Over the off-season Rudy laid out his argument for why it’s important to maximize at-bats in fantasy leagues with daily moves (like the RCL ones). Even if the mathematical proof don’t resonate with you, there’s no denying the good vibes generated from streaming a hitter for a night and getting even just a 1-for-4 line with a run. Don’t know that feeling? Seriously, loosen up man. Do something crazy. Get black AND pinto beans on your next Chipotle burrito. Pay extra for guac. Add Mike Carp for a night. Just one.
The only downside to this strategy is time. The time it takes to sort through the options and decide who to add and who to drop. Razzball offers tools like Hitter-Tron and Stream-o-Nator to help speed up the process, but even then you have to scroll through its table to find who is available, make sure he will actually play, the game won’t be rained out, etc. For those of you with a wife, two kids, and a job, I get it. It’s tough being a loving father and winning fantasy manager.
I have no wife and zero kids so what I’m offering is to add meaning to my life and do some of that work for you. What I’ll do is scroll through Hitter-Tron, find the best players that are mostly unowned and likely to start, and present them here in an easily digestible format. My plan is to do this every Sunday and Wednesday so you can fill out your lineup on Mondays and Thursdays (the days when teams have off days and you’ll need to stream guys). Sound good? You’re not sure? Whatever, I’m not you trying to convince your girlfriend to try anal. It won’t hurt to do it once.
Thursday Game Stats
26 of 30 of teams playing
First game: Phillies @ Marlins – 12:40 PM
Only four teams are off tomorrow so you might not actually need to add anyone. In case you’re heavy on Reds, Royals, Angels and those Twins though, here are some players potentially worth adding for Thursday’s games:
#28 – Jonny Gomes (R) Bos – OF – vs Tor (Buehrle-L) – 4:05 PM – 0.8% owned
The Red Sox offense isn’t exactly firing on all cylinders so you can be sure John Farrell will do what he can to maximize his team’s offensive production. When facing a lefty like Buehrle, that means putting up with some subpar defense in left field and slotting Gomes fifth in the lineup. On Tuesday night this move paid off as Gomes went 3-for-4 with a homer and two RBI. Hitter-Tron likes Gomes’ chances tomorrow at home versus Buehrle, giving him a one-in-five chance of hitting another dinger over the monster. Hitter-Tron also likes watching marathons of Chopped: Canada on the Food Network so there’s that. Note the Sawx also face southpaw David Price on Saturday so maybe don’t cut ties with Gomes so quickly.
#36 – James Jones (L) Sea – OF – vs Hou (Cosart-R) – 10:10 PM – 0.8% owned
Both the NBA and NFL have a James Jones so it was only a matter of time before baseball got its own incarnation. The MLB version is a speedy center fielder who has been leading off for the Mariners for the last ten games with good results. Grey’s been telling you to pick him up for the past two weeks. I don’t know why you, faithful Razzball reader, would listen to me over him (unless you really value my higher ranking in the RCL #1). But if you already value my sage advice more, here’s me telling you to pick him up, at least just for Thursday. The ‘Stros have a coupla sneakily good arms in their rotation, but Cosart ain’t one of ’em. Stream with confidence.
#63 – Nick Franklin (S) Sea – 2B – vs Hou (Cosart-R) – 10:10 PM – 0.9% owned
Franklin’s been recalled to replace the DL’ed Corey Hart in the M’s lineup, and should be slotted somewhere in there for the next few weeks, at least. My money’s on him sticking there permanently based on three factors. 1) He was slashing .376/.481/.633 in Triple-A. 2) He’s just 23 years old so the dichotomy between his major and minor league numbers don’t concern me yet. 3) (With me there’s a three!) Brad Miller has been arguably the worst regular in the majors this year and Franklin can replace him at SS. 4) There’s no four, silly! If you’re starting a Middling Infielder like Brandon Crawford or Erick Aybar, I’d take a gamble on Franklin’s greater upside.
#122 – Scott Van Slyke (R) LAD – OF – vs NYM (Niese-L) – 7:10 PM – 0.1% owned
If I had more say in the world, there’d be a alarm that goes off in every fantasy baseballers (<-Grey’s mom’s term!) head every time the Dodgers face a left handed pitcher, meaning Van Slyke gets to face a left handed pitcher. Until that happens, I’ll continue to point out that Mr. Slyke has a 1.298 OPS in his 33 at-bats against lefties this year and think of less annoying ways to notify people of things.
#142 – Matt Dominguez (R) Hou – 3B – vs Sea (Elias-R) – 10:10 PM – 9.6% owned
Let’s utilize a little dialectical and keep this blurb simple, shall we? You don’t really have a choice; I was just trying to be nice. Q: Is Dominguez hot? A: You bet! He’s batting .318 with two home runs and seven RBI in the past week. Q: Does he crush left handers? A: Sho thang! He’s slashing a smooth .327/.339/.538 off of them. Q: Will he start tomorrow? A: I strongly think so(!) given that he’s started 45 of 46 games this year. Q: Does he think current Jeopardy champion Julia Collins is attractive? A: How is that relevant? Who’s asking these questions anyway?! Enough Q&A, pick up Dominguez.
Here are a few more options for your streaming pleasure:
#61 Hector Sanchez SF – C
#89 Connor Gillaspie CWS – 3B
#130 Denard Span WAS – OF
#138 Yonder Alonso SDP – 1B
#141 Junior Lake CHC – OF
