Live Longshots (Pitchers)
(12:05 leagues only) His home park suits the talents of Bartolo Colon ($9,302) to a T. That’s good value, even against a Houston offense that is considerably better than it looked getting shut out three times the first week.
Jose Quintana, coming off a great start, faces the injury-plagued Jays lineup. Brett Lawrie has just returned, but Jose Bautista’s health is in question. The most dangerous opponents are a heating-up Edwin Encarnacion and J.P. Arencibia, who remains on an all-or-nothing diet. At $8,851, the lefty is an excellent bargain play for the 3-starter strategy.
The Marlins finally strung some hits together against Dan Haren. Does that signal an awakening? Hard to tell. The low price on Nats southpaw Ross Detwiler ($10,117) is tempting and there’s potential for a shutdown game here.
Chris Tillman is a good high-upside play at $9,702 against the scuffling Rays.
Dudek is going to mix and match Sabathia, Quintana, Colon, Tillman and possibly the ultra-cheap Hefner. I’m on the Detwiler bandwagon and of the many other aces who could fill C.C.’s spot, am leaning to Moore.
Best Bets (Hitters)
With all those #1 starters on the mound, it won’t be easy to pick the hot Wednesday bats. I like the Twins to keep playing well and Joe Mauer ($9,155) — a local football hero immune to cold weather — has been on a tear.
Against Toronto southpaw J.A. Happ, there are some interesting RH bats for the White Sox. I talked Rob out of Paul Konerko ($7,535) yesterday — sorry, old friend — just before he hammered Josh Johnson. Ride the hot stick; Alex Rios ($9,102) is also worth considering.
It’s a mini-doubleheader with a threat of more rain in Cincinnati as the Phils and Reds must complete last night’s suspended game (a 5:30 start) before tonight’s gets under way at 7:10 (or later.) Chase Utley ($11,594) matches up well against Mike Leake and Brandon Phillips ($11,008) must be looking forward to hitting against John Lannan. Weather permitting.
Live Longshots (Hitters)
Staying with my Twins, Ryan Doumit ($5,417) is bargain priced and reached base three times last night. Justin Morneau ($7,925) has hit in five straight games; another long ball would be no surprise.
Two more ChiSox make this list. Alexei Ramirez ($5,640) looked good at the plate against a hard-throwing righty last night and regains the platoon advantage. Dayan Viciedo ($5,563) has four hits in the series and is capable of a monster game.
Adrian Beltre finally had his breakout game yesterday and his $7,743 salary will soon be on the rise. Solid value for an established slugger.
Players to Avoid
Though Tommy Hanson ($11,401) was a bit better last time out, the Angels have been rocked by the Twins twice and he can’t expect too much run support, with Albert Pujols limping around the basepaths and the cold putting a damper on Josh Hamilton.
You might be the biggest Clayton Kershaw fan in the world, or you might have a vision of the Dodgers’ ace throwing a complete-game shutout against the Padres tonight. The problem with paying $20,846 for any pitcher? He is poor value if he’s “merely” very good. There are similarly-talented SP on the board tonight for thousands less.
Kent Williams is on Twitter @SheridanFantasy and be sure to follow Rob Dudek for updates when our morning picks change during the day.