Late summer Friday night baseball. It’s hard to get better than that. Unless, of course, you join a Star Fantasy Leagues daily league. Every team is in action tonight, so there is no shortage of options for you on how to build your team. Spend big on pitching, load up on hitting, split the difference. Whatever you do, it will make tonight’s 15 games worth watching even more. And when you sign up at SFL, make sure to use the promo code “SJN” for a 40% deposit bonus. Here’s the team I’ll be fielding at 7:00.
(C) Wilin Rosario $6,825 – Rosario, simply put, is on fire. He has a 13-game hitting streak and has also homered in three straight games. With a .286 average, 20 home runs, and 70 RBI, Rosario has been one of the game’s best offensive catchers all season long.
(1B) Adam Lind $5,860 – Lind has hits in six of his last seven starts, including a two-home run performance in Tampa over the weekend. He’s also a much better hitter on the road this year, with a .317 average. He and his Blue Jays play in Houston tonight.
(2B) Robinson Cano $8,323 – Cano had four straight games with two or more hits until he went hitless last night. During those four games, he was 11-for-17. It’s never a bad thing for your fantasy team when a hitter as good as Cano is hot.
(3B) Donnie Murphy $4,390 – Murphy has only played in 16 games since being called up by the Cubs, but he’s made them count. He’s hit .328 and has eight home runs. That’s a pace of 81 for the whole season. Over his last four games, he is 7-for-18 with four homers.
(SS) Troy Tulowitzki $7,743 – During his current nine-game hitting streak, Tulowitzki has had two hits in five of them and a home run in two. He will face Tom Koehler tonight, against whom he is 2-for-3 with a home run.
(OF) Andrew McCutchen $8,683 – McCutchen is hitting .441 in August, and has a .480 average over the last week. In his 20 August games, he has 13 multi-hit games.
(OF) Giancarlo Stanton $6,054 – Stanton has hits in nine straight games and a home run in three of them. Over his last four games, he is 8-for-17.
(OF) Michael Bourn $5,357 – Bourn went 3-for-4 in his last game on Wednesday and has hit safely in four of his last five games. Against Samuel Deduno, whom he’ll face tonight, he is 2-for-6 in his career.
(U) Nick Swisher $5,630 – It’s been a largely disappointing season for Swisher in Cleveland but he’s been turning it around as of late. He is working on a seven-game hitting streak during which he has three home runs. He has a .333 average over the last week.
(SP) Felix Hernandez $16,832 – Fernandez has had two pretty rough five-inning starts in his last three outings, giving up five runs in one and six in the other. Sandwiched in between, though, was an eight-inning shutout performance against the Brewers. He’ll face the Angels tonight and, in his last start against them in July, he went eight innings, allowing just seven hits while keeping them off the scoreboard.
(SP) Gio Gonzalez $13,464 – Gonzalez actually hasn’t won a game since July 10th but hasn’t pitched too badly. He has a 2.00 ERA in his three starts this month but has gotten little run support. He may have some hope tonight though, as his Nationals take on the Royals, who have lost five straight.
(RP) Mark Melancon $1,750 – The Pirates are clinging to a one-game lead in the N.L. Central and face a struggling Giants team tonight. With Madison Bumgarner on the hill for San Francisco, the Pirates bats will have to work hard for runs, setting the table for Melancon to hang on to a slim lead late.
(P) Yovani Gallardo $9,027 – For the second time in two starts, Gallardo will try to shut down the Reds. In his last start against them on Saturday, he kept them scoreless, allowing them just three hits over 6.1 innings while picking up the win. Anything close to that tonight will be just fine by me.
