2013 Fantasy Baseball, The Daily Fix: June 17, 2013
Monday is a new day for me to play as Andrew normally covers this day for us. It’s an interesting day as the schedule normally turns over and new series begin. The Astros and White Sox are closing out a wrap around series, but otherwise we have a new slate of games to work with. For those that are used to Andrew’s work, I normally rely more on who is pitching that particular day than some of my other compadres.
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.
For those of you that have not followed my particular daily plays, I give you two lineups to work with. The first one is the one I am actually playing in my contest. The second is a reasonable alternative at each position. Sometimes the alternative lineup can actually stand on its own, but when it does it is purely an accident. It is meant to offer an alternative position by position and not necessarily to stand on its own.
My Lineup
| Player | Opposing SP | Salary | Notes | |
| Catcher |
Salvador Perez |
Carlos Carrasco |
3,500 |
At this price he is about as good as you are going to do. |
| First Base |
Adam Laroche |
John Lannan |
4,300 |
If you take away a terrible April the numbers aren’t so bad. |
| Second Base |
Howie Kendrick |
Aaron Harang |
3,600 |
They said he would win a batting title someday and now is over .330. |
| Third Base |
Anthony Rendon |
John Lannan |
2,000 |
He’s now the regular second baseman which is outrageous at this price. |
| Shortstop |
Jhonny Peralta |
Jason Hammel |
3,700 |
Has a .364 average in June despite all the whispers about PEDs. |
| Outfield |
Jason Heyward |
Dillon Gee |
3,900 |
Hitting over .350 in June with three home runs. |
| Outfield |
B.J. Upton |
Dillon Gee |
3,500 |
Hit two home runs on Saturday to get up to eight on the season. |
| Outfield |
Lorenzo Cain |
Carlos Carrasco |
4,100 |
He has quietly put up better overall numbers than Alex Gordon. |
| Pitcher |
Pat Corbin |
Miami Marlins |
10,200 |
He struggled last time out, but he’s going up against the Marlins now. |
| Pitcher |
James Shields |
Cleveland Indians |
10,600 |
He has been one of the more consistent pitchers in baseball |
A Reasonable Alternative
|
Player |
Opposing SP |
Salary |
Notes | |
| Catcher |
Victor Martinez |
Jason Hammel |
3,800 |
If you saw the plate discipline article you’ll know why I favor him. |
| First Base |
Mark Trumbo |
Aaron Harang |
4,400 |
A power bat has to come through against this guy. |
| Second Base |
Dan Uggla |
Dillon Gee |
3,500 |
Dillon Gee is very hittable so he should have an opportunity to shine. |
| Third Base |
Alberto Callaspo |
Aaron Harang |
3,400 |
He’s usually a steady performer at this price. |
| Shortstop |
Ian Desmond |
John Lannan |
4,300 |
With Tulowitzki on the shelf he might be the best SS in the NL. |
| Outfield |
Denard Span |
John Lannan |
3,800 |
He has been fairly solid as a top of the order guy all season. |
| Outfield |
Justin Upton |
Dillon Gee |
5,300 |
He’s slowed down since April, but he is still one of the elite outfielders in the NL. |
| Outfield |
J.B. Shuck |
Aaron Harang |
2,800 |
He gets on base at a solid clip and you won’t find regulars this cheap. |
| Pitcher |
Francisco Liriano |
Cincinnati Reds |
9,200 |
He’s solid and he is still fairly affordable at this point. |
| Pitcher |
Shelby Miller |
Chicago Cubs |
11,100 |
He struggled last time out, but he is still very good. |
Players of the Week
We don’t normally get to look at the week of action on my days, but since this is the beginning of the week we can look at the week that was and see if there are any players moving up the charts. We’ll take a look at hitters and pitchers in both leagues. We’ll start with the senior circuit.
National League: Carlos Gonzalez
The Rockies left fielder continues to prove me wrong by putting up huge numbers on the season. It’s hard to pinpoint one player being responsible for his team’s fortunes, but you could put the Rockies success in his hands and Troy Tulowitzki’s. The star outfielder hit .423 for the week with three home runs and 11 RBIs. He’s not unowned in many leagues (1 percent of Yahoo leagues), so there isn’t a whole lot of advice to offer here. Honorable Mention: Ian Desmond
American League: Adam Dunn
Dunn on the other hand is unowned in a number of leagues and I’m not sure that should change after one week. He hit .364 on the week with four home runs and eight RBIs. For the rest of the season he is still hitting below the Mendoza line, but he could still hit 40 home runs if he is allowed to run his course. Honorable Mention: Matt Joyce
National League: Yovani Gallardo
Gallardo had two brilliant outings where he hurled a combined 14 innings of shutout ball. He added two victories to his total and nine strikeouts to his tally as well. Just as important, he added a 0.71 WHIP for the week to make his season total more respectable. He is rumored to be on the trading block which could improve his value if he moves to a contender. Honorable Mention: Edwin Jackson
American League: Felix Hernandez
Signing Hernandez to the huge deal before the season was likely a bad idea, but he is well in the mix for the Cy Young this season. He sported an 0.64 ERA ERA in two starts. Unfortunately, poor run support limited him to only one victory on the week, but his owners will take this kind of production from him throughout the season. Honorable Mention: Aaron Harang
The Author
