As I mentioned Wednesday, I’ve shifted my thinking when building my Star Fantasy Leagues daily lineup to concentrate on offense, while being thrifty on pitching. It worked pretty well that night. While not my best lineup ever, it was still enough to get me back in the money. And that’s what I’m looking for. So I’m at it again. If you’d like to try your own strategy, join me at SFL and use the promo code “SJN” for a 40% deposit bonus.
(C) Yadier Molina $8,009 – Molina is putting together an MVP-worthy season in St. Louis, as he is hitting a Major League-best .366 with five home runs, 41 RBI, and 33 runs. He also has seven hits in his last four games. You can’t do any better here.
(1B) Chris Davis $9,328 – What more can you say about the Orioles’ first baseman? He just won’t stop hitting. The Major League-leading home run hitter added two more in his last game on Wednesday, bringing his total to six in his last eight games, to go along with 12 hits, 14 RBI, and six runs. Even at this price, I think he’s a steal.
(2B) Brian Dozier $4,882 – The Twins’ second baseman is having a very nice week. He is riding a five-game hitting streak with three home runs. He’s also a career .348 hitter against the Indians.
(3B) Evan Longoria $8,556 – Longoria is one of the best third basemen in the league and he’s on pace for a career year. He’s hitting .307, which would be his best single-season average, and he’s on pace for 35 home runs, 102 RBI, and 110 runs scored. The homers and runs would also be career highs. On top of it all, he has five hits and two homers in his last two days.
(SS) Yunel Escobar $4,667 – This is really the one lineup spot I’m not entirely confident about, but I wanted to save a little money here. Escobar is hitting .243 on the season with 17 extra-base hits, 29 RBI, and 27 runs. He is coming off a two-hit performance in New York, where he is playing again tonight, and where he is a .275 career hitter with three home runs.
(OF) Mike Trout $10,218 – Trout has been an offensive machine for the last week or so. During his eight-game hitting streak, he is hitting .542/.647/.625 with nine walks and six runs. He’s always a good bet to pick up plenty of points, but even more so now.
(OF) Yasiel Puig – $9,344 – See my previous posts about my affinity for Puig at this point in time. He also has a seven-game hitting streak, a home run in each of his last two games, and is 2-for-3 with a double, homer, and three RBI in his first appearance against tonight’s opposing starter, Clayton Richard.
(OF) Jay Bruce $7,912 – Since May 8th, Bruce has 14 home runs, which trails only Davis and Carlos Gonzalez over that time. He also has a solid .295 average in the month of June.
(U) Ryan Howard $5,338 – His power is still sporadic at best, but Howard is at least hitting with more consistency these days. This month, he has a slash line of .328/.425/.534. He is also a perfect 3-for-3 against Jeremy Hefner, whom he will face tonight.
(SP) Bartolo Colon $12,219 – Colon is 40, but he won’t stop pitching like the Cy Young Award winner he once was. He is 9-2 with a 2.89 ERA on the season and, over the last three weeks, he’s been even better, posting a 4-0 record and a 0.93 ERA. He also faced the Mariners his last time out, going seven innings, allowing two earned runs, and picking up the win.
(SP) Ricky Nolasco $11,442 – Starting a Marlins’ pitcher is hardly a popular road to try to pick up a win, but he’s as good a bet as any in Miami. He has a .361 ERA on the season and has quality starts in five of his last six outings, including a seven-inning, three hit performance against a tough Cardinals lineup. He’ll get the Giants tonight.
(RP) Joe Nathan $2,315 – A Rangers-Cardinals game should be a close one and, if Texas takes the lead late in the game, Nathan would be in line to get a save chance.
(P) Hector Santiago $5,721 – As I’m focusing a lot of my budget on offense, I’m saving money here and I could do a lot worse than Santiago. He’s split time between the rotation and bullpen, but in seven starts, he is 2-3 with a 3.00 ERA and a very impressive 10.4 K/9 rate. His opponent tonight is Kansas City, which has lost two straight and scored just eight runs over its last three games.
