Fantasy Round Trippers

Bernie:  Milledge – 11   /  Miller – 21.5 /  Total –  32.5

Bryan:  Headley –  19   /  Snell –  -6.5  /  Total –  12.5

Nate:    Matsui –  15     /  Rogers – 22  /  Total –  37

I was wondering when we would have our first negative player of the year and I guess Bryan answered that question for me.  I also would like to point out that my pitcher outperformed Bernie and Bryan’s pitchers together and he only ended up with one start last week.  Okay, enough bragging and let us move on to this week.

Bernie ~ Jeremy Guthrie (SP – BAL)  Take away a bad start against the Red Sox 2 starts ago and this guy has been dealing again.  Guthrie was very strong down the stretch last year, and looks to be started down that path again this year.  He has two starts this week, but not the greatest matchup.  His first start is against the Cubs in Wrigley, and everyone knows how well the Cubs have been at home.  He should make up for that matchup with another road start against the Nationals.  Look for some solid strikeout numbers and one win.  Elijah Dukes (OF – WAS)  Dukes has been hitting around .350 with 10 Runs, 2 HR,  12 RBIs, and 5 SBs since being moved to the 2-hole in early June.  He may still be a hot-head, but he may finally be living up to some of his potential.  Look for Dukes to get a couple multi-hit games this week with a handful of RBIs and possibly a couple stolen bases.

Bryan ~ So, last week I got just destroyed on my pitching pick (Ian Snell) by trying to go with a hot hand and playing down the matchups.  This week, I’ll take Jeff Francis (SP – COL) with games on the road (usually a good thing for a Rockies SP) against KC and Detroit.  So, assuming the Tigers don’t have another offensive micro-burst, I like the matchups and like the young SP coming off a solid start.  Now, Tulo – Troy Tulowitski (SS – COL) - is not a ROY or MVP and is only starting in 40% of CBS leagues, so I’m assuming he’s eligible for the picks.  Tulo was struggling before the injury knocked him out for a while, but I think the injury time gave him a chance to relax and stop pressing so much as he had before the injury.  I was also reading that while he was rehabbing he took BP with the team, and often put on a show for the early arriving fans.  Look for him to get that batting average headed in the right direction and slide right back into a key spot in that suddenly hot Rockies lineup. THAT’S RIGHT! 2 ROCKIES!

Nate ~ Since the Mets and Yankees are the only 7 game teams this week I am going to take that advantage and go with Alex Rodr…  I kid, I kid.  Robinson Cano (2B – NYY)  Cano has been kind of heating up the past couple weeks under the radar of Jason Giambi.  He raised his average 10 pts last week and had a couple doubles.  Here’s to hoping those couple doubles turn into a couple homeruns.  Aaron Laffey (SP – CLE)  I was late to pulling the trigger to pick up Laffey in my mixed weekly H2H off the wire so instead of kicking myself too hard when he has a stellar week I am going to pick him here.  Pulling the Giants and the struggling of late Reds both at home this week should snag me a couple wins even though both teams have a decent average against lefties (SF .263, CIN .269).  Mix those 20 pts with a half dozen strikeouts and 13 IP I should come out on top again in the pitching department.