Unbelievably cold night with the bats last night. On a night where I had two good value gems in Lester and Feldman, the high price bats were a dud. Too cold to swing the bat last night? Not sure, but these bats better warm up soon, as I am losing patience and bankroll! Just fell short again last night. At any rate, let's check out Friday's matchups.
Pitchers:
- Gold: Bartolo Colon NYM - That should tell you everything about the pitching tonight. Actually the pitching is pretty good and deep. On a night where King Felix and Kershaw are going, I'm going with Colon. Colon faces the limp dick bats of the Padres. Just seems like a night where Colon can generate a lot of swings and misses vs. the youthful bats of the Padres. Far better value here than the aforementioned aces above.
- Silver: Jose Quintana CWS - Kind of a hedge play. The Royals have a large amount of lefty hitters that play full time, so I'm hoping the lefty Quintana can buy some outs and even perhaps get some Ks along the way. Royals haven't been striking out a lot, but like I said its kind of hedge play. Check with lineups to see if the Royals are playing a large amount of lefty bats.
- Bronze: Felix Hernandez SEA - Not enamoured with this pick, but can't totally avoid it either. Nobody's touching Felix stuff lately. 15Ks in his last outing, what will do for an encore? Who knows, but the free swinging bats of the Rangers pose a threat to a big K total, but also could knock some runs in on Felix. I like Hernandez better than Kershaw tonight, if you have expensive taste.
- Economy: Roberto Hernandez PHI - Not in love with this pick, but its the Cubs bats and they suck. Question is do they suck bad enough for the former Fausto Carmona to do them dirty? Even I have my questions about that, but Edison Volquez looked like Cy Young vs. the Cubbies last night, so anything could happen.
Catchers:
- Gold: Buster Posey SF - Posey faces southpaw Jorge de la Rosa. Posey lives for left hand pitching, especially one as mediocre as de la Rosa. Posey is by far the best catching play of the night.
- Silver: John Jaso OAK - Jaso should be drawing in the lineup vs. David Phelps tonight. A distant 2nd option to Posey but a guy that hit some frozen ropes all over the field.
- Bronze: Evan Gattis LAA - Not enamoured with this play but there are some things going for it. C.J. Wilson gives up the long ball which is Gattis' specialty. But Wilson also can be nasty, and Gattis strikeout a lot. This is the ultimate boom/bust play.
- Economy: Dioner Navarro TOR - Mr. Economy is back in his spot. Faces Ubaldo Jimenez. I figure the jays are due to break out of their slump soon. Navarro is a good punt option if you are looking for value at the C spot.
1st Base:
- Gold: Brandon Moss OAK - Kind of a heat check play. Moss has been mashing with authority pretty consistently this season, you wonder if the well is ever gonna dry up. Has a ripe matchup vs. David Phelps that's difficult to over look.
- Silver: Victor Martinez DET - Don't have VMart here often enough, mainly because its tough to pass on Miggy Cabrera as a 1B option. For those that play on sites where VMart is at the catcher spot (catch up with the times already), have at 'er. VMart faces Kyle Gibson in a ripe matchup.
- Bronze: Adam Dunn CWS - Dunn faces Jeremy Guthrie who throws predominantly fastballs, and Dunn only likes fastballs, so on paper it seems like a match made in heaven for Dunn. Dunn Ks a ton, so it might not be pretty.
- Economy: Logan Morrison SEA - Morrison faces pitch to contact Nick Tepesch. Morrison hit his first homer of the season, when I recommended him in this spot last night. Going back to well to see if there is more pop in that bat.
2nd Base:
- Gold: Robinson Cano SEA - Cano didn't do that great last night but he is hitting the ball much better, meaning a tear is just around the corner. Cano faces Nick Tepesch. I have no idea how Tepesch is going to be able to get Cano out.
- Silver: Chase Utley PHI - Utley faces Jake Arrieta in what should a good matchup for Utley. The Phils bats have been in the tank this season, but Utley's bat is still going strong. Power numbers might be down but the batting average is still way high.
- Bronze: Brian Dozier MIN - I haven't had this guy on the list nearly as much as I should. Every time I see him play, he hitting scorches all over the place and hitting for power. Dozier faces Drew Smyly in a righty/lefty matchup, one that highly favors Dozier.
