RADIO
Don’t dread Monday—it just means another great week of fantasy baseball is ahead of us! Each Monday, I give you my breakdown of my daily league lineup with options to help you put together the perfect roster to claim your prize in today’s daily league action. Throughout the week, my posts can be found at www.sportsreelboston.com, where we’ve also got a sweet offer running with DraftKings for you to check out.
Today, MLB starts the week with a solid 12-game schedule, with everything going down in the evening. There are some good players who have great matchups, so let’s get right to the picks. I’ll give you two picks for each roster spot, with a High Price and Big Value pick at each position.
Starting Pitcher
High Price: Shelby Miller (STL) - Miller goes at home against the Cubs. He had a rough start last time out at Citi Field, despite striking out 10 in six innings. At home this year, Miller is 4-1 with a 1.12 ERA while holding opponents to a .179 batting average.
High Price: Patrick Corbin (ARI) - Corbin is also at home against the light-hitting Marlins. Besides being 9-0, Corbin makes a good pick since the Marlins are the lowest scoring team in the league and he’s been great at Chase Field where he’s 5-0 with a 1.60 ERA. His strikeout numbers aren't out of this world, so know what your scoring system rewards.
Big Value: Bud Norris (HOU) - At home against the White Sox, Norris makes a good pick since Chicago has outscored only the Marlins in cuulative runs in 2013, and Norris is coming off a run of five straight quality starts. He has allowed eight total runs over that span while striking out 24 in 33 innings.
Big Value: Mike Leake (CIN) - Leake takes on the Pirates at Great American Ballpark. He’s faced the Pirates twice already this season with a bad start early in the year and a good one June 1; Leake allowed seven hits in six shutout innings in that start. So far this month, his ERA is 1.89 and he has 14 K in 19 innings.
Catcher
High Price: Buster Posey (SF) - Posey and the Giants face Andrew Cashner and the Padres. Posey is heating up and starting to get his power-stroke in gear with RBI and doubles coming fast and furious. He also has a good history against Cashner, against whom he is 4-9 with a pair of solo home runs.
Big Value: Salvador Perez (KC) - In his last seven games before taking an O-fer yesterday, Perez was 11-30 (.367) with a home run, triple and double. He’s moved into the middle of the Royals' lineup and put up big numbers. Tonight he and KC face the Indians' Carlos Carrasco who comes in with an ERA over 15.
First Basemen
High Price: Prince Fielder (DET) - Fielder has hit safely in five in a row and has started June with an OPS of 1.016. He already has more home runs this month than he did in all of May. He’ll face Jason Hammel against whom he's homered in the past, and who has given up a home run in five of his last six starts.
Big Value: Eric Hosmer (KC) - Hosmer is in a good matchup against Carrasco and he's been playing well this month, going 18-59 with seven RBI, a home run, and three doubles.
Second Basemen
High Price: Jose Altuve (HOU) - Altuve has three steals in his last four games and is hitting .292 on the season. He and the Astros are solid picks as they face a shaky Dylan Axelrod tonight.
Big Value: Nick Franklin (SEA) - Franklin is still extremely cheap in most formats but has a .302 batting average and an OPS of .881 through his first 19 MLB games. Seattle plays in Anaheim against Jason Vargas as Franklin looks to continue his roll.
Third Basemen
High Price: David Wright (NYM) - Wright has faced Braves' starter Tim Hudson 78 times. He’s 17-71 (.239) but has eight walks, eight RBI, and three home runs. He’s hit safely in five in a row and eight of his last nine. Over those nine games, he has gone 16-38 with two homers and six RBI.
Big Value: Anthony Rendon (WAS) - Rendon launched his first major league homer Saturday, and followed it with another three-hit performance raising his average to .361 in his 17 games in the big leagues. He’s hit safely in ten in a row and will face John Lannan (0-1, 6.14 ERA) tonight in Philly.
Shortstops
High Price: Ian Desmond (WAS) - Desmond makes a nice play in Philadelphia as well coming in hitting .422 so far in the month of June with three homers this month.
Big Value: Elliot Johnson (KC) - Johnson has hit safely in four in a row, dominating his former teammates from Tampa. He want 7-16 in the series with five runs scored, a double, triple, home run, four RBI, and a stolen base. He should keep getting the starts at 2B as long as he keeps producing from the space previously occupied by an offensive black hole for the Royals.
Outfielders
High Price: Mike Trout (LAA) - Don’t look now, but Mike Trout is on fire with four multi-hit games in his last nine. During that span he has two steals, five doubles, two homers, and five RBI. Tonight he faces Aaron Harang (5-10, 3B, RBI).
High Price: Carlos Gonzalez (COL) - CarGo is north of the border against Josh Johnson tonight. Since suffering his bruised foot in an outfield collision, he’s only gone 8-12 with two doubles, two home runs, and five runs scored. He’s not at Coors, but his average is actually higher and he has more homers on the road, so don’t let that worry you.
High Price: Domonic Brown (PHI) - Brown has cooled off a bit but is in a good matchup at home against Dan Haren, against whom he is 1-3 with a home run for his career.
Big Value: Gregor Blanco (SF) - Blanco has picked it up in June and should keep seeing action while Angel Pagan is sidelined. Blanco is a solid speed pick if you need value in the outfield.
Big Value: Kyle Blanks (SD) - Blanks has picked up his game and has four home runs in his last nine games to go with 10 RBI. He and the Padres face a struggling Barry Zito and the Giants tonight.
Big Value: David Lough (KC) - Here is one more Royal to close things out (can you tell they're in a good matchup?). Lough had a tough 0-for-5 day yesterday, but is still a nice value if he’s in the lineup for the Royals. In his 24 games this season he has a home run, 10 RBI, four doubles, and a .267 average.
As always, remember to check your daily lineups before they lock and make sure you are doing your own research, too, for optimal performance! The most successful daily leaguers are grinders who are constantly tweaking their lineups as the day goes on and fantasy news gets released. Good luck today, RotoBallers!
