2013 Fantasy Baseball, The Daily Fix: July 11th, 2013
Officially, the votes for the final all-star game spot will be decided today. You get the ultimate philosophical question between Freddie Freeman and Yasiel Puig. Puig has taken the baseball world by storm much the same way that Mike Trout did a year ago. Yet, he has only been doing it for about five weeks now. Is that worth the same as someone that has been doing it for three months.
Freeman is on pace to drive in more than 100 runs while hitting over .300. He may not be a great first baseman, but he has been a productive one with more than 300 plate appearances. Puig is hitting over .400, but with fewer than 150 plate appearances. So, you go with the ultimate question of excellence for a short time or solid production for a long time.
Of course, daily baseball doesn’t present any of those challenges. The only question is who is going to be the best guy today. Even a utility infielder can have a day where he looks like Puig every now and then. The question is whether you can identify when that is going to happen. Hopefully today will be the day.
Today, I’m playing in a Double Up! contest. They range anywhere from a dollar to ten dollars, but each works the same way. If you finish in the top half you get almost twice as much as you put in. Naturally, DraftKings gets their cut because they have to pay their employees, the light bill, and make a little for their trouble. That being said, they are very generous to those that start playing as they will give you a deposit bonus you can access here.
Just like yesterday, I’m going to give you two lineups. The first lineup will be the one I will play in my contest tomorrow. The second one will offer reasonable alternatives at each position. I base my picks on favorable matchups for that day. So, I like to pick on struggling pitchers more than anything. That is when you can find your usually struggling player that has a huge day.
Please keep in mind that the second lineup is not meant to be a stand alone lineup. There will be some cheap options and some expensive options, but on some days the expensive options will outnumber the cheap ones. So, take it under advisement.
My Lineup
|
Player |
Opposing SP |
Salary |
Notes | |
| Catcher
|
A.J. Ellis |
Drew Pomeranz |
3,500 |
I’ve always felt that Ellis was underrated based on his superior on base skills. |
| First Base
|
Allen Craig |
Edwin Jackson |
5,400 |
Whatever you may think, he is on pace to have about 130 RBIs on the season. |
| Second Base
|
Mark Ellis |
Drew Pomeranz |
4,000 |
He’s fairly affordable today and the pitcher has an ERA over 10.00. |
| Third Base
|
Juan Uribe |
Drew Pomeranz |
3,600 |
Don’t look now, but Uribe has actually been very productive over the last month. |
| Shortstop
|
Didi Gregorius |
Yovani Gallardo |
3,900 |
Gregorius isn’t the hot bat he was when he first came up, but still a decent play. |
| Outfield
|
Cody Ross |
Yovani Gallardo |
4,200 |
He’s been steady throughout the year even if not as good as last season. |
| Outfield
|
Gerardo Parra |
Yovani Gallardo |
4,200 |
He’s come back to the pack, but still hitting close to .300 with good speed. |
| Outfield
|
Michael Cuddyer |
Chris Capuano |
4,500 |
Cuddyer has quietly become the player the Rockies thought they signed last season. |
| Pitcher
|
Jake Westbrook |
Chicago Cubs |
7,300 |
It’s hard to believe he is still this cheap with the numbers he has. |
| Pitcher
|
Jordan Zimmerman |
|
9,300 |
He has 12 wins on the season and likely will be on the all-star squad. |
A Reasonable Alternative
|
Player |
Opposing SP |
Salary |
Notes | |
| Catcher
|
Wilin Rosario |
Chris Capuano |
4,300 |
He has been just as dangerous this year as last season. |
| First Base
|
Paul Goldschmidt |
Yovani Gallardo |
5,700 |
He has taken his game to the next level this year. |
| Second Base
|
Matt Carpenter |
Edwin Jackson |
5,200 |
He might be one of the top three offensive second basemen in baseball. |
| Third Base
|
Nolan Arenado |
Chris Capuano |
3,400 |
He isn’t brilliant, but the price is good if you want to splurge elsewhere. |
| Shortstop
|
Hanley Ramirez |
Drew Pomeranz |
5,400 |
Believe it or not, he is actually hitting better than Yasiel Puig. |
| Outfield
|
Yasiel Puig |
Drew Pomeranz |
5,600 |
He is still hitting over .400 after being up for over a month. |
| Outfield
|
Carlos Gonzalez |
Chris Capuano |
5,400 |
He is day to day, so watch the lineups right before game time. |
| Outfield
|
Carlos Beltran |
Edwin Jackson |
5,200 |
Beltran has quietly been very productive this season. Is the Hall of Fame in store? |
| Pitcher
|
Madison Bumgarner |
San Diego Padres |
10,400 |
The Padres aren’t much of an offense, so Bumgarner should do well. |
| Pitcher
|
Mat Latos |
Atlanta Braves |
10,500 |
Latos hasn’t been dominant, but he’s been solid all season. |
The Author
