After a disappointing showing two Thursdays ago due to rainouts, we bounced back nicely last Thursday with our daily fantasy baseball lineup. Our picks earned 54.50 points which may have put you into the money in your matchups, if not an outright win. So we’re going to go with the same philosophy that worked for us last week: hot players at a good value. This lineup is for the late games only.
(P) Garrett Richards $2,900 – With Jered Weaver on the disabled list for the Angels, Richards is getting the starts and is making the most of them. On Saturday, he went 7 scoreless innings against the Tigers, allowing just 2 hits while striking out 8. And that was against a good offense. Tonight, he faces the woeful Mariners. Best of all, he’s the least expensive pitching option available.
(C) J.P. Arencibia $3,500 – Arencibia has started to find his stroke. He has 8 hits in his last 6 games, including 3 home runs. He’s also 6-12 with a homer in his career against Hiroki Kuroda, who will be starting against the Blue Jays.
(1B) Paul Goldschmidt $4,300 – The Diamondbacks’ youngster continues to put up impressive numbers. He is in the top 10 in the National League in both average and RBI and has at least one hit in 9 of his last 11 games.
(2B) Howie Kendrick $3,800 – Kendrick has been one of the Angels’ better hitters so far this season and he came up huge on Tuesday. He had two home runs in the game, including a walk-off shot in the 11th inning. He might be able to do more damage tonight against a young starter in Brandon Maurer.
(3B) Manny Machado $3,500 – The Orioles’ offense has been a bit of a surprise this season, sitting at or near the top of the American League in most major categories. Machado has been a big part of that. He has multiple hits in 4 of 7 games, adding at least one RBI in each.
(SS) Troy Tulowitzki $4,600 – Unless you’d like to go with Jed Lowrie, Tulo is the best of a bad lot on this night. He’s had 7 hits and 3 home runs in the last week and is always one of the best offensive shortstops in the league anyway. It makes sense to make him our highest-paid player tonight.
(OF) Jacoby Ellsbury $4,100 – Ellsbury sits atop a Red Sox lineup that has been quite productive all season. He had a 12-game hitting streak snapped on Tuesday, but started a new one with another hit yesterday. He’s also the Major League leader in steals and is tied for 10th in runs scored. He’ll also be facing the Astros, who boast the Majors’ worst pitching staff.
(OF) Nelson Cruz $3,800 – The Rangers’ outfielder is starting to get his power back. He has 3 home runs and 9 RBI in the last week. He’ll also be hitting against Vance Worley, who’s sporting a 7.11 ERA and .349 BAA.
(OF) Adam Jones $4,300 – Another of the Orioles’ stars, Jones is riding a mini 5-game hitting streak and has hits in all but two games this season. It’s hard to say no to a guy who has posted a .354/.376/.925 line this year.
