MLB: Tuesday June 3 2014

My apologies to reader's of this blog. Last night was an epic fail, that I can't even fathom. Nothing went right. Cardinals & Rays are still slumping. Brew Crew did well however Braun & Gomez did not. Big price bats sure laid the eggs on my lineups. My best hitter was Reid Brignac last night which tells you how bad it really was. The beauty thing about sports is, there is always tomorrow and a chance to set things right. Here's my chance to make amends.

Pitchers:
- Gold: Zack Wheeler NYM - Not a good night to go with expensive arms, so, Wheeler grabs the top spot of the night. Wheeler gets to face the Cubs who just finished getting waxed by the Brewers. Wheeler  has been pitching much better himself, so, it just seems like nothing but upward arrows in this matchup.
- Silver: Yovani Gallardo MIL - Gallardo is kind of a uneven pitcher. Not sure what to get from game to game. Same can be said about the Twins lineup he's going to face tonight. With the way the Brewers are mashing, the prospects for a win are high. He's at a good price point to boot.
- Bronze: Dan Haren LAD - Outside of the power fest they had on Saturday night, Dodgers seem to be in a funk, hence the bronze play for Haren and not higher on the list. That being said the White Sox generate a lot of swings and misses in their own right. The kicker is Hector Noesi is Haren's counterpart, whom I can't see having two good starts in a row. It's a mismatch on paper.
- Economy: Erasmo Ramirez SEA - Not a good night for the economy class, though Gallardo would technically qualify. The upside to the Erasmo play is he has strikeout potential facing a Braves team loathes right handed pitching. Eventually the Braves will start mashing just to even things out, that night could be tonight, so I would approach this play with caution.

Catchers:
- Gold: Buster Posey SF - Not a great night matchup wise for catchers tonight. A lot of righty v righty crime. Posey faces Homer Bailey of whom I have absolutely no faith in. The Giants just finished doing the Cardinals dirty, so you know the bats are hot.
- Silver: Jonathan Lucroy MIL - Lucroy faces Samuel Deduno, who has pretty decent stuff but is a mistake waiting to happen. Love that Lucroy is currently hitting 3rd in the Brewers lineup. Just enhances the catching position so much, giving it more options.
- Bronze: Willin Rosario COL - Rosario is not having that great of a season thus far in the friendly confines of Coors Field, though he done alright 3 of the last 4 games. Faces Chase Anderson tonight. Rookie pitchers usually don't fair well in Coors Field. Might be a plan to load up on Rockies tonight.
- Economy: Alex Avila DET - On a light night for catching and a lot of questionable matchup, Avila is the best I can pull up for the economy class. Avila draws Drew Hutchison, who is around the plate but has a penchant for getting hit around. Avila is a modest power, low average hitter.

1st Base:
- Gold: Paul Goldschmidt ARI - Could very well be the gold play of the day. Anytime the D'Backs face subpar left handed pitching, I'm lining up for 'em. Jorge De La Rosa has pitched effectively as of late, but pitching at Coors Field can make anyone erratic. I see a total gong show at Coors tonight.
- Silver: Adrian Gonzalez LAD - His matchup vs. Noesi would make him a gold play on most days, but will have to settle for silver today. Gonzalez has been in a malaise as of late, but Noesi could be the cure that ails him, or any of the Dodgers bats for that matter.
- Bronze: James Loney TB - I'm a sucker for punishment when it comes to the Rays. Too much talent and baseball acumen for them to be this bad. Loney is one of the very few that is hitting alright. Price point is low enough to qualify for an economy spot. Faces Henderson Alverez tonight.
- Economy: Mitch Moreland TEX - Moreland has been hitting in the third spot ever since Prince Fielder has been on the DL. Hasn't exactly taken advantage of the opportunity, but nonetheless the opportunity is still there. Faces Ubaldo Jiminez who prone to the long ball. Might be a chance to buy low on Moreland tonight.

2nd Base:
- Gold: Dustin Pedroia BOS - Faces lefty T.J. House who was brilliant in his last start. But its still the same T.J. House that is the owner of two MLB starts. Pedroia preys on inexperienced pitching. Fighting a bit of an ailment so the upside is not as high as it should be.
- Silver: Aaron Hill ARI - Aaron Hill + left handed pitching + hitters ballpark = damn near a must play. Faces Jorge De La Rosa. Pedroia has a ever so slightly better matchup but on most nights, this could qualify as a gold spot play.
- Bronze: Robinson Cano SEA - Cano just came back from injury last night to play a game in the Bronx. Went 1-3 with a couple of BB. Pretty meh for his price point. Has been underwhelming for much of the season but yet his price point remains high. Faces Gavin Floyd, who pitches to contact. Could be a night Cano goes off, or remains in his slumber. Whichever.
- Economy: Derek Dietrich MIA - Recently in the doghouse for his defensive acumen as he dropped a start to Ed Lucas yesterday. But the dude can still mash, and has nice protection on both sides of the lineup. Has an excellent price point as well. Check with lineups on him though as he may still be in the doghouse tomorrow.

