Start All the Dodgers!

Yesterday, I demanded that you pick up all the Rockies as they finish out the season with seven games at home, including a doubleheader on Tuesday. Of course, the Rockies are playing against another team, which means two teams will enjoy a bunch of games at Coors Field. First up with a four game series is the Dodgers. As you could imagine, the majority of their starting lineup is heavily owned in CBS leagues. There is one pair of left-handed hitters that are barely owned though, so that’s the pair you should look into. Of course, every league is different, so I would also check to make sure James Outman is owned (he’s at 73% owned), before looking into the below pair.

David Peralta | CBS 15% Owned

With so many games still without a confirmed starting pitcher, it’s hard to get an idea of how many games Peralta might start this final week. He’s on the strong side of a platoon, and so far based on expected matchups, the team is only expected to face one southpaw, and that’s not in Colorado.

Peralta’s power spiked in 2018, and outside of 2015’s output that was just below, he hasn’t come anywhere close to that kind of power. In fact, his HR/FB rate has slipped into single digits over the past three seasons, while his ISO has mostly been below the league average. However, he’s still hitting the ball hard, as his maxEV has remained over 110 MPH, though it’s down at a career low right now. His Barrel%, however, is below average and simply unimpressive. Furthermore, his FB% is stuck just below 30%, so the low HR/FB rate combined with the low rate of fly balls has really capped his home run potential.

He does strike out at a better than average clip, and when you’re in Coors, you really just want to put the ball in play and let the atmospheric conditions work its magic. At least Peralta has been pretty good at that, though it might merely lead to a couple of extra singles, rather than more power.

Obviously, Peralta isn’t someone you would want to be active in a shallower league when playing in the majority of other parks. But the potential Coors boost could be enough to make him viable as a tie-breaker or injury replacement in such formats. Just make sure you check the lineup to ensure he’s actually starting, as he did sit against a right-handed starter on Sunday.

Jason Heyward | 8% Owned

It’s pretty surprising to see that Heyward is currently sitting on his highest wOBA since his rookie campaign in 2010, if you exclude the small sample 2020 season. He has disappointed offensively for a while now, but has suddenly found the fountain of youth.

Like Peralta, Heyward is also on the strong side of a platoon, but since he’s hit better than Peralta, he should continue to play against all right-handers, rather than sit against one occasionally. The biggest driver of Heyward’s renaissance is his power. He’s pushed his HR/FB rate back into double digit for just the third time since 2014, again excluding 2020. His maxEV remains strong at over 110 MPH, while his Barrel% is actually at a career best of 8.2%. That’s actually more than double his career rate.

It also looks like he may have consciously changed his plate approach to tap into his power more, as his FB% is above 40% for the first time in his career. He has always been a ground ball hitter and sports just a 33% FB% over his career, so this is a big change. He’s on a 25-homer pace given 600 PAs, which would represent the second highest home run total of his career, or a match of his current career high given the same number of PAs. That’s all due to the increased FB%, despite a HR/FB rate that’s only a bit above his career mark.

Despite Heyward being just over half as owned as Peralta, I much prefer owning him for the games in Coors than Peralta, if you could only choose one. Of course, Outman is even more preferable to either of the two, but it’s likely he’s already owned.

Chris Taylor | 26% Owned

Here’s a bonus name! It’s bizarre to me that he’s owned the most out of the trio when he’s essentially only starting against left-handed starters. I decided to add him here because he was the one that got the start on Sunday against a right-hander, pushing Peralta to the bench.

Taylor has produced a nice combination of power and speed this year, posting a 16.1% HR/FB rate with lots of fly balls, along with 16 steals. If you’re in a daily league, he makes for an excellent pickup for the day if you see he’s starting at Coors.