This article is part of our FantasyAces MLB series.
Here are my recommendations for games on Monday, August 3:
P – Matt Cain ($6000) – Cain heads into a favorable matchup against a reeling Atlanta club that is 11 games under .500 and 2-8 in their last 10 outings. For his part, he has been solid in his last four starts, where he has allowed nine runs in 23 IP and has an impressive 21:3 K:BB ratio. He's also one of the cheapest pitching picks on today's board.
P – Nate Karns ($6000) – Karns is the other favorable and cheap pitching option and he also looks like a good bet on Monday. He has been extremely impressive in four of his last five starts. He also has a very good K:BB ratio of 29:6 in those last five starts. He's been very good at keeping his team in games during a 20-start rookie season sample that makes him look like the latest talent to rise from the Rays minor league ranks.
C – Welington Castillo ($4800) – Castillo has emerged as a great source of power at his position for the D-backs of late. He is currently riding a very hot stretch, which has seen him produce four homers and five RBI during his last five starts, where he has eight hits in 19 total at-bats.
2B/SS – DJ LeMahieu ($4850) – LeMahieu has been consistently among the league leaders in BA all season long in a breakout campaign, currently sitting at .326 for the year. He is hitting a scorching 13-for-27 in the past week, which includes four multi-hit games. He faces Doug Fister, who has yielded an unusually high 37 hits in 28 IP during his last five starts.
2B/SS – Alexei Ramirez ($4600) – Ramirez has struggled for much of this campaign, his worst season offensively as an eight-year veteran of the big leagues. However, he seems to have turned a corner in recent weeks. His power stroke also seems to have returned in the past week, as he's hit three of his seven round trippers on the year as part of 9-for-28 surge.
1B/3B – Lucas Duda ($4950) – We have to find a way to include a batter who has stroked seven homers in the past week. Duda also has 10 RBI as part of his 9-for-22 performance in his last seven games. Even if we look back two weeks, he is batting .300 over his last 15 games, so he has been enjoying a lengthy period of success far in excess of his career norms.
1B/3B – Anthony Rizzo ($5400) – Rizzo is on pace to set career highs for extra-base hits as he establishes himself as a key cog in a powerful Cubs offense. He comes into Monday's action after recording three multi-hit games in his last four games played. He also has four homers and 10 RBI in his last seven games.
OF – Nelson Cruz ($5750) – Despite playing half of his games in the pitcher-friendly confines of Seattle, Cruz remains among the major league leaders with 29 homers to go along with a .317 BA and a .960 OPS. He is currently riding a 13-game hit streak, during which he has seven multi-hit games.
OF – Adam Eaton ($4950) – Eaton has been enjoying a nice run as the leadoff hitter for the White Sox. He has 21 hits in his last 49 at-bats during the past 15 games, while swiping five bases without being caught once. He has also produced 10 runs and five extra-base hits in that span.
OF – Ichiro Suzuki ($3750) – Suzuki faces a long-time opponent in Bartolo Colon, against whom he has a favorable 24-for-88 sample, which also features six extra-base hits and only six strikeouts. Colon has given up 33 hits in his last four starts covering only 20.2 IP, so you should expect Suzuki to put at least a couple of balls in play on Monday.
Util – Melky Cabrera ($4850) – Melky's slash line is down a bit from the excellent year he enjoyed in Toronto in 2014, but he has still been a very productive bat in the White Sox lineup this season. He has wielded a hot bat over his last seven games, which include five multi-hit games and seven extra-base hits as part of a 14-for-29 spike.
Other favorable batting/pitching options, based on career splits against their Monday opponents include: OF Carlos Gonzalez ($4850), 1B/3B Jose Abreu ($5200), 2B/SS Ruben Tejada ($3500), C Derek Norris ($4750) and P Jon Lester ($7000)
