2012 Fantasy Baseball Rankings, Advice & Analysis
 Alex Rodriguez (see credits below) A-Rod ran the bases on Tuesday and is on target to start a rehab assignment this weekend. Chien-Ming Wang got his first win since 2009. Wang went six innings giving up zero runs on one hit and two walks. Backed by a 4 RBI game from Evan Longoria, Big Game James Shields threw a complete game shutout against the Royals. That is Shields’s 8th complete game and 4th shutout of the season. After blowing a save to the Red Sox on Sunday, Mariano Rivera was credited with a loss after giving up a two-run home run to Bobby Abreu in a tied game in the bottom of the 9th. Abreu’s home run was his second of the game. Edwin Encarnacion continues his hot second half with a 2-2 performance that included a solo Home Run. Dontrelle Willis threw a good game but got the loss. Willis went 8 strong innings giving up 3 earned runs while striking out 10 Reds. Miguel Montero continues to be one of the best fantasy players at the catcher position. Tuesday Montero went 3-4 with 3 RBI. Alexi Ogando lasted only 2 2/3 innings Tuesday givng up 6 earned runs. The Padres Jesus Guzman continues to be a RBI machine. Tuesday Guzman went 2-4 with a RBI. Guzman has 29 RBI in only 39 games this season. Also take a look at Houston's J.D. Martinez who hit his 4th home run in the last 6 games. He is only owned in 4% of Y! leagues at the moment. Erik Bedard survived a rough first inning to go 5 innings giving up 2 earned runs but was robbed of a win when the bullpen blew his lead. Dan Uggla's hit streak is now at 30. Madison Bumgarner slapped the Bucs silly. He held the Pirates to 4 hits over 7 innings and struckout 10. (July 5, 2011 - Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images North America) Written by JJ Omar exclusively for www.thefantasyfix.com. Follow The Fantasy Fix on Twitter @thefantasyfix or for Free Fantasy Sports Advice use our Quick Fix to get help with your team! Tags: The Fantasy Fix, Fantasy Baseball Daily News, 2011 Fantasy Baseball Tips, 2011 Fantasy Baseball Advice, The Daily Fix Add Comment  Two-Start Pitchers to Start Huroki Kuroda |Los Angeles Dodgers| (99.7%) – Huroki has been dominating as of late and it looks like he should be able to continue his current rend this week against the Phillies and Astros. Current Phillies hitters are only hitting .144 through 90 career-at bats. The heart of the order (Howard, Pence, Utley) have a combined six hits through 38 at-bats. Against the Phillies, Kuroda has a 0.84 ERA and 0.66 WHIP through 32 innings. Current Astros hitters are only hitting .228 and have a combined .267 OBP. In 37.2 innings against the Astros, Kuroda has a 1.91 ERA and 1.01 WHIP while holding Houston batters to a .196 avg. Wandy Rodriguez |Houston Astros| (83.6%) – Rodriguez’s faces a two-start week against the Diamondbacks and Dodgers with both starts away from home. The Diamondbacks are one of the worst teams when facing left-handed pitchers. They are ranked 24th in baseball, hitting .241 against left-handed pitchers. His next opponent, the Dodgers, should be easier. Current Dodger’s hitters have a combined .236 average and .282 OBP against Rodriguez. In five career starts at Dodger stadium, Rodriguez has a 1.15 ERA. Two-Start Pitchers to Sit Matt Garza |Chicago Cubs| (95.9%) – Garza faces terrible splits this week against the Nationals and Braves. In 43 at-bats against Garza, current Nationals hitters are hitting .372 with a .400 OBP. In 7.2 career innings against the Nationals, Garza has a 10.57 ERA and a 2.60 WHIP. The competition gets tougher as the week goes on. Garza’s next start is in Atlanta against the Braves. This season, Garza’s away ERA stands at an alarming 5.20 ERA (compared to his 2.70 home ERA). Justin Masterson |Cleveland Indians| (100%) – Masterson’s been living up to his potential this season and things shouldn’t change too much for the rest of the season. However, this week might be a challenge as Masterson faces two lineups that have given him some trouble throughout his career. First up for Masterson this week is the Detroit Tigers at home. In 117 career at-bats against Masterson, Tigers hitters have a combined .299 average and .368 OBP. In 34 innings against the Tigers, Masterson has a 4.76 ERA and 1.59 WHIP and has 0-3 win-loss record. Masterson stays home for his next start and faces the Twins. In 53 innings against the Twins, Masterson has a 3.74 ERA and 1.40 WHIP and 0-4 win-loss record. In 165 combined career at-bats against Masterson, current Twins hitters have a .291 average and .341 OBP. Nearly 25% of those hits are for extra bases.  