Sunday's First Baseman/DH Value Rankings
Here are theScore's first baseman/DH value rankings for Sunday, August 14 (all stats exclude Saturday's games):
Value Rankings
C | 1B/DH | 2B | SS | 3B | OF | SP
Top Options
| NAME | OPPONENT | VALUE |
|---|---|---|
| Edwin Encarnacion (TOR) | vs. HOU | 10 |
| Mike Napoli (CLE) | vs. LAA | 9 |
| Brandon Moss (STL) | at CHC | 8 |
Both Encarnacion and Napoli are on individual power surges, crushing four bombs each over the last 10 contests. They rank second and fourth among AL-hitters in big flies with 32 and 29 respectively. Encarnacion gets the higher rank due to a lower-cost on the majority of DFS sites, but both enter Sunday with extremely high floors.
Moss finds himself back atop the value rankings yet again Sunday, and with good reason. He's a pure matchup play, mashing right-handed pitching for 18 of his 19 home and sports a sparkling 1.007 OPS. He faces Cubs righty John Lackey, who has struggled to shut down left-handed batters this season, registering a .250 batting average against LHH.
Mid-Tier Targets
| NAME | OPPONENT | VALUE |
|---|---|---|
| Victor Martinez (DET) | at TEX | 7 |
| David Ortiz (BOS) | vs. ARI | 6 |
| Wil Myers (SD) | at NYM | 5 |
The switch-hitting Martinez has been swinging a hot bat, reaching the 20 home run plateau earlier this week while hitting .324 the month of August. A trip to hitter-friendly Globe Life Park has factored into his DFS price spike, but it's the best matchup relative to salary among 1B-eligible players.
Since the all-star break, Ortiz had slashed .215/.304/.354 until a 3-for-4 outing against the Diamondbacks and RHP Archie Bradley on Friday lifted his average to .244. His cost remains absurdly high despite his recent slump and a matchup against RHP Zack Greinke certainly doesn't add to his value. Use him in GPPs, if at all.
Mets LHP Steven Matz surrendered eight earned runs over his last two starts. The Padres favor left-handed pitching, so having shares in offensive catalyst Myers and his .343 average against southpaws could lead to cash game success.
Nothing to See Here
| NAME | OPPONENT | VALUE |
|---|---|---|
| Brandon Belt (SF) | vs. BAL | 4 |
| Chris Davis (BAL) | at SF | 3 |
| Hanley Ramirez (BOS) | vs. ARI | 3 |
The Giants rank second-last among MLB teams in home runs with 94, hindering the value of Belt. He has hit just three home runs since the All-Star break and with lefty Wade Miley toeing the rubber, stay far way.
It's quite possible that Davis will don the golden sombrero on Sunday night against Giants' hard throwing righty Johnny Cueto. Davis has lost his power stroke, hitting a paltry three home runs while striking out 34 times over that span. When he isn't hitting home runs, he has little to no value in DFS.
Ramirez had been in an 0-for-16 drought before rattling off back-to-back multi-hit games. He's found his power during the second-half of the season to be worthy of cash games, but his ceiling and floor is capped by Greinke.