Pedro Alvarez, 3B, Pittsburgh Pirates
There may not be a more infuriating (okay, that’s a little heavy) frustrating player to own in fantasy baseball than the talented Pirates third baseman. His day and night splits notwithstanding; he’s got the Cubs this weekend with three day games in a favorable matchup (seriously can anyone name a Cubs pitcher?) Grab him off the wire is he’s available. Home runs are not cheap in baseball and he's hit 27 already.
Daniel Straily, SP, Oakland Athletics
Straily is a recent call up that was leading Triple A in strikeouts at the time. The recent headshot to a resurgent, yet injury-prone Brandon McCarthy means two starts for Straily this week. If you’re in a fantasy baseball league that scores big for wins, innings and strikeouts, do yourself a favor and scoop Straily up. He’s got the Angels on the road on Tuesday and the Baltimore Orioles at home on Sunday; a very winnable duo given how well Oakland has been playing of late.
Carlos Gomez, OF, Milwaukee Brewers
Fantasy owners drool over guys with 20 home run and 20 stolen base potential. Gomez has always been lightning quick; the power has steadily formed this season. He’s been up and down in both production and order in lineup in Milwaukee but has hit in every situation. His batting average is vaguely a minus; think B.J. Upton but unowned in most leagues. He hits in a much better lineup as well.
Carlos Ruiz, C, Philadelphia Phillies
He was injured and out of sight, out of mind, as the saying goes. The non-contending Phillies are working the veteran back slowly, which they should but he is hitting .340 at a position where .260 can constitute a career year. The Phillies are going nowhere, but they aren’t laying down and they have a lot of prideful veterans on that team that can still rake. He will hit with runners on and knock in runs; grab him now before everyone realizes he’s healthy again. He could hit another handful of home runs and help you win key fantasy matchups at catcher.
Ross Detweiler, SP, Washington Nationals
Since the shutdown of Stephen Strasburg, there has been a flood of media attention to the Washington Nationals team. There are good and bad reasons for shutting down your ace in the middle of a playoff chase but the gaping hole left in his benching caused many a headache for fantasy owners. They knew the day was coming but it was still a surprise for many. Soften the blow by picking up Detweiler, a big 6’5 Doug Fister-type who has decent control (42 walks in 145 innings in 2012) to make up for the lack of strikeouts (89). His ERA is on the low side of 3.5 as well (3.23). The Washington Nationals have surpassed even their own expectations with almost 90 wins before mid-September. Just like in real baseball, pitching normally makes the difference in fantasy championships-- make sure you’re well armed.
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