Two arms atop the board and a pile of chalk bats. Here are my five best Captains — with the low-owned seats the field is ignoring — and my five best flex plays, each with the why.
👑 Top 5 Captains — and why
CPT earns 1.5× points at 1.5× salary (shown). The winning single-game lineup almost always has a Captain the field under-owns.
| # | Captain | CPT Salary | Proj | Own | Why |
|---|
| 1 | Colin Rea (CHC) | $15,600 | 14.2 | 52.6% | Highest projection on the slate — the safe, cash-optimal Captain. But 53% owned; captaining him is a chop in GPP. |
| 2 | ⭐ Pete Crow-Armstrong (CHC) | $15,000 | 9.5 | 17.8% | The leverage Captain — leadoff speed + pop at a fraction of the arms' ownership. A steal-and-a-homer night as Captain wins the slate outright. |
| 3 | Keider Montero (DET) | $17,400 | 11.2 | 60.6% | The other arm — big projection, but the most-captained player in the game. Correct in cash, far too owned to separate in GPP. |
| 4 | ⭐ Dillon Dingler (DET) | $12,600 | 9.3 | 11.1% | The hidden power seat — 9.3 proj batting second at just 11% owned and a cheap CPT tag. The bat-Captain almost no one will build. |
| 5 | Riley Greene (DET) | $12,300 | 8.9 | 42.6% | The best pure power Captain in the middle of the DET order — one swing changes the game, at a friendly Captain price. |
The read: cash = Rea. GPP = Pete Crow-Armstrong or Dillon Dingler — two seats the field is under-owning while it jams both arms. Captain an arm and you need the tiebreaker; captain PCA or Dingler and a normal night gets you unique.
🔨 Top 5 Flex — and why
| # | Flex | Salary | Proj | Own | Why |
|---|
| 1 | Kevin McGonigle (DET) | $8,600 | 9.0 | 40.1% | Leadoff for Detroit with the second-highest bat projection — a plate-appearance and run-scoring machine. Core flex. |
| 2 | ⭐ Seiya Suzuki (CHC) | $9,000 | 8.8 | 10.5% | The leverage flex — an 8.8 proj middle-order bat at just 10% owned. Same ceiling as the chalk, a third of the ownership. |
| 3 | Michael Busch (CHC) | $7,600 | 8.3 | 38.2% | The Cubs' 3-hole power — strong projection, correct against a beatable DET arm. |
| 4 | Spencer Torkelson (DET) | $5,800 | 7.4 | 57.4% | The chalk value that makes the math work — 7.4 for $5.8K and home-run upside in the 5-hole. Pair with a low-owned Captain to stay unique. |
| 5 | Zach McKinstry (DET) | $4,200 | 6.4 | 55.0% | The salary-saver — 6.4 proj for $4.2K unlocks a stud Captain. Chalky, so it's a build-enabler, not a differentiator. |
Chalk to build around: Torkelson (57%), McKinstry (55%), Michael Conforto ($5,200, 47.9%) and Hao-Yu Lee ($3,400, 41.2%) are the cheap bats the field uses to afford both arms. Fine — but the differentiator is Seiya Suzuki (10.5%) or Dansby Swanson ($7,400, 3.7%), the near-zero-owned Cubs bats that make your lineup lonely if they hit.
The takeaway
The field is stacked on Rea, Montero and the cheap DET bats. Get one thing right it doesn't — captain Pete Crow-Armstrong or Dillon Dingler, and flex Seiya Suzuki over the chalk — and a normal box score separates you.
Every pick graded & posted — win or lose. Good luck. — James