It’s probably not wise to live in the past, but that’s exactly what I’m doing tonight. As I fill out my Star Fantasy Leagues daily lineup, I’m looking closely at what happened last night. There were quite a few big performances on Tuesday, and I’m hoping that carries over into today. Many of these players are also on hot streaks aside from last night, so there is a larger sample size to go by, too. Give it a try for yourself and see what you come up with. And use the promo code “SJN” for a 40% deposit bonus.
(C) Victor Martinez $6,018 – Martinez has put his rough start behind him and is starting to hit. He has an 11-game hitting streak and has increased his batting average from .225 to .249 during that time. I have no problem using a guy who’s hitting .400 over the last week-and-a-half.
(1B) David Ortiz $9,563 – Ortiz has found the Fountain of Youth somewhere. The 37-year-old is enjoying his best season since the Red Sox won their last World Series. He’s even picked up three stolen bases this year. And in the last two games, he is 6-for-7 with three runs and one of his steals. To top it off, he faces Aaron Harang tonight, against whom he is 3-for-6 with two doubles and four RBI.
(2B) Matt Carpenter $8,834 – So far in July, Carpenter is hitting .321, which is actually his second-worst month of the season. He has scored at least one run in each of the last four games, and he’s coming off a 3-for-4 performance that included two doubles, three RBI, and three runs.
(3B) Adrian Beltre $8,218 – Speaking of coming off a huge performance, there’s Beltre. Last night he went 4-for-4 with two home runs and five RBI. That runs his hitting streak to 11 games, a period during which he is hitting .488. What more can you ask for?
(SS) Hanley Ramirez $9,987 – Ramirez failed to get a hit last night for the first time in 21 games. While it’s disappointing that his hitting streak came to an end, he’s still hitting .404 on the season and in his one plate appearance against Tyler Skaggs, who he’ll face tonight, he hit a home run.
(OF) Matt Holliday $7,783 – Holliday’s batting average is not as high as it generally is, but he’s still hitting home runs and scoring a lot. His 64 runs is third-best in the National League. He also has a home run in each of the last two nights.
(OF) Alfonso Soriano $7,594 – For the first time in a long time, I feel quite confident in starting Soriano. He has hits in 10 of his last 11 games, but it’s the power that is there. He has eight homers in those games, including two last night. And, against C.J. Wilson, who he will face tonight, he is 2-for-2 with, you guessed it, a home run.
(OF) Alex Rios $6,228 – As good as many of the other players in my lineup were last night, Rios may have been the best. In six at bats, he had five singles and a triple. And four of them came against Justin Verlander. He also added two steals on the night. Anything close to that again tonight and this pick would pay off.
(U) Allen Craig $8,716 – Craig is enjoying a great season, with a .329 average, 10 home runs, and 71 RBI, good for second in the N.L. He’s also riding a nine-game hitting streak and had three hits alone last night.
(SP) Felix Doubront $11,928 – Next to John Lackey, Doubront has been Boston’s best pitcher in recent weeks. He hasn’t given up more than three earned runs in a game since May 8. In 5.2 career innings against Seattle, he’s allowed just three hits and one run, while striking out six.
(SP) Tommy Milone $9,989 – Milone is coming off a great performance last week against Kansas City, picking up the win over 8.1 innings and giving up just six hits and three runs. Tonight, he gets to face a struggling Pittsburgh team that has lost four in a row and has scored just six runs in those four games.
(RP) Grant Balfour $2,317 – I’m really counting on Milone to turn in a good performance tonight. Francisco Liriano will be pitching for Pittsburgh, which means Oakland may be pressed for runs, too. If it’s a close game, Balfour will be called on to shut the door, and he’s done that successfully every time out this season.
(P) Koji Uehara $2,017 – I’m doubling down on both of my starting pitchers tonight. I’m not worried about Doubront keeping things close, but, after putting up 11 runs last night, I’m a little more worried that the Red Sox offense could score too much to provide Uehara a save chance. I’m going to go with him anyway because he’s been quite effective all season long.
