Wednesday's First Baseman/DH Value Rankings
Here are theScore's first baseman/DH value rankings for Wednesday, May 4:
Value Rankings
C | 1B/DH | 2B | SS | 3B | OF | SP
Top Options
| NAME | OPPONENT | VALUE |
|---|---|---|
| Miguel Cabrera (DET) | at CLE | 10 |
| Chris Carter (MIL) | vs. LAA | 9 |
| Victor Martinez (DET) | at CLE | 9 |
| Justin Smoak (TOR) | vs. TEX | 8 |
| Anthony Rizzo (CHC) | at PIT | 8 |
| Brandon Belt (SF) | at CIN | 8 |
| Byung Ho Park (MIN) | at HOU | 8 |
| Joe Mauer (MIN) | at HOU | 8 |
| Steve Pearce (TB) | vs. LAD | 8 |
Cabrera has absolutely destroyed Corey Kluber in his career. Miggy is 20-for-38 against the Klubot with five homers and just six strikeouts. His price is low because of a slow start, but he's hitting .316 in his last 10 games.
Carter is off to a great start this season with an uncharacteristically high batting average. It's unclear how long it will remain high, but draft him until he cools off. He'll be facing LHP Hector Santiago, and Carter has an OBP of .342 against lefties compared to a .299 OBP vs. righties in his career.
Heading into Tuesday's game, Smoak had an OBP of .404 on the season. He hit his first and second round-trippers of the year on Tuesday, and as they say, home runs come in bunches. His third could come on Wednesday against Colby Lewis, who has already given up seven homers this season.
Mid-Tier Targets
| NAME | OPPONENT | VALUE |
|---|---|---|
| Edwin Encarnacion (TOR) | vs. TEX | 7 |
| Ryan Howard (PHI) | at STL | 7 |
| Alex Rodriguez (NYY) | at BAL | 7 |
| Joey Votto (CIN) | vs. SF | 7 |
| Carlos Santana (CLE) | vs. DET | 7 |
| Jose Abreu (CWS) | vs. BOS | 7 |
| Justin Bour (MIA) | vs. ARI | 7 |
| Lucas Duda (NYM) | vs. ATL | 6 |
| Mark Teixeira (NYY) | at BAL | 6 |
| Hanley Ramirez (BOS) | at CWS | 6 |
| Wil Myers (SD) | vs. COL | 6 |
| Eric Hosmer (KC) | vs. WAS | 6 |
| Freddie Freeman (ATL) | at NYM | 5 |
| Adrian Gonzalez (LAD) | at TB | 5 |
| David Ortiz (BOS) | at CWS | 5 |
| Albert Pujols (LAA) | at MIL | 5 |
| C.J. Cron (LAA) | at MIL | 5 |
Encarnacion isn't off to the start he hoped for this season, but expect him to turn it around soon. Over the past three seasons, EE's OPS jumps from .749 in April to .952 in May and .957 in June. He'll likely have low ownership because of the slow start, but he's a fantastic contrarian option with Colby Lewis on the hill for Texas.
A-Rod hit third in the Yankees' lineup for the first eight games of the season, where he had just three hits. Since being moved down in the order, Rodriguez has hit .282/.333/.667. He went back to third spot on Tuesday, but trust that his early season struggles were due to a slow start rather than where he hits in the lineup.
Nothing to See Here
| NAME | OPPONENT | VALUE |
|---|---|---|
| Prince Fielder (TEX) | at TOR | 4 |
| Paul Goldschmidt (ARI) | at MIA | 3 |
| Chris Davis (BAL) | vs. NYY | 3 |
| John Jaso (PIT) | vs. CHC | 2 |
| Ryan Zimmerman (WAS) | at KC | 2 |
| Mark Canha (OAK) | vs. SEA | 2 |
| Tyler White (HOU) | vs. MIN | 1 |
Goldschmidt is hitting just .239 this season (as of Tuesday), but he has a .424 OBP. Teams are clearly working around the elite slugger to face inferior hitters. He's not worth the hefty price tag against Jose Fernandez, considering Goldy has worse numbers against RHP in his career.
HEADLINES
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