Marlon Byrd, OF, CIN
Byrd continued his late-career power surge on Monday, hitting his 16th homerun of the season. He looks to reach 24 HR's or more for the 3rd year in a row, a mark he hadn't reached until he was 35. Since coming back from the DL on June 19th, Byrd has hit .299 with 6 HR's in 23 games. While he strikes out too much to keep up a high BA, the power doesn't seem to be going anywhere. He could be an especially good play over the next week or so, as the Reds host the Cubs for three games over the next two days and then play in Coors Field over the weekend, giving him and his teammates some great hitters parks to play in.
Matt Harvey, SP, NYM
Harvey struggled yet again on Monday allowing 5 runs (4 earned) in 7 IP while walking 4 and striking out 3. He has now walked 13 batters in his last 3 starts after not having walked more than 2 in a game in any of his first 15 starts. He also struck out at least 7 hitters in 8 of his first 11 starts but has now only reached that total once in his last 7 outings. It's possible Harvey is suffering from some fatigue after missing an entire season with Tommy John Surgery, but it's also possible that this is just a mini-slump and Harvey goes back to pitching the way he did earlier in the year. I wouldn't give up on Harvey just yet.
Jung-Ho Kang, SS, 3B, PIT
With Jordy Mercer expected to miss 6 weeks with a knee sprain, Kang is expected to take over the regular SS duties for the Pirates at least for the time being. Kang doesn't contribute a whole lot in any single fantasy category, but he can contribute a bit in all of them as he is thus far batting .278 with 5 HR's and 5 SB's, as well as 30 runs and 30 RBI through 269 PA's. Playing every day would obviously help Kang's counting stats, and that should be enough to make him a viable MI option even in shallower leagues.
I have to admit, I've been on a bit of a role with my DFS picks recently. The last few that I've posted in this space have been:
July 10 - Mike Leake, CIN: 8 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 1 BB, 10 K, W
June 30 - George Springer, HOU: 2 R, HR, 2 RBI, BB
June 23 - Maikel Franco, PHI: 2 R, 2B, HR, 5 RBI
June 16 - Pablo Sandoval, BOS: 2 R, 1B, 2B
That being said, I'll try to test my luck twice this week:
Joe Ross, SP, WAS
Ross will make the start against the Mets on Tuesday, as he looks to continue his early career success which includes a 2.66 ERA and 2.05 xFIP through 3 starts. Perhaps the most remarkable thing for Ross so far is his 23:2 K:BB ratio through 20.1 IP, which is backed by an excellent 13.3% SwStr%. You would have to think that Ross will come back to earth eventually, but there's no reason to assume it will happen against a Mets team that ranks 29th in OPS against right-handed pitching. As one of the cheapest SP options available, Ross could prove to be a big bargain. Value Play FanDuel Salary: $5,000.
Kyle Schwarber, C, CHC
Schwarber has gotten off to a great start to his major league career and on Tuesday he faces off against fellow rookie Raisel Iglesias, who hasn't gotten off to quite as good of a start. While the sample sizes are small, we do know that Schwarber has slashed .391/.419/.652 in 24 PA's against righties, while Iglesias has struggled against left-handed hitters, with a weak 10:7 K:BB ratio and .370 wOBA against them. That and the fact that the game is being played in Cincinatti make this a great matchup for Schwarber, who despite his hot start still comes very cheap in FanDuel. Value Play FanDuel Salary: $2,500.
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