SCHEDULE INFO FOR JUNE 9-15
Teams with five games: Cardinals, Marlins.
Teams with seven games: Astros, Blue Jays, Braves, Cubs, Diamondbacks, Dodgers, Giants, Indians, Mariners, Nationals, Orioles, Pirates, Red Sox, Reds, Rockies, Tigers, White Sox, Yankees.
Teams losing a DH: Angels, Astros.
Astros (Mon.-Tue., @ARI). Most likely to lose at-bats: Chris Carter/random OFs.
Angels (Fri.-Sun., @ATL). Most likely to lose at-bats: C.J. Cron/Raul Ibanez.
Teams gaining a DH: Cardinals, Diamondbacks, Marlins.
Marlins (Tue.-Wed., @TEX). Most likely to gain at-bats: Ed Lucas.
Cardinals (Tue.-Wed., @TB). Most likely to gain at-bats: Randal Grichuk.
D-backs (Wed.-Thu., @MIN). Most likely to gain at-bats: Eric Chavez/David Peralta.
Monday off-days: Brewers, Cardinals, Marlins, Mets, Padres, Phillies.
Thursday off-days: A's, Angels, Cardinals, Marlins, Rangers, Rays, Royals, Twins.
First Pitch times (ET)
Monday: 1:10 p.m. (Mariners at Rays)
Tuesday: 3:40 p.m. (Astros at Diamondbacks)
Wednesday: 12:37 p.m. (Twins at Blue Jays)
Thursday: 12:35 p.m. (Dodgers at Reds)
Friday: 7:05 p.m. (Cubs at Phillies and Blue Jays at Orioles)
Saturday: 2:10 p.m. (Royals at White Sox)
Sunday: 1:08 p.m. (Twins at Tigers)
MORE FANTASY: Biggest surprises | Waiver Wire | Closer Watch: Rays
Base runners
Look for your stolen base threats to take advantage of these catchers next week:
| Rank | Player | Team | SB | CS | SB% | Opp. 6/9-6/15 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1t | Carlos Ruiz | PHI | 35 | 7 | 83.3 | SD (3), CHC (3) |
| 1t | Jarrod Saltalamacchia | MIA | 35 | 7 | 83.3 | TEX (2), PIT (3) |
| 3 | Tyler Flowers | CWS | 32 | 12 | 72.7 | DET (4), KC (3) |
| 4 | Welington Castillo | CHC | 31 | 4 | 88.6 | PIT (4), PHI (3) |
| 5t | Alex Avila | DET | 28 | 16 | 63.6 | CWS (4), MIN (3) |
| 5t | Dioner Navarro | TOR | 28 | 3 | 90.3 | MIN (3), BAL (4) |
| 7 | Jason Castro | HOU | 27 | 9 | 75 | ARI (4), TB (3) |
| 8 | Miguel Montero | ARI | 26 | 4 | 86.7 | HOU (4), LAD (3) |
| 9 | Yan Gomes | CLE | 25 | 9 | 73.5 | TEX (1), KC (2), BOS (4) |
| 10t | Jonathan Lucroy | MIL | 24 | 8 | 75 | NYM (3), CIN (3) |
| 10t | Buster Posey | SF | 24 | 10 | 70.6 | WAS (4), COL (3) |
| 12t | Derek Norris | OAK | 23 | 2 | 92 | LAA (3), NYY (3) |
| 12t | A.J. Pierzynski | BOS | 23 | 9 | 71.9 | BAL (3), CLE (4) |
| 12t | Hector Sanchez | SF | 23 | 6 | 79.3 | WAS (4), COL (3) |
| 12t | Mike Zunino | SEA | 23 | 9 | 71.9 | TB (1), NYY (3), TEX (3) |
Catcher
Cincinnati is scheduled to face six righties in seven games, which is good news for Brayan Pena, who's still seeing a lot of time at first base. Joey Votto (quad) could return sometime next week, but Pena is still a nice fill-in catcher in deep leagues. Even more important, I'm coming close to accepting that his first name is pronounced "Brian," which is super boring.