Casey McGehee Sluggers To Start Casey McGehee | 3B | Milwaukee Brewers - McGehee has been one of the biggest fantasy disappointments this year. Playing at a fairly shallow position McGehee’s production has dipped dramatically this season. The good news is since the All-Star break he has improved his numbers. In 19 games since the break McGehee is hitting .323 and has 12 RBI. On the heels of a stellar series against the Cardinals McGehee once again gets to face the division rival with the NL Central title possibly up for grabs. In 94 career at-bats McGehee is hitting .287 with 5 home runs and 21 RBI. If that wasn’t enough evidence for you McGehee also gets to face Edwin Jackson again who he recently took deep 3 times in one game. The Brewers end the week against another team in the NL Central race. In 61 at-bats against the Pirates McGehee is hitting .311 with a .394 OBP 2 hrs and 8 RBI. His second series of the is at home where McGehee is hitting .262 with 7 home runs and 30 RBI where his road splits are .218 Average with 1 home run and 18 RBI. Jason Kipnis | 2B | Cleveland Indians - You gotta strike while the iron is hot and Kipnis is on fire. Cleveland’s young second baseman is hitting .280 with 4 home runs and 4 RBI in the last 7 days. Both series this week will be away from Pregressive Field were Kipnis is hitting only .136 as opposed to .375 on the road. In his first matchup of the week Kipnis get to face Detroit. The Tigers have the 5th worst team ERA in the AL and the Indians will not have to face both Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer. In his second series of the week Kipnis gets the Minnesota Twins. Being as he has only played 11 games in the big leagues he has not faced the Twins before and does not numbers against any of their pitchers. However, Minnesota has 3rd worst team ERA in the AL and there is no sign of that getting any better. Sluggers To Sit Brett Gardner | OF | New York Yankees - Gardner is one Yankee who actually hits better on the road (.295 ) than he does at Yankee Stadium (.261). For a player whose fantasy value is dependent on him getting on base to collect steals and runs a week full of home starts hurts his value. Against the Angels pitching staff Gardner is hitting only .156 with 0 home runs and 2 RBI. The Angels also carry catchers who can’t hit a lick but are stellar behind the plate. These catchers will further diminish Gardner’s value if he can’t steal bases. Against the Rays Gardner is hitting only .258 without a home run and only 3 RBI. He hits better against the Rays but will not face the starters that he hit best against. I would assume that Andruw Jones gets a start or two against the Rays. Jon Jay | OF | St. Louis Cardinals - After the trade of Colby Rasmus to the Blue Jays Jay has become the premier Center Fielder in St. Louis. In his last 7 days Jay is hitting an awful .095 with 0 RBI or Stolen Bases. In his career against the Brewers Jay is hitting just .118 and is only 2-18 against the three starting pitchers he’ll face in the series. With numbers like that against the Brewers I’d be surprised if LaRussa starts him more than once in the series. There are not a lot of numbers to go by in Jay’s matchup with the Rockies. Jay only has 4 at-bats against the Rockies starter he will face so the suggestion comes from how Jay has hit in the past week. Written by James Bryce & JJ Omar exclusively for TheFantasyFix.com Follow The Fantasy Fix on Twitter @thefantasyfix or for Free Fantasy Sports Advice use our Quick Fix to get help with your team  Dan Uggla (see credits below) The red hot Dan Uggla continues to try to right the wrong that was the first half of the season. With a 1-4 performance Tuesday Uggla is riding a 24 game hit streak. Tyler Colvin who is replacing the traded Kosuke Fukudome in right field for the Cubs got Kevin Correia’s invitation to the Home Run party as did Aramis Ramirez, Marlon Byrd, Alfonso Soriano, and Geovany Soto. Jason Isringhausen blew his 4th save of the season last night and is 0-2 with a 22.50 ERA and a 3.00 WHIP in his last two appearances. If you have him on your team it may be time to handcuff him with Bobby Parnell. The Indians two Rookie infielders Lonny Chisenhall and Jason Kipinis both homered off Josh Beckett and continue to make a case for a roster spot on your team. Jose Bautista hit his first home run in two weeks and Desmond Jennings continues to prove the Rays made a mistake not calling him up earlier, hitting his second home run in ten games since joining the big league club. Wandy Rodriguez had a forgetful start in his first game since the trade deadline. The rumored trade bait went 5 innings and gave up 5 earned runs. New Oriole first baseman Chris Davis had a good day going 2-5 with a home run and 2 RBI Tuesday and may be someone to pick up since he’ll be getting regular playing time now. The Dodgers young speedster Dee Gordon stole his 10th base of the season and is undoubtedly a decent fantasy option at a shallow shortstop position. Mark Trumbo hit his 20th dinger of the season. Not a bad year for a rookie replacing an All-Star in the injured Kendrys Morales. (July 29, 2011 - Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images North America) Written by JJ Omar exclusively for TheFantasyFix.com Follow The Fantasy Fix on Twitter @thefantasyfix or for Free Fantasy Sports Advice use our Quick Fix to get help with your team! Tags: The Fantasy Fix, Fantasy Baseball Daily News, 2011 Fantasy Baseball Tips, 2011 Fantasy Baseball Advice, The Daily Fix  Edwin Jackson (see credits below) Michael Bourn - ATL As a team I really like this trade for the Braves. They needed a legitimate leadoff hitter and now they have it. Fantasy wise however, this may not be great for Bourn owners. As a team the Braves only have 42 stolen bases, but perhaps this is because they