Good morning everyone! Welcome to another edition of “The Daily Double Switch.” For those of you wishing to get in on the action and make some money, be sure to click the link and put together some teams with some of the guys I’ll mention below! Afterwards, we can sing in jubilation about the cash, and hopefully a Cubs victory!

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Weather

Mother Nature is sparing us today. There does not appear to be any weather concerns for tonight’s slate of games. Yipee!
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Positional Breakdown

Starting Pitchers

I’m not so keen on a lot of the guys taking arms to the mound tonight, but there do seem to be a few options we can build rosters around. I’ll start with the “Asian Connection,” Hisashi Iwakuma and Hyun-Jin Ryu.  Iwakuma is the picture of consistency, going at least seven innings in his last seven starts, while only giving up more than two earned runs once in that span. His strikeout rates will fluctuate on a given night, but you’ll feel safe paying for him, regardless of the potency of the Blue Jays offense. Better yet, Iwakuma is at home tonight, another checkmark giving you the green light to throw him out there.

Ryu is a little more fun tonight. He’s also been consistent this year, sporting a solid 3.21 ERA, but he harnesses a bit more upside in his left arm than Iwakuma does in his right. Couple that with the fact that Ryu is facing an Atlanta lineup that likes to walk away empty handed, and you might find yourself really enjoying his performance.

Catcher

Perhaps the MVP talk has died down a tad with Jonathan Lucroy, but that doesn’t mean we can’t use him every single time he gets to face a left-handed starter. Tonight he gets the luxury of facing a mediocre left-handed starter, Tsuyoshi Wada. Wada is a nibbler, and if he misses any spots, I’m sure Lucroy will take advantage. He’s hitting .320 with a .386 wOBA against southpaws this year.

First Baseman

Adam Laroche is having a sneaky good year in Washington this season. The big left-handed first baseman is swinging it at .271 with 17 homeruns as we approach the midway point in August. Today he gets to face the fastball only machine, Bartolo Colon in Citi Field. Laroche only has five career at-bats against Bartolo, but he shouldn’t have any problem guessing what’s coming.

Second Baseman

Right-handed hitters are hitting .288 against Brett Oberholtzer this season. Brian Dozier is right-handed, and gets to face Oberholtzer tonight. His batting average isn’t anything to write home about, but Dozier already has hit 20 homeruns this season, tops among two baggers. If you’re looking for a little pop from your second baseman, this is the place to go tonight.

Third Baseman

I’m well aware that there will be a lot of Brewers mini-stacks tonight as everyone and their mother will be throwing out just about every right-handed batter they can find. With that being said, Aramis Ramirez is an excellent option tonight in his old stomping ground. If you’re looking elsewhere, test your luck with Josh Donaldson. Donaldson crushed two homers last night, and he still mashes left-handed pitching and faces Jason Vargas tonight.

Shortstop

Welcome to “The Daily Double Switch” Erick Aybar! I think this is the first time I’ve ever recommended Aybar on account that I never know what to make of him. Aybar kind of floats around the Angels lineup, but seems to be productive in ways beyond his statistics. Tonight he faces right-hander AJ Burnett at home. Aybar has been much better against righties this year, sticking a .281 average, including five of his six homeruns.

Outfield

Yes, all of the Brewers right-handed outfielders are in play. That means, Braun, Carlos Gomez and Khris Davis. All three of these guys hit left-handed pitchers really well, so all three of them will be heavily owned throughout the industry. If you wish to be a little less “obvious,” try using Hunter Pence. I know that Jose Quintana has been really good of late, but so has Pence. There are plenty of great “Hunter Pence ____” signs, but there are none that say “Hunter Pence can’t hit lefties.” In fact, Pence is hitting .304 against them this year.
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