First base
Eric Hosmer has just one more home run than the Pope – who doesn't even play baseball – and he's hitting just .232/.284/.329 against lefties, whom the Royals will see three of next week. I'm taking the Pope.
Seven projected righties for Toronto next week means seven projected chances for Adam Lind to hit projectiles for the benefit of his fantasy owners. Watch the Jays play on a projection-screen TV so you get the full effect.
Second base
If Tommy La Stella is ever going to start hitting, it figures to be this week when Atlanta has six of seven games against righties. If he's never going to start hitting, then he should move to New York and open a hip restaurant in SoHo called "La Stella's" that specializes in contemporary, Italian failure.
It's tough to bench Emilio Bonifacio because of his speed, but he's a significantly worse hitter against righties. The Cubs are scheduled to face six next week, so if you can afford to miss a steal or two, send Bonifacio to the bench until he learns to overcome the biggest, most common obstacle to him performing his job at an above-average level.
You've heard about "small sample sizes," right? Well, Jonathan Schoop has been hot the past 10 days (very small sample), but he's been abysmal at home this year in 65 plate appearances (also quite small). The Orioles play seven at home next week, so I really don't know what to think. One thing I know: Unlike Brayan Pena, I will never accept the correct pronunciation of Schoop's last name.
Third Base
Like Lind, Juan Francisco is going to take advantage of Toronto's seven righties next week. He's slugging well over .600 against righthanded ramrods this season, so expect a homer and some RBIs.
Mike Aviles hits almost 60 points better at home, but the Indians are on the road for all seven games next week. His marginal fill-in value is essentially neutralized. By the way, we should start calling it "touring" when teams are playing on the road. "Hey, why'd you cut Aviles?" "Oh, the Indians are touring all next week and he can't hit on the road." Sounds way cooler.
Trevor Plouffe has been hot lately – and he plays every damn day – but he's always hit noticeably worse against lefties and when the Twins tour, so next week's righty-heavy, six-game slate in Toronto and Detroit doesn't figure to suit him well.
Shortstop
Ian Desmond is in the midst of a rough slump, and he really hasn't done much besides pop homers this year (though that's still more than most shortstops can say). It's unlikely weekly leaguers can afford to bench him during Washington's seven games on the road, where he's hit for much less power, but daily leaguers should definitely consider it on Tuesday and Sunday when he faces lefties Madison Bumgarner and Jaime Garcia, respectively.
Chris Owings is on a bit of a hot streak, and he's destroyed lefties while also hitting much better at home this year. Unfortunately, he has just two home games (Monday and Tuesday against Houston) and two games against lefties (Wednesday against Dallas Keuchel and Friday against Clayton Kershaw), but he's still a decent fill-in if your regular shortstop is, say, Ian Desmond.
Here's a funny sentence: Jordy Mercer is playing well right now, but he's really only an option against lefties. Pittsburgh gets two next week (Travis Wood on Tuesday, Randy Wolf on Saturday), so look to spot-start him if you need help. And if you spot-start Jordy Mercer, you do need help.
Outfield
David Murphyyyyyy! The Indians are slated to face six righties in seven games next week, so Murphy can tell each pitcher that new joke going around about what the bat says to the ball.
The Dodgers should see six righties in seven games, which means Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp should see all the starts in the outfield. However, with Carl Crawford (ankle) expected to return Thursday, things could change in a hurry. Ultimately, this might not really matter because they all kinda suck this year.
Hopefully Curtis Granderson enjoyed this past week on the road because the Mets return home for all six games next week. They only face one lefty, but Granderson has weak numbers at Citi Field this year.
Marlon Byrd kills the ball at Citizen's Bank Park, and the Phillies play all six there next week. Only one game is scheduled to be against a lefty, but Byrd is still a decent flier.
Carlos Quentin kills it on the road, where the Padres will be all of next week. He'll probably get a day off, but that's more likely to be in Citi Field next weekend than in Philadelphia early in the week. Take advantage while Quentin is healthy.