haven’t had any real burners to swipe bags. My main concern is that they Braves will hurt Bourn’s value by using a lot of hit and runs. With a player that handles the bat as well as Martin Prado presumably hitting behind Bourn I can see this hurting his value. Colby Rasmus - TOR The main reason I like this trade is because of the way Tony LaRussa used Rasmus. Rasmus is an everyday talent that was treated like a platoon player. Rasmus is also moving to the AL where a day off could still get him at-bats being the DH. The Cards made a mistake by trying to prove a point and the Blue Jays and Rasmus owners are going to reap the rewards. Edwin Jackson - STL I am not sure of the fantasy value of this trade. The Cardinals like their pitchers to throw a lot of 2-seam fastballs and that’s not really something in his arsenal. The move to the NL may help him but he was a player on the fringe of being owned in standard leagues before the deal and probably still is. Carlos Beltran - SF Without Jose Reyes hitting in front of him production may dip a little but I don’t see much change besides a slight decrease in RBI. Hunter Pence - PHI Pence owners have to be happy. Although now hitting 5th in the lineup instead of 3rd, the move to a smaller ballpark and a stacked lineup I only see his value going up. I also feel like his stolen base numbers may increase as Charlie Manuel lets his players run. Doug Fister - DET With half his starts no longer at Safeco Field and behind the M’s superior defense Fister’s numbers will most likely get worse. The biggest impact of this trade is that is blocks top prospect Jacob Turner from getting called up. Chris Davis - BAL Davis will finally get a chance to play every day. Davis has big time power and reminds me a bit of a pre 2011 Adam Dunn without the high OBP. Davis is defiantly a player to keep an eye on and has 1B or 3B eligibility. Ubaldo Jimenez - CLE Probably the riskiest and the most expensive trade, the Indians went all in on Ubaldo. A move to a new league may help his value this season as hitters will not be as familiar with his stuff. As much as I would like to believe this trade will help his value, I seriously doubt it. Rafael Furcal - STL The only reason he makes this list is because shortstop is so shallow. Maybe a change in scenery will help Furcal. There is always a health risk with him and he rarely steals bases anymore. Erik Bedard - BOS Another pitcher who benefitted from having his home starts at Safeco Field to move to the AL East will only hurt his value. Bedard is also a huge health risk and is probably there to buy time until Clay Buchholz can return. Ryan Ludwick - PIT Moving to a team with a better lineup than the Padres and a division filled with hitter friendly ballparks will only increase his value. Derrek Lee - PIT At this point in career the man who replaced him in Baltimore (Chris Davis) has more value than Lee. (July 28, 2011 - Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images North America) Written by JJ Omar exclusively for TheFantasyFix.com Follow The Fantasy Fix on Twitter @thefantasyfix or for Free Fantasy Sports Advice use our Quick Fix to get help with your team! Today Draftstreet has a $500 guaranteed game for only $2. Click on the banner below to sign up for Draftstreet and you can get the 25% bonus by using the code "FIX". Tags: The Fantasy Fix, Fantasy Baseball Daily News, 2011 Fantasy Baseball Tips, 2011 Fantasy Baseball Advice, The Daily Fix, Trade Rumors, Trade Deadline, MLB Trades  Jason Bourgeois Start ‘Em Jason Bourgeois |Houston Astros| (10.9%) – It’s surprising that a man with 20 steals on the year in only 119 at-bats is on the waiver wires in 90% of the leagues. The skepticism is understandable especially when his trip to the DL broke up his hot streak. If your team has the need for speed, Bourgeois is the man to look at. All six of his games this week come at home. His first opponent is the Cincinnati Reds. Bourgeois is hitting .265, but has a solid .342 OBP against their staff, critical to setting up his speed. His next series of the week comes against the Milwaukee Brewers. While he has little exposure to the Brewers, at home this year he’s hitting .400 in 40 at-bats. In his 17 at-bats since coming off the DL, Bourgeois is hitting .471 and has a three stolen bases. He has showed no signs of slowing down, jump on him now. Dustin Ackley |Seattle Mariners| (73.5%) – Ackley is another player that I’m surprised sis not at 100% ownership. While the second base position is deep this year there’s still no excuse to not own him. This week Ackley will face Oakland at home and then the Angels in Anaheim. Two of the Oakland starters are righties which favors Ackley. Against righties, Ackley is hitting 26 points higher and has an OPS nearly 100 points higher than against lefties. Against the three Angels starters that he’ll face, Ackley is hitting .300 in 10 at-bats. If you need second base help pounce on Ackley. He has one-third of the at-bats as Neil Walker, but when projected out, he would out-produce Walker in every category except RBIs, and that’s only by four RBIs. Sit ‘Em Mark Reynolds |Baltimore Orioles| (98.1%) – Reynolds started off the season struggling from the same stage-fright