When building a foundation for my Star Fantasy Leagues daily lineup, I like to begin with starting pitchers and find a couple I’m happy with, then build an offense from there. Tonight, I’m going big on pitching and shopping thriftily on hitters. If you think you can do better, join me over at SFL and use the promo code “SJN” for a 40% bonus when making a deposit.
(C) Jarrod Saltalamacchia $5,008 – Saltalamacchia has hits in four straight games and is coming off a monster performance with three hits, three runs, a home run, and a double. He is also 2-for-5 with a homer lifetime against tonight’s opposing starter, Alexi Ogando.
(1B) Paul Goldschmidt $10,986 – Goldschmidt has multiple hits in five of his last seven games with four extra-base hits, 10 RBI, and nine runs in that stretch.
(2B) Brian Dozier $6,004 – Prior to last night, Dozier had a seven-game hitting streak with two home runs over the last week.
(3B) David Freese $6,345 – Freese is starting to turn it up and has a 14-game hitting streak. He has nine hits in his last four games alone.
(SS) Jose Iglesias $5,005 – Iglesias is tearing the cover off the ball during his current eight-game hitting streak. He also has five hits, five runs, four RBI, and a home run in his last three games.
(OF) Yasiel Puig $6,005 – It’s hard to have a much better two-game debut than what Puig has had with the Dodgers. He has gone 5-for-8 and, just last night, had two home runs, five RBI, two runs, and a double. The kid is for real.
(OF) Jackie Bradley, Jr. $5,505 – Bradley is another recent call up starting to find his stride. He hit his first career home run last night and is just a few days removed from his first three-hit game.
(OF) Chris Carter $4,887 – Carter is a strikeout threat, so he could very well lose points, but he’s also a power threat. He has three home runs in his last six games.
(U) Howie Kendrick $6,884 – Kendrick has six hits over the last three days, is hitting .307 on the season, and went 2-for-3 with a double in his previous game against Matt Garza, whom he’ll face tonight.
(SP) Clayton Kershaw $19,445 – I don’t usually like spending a fifth of my budget on one starter, but that’s exactly what I’m doing here. It’s hard to argue against a 1.85 season ERA and 82 strikeouts. He’s as consistent as they come these days.
(SP) Johnny Cueto $14,580 – Not only am I going with the most expensive pitcher in Kershaw, but also the second-most expensive in Cueto. Since returning from injury, he’s 2-0 in three starts with a 1.80 ERA and 16 strikeouts in 20 innings.
(RP) Ernesto Frieri $1,997 – Frieri picked up the save last night over the Cubs and I’m hoping he’ll make it two in a row tonight.
(P) Dallas Keuchel $6,887 – After spending big on my top two starters, I want to conserve a little here. Keuchel is inexpensive and is coming off a nice performance last week against the Angels. He picked up the win after going seven innings while giving up just two runs and striking out four.
