While you’re surely joining daily NFL leagues over at Star Fantasy Leagues, do yourself a favor and build a MLB team, too. There is a bit of a lighter schedule for tonight, so it might take a little more strategy in choosing your players, but there are still enough teams in action that it isn’t too bad. So here is the team I’ve put together tonight. Head on over to SFL for yourself and use the promo code “SJN” for a 40% deposit bonus.
(C) Josmil Pinto $5,377 – Yesterday was the first time in his major league career that Pinto went hitless in a game that he started, though he did still manage to reach base. Prior to yesterday, he was hitting .565 over six games, and in his five starts, he went 12-for-21 with six extra-base hits.
(1B) Mike Napoli $6,855 – Napoli is a September machine. In his career, he is a .307 hitter in this month. His next-best month is May when he hits just .262. He’s already proving that trend is holding true this year. In seven games, he is hitting .476/.577/1.143 (yes, that means he has an OPS of 1.720) with four home runs, two doubles, nine RBI, five walks, and seven runs. He is going to be a key bat for the Red Sox down the stretch.
(2B) Jose Altuve $5,993 – Like Napoli, Altuve has been a man on fire since the calendar turned. In his nine games this month, he’s hitting .450 with four doubles, four RBI, and seven runs. He’s been thown out trying to steal twice, too, so he’s also trying to pick up steals.
(3B) Will Middlebrooks $6,346 – Middlebrooks went hitless last night for the first time in September, but when facing David Price, it’s hard to hold that against him. Before that, he had hit in seven straight, and had multiple hits in his last five. During that stretch, he has four homers, nine RBI, and eight runs.
(SS) Jonathan Villar $4,761 – Villar has hit in five in a row and eight of nine, and has five stolen bases and nine runs in those nine games. He’s also shown some power to go with his speed, hitting his first career homer last night.
(OF) Jayson Werth $8,416 – Did you know that Werth is actually leading the National League in SLG and OPS? Between that and the fact he’s been so good lately, he’s a great play. Over his last four games, he has gone 10-for-18 with two home runs, five doubles, five RBI, and five runs. Yeah, he’s pretty good right now.
(OF) Denard Span $6,019 – Werth’s teammate Span is also hitting pretty well. In eight September games, Span is hitting .414. He has three extra-base hits, eight runs scored, and two stolen bases.
(OF) Rajai Davis $5,841 – Davis is riding an eight-game hitting streak and is also enjoying a bit of a power surge. He only has five home runs on the year, but has three in his last six games. Even if he doesn’t add any more homers, if he continues to get on base, he’s a threat to add to his 40 stolen base total.
(U) Mark Trumbo $6,469 – Trumbo is coming off a career-type night. He went 5-for-5 with a home run, three doubles, and five runs. It’s unrealistic to expect another such night, but he had also hit safely in his previous five games and also had two homers during that stretch. Surely, he’s good for some production tonight.
(SP) Jose Fernandez $17,473 – This is it for the kid. Fernandez will make his last start of the year tonight against the Braves. The 21-year-old has gone 11-6 this year with a 2.23 ERA and 182 strikeouts. He has been incredible throughout the entire season. He should be nothing less than that in his last start tonight. Marlins broadcaster Glenn Geffner also hopes you’ll watch what could be a memorable performance.
(SP) Anibal Sanchez $16,738 – Sanchez isn’t going to lose. He hasn’t lost since July 19th, and even then he gave up one run over six innings. He is a near lock to go at least six innings and pick up a few strikeouts. Against the White Sox, he should do just that.
(RP) Steve Cishek $2,259 – By selecting Cishek, that means I’m banking on the Marlins to win. It’s a risky thought process, but with Fernandez making his final start of the year, I’m expecting a magical night in Miami.
(P) Brad Peacock $7,389 – This is a bit of a risky play, but I think there’s a lot of upside here. In his last time out against Seattle on August 30th, he was rocked for five runs in 4.2 innings. But, then he bounced back against a tougher Oakland team and picked up the win over seven innings with two runs allowed and nine strikeouts. Don’t let his 5.62 ERA scare you. He has four quality starts in his last six outings.