that as Uggla and Dunn. Like Uggla, Reynolds has been able to slowly correct himself to what his career numbers would dictate. Reynolds quietly hit .299 in the month of June. Since the All-Star Break Reynolds has reverted to his earlier self, hitting .199. This week Reynolds has three games away against the Royals and then three at home against Toronto. Against the three Kansas City starters, Reynolds is hitting .167, sub-standard even for him. Two of those starters are left-handed. Against lefties this year Reynolds is hitting .195. Against the Toronto starts, Reynolds is hitting .154. While hitting at home this year Reynolds is hitting .173, nearly 100 points lower than his home split. Pablo Sandoval |San Francisco Giants| (100%) – Sandoval faces a gauntlet of strong pitching this week. His first three games of the week come against the Diamondbacks at home. Sandoval is hitting .259 through 27 at-bats. 23 of those at0bats have come this year at Chase Field. His next series of the week comes against the pitching heavy Phillies. He will have to face the gauntlet of pitching that is Lee, Worley, Hamels, and Kendrick. Against these four Sandoval is hitting .217 through 23 at-bats. In 59 career at-bats against the Phillies, Sandoval is hitting .237 and has a meager .266 OBP. Look at other options this week before you choose to start Sandoval. Start 'Em Cory Luebke | SP | San Diego Padres - Luebke is a young pitcher that the Padres have handled differently this season. The Pads wanted to keep Luebke in the minors and as a starter but injuries forced the lefty into the big league bullpen. If his first 6 starts are any indication of what he can do I would say pick him up if he is available in your league. This week Luebke has two starts against teams that should be good matchups for him. First he gets the Dodgers. In his brief big league career Dodger hitters are only hitting 2-19 against the southpaw while striking out 8 times. His next start is against the Pirates. The Pirates are pesky and win a lot of low scoring games which bodes well for Luebke and the Padres as they win in a similar fashion. In limited action against the Bucs Luebke has a BAA of .125. Luebke has fared well as a starter and has given up 2 runs or fewer in 5 of his 6 starts this season. John Lannan | SP | Washington Nationals - The Nationals John Lannan quietly having a nice season. The southpaw has a low strikeout rate which brings down his value. This week Lannan gets teams hes had some success against. First he gets the Braves who have added another lefty to their lineup in Michael Bourn. A .250 BAA is respectable and without the Braves best bat in the lineup the damage against him can be minimunilized. The next matchup is against the Rockies who are not having the late season surge that people have come to expect from them. Lannan will face a team that has seemingly waived the white flag on the season. Sit 'Em Paul Maholm | SP | Pittsburgh Pirates - One of the reasons for the Pirates rise in the NL Central has been starting pitching but this week I would avoid the two start southpaw. Maholm has had struggles all season away from PNC Park as his splits would indicate. At home this season Maholm has been really good going 5-5 with a 2.37 and a 1.17 WHIP. On the road Maholm is less than stellar with a record of 1-5 and a ballooning ERA of 4.10. With two road starts this week Maholm is a strong sit candidate. Phil Hughes | SP | New York Yankees - In my personal opinion the Yankees are not doing themselves or Hughes any favors by keeping him in the big leagues. Since Hughes was diagnosed with a dead arm in spring training he has been battling his way back to the bigs. Desperate for rotation help the Yankees brought him up when his arm strength was sharp but his command hasn’t been. This week Hughes is scheduled to face the White Sox and the Red Sox. Usually I regurgitate numbers to you but the only numbers I think you need are his 8.24 ERA and 1.89 WHIP for the season. Hughes has also not reached the 5th inning in 4 of his last 7 starts leaving him ineligible for a win. There are rumors that Hughes may lose his rotation spot to Ivan Nova and may not even get two starts this week. Written by James Bryce & JJ Omar exclusively for TheFantasyFix.com Follow The Fantasy Fix on Twitter @thefantasyfix or for Free Fantasy Sports Advice use our Quick Fix to get help with your team Tags: The Fantasy Fix, Fantasy Sports Advice, Fantasy Baseball News, Fantasy Baseball Tips, Sit Em/Start Em, James Bryce, JJ Omar, Two-Start Pitchers, Jason Bourgeois, Michael Bourn, Phil Hughes, Paul Maholm, John Lannan, Cory Luebke, Pablo Sandoval, Mark Reynolds, Dustin Ackley  Jordan Zimmerman (see credits below) Jordan Zimmerman - Washington Nationals Zimmerman is one of the league’s most underrated fantasy players. Losing an All-Star bid to teammate Tyler Clippard will hopefully fuel the fire for Jordan. This week Zimmerman has two favorable matchups that would earn him two-start worthy. First up for Zimmerman is the Houston Astros. One of the worst teams in all of baseball right now is Houston. Although Astro hitters are a respectable 4-11 against Zimmerman, his last start against the team was his rookie season and Zimmerman