- Economy: Dan Uggla ATL - It's an "Uggla" kinda night for the economy class. Sorry, had to do it, but seriously, the economy class kinda stinks tonight. It's resorting to a mostly bench player facing an ace and hoping for said bench player to wake up and hit a home run. Got it? Good. Uggla faces C.J. Wilson, that's if he plays, check with lineups on this one.
3rd Base:
- Gold: Kyle Seager SEA - Seager did me dirty last night and I reward him with the gold spot again? Yeah, I know, but its kinda where the 3B spot is at tonight. One of these nights all those lefty bats of the Mariners have to hit a righty, amirite? Especially one as mediocre as Nick Tepesch.
- Silver: Pablo Sandoval SF - Sandoval faces lefty Jorge de la Rosa tonight. I like Pablo much more from the left side, but he'll be hitting right handed vs. the lefty. Maybe its just me but I always feel Rockies pitching is mediocre, no matter who's in that uniform. Perhaps de la Rosa may prove me wrong.
- Bronze: Casey McGehee MIA - See what I mean about 3B? I have put sporadic hitting McGehee in a spot. Lots of things going for McGehee though. He faces lefty Jeff Locke, and he hits cleanup. Can't ask for much more at a reasonable price.
- Economy:Chone Figgins LAD - Mr. Slappy is back in his economy spot. May or may not play, it will either be him or Justin Turner in the lineup or may be both, depending on the status of Hanley Ramirez. Either way, the Dodgers face rookie Chase Anderson tonight.
Shortstop:
- Gold: Jed Lowrie OAK - Thought 3B was bad, SS is hella ugly tonight. Best to find points and matchups where you can. I'm looking to Jed Lowrie, first and foremost, in his matchup with David Phelps and then go from there.
- Silver: Jimmy Rollins PHI - I'm not enamoured with JRoll a lot of the time, largely because he usually leaves me with a big donut at the end of the night. He has speed and a small amount of power that surprises every once in awhile. Faces Jake Arrieta tonight.
- Bronze: Alexei Ramirez CWS - Ramirez's kind of hit a cold spell over the last week. The good news is his price point has come down to a reasonable range. Good thing because he was way overpriced before. He can still hit for power and still run but its just more manageable now to get him in a lineup. Faces Jeremy Guthrie tonight.
- Economy: Eduardo Escobar MIN - Yeah I know, its kinda ugly. Escobar is merely a slappy hitting shortstop that hits down the order. Has a nice average though and may pound you out a couple of knocks vs. lefty Drew Smyly.
Outfield:
- Gold: Giancarlo Stanton MIA - Easily the OF play of the night. Stanton is just a hitting machine and loves left handed pitching. He gets that in the form of Jeff Locke.
- Gold: Hunter Pence SF - A bit of a drop off from Stanton to Pence, but Pence can mash lefties of his own and gets to vs. Jorge de la Rosa. Wish he hit in a better RBI spot on the Giants, but he can still hit nonetheless.
- Silver: Coco Crisp OAK - The power starts to dry up after Pence. Will have to settle for some base knocks and some hopeful stolen bases. Crisp may get that chance vs. David Phelps.
- Silver: Adam Eaton CWS - What goes for Crisp can go the same for Eaton. Lead off man with limited power that can steal a base. Doesn't steal with the volume that Crisp does. Faces Jeremy Guthrie.
- Bronze: Justin Upton ATL - JUpton has just been an annoying flake lately. Not hitting when he should be and hitting when he shouldn't be. Don't know what to expect from him and his high price. Maybe with a struggling stud ace lefty C.J. Wilson on the mound, maybe everything will counter balance itself out.
- Bronze: Josh Willingham MIN - Not a lot I like about Willingham other than his matchup. His price point is too high considering the lack of safety he brings. An all or nothing masher. Faces lefty Drew Smyly though which is right in his wheelhouse.
- Economy: James Jones SEA - Had him last night and was pretty meh with only an RBI single to show. Like with the rest of the Mariners on this list, I'm hoping for a better showing vs. Nick Tepesch.
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