The issue with writing for a site like Razzball, I’ve learned, is that you expend too much mental energy trying to come up with cute ways of saying everything. At least for those of us whose “written humor” is still somewhat of a work in progress, this is true. Needless to say, in just the past minute alone I’ve thought of so many dumb, unfunny ways of saying “I’m back!” that I’m embarrassed to share a single one, and will proceed as dully as possible. Yes, I’ve returned from my three week European extravaganza. There it is. Now instead of flirting with Australian chicks one year out of Uni in hostel bars, I’m back in the States ready to dispense you with the highest quality fantasy advice this country can offer. (You won’t believe how good German Grey is.)
In case you’ve forgotten or are just joining us here at LM for the first time, my goal is to highlight hitters to add for games on the short-slated days of Monday and Thursday. Filling out your lineup on these days is a basic tenet of fantasy leagues with daily moves and to be quite frank, you probably ain’t winning any titles in a competitive unless you put in the time to do this. Prior to my trip I posted here twice a week but that was before I packed my bags and got a soul-sucking office job, so now I’m going to synthesize those into one article that covers both days.
Thursday (7/24) Game Stats
22 out of 30 teams playing
First Game: Red Sox @ Blue Jays – 12:37 PM
#160 Daniel Nava (S) – Bos – OF – @Tor (Stroman-R) – 12:37 PM – 0% owned
Nava’s done nothing but hit and leave tickets for Erin Andrews in the month of July, one of which makes him worthy of consideration in deep mixed leagues. Don’t expect any slam and legs here––Nava has failed to hit a homer and has tallied just one steal since April. But when a guy’s batting nearly .400 in a month and scoring plenty of runs, it can be worth overlooking such things. Sitting versus lefties will also cut into his value, but against righties Marcus Stroman on Thursday and R.A. Dickey on Sunday, Nava is a perfectly capable outfield fill-in and even worth some longer-term consideration.
#17 Jordany Valdespin (L) – NYM – 2B/OF – @ATL (Harang-R) – 7:10 PM – 0% owned
Valdespin–whose name sounds like a bad Voldemort alter-ego–is up in the majors and being handed the Marlin’s second base job. In 60 games at Triple-A he accrued eight homers and 15 steals and also walked more than struck out. Somewhere Billy Beane is sitting in his office trying to trade for Valdespin while Jonah Hill leans against the wall with an erection. Don’t worry, he’s hiding it behind a newspaper. In deep mixers I’d give Valde a spin.
#224 Enrique Hernandez (R) – Hou – 2B/OF – @OAK (Samardzjia-R) – 3:35 PM – 1% owned
Who is Enrique Hernandez? This took some investigative journalism on my part since you won’t find anyone listed under that moniker in the Yahoo database. You will, however, find a Kike Hernandez, which is the label of the player in question. I say this to save you the five minutes of confusion I did. Kike hit well in Triple-A this year (.337, 8 HR, 6 SB), he’s hit well in 55 major league at-bats, and he might just hit well for your fantasy team on Thursday or Sunday.
Monday (7/28) Game Stats
20 out of 30 teams playing
First Game: Padres @ Braves – 12:10 PM
#208 Didi Gregorius – Ari – SS – @Cin (Bailey-R) – 7:10 PM – 0% owned
The Notorious D.I.D. is back with a vengeance in the D’back lineup. Actually, that’s not really the case but I watched some of his at-bats and he was hitting the ball so hard, at least. If you need MI help on Sunday, look no further.
#175 Travis D’Arnaud – NYM – C – vs Phi (Burnett-R) – 7:10 PM – 33% owned
D’arnaud is having his best month as a professional in July, batting .291/.328/.455. This whole Mets resurgence seems like a little too little too late, but D’Arnaud’s emergence in the past month seems real. As long as Dustin Ackley doesn’t keep robbing him of home runs, I like him as a backstop option down the stretch.
Here are a few more options for your streaming pleasure:
#157 – Adam Duvall – SF – 1B/2B
#202 – Jackie Bradley Jr. – Bos – OF
#180 – Juan Lagares – NYM – OF
#12 – Justin Ruggiano – CHC – OF
#65 Jarrod Dyson – KCR – OF