is much improved since then. His second start is against the Dodgers. Everyone knows the year Matt Kemp is having, but besides him and Andre Either the Dodger bats are silent. In his career against the Dodgers, Zimmerman has held the boys in blue to a .214 batting average. As long as he avoids trouble with Kemp and Either he should have a solid week. Jeremy Hellickson - Tampa Bay Rays The Rays rookie sensation Jeremy Hellickson has a tough task this week but that’s why he is considered a top contender for AL rookie of the Year honors. In his first scheduled start of the week Hellickson is to toe the slab against the division rival Yankees. Hellickson will get some relief in the fact that he does not have to face A-Rod but the Yankee lineup is as dangerous as they come. This year Hellickson has a home ERA of 2.80 and has held Yankee batter to a BAA of .250. If he is given some run support, Hellickson has a good chance of a victory. In his second start of the season the youngster gets the Kansas City Royals. There are no real numbers to back up my suggestion as Hellickson has only faced the Royals in one inning of scoreless relief. My hunch however is a well thrown ballgame by the young right hander. Derek Lowe - Atlanta Braves When asked what pitchers make 15 million dollars a year Derek Lowe’s name isn’t on the tip of my tongue. The fact of the matter is in an offseason where the Yankees spent a quarter of a billion dollars on free agents, the Braves needed a starter and ended up overpaying for Lowe. This season Lowe has a home ERA of 5.04 and a road ERA of 3.82 however this week I suggest sitting him during his two road starts. His first start of the week comes at Coors Field where Lowe’s numbers are awful. In 10 starts in Colorado, Lowe has compiled only 55.1 innings and has an ERA of 5.53. In those 10 starts Lowe has also given up 7 home runs and a robust 1.68 WHIP. The high altitude may have negative effects on his sinker which he needs down to be successful. In his second scheduled start of the season Lowe will be facing the Reds in Cincinnati. At The Great American Ballpark, Lowe has a career 4.50 ERA in 18 innings. In those 18 innings he has also given up 3 long balls. Unless what you are looking for is a “quality start” letting Lowe start for your fantasy team will do more harm than good. Scott Baker - Minnesota Twins This is more of an injury concern than anything else. Like I would with any player fresh off the DL, I would sit Baker his first start since leaving a game with elbow problems. The fact that it is an elbow injury only magnifies the significance of this injury. Baker is having the type of season the Twins envisioned him having when he first got to the show and now that he is living up to his potential look for the Twins to be overly cautious with the right hander limiting his pitch count and innings. (July 3, 2011 - Photo by Ned Dishman/Getty Images North America) Written by JJ Omar exclusively for TheFantasyFix.com Follow The Fantasy Fix on Twitter @thefantasyfix or for Free Fantasy Sports Advice use our Quick Fix to get help with your team Tags: The Fantasy Fix, Fantasy Sports Advice, Fantasy Baseball News, Fantasy Baseball Tips, Sit Em/Start Em, JJ Omar, Two-Start Pitchers  Dan Haren (see credits below) Dan Haren (CG, 2H, 0ER, 9K’s) outdueled Justin Verlander (7.2 IP, 7H, 1 ER, 7K’s). Haren has gotten back on track after a subpar June. In his last 2 outings he has hurled 16.1 innings, given up 4 hits, 1 walk and K’d 15. Big Papi may have chosen the wrong Yankee to participate in the home run derby, going with Robinson Cano. Curtis Granderson went deep twice Tuesday and now has 25 on the season. The weather in Chicago has heated up and so has Aramis Ramirez. The Cubs third baseman now has 13 HR and 46 RBI on the season. Jeff Karstens continues to be money for the Pirates. Tuesday he provided the Buc’s with 7 solid innings, giving up just 1 earned run while striking out 3. Brandon Wood provided the offense going 2-3 with a home run and 3 RBI. After getting hit in his non-pitching hand in his last start there was talk Cole Hammels may not make his start Tuesday, but he proved he was perfectly healthy going 8 innings giving up 2 earned runs and striking out 5 against the Marlins. Matt Holliday stole the show on the day Albert Pujols returned from the DL. While Albert did not play Tuesday, Holliday went 2-4 with 2 home runs and 4 RBI. Jon Lester threw 4 no hit innings against the Blue Jays before having to leave the game with a left lat strain. That is all the information the Red Sox are giving right now so monitor the situation if you own him. Scott Baker also left yesterday's game early with a mild elbow strain. He held Tampa to 3 hits and no runs over 5 innings and got the win. Hopefully the injury is minor since he has been a gem for the Twins this year. Freddie Freeman continues to swing a hot bat. Last night he blasted his 12th HR of the season. Also in that game rookie closer Craig Kimbrel collected his 26th save. J.J. Hardy hit his 13th home run and rumor has it the O’s may be willing to deal Hardy and I think a trade to a team like the Reds will only increase his value. Paul Konerko showed why he should be in the All-Star game