not a place to chase power, lefties fair better than righties in park factor.

Value Note: If Yangveris Solarte or Will Venable find themselves at the top of the lineup tonight, both lefties can expose Hellickson's struggles tonight at a discount price.