2012 Fantasy Baseball, Week 20 Sit Em/Start Em: Anthony Rizzo Gets The Nod
Anthony Rizzo |Chicago Cubs| (96.5) – Rizzo the righty-killer should be on a tear this week. The Cubs face only right-handed pitching, the type of pitching that Rizzo thrives on! In limited action this year Rizzo is hitting .343 with a .395 OBP against right-handed pitchers. His OPS against right-handed pitching is 359 points higher than when he faces lefties. He also has twice as many homeruns against right-handed pitchers. He has a seven game stretch this week with no left-handed starters to face.
Ruben Tejada |New York Mets| (28.9%) – Those of you who are hurting for middle-infield help should look to the Mets’ middle-infielder Ruben Tejada. This week he escapes the abyss of Citi Field in hopes to spark an offense in this team. Hitting away from Citi Field Tejada has an average of .344 with a .376 OBP. He is available in the majority of leagues and although he won’t be able to get you too much power or speed form the position he will be able to keep your team’s average, hits, and OBP up if you’re too thin in those areas.
Corey Hart |Milwaukee Brewers| (100%) – This is more of a warning than a full-on excuse to sit Hart. This week Hart and the Brewers play 7 games, in 4 of these games they will face left-handed starting pitchers. Hart has hit left-handed pitching just as well as righties. His average against lefties is actually 14 points higher and his OBP is 40 points higher. However, if you’re like me, this stretch-run is where a lot of managers start to hone in on specific categories. Statistical rank in categories establishes a players worth. For example, in one of my league’s I’m considering trading Jered Weaver, the probable CY Young of the AL, for Madison Bumgarner in order to fulfill a need to gain in strikeouts by sacrificing wins. Much like my team’s need for K’s, your team might have a need for homeruns. Hart has been able to oblige fairly well this year as his 22 homeruns so far put him on pace to set a new career-high for the player. This week could be a different story. Of the 22 homeruns that Hart has on the year, only 2 have been hit against left-handed pitching. It’s also worth noting that he only has 4 RBIs against lefties in 91 at-bats against them.
Written by James Bryce (@BoltLife4me) exclusively for TheFantasyFix.com
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Photo Credit: August 12, 2012 – Source: David Banks/Getty Images North America
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