with a 3-5 day with 2 RBI. In the same game Joakim Soria collected his 13th save and hasn’t blown a save since being reinstated as the closer. Justin Upton showed Prince Fielder why he should have picked him and not teammate Rickie Weeks for the NL home run derby team with a deep bomb against the Brewers. After allowing a home run and putting 2 more runners on base Matt Capps was again taken out of a save opportunity for Glen Perkins who picked up his second save of the season. Carlos Beltran went deep and Jason Bay did so twice accounting for all 6 of the Mets RBI against the Dodgers. All-Star closer Heath Bell collected his 26th save of the season. (July 4, 2011 - Photo by Victor Decolongon/Getty Images North America) Written by JJ Omar exclusively for TheFantasyFix.com Follow The Fantasy Fix on Twitter @thefantasyfix or for Free Fantasy Sports Advice use our Quick Fix to get help with your team Tags: The Fantasy Fix, Fantasy Baseball Daily News, 2011 Fantasy Baseball Tips, 2011 Fantasy Baseball Advice, The Daily Fix  Jake Peavy Two-Start Pitchers To Start Jake Peavy |Chicago White Sox| (65%) – Hopefully Peavy can gain some momentum from this upcoming week’s two starts. Both starts come at home for Peavy providing a little boost from his split stats. At home this year he has a 3.63 ERA and batters are hitting a weak .177 against him. His first opponent of the week is the Kansas City Royals. Against Peavy, the Royals are hitting a pedestrian .275. His next opponent of the week, the Twins, is one of the coldest hitting teams lately. Over the course of the last seven games, the Twins are hitting .203 with only two home runs and a .264 OBP (ranked 26th). Joel Pineiro |Los Angeles Angels| (10.1%) – First opponent of the week for Pineiro is the Detroit Tigers. In 11 career games started against the Tigers, Pineiro has a 7-3 record with a 3.33 ERA. The heart of the Tigers’ lineup has been somewhat silent against Pineiro. Victor Martinez, Jhonny Peralta, and Miguel Cabrera are hitting a combined .250 against Pineiro in 40 career at-bats, with no home runs. His second start of the week is against the Mariners, home in LA. Seattle’s recent woes at the plate should put this matchup in Pineiro’s favor. Seattle is the second-coldest team in the majors through the last 7 days, hitting .193 and scoring only 17 runs. Two-Start Pitchers To Sit Brett Myers |Houston Astros| (32.6%) – Myers’ year has been disappointing in contrast to the success that he was able to achieve last year. Fortunately for the few believers still out there, Myers has paid off over his last three starts throwing three quality starts and posting a 2.86 ERA and sub-1 WHIP. The two opponents that he faces this week seem like he should be able to continue his current string of success. Don’t be fooled and read too much into this recent success though. First up for Myers are the Pirates in Pittsburgh. Current Pirates hitters are batting .314 against Myers in 51 career at-bats. In five starts at PNC Park, Myers has a 4.70 ERA and a 2-3 win-loss record. His next start of the week comes against the Marlins in Florida. Florida happens to be one of Myers’ biggest enemies. In 150.2 innings against Florida, Myers has a 5.62 ERA, 1.61 WHIP, and he also has a .300 BAA. These numbers get worse when pitching in Sun Life Stadium. In 63.1 innings at Sun Life Stadium, Myers’ ERA balloons to 6.39. Avoid Myers this week at all costs. BONUS: Make sure you start Andrew McCutchen against Myers, he’s hitting .615 in 13 at-bats against Myers. Johnny Cueto |Cincinnati Reds| (100%) – Cueto has been one of the best and most underrated pitchers of the year. This week might provide a correction for Cueto’s phenomenal numbers. Cueto’s starts this week come against St. Louis and Milwaukee, both on the road. Cardinals hitters (excluding Pujols) are hitting a combined .331 with a .406 OBP against Cueto in 139 career at-bats. Cueto’s trek to Milwaukee won’t be much better. Milwaukee hitters are batting .282 through a combined 117 career at-bats against Cueto. Half of those hits are for extra bases. In three starts at Miller Park, Cueto’s ERA is an alarming 7.98. Likewise, in five starts at Busch Stadium, Cueto’s ERA is 8.10. Furthermore, over the last seven days St. Louis (ranked 8th) and Milwaukee (ranked 5th) are two of the hottest teams around. Written by James Bryce exclusively for TheFantasyFix.com Follow The Fantasy Fix on Twitter @thefantasyfix or for Free Fantasy Sports Advice use our Quick Fix to get help with your team Tags: The Fantasy Fix, Fantasy Sports Advice, Fantasy Baseball News, Fantasy Baseball Tips, Sit Em/Start Em, James Bryce, JJ Omar, Two-Start Pitchers, Alex Rios, Jayson Heyward, James Loney, J.J. Hardy, Ryan Vogelsong, Brett Myers, Kyle Lohse, Erik Bedard  Cliff Lee (see credits below) Cliff Lee pitched a 2-hit complete game shutout Tuesday against the Red Sox. It was his third complete game shutout in a row. Lee is the hottest thing since the Sony Walkman or Justin Bieber (its debatable). In the month of June he is 5-0, with a 0.21 ERA, 0.69 WHIP, and .151 BAA. Historically, Lee has always been a phenomenal June pitcher with a 25-6 record, 3.07 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and .240 