Just seven games from which to pick your daily fantasy baseball salary cap team here so it’s all about finding those bargain priced player that will pay huge dividends in the end. You’ve got some high-end starters to look through as well as a fair number of marquee players on the offensive front. There’s even a few hidden gems that you might not think of, so take a look at some of the match-ups data below and good luck!
Detroit Tigers at Cleveland Indians (12:05pm ET)
With Justin Verlander on the hill for Detroit, it’s always tough to pick hitters against him. Take the Tribe for example, as two of their top hitters struggle against the Cy Young winning right-hander. Shin-Soo Choo is batting just .205 over 39 at-bats and Asdrubal Cabrera batting just .167 over 36 at-bats. However, that doesn’t mean that everyone is unsuccessful. Michael Brantley is batting .438 with a triple and four RBI against Verlander and look for Shelley Duncan to get the start here as he owns a .308 average with a double, two home runs and four RBI. Right-hander Justin Masterson takes the mound for the Indians here and should match-up well against Verlander and the Tigers. While Miguel Cabrera is hitting a mammoth .467 with one home run over 15 at-bats against Masterson, Delmon Young struggles with a .176 average and Alex Avila is just 1-for-10 with a walk.
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Atlanta Braves at Cincinnati Reds (7:05pm ET)
Braves right-hander Randall Delgado gave up four runs in four innings with five walks in his last outing, but had a 1.33 ERA in his three starts prior. One of which was against these same Reds whom he shut out for six innings. But while he looks to get back into that groove, Joey Votto will look to do some damage. He’s batting .326 with five home runs over the last two weeks. This is actually a full-on rematch as Homer Bailey takes the mound for the Reds. During the last game Bailey managed to hold the Braves to one run in 6.2 innings, so this could end up a strong pitchers’ duel. Bailey has held leadoff man, Michael Bourn to a .111 while Freddie Freeman, a breakout candidate this year, is batting just .167 against him.
San Diego Padres at New York Mets (7:10pm ET)
A total battle of the unknowns here as the Mets go with recent call-up Jeremy Hefner and the Padres use Eric Stults who is making just his second start in a Padres uniform after being claimed off waivers just last week. Hefner had a 2.42 ERA at Triple-A Buffalo and worked with a 25:6 K:BB ratio over 46.1 innings, and with the Padres batting just .213 as a team against right-handed pitching, it would seem that a successful debut is not too far away. Stults has a little trouble containing the long ball against right-handed hitters, so look out for David Wright who is 8-for-22 (.364) over his last six games.
San Francisco Giants at Miami Marlins (7:10pm ET)
Another great pitching match-up here with two fierce right-handers ready to go inning for inning against each other. Ryan Vogelsong will have to be sharp in order to contain the likes of Giancarlo Stanton who is batting .333 against him with one home run and two doubles. However, he also needs to just keep doing what he’s been doing as he holds Hanley Ramirez hitless for the two games in which they faced each other. The Marlins are going with Anibal Sanchez who, while posting a miniscule 2.32 ERA this season, has a few trouble spots with these Giants. Melky Cabrera, for example, is batting a robust .583 against him. However, you also have Angel Pagan who, in 20-plus at-bats, is hitting just .200 against Sanchez.
Minnesota Twins at Chicago White Sox (8:10pm ET)
The White Sox will get their first look at Cole DeVries, a rookie right-hander who had a 1-4 record for Triple-A Rochester with a 4.24 ERA and 37 strikeouts over 46.2 innings. It will be a tough debut as the Sox rank in the top 10 for runs scored against right-handed pitching and have a team batting average of .256 with 36 home runs. DeVries also had a 5.23 ERA against lefties to look for Adam Dunn and A.J. Pierzynski to put up some points. Chicago righty Philip Humber gets the start here and similarly to DeVries, doesn’t fare as well against left-handed batters. That bodes well for Justin Morneau who has been hitting .273 with two home runs and nine RBI over his last 22 at-bats.
Philadelphia Phillies at St. Louis Cardinals (8:15pm ET)
For the most part, Joe Blanton has had decent success against the Cardinals, a team that normally feasts on right-handed pitching. Sure, Yadier Molina has a .300 average against him and maybe Matt Holliday is up to .375 with one home run, but Carlos Beltran is batting just .188 with no extra-base hits and Skip Schumaker is just 4-for-17 (.235) with four strikeouts. Jake Westbrook gets the start for St. Louis and he’ll actually be battling hard with some guys that don’t play very nicely with him. Hunter Pence is batting an outlandish .583 in 14 plate appearances, Placido Polanco has hit .321 over 28 trips to the plate, and look for Ty Wigginton to get the start at first as he’s batting .333 over 15 at-bats.
Los Angeles Angels at Seattle Mariners (10:10pm ET)
Dan Haren has been struggling lately and looks to right the ship against an all-too-familiar foe. Some of the youngsters like Dustin Ackley and Kyle Seager have had success against him in a handful of at-bats, but the veterans who have faced Haren often, still seem to have their difficulties. Take Ichiro Suzuki as an example. Over 66 at-bats, Ichiro is hitting just .227 and has just three hits that went for extra bases. We might get a Chone Figgins sighting though as he hits Haren at a .286 clip with two double sin 35 at-bats. The Mariners will send lefty Jason Vargas to the hill and actually turn this into a bit of a pitchers’ duel. Vargas holds Torii Hunter to a .217 average, Erick Aybar at .222, and Peter Bourjos is batting just .077 all in no fewer than 13 at-bats.
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Howard Bender has been covering fantasy sports for over ten years on a variety of web sites, including his own, The Fantasy Baseball Buzz. You can follow him on Twitter @rotobuzzguy or you can email him at rotobuzzguy@gmail.com.
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