Another decent last night, might have had things a smidge out of order, but things worked out modestly alright. Pitching was a roller coaster ride that generally ended up OK, outside of Wainwright, who was just "off" and his price point is too high for him to be "off". The bats never really caught fire, though the Brewers bashed around Travis Wood as I expected. To counter that, the Orioles couldn't do much with Oberholtzer which kept my team from hitting the stratosphere. Keep in mind, I stay strictly with the night games, Monday thru Saturday. With that in mind, there are only 5 games on the sked, so you'll probably be detecting a theme here.
Pitchers:
- Gold: Hyun-Jin Ryu LAD - Comfortably my best pitcher of the day. Since coming off the DL, Ryu has been lights out. Faces a Pirates squad that has some free swinging lefties. He'll have to be wary of the righties, but generally keeps the ball in the park. His price is starting to creep upwards but still at a decent price point.
- Silver: Johnny Cueto CIN - Would be considered for the gold spot if his price point wasn't so high. Every once in awhile Cueto has a stinker that makes you wonder why you paid for him. He faces the D'Backs who have a predominantly right handed lineup. Should play to his favor.
- Bronze: Drew Smyly DET - The Mariners loathe left handed pitching, like just despise the stuff. Largely because most of their best hitters are left handed. Add to that, Cano dealing with an injury, and things look pretty smooth for Mr. Smyly.
- Economy: Chris Young SEA - What Smyly is to the Mariners, Young is somewhat to the Tigers. A right handed pitcher facing a largely right handed hitting lineup. Difference is Tigers have fearsome hitters that don't really mind either handedness. Young has been decent so far this season and is pitching in a pitchers park, but to be honest, you should stick with the top 3.
Catchers:
- Gold: Derek Norris OAK - Norris mashes left handed pitching and faces Tyler Skaggs tonight. Skaggs has decent stuff but is prone to the long ball. That's where I feel Norris will make hay tonight. On a down night for hitting catchers, the best we can hope for is low percentage crushers.
- Silver: A.J. Pierzynski BOS - Faces Jake Over Easy (Odorizzi). Pierzynski is getting long in the tooth, but is hitting in the middle of the Sox lineup and still hitting modestly well. All we can hope for is opportunity out of the catchers spot tonight.
- Bronze: Chris Iannetta LAA - Another low percentage masher facing a lefty in Tommy Milone. Lost a lot of the catching duties to Hank Conger this season, mainly in a platoon split now. With the lefty on the mound, I expect him to be in the lineup.
- Economy: Brayan Pena CIN - Dropped most of the catching duties to Devin Mesoraco this season. But with Votto out of the lineup, it will either be him or Donald Lutz manning 1B, with an outside chance Todd Frazier moves over there. Faces Brandon McCarthy if given the opportunity.
1st Base:
- Gold: David Ortiz BOS - Ortiz is getting longer in the tooth. His cold streaks last a little longer than they have in the past. But the dude is still one fearsome hitter. I can't imagine how Jake Odorizzi is going to navigate these ABs. May just end up in a bunch of BBs.
- Silver: Adrian Gonzalez LAD - Gonzalez faces unknown quantity Brandon Cumpton, which alone should be worthy of a gold spot. But as of late AGone has been hitting in the 5th spot which knocks down his value a peg since he's still being paid as a top of the order guy. At any rate, Gonzalez deserves to be on this list and should be deployed without hesitation, if one so desires.
- Bronze: Albert Pujols LAA - Pujols gets another opportunity to face a lefty, this time in the form of Tommy Milone. Definitely a better matchup for Pujols to be facing these softer tossing lefties. Pujols has become more of a streaky hitter as he ages, right now, he's in a bit of a down slump, so be wary.
- Ecomony: James Loney TB - Loney is such an unheralded player in the fantasy sports world. Mostly because he's a non power bat at a power position. But the dude still hits .290, drives in runs and puts up consistent points. Does all of that at decent prices. It's really tough to punt 1B though.
2nd Base:
- Gold: Dee Gordon LAD - Oh, Mr. Gordon we meet again? Are you going swipe some bags for us tonight? Oh, who the frick knows. All we know is when he does, he swipes two or three at a time. The ultimate high price boom/bust play in all of Fantasy Baseball, just due to the price point. He has the matchup to do damage vs. Cumpton.
- Silver: Howie Kendrick LAA - I like Kendrick when he faces lefties, then gets the chance to hit in the 4 or 5 spot and the RBI opportunities are there. Draws Tommy Milone tonight. I have a feeling this A's/Angels game will be a lot like the run fest it was last night.