BAA. Adrian Gonzazlez will in fact start in left field Wednesday. Not sure it really matters where the Sox play him. In the league A-Gonz is 1st in BA (.357), 1st in RBI (71), 6th in Runs (56), 6th in OBP (.412), 4th in slugging (.605) & 5th in OPS (1.017). Kevin Towers may be an idiot or a genius, either way Wily Mo Pena hit a walk-off home run for the D-Backs last night. Zack Greinke lasted only 2 Innings against the Yankees Tuesday, giving up 7 earned runs. Mark Teixeira slammed his 24th home run, keeping him tied with Jose Bautista who also hit his 24th last night. Nick Swisher also continues his hot streak hitting his 10th homer on the year. In June Swisher is batting .325 with 7 homers, 22 RBI and owns a whopping 1.116 OPS. I noticed someone in Draftstreet’s Daily Game yesterday that picked all Yankee players. How did he know the Yanks would smack around Greinke? Josh Johnson will not be making a return anytime soon. His shoulder still does not feel 100% and he is going to see Dr. James Andrews (yes the Tommy John surgery guy). Should we be worried? Johnson was moved from the 15-day DL to the 60-day and if it’s just a minor setback he will be eligible to come off July 17th. During interleague play NL teams call up players to DH. Two big time names that got the call Tuesday were Alex Presley and Mat Gamel. Presley went 2-5 with a HR and 3 RBI and Gamel went 2-4 with an RBI. Two of the most disappointing players this year, Evan Longoria & Dan Uggla, are hoping that June has put them back on track. Longoria hit his 10th home run last night and 5th in the last 5 games. Uggla hit his 12th against Michael Pineda, his 3rd in the last 6 games. Neither player is hitting for average, but at least they are hitting them out. On the topic of the Braves, there is only one active starting player hitting over .300 (Brian McCann). The 2nd highest is Freddie Freeman’s .265 avg and the lowest is above mentioned Mr. Uggla (.177). I just puked in my mouth a little. Martin Prado can’t come back quick enough! Edwin Encarcion blasted 2 out of the park yesterday. He hit a bomb 2 days ago as well. He is as streaky as they come when hitting homers. In May last year he hit 5 homers in a 3 game series against Arizona and then ended the season hitting 5 in the last 4 games. If you want to pick him off the wire that’s fine because he may hit a few more, but don’t be surprised when it dries up real quick. Ryan Madson was placed on the 15-day DL. Now is the time to go pick Antonio Bastardo or Michael Stutes off the wire.Gio Gonzalez was a manimal last night. He 1-hit the Marlins through 8 innings and K’d 9. Gio lowered his ERA to 2.38 on the season. The kid is good! Matt Capps continues to see his trade stock rise as he collected his 12th save. Tommy Hanson returned from the DL and pitched a decent game going 6 innings giving up 3 earned runs and striking out 8. Barry Zito returned to the Giants rotation and pitched 7 innings giving up only 2 earned runs while striking out 3. Vernon Wells went 4-5 with double & HR against the Nats. He has hit a home run in 3 of the last 4. The Mets demolished the Tigers 14-3. Jose Reyes was a homer away from a cycle but made up for it with a stolen base (29). Both Jason Bay & Carlos Beltran hit grand salamis. Ryan Ludwick continues to be the only consistent run producer for the Padres. Michael Bourn swiped his 34th base of the season. (June 27, 2011 - Photo by Drew Hallowell/Getty Images North America) Written by JJ Omar & Evan Marx exclusively for TheFantasyFix.com Follow The Fantasy Fix on Twitter @thefantasyfix or for Free Fantasy Sports Advice use our Quick Fix to get help with your team Tags: The Fantasy Fix, Fantasy Baseball Daily News, 2011 Fantasy Baseball Tips, 2011 Fantasy Baseball Advice, The Daily Fix  Ryan Vogelsong Hurlers To Start Ryan Vogelsong | San Francisco Giants | 96.6% - Ryan Vogelsong has been one of the feel good stories of 2011. This week he is scheduled to take on the Cubs and the Tigers. His start against the Cubs is against a team he has has success against in his career. Against Cubs hitters, Vogelsong has a .256 BAA and has only given up 2 RBI, both coming off solo home runs. His next start is against the Tigers. In his career Ryan Vogelsong has only faced 3 Tigers batters but has held them to a .167 BAA without any power numbers. Included in that is the fact the Miguel Cabrerra has yet to get a hit off Vogelsong. Erik Bedard | Seattle Mariners | 97.6% - Bedard is having resurgence. The Mariners gave a lot up in order to land the former O’s ace and it seems like it is finally paying off. This week Bedard get two teams that are ranked 13th and 16th in the NL in team average. First up for the southpaw is the Atlanta Braves. The Braves as a team are hitting only .239. Bedard will also have the benefit of the lefty on lefty matchup with the Braves big bats. As long as Bedard can keep the Braves in the yard he has a good chance of putting up solid numbers. The worst hitting team in the NL is the San Diego Padres. Bedard get to face the forced “former PCL rivals” for the second time this year. In his start against the Pads earlier in the year Bedard pitched 8 innings of shutout baseball. Combine that with the fact that current