Everyone knows that tacos are better the farther into the evening you get. Sometimes, that goes for baseball, too. With that in mind, for tonight’s Taco Tuesday slate in MLB DFS we are choosing our lineup from the 9:40 p.m. EDT trio of games out west. Never fear, I’ve brought all the ingredients you’ll need to spice up that account. ¡Vámonos!
All prices listed are from DraftKings.
The Arms
Walker Buehler – vs. Cincinnati ($10,200)
Buehler has had virtually no control issues thus far in 2021, and after striking out nine batters against San Diego last week, he gets a Reds team that is particularly fond of chasing pitches of late. They are striking out at a 28 percent clip in their last eight games. When even the middle of the lineup is striking out at an alarming rate before the pitcher reaches the bottom of the card, that’s a recipe for a big game from Buehler. His curve is producing a 41 percent whiff rate. Double-digit strikeouts is firmly in his reach, along with a W.
Aaron Sanchez – vs. Colorado ($7,200)
The San Fran slinger is not going to be racking up the punchouts like Buehler, but he does a great job keeping the ball on the ground and letting his defense do the work. The Rockies are not good on the road, hitting under .250 as a team. As long as Sanchez can navigate around the middle of the lineup, the Giants hurler is a reasonable play for the money, though you generally cannot expect more than five innings out of him. That said, look for San Francisco to jump all over Chi Chi Gonzalez and let Sanchez (who has given up two runs or less in four trips to the bump) coast to a victory.
The Bats
Carson Kelly, C – vs. San Diego ($4,400)
I wrote about Kelly in this week’s edition of Walking the Waiver Wire, so I was excited to see his that his price tag was reasonable for this slate. It easily could have been $400 more. The backstop is rocking a .318/.500/.705 (a 1.205 OPS for those that don’t math good), with five round-trippers, 10 runs scored, and 12 RBI. He’s getting bases on balls at a 22.6 percent rate and barrels-up 17 percent of the time. Although he’s been batting seventh for the majority of the season, the Diamondbacks will have no choice but move him closer to the middle of the order soon. Here’s hoping that happens tonight.
Chris Taylor, 2B – vs. Cincinnati ($4,800)
Taylor has been stuffing the stat sheet to the tune of a .903 OPS, four dingers, 17 runs scored, 12 RBIs with a pair of stolen bases to boot. Opposing pitcher Jeff Hoffman is allowing an average exit velocity of 91.6 mph and although he holds a 2.66 ERA, he cannot be expected to make it through the fourth or fifth inning. The Dodgers should come out aggressive after their extra-inning loss on Monday night. Following that, Los Angeles will likely run up the score on what has been a woeful Cincinnati bullpen of late. Taylor’s 91 mph average exit velocity and 15+ percent barrel percentage makes him my home run call of the night.
Fernando Tatis, Jr., SS – at Arizona ($5,400)
What is there to say, really? One of the brightest stars in the game is worth the coin. In his last three contests, Tatis has been white hot. He’s hitting 7-for-14 with 5 homers, eight runs scored, and six RBIs. Tack on a pair of walks and a pair of stolen bases, and overall, he has been an absolute nightmare for opposing pitchers. Today he faces the Diamondbacks’ Merrill Kelly, who has pitched to a 7.71 ERA in 21 innings. Lock and load.
Jesse Winker, OF – at Los Angeles ($4,300)
The only real danger here is that the Reds outfielder has been so hot this season that he may spontaneously combust during the game. Winker has been finding holes all over the field and has put five baseballs over the fence. With a batting average re-approaching .400 (.382) and a 1.124 OPS, like Tatis he is impossible to ignore. His hard-hit percentage is sitting just shy of 60(!). If a Reds batter is going to get to Buehler tonight, it’ll be The Wink. More importantly, I expect him to do some damage once the Dodgers’ starter finally exits the game.
Jurickson Profar, OF – at Arizona ($3,300)
This is a total bargain. I’ve already documented the struggles of Kelly on the mound, so let’s roll with another Padres player here. Profar has been batting leadoff and while he’s been sluggish with the bat of late, this is a get-right opportunity. He’ll be setting the table for guys like Tatis and Hosmer and has a real opportunity to wreak havoc on the basepaths (he has four on the season thus far). While Profar is batting a meager .237 to this point, he has drawn 13 walks, so the opportunity for points is there, especially given the pitching matchup.
Rounding out the lineup
Eric Hosmer, 1B – at Arizona ($4,300)
Asdrubal Cabrera, 3B – vs. San Diego ($3,500)
Matt Beaty, OF – vs. Cincinnati ($2,600) (pivot to Luke Raley if Beaty sits)
Grab your favorite beverage, load up on tacos, and best of luck to everyone on this late Tuesday slate.
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