Welcome to Chicago Quintana, oh wait you already lived there. Well he made is debut for the Cubs and it was a great one. He fanned 12 batters and pitched 7 scoreless innings. That is exactly what the Cubs needed him to do and he did it in his first start for them. The offense continues to stay hot and they might not be done in the market? It is rumored that they are in the talks of acquiring Sonny Gray from the A’s who has a 1.13 ERA over his last 4 starts only surrendering 11 hits over that span. There are other teams that are rumored to have interest but, if the Cubs get him watch out.
The Nationals also made a move as they acquired two relievers Doolittle and Madison from the A’s. This was a great move by the Nationals as their weakest part of their team is their bullpen. They have been mashing the ball since the All-Star break so the bullpen has had a nice cushion, but in those close games they are very sketchy. I love this move by the Nationals it could be the difference to get them over the Dodgers in the playoffs if those two power houses matchup.
We have 13 games slated for today, with the Nationals and Reds kicking it off at noon on the East coast. They have been hot so if you want those players get the lineups in.
Low-Scoring Plays
Washington Nationals @ Cincinnati Reds- This game starts at 12:35 ET so take a break from whatever you are doing right now and get that line up in. The Nationals have been pounding the Reds in this series as they have been hitting home runs left and right. Murphy had two yesterday and Rendon added another to make it 3 in 2 days. It won’t be an easy game for the Reds as Strasburg takes the mound. Strasburg has been great this year and will be the highest owned pitcher by far. This is too good of a match up to pass on though so he should be a lock for your line up. The Nationals will have to come down to earth at some point, they shouldn’t score as much in this game but they should win it easily.
Targets: Strasburg, Harper
Detroit Tigers @ Kansas City Royals- Vargas gets the call for the Royals who have climbed back into the playoff race and now look like they won’t be sellers at the deadline. Five of the Royals starters will be free agents in 2 years so their front office has to feel the pressure to win now and might actually be buyers. The Tigers aren’t a great team middle of the pack in all offensive numbers. They are batting .256 as a team with 108 long balls which ranks 15th in the league. Vargas is a cheaper option for a pitcher but shows great potential for this match up. He doesn’t strike out a ton of batters which is why he is cheaper but he is 12-3 with a 2.62 ERA. He won’t break your bank if you go with Strasburg as you will look to save some money.
Targets: Vargas, Moustakas, Cain
High-Scoring Plays
Chicago Cubs @ Atlanta Braves – Everyone jump on the wave because the Cubs have shown up in the 2nd half of the season-well at least the first 3 games. Lester takes the mound for the Cubs who hasn’t been his normal self, this season. Look for him to feed off the energy the Cubs have had and have a massive game in this one. This game could be in the low scoring section but I like the Cubs line up that much right now they will put up enough runs for both teams. Bryant won MVP last year and is one of the best talents in the game, the Cubs will rally behind him and Rizzo as they hunt down the Brewers. Baez is hitting .300 over the last week, went 3-4 yesterday with 2 RBIs. These three will be big components but I love Shwarber now that everyone is down on him.
Targets: Baez, Shwarber, Bryant
New York Yankees @ Minnesota Twins – The Yankees look spent, and you have to wonder if the Home Run Derby will do more harm than good for Judge. I never like the home run derby winner to have a big second half, and Judge won’t replicate the numbers that he did in the first half. He is still a great talent, and hit some hard balls yesterday vs the Sox. One was a home run but JBJ had one of the best plays of the year as he took it from over the wall. The Yankees’ have one of the most powerful lineups in baseball and are a team that I like to bounce back in this series. Last night was the first time this season the Yankees were shut out, just think about that for a second. Their bullpen is spent so the Twins can score some runs in this one as well. Sano is a play that I do love, but overall I love the Yankees to bounce back in this one.
Target: Sanchez, Judge, Ellsbury
Undervalued Plays
Rodriguez-BOS-SP- Rodriguez is the young arm in the Boston rotation who is coming back from injury. If he is anything like Price when he came back then lock him in because he will be a great play for very cheap. However he doesn’t have the experience that Price does and will be a very risky play. High risk high reward, I won’t be picking him but if you need to save a couple hundred for a better #1 pitcher, or another batter, Rodriguez wouldn’t be a terrible play.
Morrison-TB-1B- We know of Morrison with the numbers he is putting up, and the entire Home Run Derby news. So he isn’t a diamond if the rough, however he is under valued. The Rays are very much in the race for the post season, which has to be one of the most surprising things this year. Morrison has been a major reason why, as he has 25 home runs hitting his latest one yesterday. Only 3900 he can be a great play for your line up.
Frazier-NYY-OF- One of the major prospects the Yankees had in their system is in the big leagues. He has been here for about 2 or 3 weeks and he already has a walk off home run. He had his ups and he has had his downs so look for him to settle in nicely into this Yankee lineup. He has protection all around him so if he isn’t driving in runs he will be scoring them.