Is it just me, or does it feel like it’s been forever since a regular season MLB game has been played? Thanks to the All-Star break, every team was given four full days off. But, finally, the games are back. And with that comes the return of building a Star Fantasy Leagues daily fantasy baseball lineup. It’s a little tougher to put together today’s lineup, just because there is the uncertainty of how players will bounce back from such a long layoff. But I still feel like this is a team that will put up some points tonight. So start the second half of your season with me over at SFL and, as always, use the promo code “SJN” for a 40% deposit bonus.
(C) Victor Martinez $7,362 – Martinez was getting his offensive game together quite nicely leading up to the All-Star break. He’ll face Ervin Santana tonight, against whom he is 6-for-16 with a home run. He is also a much better career hitter in the second half of the season, so it should be all uphill from here.
(1B) Adam LaRoche $6,082 – Speaking of players who perform better after the All-Star Game, LaRoche is a textbook example. During the first-half of the season, he is a career .248/.326/.440 hitter. In the second half, he’s hit .293/.353/.533. He’ll start heating up soon and I don’t want to miss out when he does.
(2B) Dustin Pedroia $8,217 – Pedroia has been reliable all season long and is quite possibly the Red Sox MVP of the first half. Boston will start the second half at home tonight, where Pedroia is hitting .374 this season.
(3B) Lonnie Chisenhall $5,019 – Before the few days off, Chisenhall was enjoying one of the best months of his young major league career. In 11 games, he was hitting .289, with two home runs, three doubles, and eight RBI. Tonight, he’ll face Mike Pelfrey, who is allowing opponents to hit .313 against him this year.
(SS) Jean Segura $6,673 – With his well-rounded first half, Segura earned himself his first career All-Star appearance. He is hitting .325 with power and speed, and he was playing very well right before the break. He had a five-game hitting streak that included eight hits. Tonight, he’ll face Jacob Turner, against whom he went 2-for-3 in their only meeting.
(OF) Jacoby Ellsbury $9,928 – Some have been questioning where Ellsbury’s power has gone, but when you’re atop the Red Sox’s high-scoring lineup, you’re just supposed to get on base and score runs. And he has done that. In the first half, he hit .305 with a .368 OBP and had a league-high 36 steals. Stolen bases might be tough to come by tonight against Andy Pettitte, but he does have eight hits in 24 at bats against the Yankees’ lefty.
(OF) Alfonso Soriano $7,689 – The Cubs’ outfielder could be looking at his final few games in Chicago and he has been making the most of them this month. He’s hitting .275 in July with seven home runs over 13 games. He might as well put on a showcase now for his suitors.
(OF) Hunter Pence $6,417 – I think Pence is a good value play at this price. While his .262 average is 21 points below his career mark, he does have 14 home runs, 48 RBI, 53 runs, and 14 steals. With a decent second half, he could set new career highs in all of those categories.
(U) Adam Jones $7,997 – Jones sure looked like he was having a lot of fun during the All-Star festivities in New York earlier this week. He doubled and scored during the game itself, capping off a great first half. He’s among the league leaders in RBI and runs and is always a threat to do damage.
(SP) Felix Doubront $12,784 – Next to John Lackey, Doubront has been the best Boston starter for the last couple of months. He hasn’t lost since June 8th and hasn’t allowed more than three earned runs in a start since May 8th. He has a favorable start tonight against a punchless Yankees lineup.
(SP) A.J. Griffin $12,584 – Griffin has gone more than a month since he last lost and has won three of his last four. He’s coming off an eight-inning shutout performance against the Red Sox. Tonight, he’ll face the Angels. He is 2-0 in two career starts against L.A., going eight innings each time and allowing just one total run.
(RP) Sergio Romo $2,217 – Romo had a very good first half and made his way on to the N.L. All-Star team when Jordan Zimmermann was scratched. He’s saved 21 games and should get another opportunity if the Giants can get a late lead against the Diamondbacks tonight.
(P) Esmil Rogers $6,622 – Rogers hasn’t won since June 18th, but that hasn’t been because he’s pitched terribly as of late. While he did give up seven runs to the Tigers two starts ago, he allowed just one run in six innings while striking out seven against the Indians in his last start before the break. It’s unlikely he’ll be dominant against the Rays tonight, but he should be able to get me a few points and comes at a nice price.
