Zach Greinke may be the only ace worth the start tonight (Getty)
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Great pitchers available tonight, but there’s also cheap options to mix it up. Although aces like Bumgarner and Harvey take the mound, they don’t’ have the favorable matchup to match the price tag. Half the salary on pitching can jeopardize your entry if the starters get touched. In today’s roster there’s one ace and one cheap option, freeing up space for hitters.
On to the lineup:
Today’s Pitchers: Grienke & Severino
Luis Severino showed composure and confidence in his first start against Boston (Getty).
Greinke isn’t cheap, but is the best option among elite arms available. He gets a home matchup against the Nationals, who are fighting the Mets for the division lead. Greinke has a history with the Nats, and has allowed a .159 average and only two RBIs in 69 at-bats. Greinke should rebound from last week’s fluke start against the Phillies, when he gave up five runs in the first inning.
In New York, Luis Severino is the biggest pitching prospect the club has seen this century. The kid looked sharp in his debut, giving up only one earned run on a missed pitch to David Ortiz. If he can show the same command on the road at Cleveland, he’ll have the strikeout totals to put forth a quality fantasy start.
Featured Hitters: Cano & Donaldson
Robinson Cano has begun to heat up since the ASB (Getty).
Robinson Cano hasn’t been everything Mariners fans hoped, but he’s coming around since the All-Star break. Cano has six homers in 18 games since the break, and is batting .347. Tonight he faces Baltimore’s Chris Tillman, who Cano feasted on while with the Yankees. Cano is .414 with an OPS of 1.124 against Tillman, and should be a popular start tonight.
Staying in the infield, it’s time to make a habit of making room in your lineup for Josh Donaldson. Donaldson has at least one RBI in 9 of his last 11 games, and is batting .324 so far in August. He’s expensive, but hitting the the league’s best lineup right now almost warrants a daily start. Start him, or watch others climb the standings.
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Here’s the full lineup:
SP: Zach Greinke, LA Dodgers, $12,000
SP: Luis Severino, New York Yankees, $5,500
C : Francisco Cervelli, Pittsburgh Pirates, $3,300
1B: Albert Pujols, LA Angels, $4,400
2B: Robinson Cano, Seattle Mariners, $4,000
3B: Josh Donaldson, Toronto Blue Jays, $5,600
SS: Cesar Hernandez, Philadelphia Phillies, $3,400
OF: Ben Zobrist, Kansas City Royals, $3,900
OF: Delino DeShields, Texas Rangers, $4,000
OF: Adam Jones, Baltimore Orioles, $3,900
Total Cost: $50,000
Think we should make any changes? Let us know in the comments section below. Good luck and have fun!