Padre hitters are hitting only .160 in 46 at-bats against Bedard and I say give him the green light. Hurlers To Sit Kyle Loshe | St. Louis Cardinals | 78.5% - Consider me a Kyle Loshe skeptic. I know people like to build up Dave Duncan and how he wants his pitchers to attack hitters but his best pitchers don’t use his 2-Seam method. This week Loshe will head against two Al East foes the Orioles and the Rays. First Loshe gets Baltimore where he has a career 4.09 ERA at Camden Yards. Against current O’s hitters Loshe is surrendering a .322 BAA and a whopping .962 OPS. O’s hitters have also hit 3 HR’s and 12 RBI against the Red Birds righty. Next on the dish is the Tampa Bay Rays. In 30 at-bats against Loshe Rays hitters are hitting .333 with 60% of the hits of the extra base variety. Also the Rays have a good .897 OPS against Loshe. Brett Meyers | Houston Astros | 32.8% - Brett Meyers is a mediocre pitcher on an awful team yet for some reason his own percentage is higher than pitchers have better years such as Randy Wolf, Tim Stauffer, and Jason Marquis. This week the veteran righty gets the tough task for facing two if the AL’s best lineups, the Rangers and the Red Sox. Against the Rangers starters, Meyers has a BAA of .281 and has given up 2 HR’s and 11 RBI in 57 at-bats. Another red flag for Meyers owners is his home ERA of 5.56 this season. Although this means the Rangers will not be able to utilize the DH in this matchup their lineup still packs a punch with the versatility of Michael Young. I wouldn’t start anyone facing the Red Sox right now. The Sox are finally hitting on all cylinders and are the most feared team in baseball right now. Although current Red Sox are only hitting .250 against Meyers, which includes over 30 at-bats from Mike Cameron and Jason Varitek who will most likely be held out of the lineup. Again this start for Meyers is at home where as I previously mentioned he’s struggles this year.  JJ Hardy Sluggers To Start JJ Hardy |Baltimore Orioles| (98.3%) – Hardy has been as hot as anybody in baseball for the last month. If he’s still available, now is the time to pick him up. His first opponent of the week is the St. Louis Cardinals. Hardy has great career numbers against the three starting pitchers of St. Louis. Against Westbrook, Lohse, and Carpenter, Hardy is 7 for 20 with the majority of his hits being for extra bases. He also has fairly respectable numbers against St. Louis during his career (.286 through 280 at-bats). All three of the Braves starters that Hardy will face against the Braves are righties. Hardy’s splits favor him batting against right-handed pitchers strongly. Hardy is hitting 55 points higher against right-handed pitching and has seven of his nine homeruns against right-handed pitching. James Loney |Los Angeles Dodgers| (26.8%) – Loney has been quietly sneaking back into his top-hitter form. Over the last 30 days Loney has hit .341 with an OPS of .876. He should be able to continue it this week against the Angels and Twins. Against the three starters for the Angels, Loney is hitting .375 through 24 at-bats. All of Loney’s games this week are away games. For his career, Loney is hitting .303 on the road (34 points higher than his home average). Two of the three Minnesota pitchers that Loney faces are righties. Against righties this year, Loney is hitting .300 (he’s hitting .190 against lefties). Loney’s low percentage of ownership and his current hot streak provides owners with a first base option for those who need to fill a void or need an improved bench. Sluggers To Sit Jayson Heyward |Atlanta Braves| (100%) – Heyward is mired in a sophomore slump that saw him hit .098 for the month of May. Don’t look for him to improve anytime soon. Loney’s first opponent of the week is the Mariners. He has to face both King Felix and the rookie-phenom Michael Pineda at pitcher-friendly Safeco Field. If you thought that was the worst of his problems this week, think again. Heyward will also face Bedard and Brian Matusz, two left-handed pitchers. Against lefties, Heyward is hitting an anemic .190. Furthermore, the games against the Orioles are at home. Heyward’s home splits are not much better. He’s hitting only .209 at home this year. Alex Rios |Chicago White Sox| (74.9%) – Rios has the third-worst away splits among all hitters. He’s hitting .168 away from U.S. Cellular Field. Bad news for all Rios owners, this week all of Rios’ games are away games. Also, all but one of the pitchers that Rios will face are right-handed. Rios also has one of the worst splits against right-handed pitchers. This year against righties, Rios is hitting .192 with a .578 OPS. Give him some more time before making him an everyday player in your outfield. Written by JJ Omar & James Bryce exclusively for TheFantasyFix.com Follow The Fantasy Fix on Twitter @thefantasyfix or for Free Fantasy Sports Advice use our Quick Fix to get help with your team Tags: The Fantasy Fix, Fantasy Sports Advice, Fantasy Baseball News, Fantasy Baseball Tips, Sit Em/Start Em, James Bryce, JJ Omar, Two-Start Pitchers, Alex Rios, Jayson Heyward, James Loney, J.J. Hardy, Ryan Vogelsong, Brett Myers, Kyle Lohse, Erik Bedard | 
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