April can be the cruelest of months, just
ask Josh Hamilton, Matt Kemp or any other underperforming high profile player
who have battled to find their groove through the first month of Baseball. Their
views might not be shared by the players listed below however, who have all had
great starts to their season and more importantly helped many of our
contestants win their daily matchups. To help provide you some winning insight,
below I have named my top picks to help you win your matchups this weekend.
Catcher
Carlos Santana, Cleveland
Carlos has been on fire at the plat
recently, after a relatively slow start in April. Carlos offers you plenty of
pop this weekend as he faces off against division rival Minnesota Twins at
home. Hitting the most homeruns of his short career against Minnesota, and
drawing a pitching staff that currently sports a 4.45 ERA on the road this year
should allow Carlos to continue his “evil ways” (Santana, 1969) which has seen
him go 9 for 18 at the plate with 3 runs, 1 homerun and 4 RBI in the last 7
days while also chipping in 1 stolen base for good measure. Viva Carlos
Santana.
Corner
Miguel Cabrera, Detroit
Miggy is an obvious choice here, as last
years’ Triple Crown winner and annual MVP candidate, you can’t really argue
with this choice on any given day. Cementing him as the top Corner infield play
this weekend is the result of a road trip to Houston and their hitter friendly
ball park and generous pitching staff. The Thursday to Sunday set should be
batting practice for Cabrera, and is the safest play this week as the top
corner player.
Note* if you are looking for an under the
radar player for this spot only one player has been hotter in the past 7 days
than Miggy and that is Edwin Encarnacion, of the Toronto Blue Jays with 8 runs,
6 homeruns and 9 RBI.
Infield
Jean Segura, Milwaukee
Our top rated Short Stop after April,
Segura is a 5 tool player, that consistently provides fantasy points through
his base running and hitting. A relatively unknown prior to the season, this
Dominican Republic born player may soon be mentioned among the Reyes and
Ramirez’s of his fellow country. For the season Segura is hitting over .300
with 13 runs, 3 homeruns, 9 RBI and 7 stolen bases. He plays at home against St. Louis this week
but all of his homeruns have been in Milwaukee and he is simply the best short
stop play right now but may still be under the radar which could win you some
contests this weekend.
Outfield
Nate McLouth
The journeyman outfielder currently with
Baltimore has had a career rival so far this year at the plate. A hitter that
often struggled with his average over his career batted .346 in April and is
the highest scoring fantasy outfielder over the last week. Baltimore has been
on a dreaded west coast trip that concludes with a series against the
struggling Los Angeles Angels and its bottom 3 pitchers but McLouth is a road
warrior who is posting better fantasy points away than at home this year.
Currently McLouth is batting .593 this with 11 runs, 7 RBI, 2 homeruns and 4
stolen bases over the last 7 games and is a good bet to continue dominating
against a weak Angels pitching staff.
Nelson Cruz
A solid outfielder and focal point of
Texas’ offense, Cruz has been outstanding in Texas making Josh Hamilton a
distant memory for Rangers fans. Cruz has always been a top fantasy outfielder
that has been prone to injury and streakiness but this career .260 hitter is
batting .306 after the first month and has contributed 20 RBI which is the
third highest total among outfielders. Cruz, like all Texas players is assisted
by a solid hitters park where he is a career .300 hitter. Against Boston this
weekend at home, Cruz should continue to have success against Boston’s pitching
staff as he is batting .529 against Jon Lester over 17 at-bats and has also had
success against Felix Doubront and John Lackey and as a whole, Boston pitching
struggled mightily from 2010-2012 in Texas. Play Nelson this weekend and you
will “Cruz” to a payoff.
Amped Fantasy Guru
Justin Sperdakes
