I’ve recently been spending a decent amount of my budget in my Star Fantasy Leagues daily lineup on high-end starting pitching. While it has worked at times, I’ve been cold this week with that strategy as my pitchers have underachieved and my low-cost hitters have racked up too many strikeouts to make my team a viable contender for the night. So, because I get restless, I’m making a shift in my drafting philosophy tonight. I want hitters. And that’s what I got. Want to try out your own strategy? Head on over to SFL to join me tonight, and use the promo code “SJN” for a 40% deposit bonus.
(C) J.P. Arencibia $4,420 – I go in phases of whether I’d like to use the Blue Jays’ catcher, and this happens to be one of the times I will. He has six hits, including three home runs, in his last four games to go with five RBI and three runs scored.
(1B) Brandon Moss $6,445 – Moss might be the hottest first baseman in baseball right now, and he just so happens to come at a very affordable price. He has a six-game hitting streak with four home runs, seven RBI, and six runs. There’s a good chance he’ll strike out once or twice, but enough production otherwise will outweigh that.
(2B) Robinson Cano $8,772 – Cano isn’t having a great season by his standards, as he’s hitting just .278, but I wasn’t thrilled with the other second base options tonight. He’s so good, he could go off any night. I’m hoping this will be one of them.
(3B) Ryan Zimmerman $6,778 – The Nationals’ third baseman is facing a pitcher tonight in Kyle Kendrick with whom he is quite familiar. Zimmerman has faced Kendrick 35 times and has 11 hits, eight of them for extra bases. He also has at least one hit in nine of his last 10 games overall.
(SS) Jean Segura $8,345 – Like second base, shortstop is another position with a seemingly week lot tonight and Segura clearly tops the list. He maintains a .330 average on the season and has at least one hit in 12 of his last 13 games. He also has nine RBI, five steals, and two home runs in that stretch.
(OF) Jacoby Ellsbury $10,224 – Ellsbury is enjoying a very successful June, batting .321 with 12 runs, 10 steals, and five extra base hits. He continues to set the table for a surprisingly dangerous Red Sox lineup.
(OF) Yasiel Puig $9,220 – As I wrote a couple of weeks ago, I was going to keep Puig in my lineup every day until he cooled off or his price went up. When I started spending more on pitching, I benched Puig as I couldn’t afford him. But, now that I’m changing my strategy, he’s back. He has failed to pick up a hit in only two of his 13 career games and owns a .479 batting average. He should be fun to watch in Yankees Stadium.
(OF) Carlos Beltran $8,899 – Beltran has turned in a hitless performance only once since May 28th. His 17 home runs are third in the National League and he’s also in the top 12 in both batting average and RBI. Tonight, he faces Edwin Jackson, who is allowing batters to hit .282 against him this year.
(U) David Ortiz $10,998 – The ever-productive Ortiz gets a nice matchup tonight against Jeremy Hellickson. The Red Sox DH is 7-for-19 against the Rays’ righty with two home runs and a triple.
(SP) Mark Buehrle $8,799 – As part of my new draft strategy, Buehrle is my most expensive pitcher tonight. After a rough start to the season, he has settled down quite nicely. In his last five starts, he is 4-1, has a 1.91 ERA, and is averaging about five strikeouts an outing.
(SP) Kyle Lohse $7,899 – Lohse has a current streak of three quality starts, allowing five earned runs over 20 innings. Tonight, he’ll face the Houston Astros. I think he’s a good value for the money.
(RP) Casey Janssen $1,893 – Like the rest of my pitchers, I’m spending a little less on my reliever, too. The Toronto closer has 15 saves on the year and, with any luck, he’ll get number 16 tonight with some help from Buehrle.
(P) Kevin Correia $7,229 – Correia doesn’t have a decision over his last three starts, but has pitched fairly well with an ERA of 4.00 and a K/9 rate of 8.0. A win could be tough to come by tonight as he faces Chris Sale who has won three straight against Minnesota, however he’s also lost three straight overall.
