Fantasy Baseball Preview: April 4, 2014
Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
The hitters struck back yesterday, producing all of the day’s top fantasy performers. Today’s fantasy baseball preview looks at a few hot hitters.
But before we get to them, we need to point out are a few pitchers from the day’s biggest games that both have pretty positive forecasts for Friday’s action.
Today’s Favorable Matchups
- Pitchers
1. Jake Peavy vs. Milwaukee Brewers
It’s the opener at Fenway Park and naturally, the Red Sox will be honoring last year’s World Series champs in what I’m sure will be an emotional ceremony. That, in and of itself, should give Peavy a bit more of an edge than you’d normally expect.
But there something else that I like. Other than Rickie Weeks (3-for-6), the highest batting average that any current Brewer has against Peavy is a .227 mark from Aramis Ramirez. The Brewers have a lot of offensive talent, but they enter the series on a bit of an offensive cold stretch to start the year. Things shape up pretty well for Peavy today.
2. Masahiro Tanaka at Toronto Blue Jays
Obviously, there’s no history to speak of here, as this is Tanaka’s MLB debut. I put him here for two reasons.
- No other pitching match-up really jumps off the page.
- If nothing else, it should be a very entertaining game to watch.
- They’ve pitched well enough to earn a .500 record, but the Blue Jays offense isn’t exactly firing on all cylinders at this point. I don’t expect either to stick all season, but for one more game? Why not?
I’m expecting a big splash from Tanaka in the opener.
- Hitters
1. Angel Pagan vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (Hyun-jin Ryu)
Pagan is hitting .421 on the young season. Clearly, that’s not a sustainable rate, but he’s hit safely in every game this season, producing multiple hits in three of the Giants’ four games.
The chances of him continuing that on Friday are not bad, as he’s 4-6 against Ryu. It’s a limited sample, but definitely something you like to see with a hot hitter.
2. Alejandro De Aza vs. Kansas City Royals (Jeremy Guthrie)
Another hitter who’s off to a hot start on the young season. Like Pagan, De Aza has hit safely in every one of his team’s games.
De Aza has seen plenty of Guthrie in his career and has a .304 average in 23 at-bats. Definitely a sign that he sees the pitcher well. Again, that, combined with a hot hitter, produces a very positive forecast for a good day.