Best Bets (Hitters)
My colleague suggests we hunt for RBI, which tend to come in bunches. Looking for extra-base hits with runners on base leads us to #4 and #5 hitters.
Cleveland surprisingly demolished Astros pitchers to the tune of 16 runs last night and hope to feast today on Erik Bedard, who is coming of a terrible outing. Switch-hitting Nick Swisher ($7,756) and righty Mark Reynolds ($8,373) are in excellent circumstances for either (or both) to score big again.
Troy Tulowitzki ($12,976) is expensive but reliable. If the struggling Brandon McCarthy ($7,954) pitches around Carlos Gonzalez ($13,805) it could be Tulo who gets the extra RBI opportunities — as long as he isn’t rested.
Carlos Beltran ($7,962) has homered in three straight games and should be in the 5-hole against Kyle Kendrick ($9.896) — unless the “old man” is given a day off.
The warmer it is in Chicago, the better for Minnesota’s lefty bats against Gavin Floyd ($10,863). Justin Morneau ($8,188) might crush a mistake and all his teammates who bat lefthanded are worth a look.
Live Longshots (Hitters)
Switch-hitting Ryan Doumit ($6,157) is one of those potential bargains on the Twins. Last night, he drew a walk as a pinch-hitter then doubled and scored the winning run in the tenth. He’ll be in the lineup at C or DH today.
I’ll be at the Blue Jays game today rooting a bit extra for some of their lefty batters against Ivan Nova ($9,972). Melky Cabrera ($6,729) has taken him deep twice before. Colby Rasmus ($6,059) is a decent price for a power bat and Adam Lind ($5,873) seems likely to start at DH.
Players to Avoid
Rob cautions that Kris Medlen may disappoint with a $15,738 salary. “I like the looks of the Pirates offense. Pedro Alvarez ($5,105) is warming up, Andrew McCutchen ($7,941) is McCutchen and Starling Marte ($6,442) is about to become a star.”
Banged-up hitters to avoid include Asdrubal Cabrera, Todd Helton and Dan Uggla. With Ryan Zimmerman on the DL, prospect Anthony Rendon is the new Nationals 3B and a great free agent in many traditional leagues but isn’t in the DS player pool yet.
Kent Williams is on Twitter @SheridanFantasy and be sure to follow Rob Dudek for updates when our morning picks change during the day.