- Bronze Dustin Pedroia BOS - Pedroia has run a lot on cold this season and his numbers reflect it. But John Farrell keeps rolling him out there, hitting high in the order, and that's good enough for me to deploy him. Face Odorizzi in a righty v righty matchup. Eventually Pedroia will have a breakout game, its just a matter of when.
- Economy: Grant Green LAA - Green seemingly gets the chance to play every time the Halos play vs. lefties. He hits down the order but at this price all you can ask for is a chance. Oh btw, did you know he is hitting +.370? Yeah, I didn't either.
3rd Base:
- Gold: Josh Donaldson OAK - How can I not have him in the gold spot? The guy is absolutely crushing the ball now and is one of those ultimate streaky hitters. Faces Tyler Skaggs and like Derek Norris mentioned above, will be looking for mistakes he can crush.
- Silver: Evan Longoria TB - You know me, I hate righty v righty matchups. But this one is two one sided to ignore. Longoria faces short guy turned long guy turned starter Rubby De La Rosa in what I think is his first start in the majors. Just seems to beneficial of a matchup for Longoria to ignore.
- Bronze: David Freese LAD - Not a fan of David Freese per se, as the dude has a holy swing, and I don't mean as in higher power. But everything is in place for him to do some damage. Faces lefty? Check. Hitting cleanup? Check. Has great hitters in front of him? Check. Freese just has to show up with a bat and he'll get points through osmosis.
- Economy: Chone Figgins LAD - One time fantasy gawd, blast from the past Chone Figgins. Now just a slappy platoon fill in. He played last night, so may not play tonight, but the price is right and the lineup around him is pretty stacked. It's a "check with lineups" on this play.
Shortstop:
- Gold: Billy Hamilton CIN - Some sites have him listed at SS, others strictly OF. Either way, things are lines up for Hamilton to do some damage vs. Brandon McCarthy. Hopefully his legs are in fine running order tonight.
- Silver: Jed Lowrie OAK - Good ol' Mr. Reliable. Lowrie is really a breakout player but just a guy you can count on for some points. At a position as light hitting as shortstop is on a lot of nights, its really all you can ask for. Faces lefty Tyler Skaggs.
- Bronze: Hanley Ramirez LAD - His talent should have him higher on the list but since returning from injury, he has yet to show much of anything. His price point is slowly creeping downward, meaning once he finds his swing again, might be a time to buy low. Faces Cumpton, so that night could be tonight, or could be a good night to punt the SS position.
- Economy: Zach Cozart CIN - I feel dirty for putting him here but there just isn't a lot of good value at the SS position outside of Jed Lowrie. One of these days he may have a good, might even be tonight. But his numbers as of right now are super low, therefore so is his price point.
Outfield:
- Gold: Mike Trout ANA - Mike Trout and his inflated price point takes the top outfield spot for tonight. On a light night, how can it not? Facing lefty Tommy Milone in that cavern of a ballpark, meaning if he hits a gapper, he'll be running forever.
- Gold: Yasel Puig LAD - More righty v righty crime, but its Puig vs. Cumpton, so how can I look away? I can't, I just can't. Puig is one of the very Dodgers that is hitting and hitting well. Dodgers seem to be in a lull right now. Like they know they are better than everyone but they are taking a break. They will be back soon, mashing, may even be tonight.
- Silver: Yoenis Cespedes OAK - I think a strong approach would be stacking the A's/Angels. Too many strong right handed bats for these lefties to navigate. Cespedes is just another one to throw onto the pile.
- Silver: Jay Bruce CIN - Jay "They Still Call Me" Bruce. As long as your manager keeps batting you cleanup, I have to keep looking at you. Now that your price point is more than manageable, I have to keep looking at you. Now all you have to do is hit, please? Brandon McCarthy is just waiting to be roughed up.
- Bronze: Grady Sizemore BOS - Sizemore is kind of a hit/miss guy at this stage of his career. Still crafty enough to have a good game here or there, but doesn't seem to catch the fastball like he once did. With Odorizzi on the mound, the matchup is there, just a matter of whether the execution will be. Wish Farrell would put him a smidge higher in the order.
- Bronze: Wil Myers TB - Big Willy style's average is starting to creep up while is price point is trending downward. Seems like a good time to buy cheap especially vs. Rubby De La Rosa.
- Economy: David DeJesus TB - Sizemore, Myers & DeJesus could all qualify for the economy spot. Needless to say, if you are looking for some good cheapies in the OF, look to the BOS/TB game. DeJesus hits lead off, so he'll get the chances but beware of the late game sub on DeJesus as Joe Madden will pull him for matchup purposes.
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