3rd Base:
- Gold: Pablo Sandoval SF - As mentioned above, I have no faith in Homer Bailey. Sure he can spin a gem every once in awhile, but more often than not, he leaks hits. I`m sure Panda hated leaving St. Louis, he just mashed the Cardinals over the weekend.
- Silver: Kyle Seager SEA - Speaking of mashing, Seager just put on a hitting display yesterday in the Bronx. A double, two triples and an home run. Yeah, he sunk me last night in a lot of league games. Had him as a bronze play last night, but decided to with gold play Longoria. Needless to say, it did not work out well. Seager faces Gavin Floyd in a ripe matchup.
- Bronze: Manny Machado BAL - Machado's bat finally awoke from his slumber vs. Houston on Sunday. It`s been a long time coming. Let`s see if he can keep it rolling vs. soft tosser Joe Saunders.
- Economy: Matt Dominguez HOU - Not the greatest of matchups vs. C.J. Wilson but he does get the righty vs. lefty matchup. Wilson`s stuff is good and the dude is a horse, but is prone to long ball and Minute Maid Park is a home run waiting to happen. Many pros and cons to this matchup but the price is right for Dominguez who usually hits cleanup vs. lefties.

Shortstop:
- Gold: Troy Tulowitzki COL - It`s been awhile since I have looked Tulo's way. Mostly because the Rockies have been on the road a lot and Tulo's price point has started trending down from the ridiculous. Welp, Tulo is back at Coors Field facing Chase Anderson. Sign me up.
- Silver: Hanley Ramirez LAD - Outside of his monster game on Saturday night, there has not been a lot of pop in his bat. Not sure if there are any lingering effects there. One thing is for certain, its tough to look away from his matchup with Noesi tonight.
- Bronze: Jean Segura MIL - It doesn't feel right unless I have a good portion of the Brewers bats represented here. I actually like Segura in a righty vs. righty matchup more than I would otherwise. It gives him a better chance to swipe a bag and create havoc on the bases. Faces the mistake prone Deduno tonight.
- Economy: J.J. Hardy BAL - Love Hardy vs. lefties. Hardy has a lot of protection around him in the lineup that he seems to do most of his damage when he doesn't stick out of a lineup. Joe Saunders has many other bats to be concerned with which makes Hardy a sneaky play at a low price.

Outfield:
- Gold: Nelson Cruz BAL - Cruz is battling a bit of a hand injury when he got HBP on Sunday. So he might be a bit iffy for Tuesday. But Joe Saunders doesn't throw hard enough to hurt anybody, so if Cruz is in the lineup, he`s pretty much a must play.
- Gold: Adam Jones BAL - I may as well put in Cruz`s bash brother buddy Adam Jones in here, as I gang up on poor ol' Joe Saunders. Saunders did well vs. the Twins his last time out, but the difference between the Twins and the Orioles is like the difference between ground beef and filet mignon.
- Silver: Carlos Gonzalez COL - Gonzalez, much like Cruz, also is dealing with a lingering hand injury, which has been hampering his hitting as of late. I say, the Rockies being on the road may have hampered it more. Nothing like some home cooking vs. rookie Chase Anderson will help alleviate some of the pain. All things being said, check lineups to make sure he`s in.
- Silver: Charlie Blackmon COL - Another guy that would like some home cooking as well. Another guy that hits better at Coors than away from Coors. Blackmon's price point hasn`t really moved even though he`s been fighting it a bit. Nonetheless, he's a really sold play in what I expect to be a slug fest in Denver.
- Bronze: Ryan Braun MIL - It pains me to put him here after he did me dirty last night. But with the way the Brewers have swinging the bats at home, he's hard to ignore. On top of that facing Deduno, it's damn near preposterous for me to leave him off the list.
- Bronze: Carlos Gomez MIL - ...And if I have Braun on the list, I have to have Gomez on the list, because its damn near impossible to make out who will have the big game and who will flop. It probably wise to gamble on one and not both, because its rare that these two have big games together and their price point are high.
- Economy: Andre Either LAD - It`s a little easier to insert Ethier into a lineup with Crawford on the shelf, turning a four man outfield into a three man. Ethier faces Noesi at a price that is too low refuse. Seems like a good time to buy on Ethier.