Everyone wants a face of baseball. Is it Harper, Trout, Judge, Altuve, Kershaw? The name that is left off the list but should be added is Stanton. Harper and Trout are the two super stars of baseball however the Marlins are coming around and they are only 8 games out of a wild card spot. You have to think with Jeter taking over the baseball operations the team is only going to get better. Stanton can become the face of baseball. There are people that HATE Harper, and Trout doesn’t play in a big enough market to be the “face” of baseball. Not that Miami is a great baseball market but the bombs that he hits and the love he brings to the game, Stanton is my face of baseball.
We have a full slate of games with some aces on the mound, the first game gets underway at 3:40 so make sure the line ups are in.
Low-Scoring Plays
New York Mets @ New York Yankees-Judge got his home run off of Montero but he was also struck out and his home run wasn’t that convincing that he’s back on track. He will run into a world of trouble today as deGrom takes the mound for the Mets. deGrom is the most underrated pitcher this year because his team sucks are aren’t in a pennant race. However his numbers are incredible. He is able to strike out batters at will and has a low ERA. The record for consecutive games with a strike out is 32 by Adam Dunn. Judge is at 31, so a huge shout out to Judge for accomplishing another piece of baseball history.
Targets: deGrom, Conforto
Chicago White Sox @ L.A. Dodgers- We all know the White Sox are not a good team, and the L.A. Dodgers are well the best team. Kershaw is the face of the Dodgers staff but their other pitchers are impressive as well. Alex Wood pitches for the Dodgers in this one who is 14-1 on the year. Wood is 2nd in the NL in wins only behind Kershaw. With Kershaw hurt we will see Wood tie him for the league lead in wins from this game. He doesn’t strike out a ton of batters but he will go deep into the game, get his outs and have the offensive support from the Dodgers.
Targets: Wood, Seager
Detroit Tigers @ Texas Rangers- Justin Verlander was having a down year this year so the Astros didn’t think it was worth trading for him. Well that was a giant mistake because this second half of the season is where I like Verlander to turn it on. The Tigers are the 3rd worst team in the AL, but Verlander is still one of the best pitchers in the AL I don’t care what you say. The guy has multiple Cy Young Awards, a MVP award and just knows how to play the game. His numbers will dazzle today against the Rangers who are terrible ball club this year. Verlander is going to walk into Texas and make the Astros regret never trading for him.
Target: Verlander
High-Scoring Plays
San Francisco Giants @ Miami Marlins- The face of baseball will do it again tonight. Giancarlo Stanton will hit another home run, this time it will come off of Mad Bum. Stanton almost hit two home runs last night as he had a 398 foot fly out-the center fielder was pressed up against the wall. Stanton made adjustments and closed his stance and altered his hands a little bit and those adjustments are working. No one is baseball is more confident than him right now and you can see it. Marlins are 8 games out of the wild card, it’s an extreme long shot but if they make it, he’s the MVP of the NL and the AL.
Targets: Stanton, Gordon
Cleveland Indians @ Minnesota Twins- The Indians got a win last night against the Red Sox who own the second best record in the AL. Encarnacion was hot and hit two, two-run bombs. Tonight the Indians should have an easy time facing Bartolo Colon. Colon has been better since coming to the Twins and actually has a complete game, but he doesn’t shape up well in this one. The Indians should beat him up, Encarnacion is a play that I love even though he jacked two out last night. Lindor has been sneaky quiet this year, but is always a great play.
Targets: Encarnacion, Lindor
Under-Value Plays
Gray-NYY-SP-Gray is an expensive pitcher I am not arguing that, but he is a great play today. The Mets don’t score runs, and he is due for his first win in Pinstripes. Gray has potential to be your first pitcher and would be a good one to play. You don’t have to spend top dollar on deGrom, or MadBum when you can get a great pitcher here.
Vazquez-BOS-C- Vazquez has been the life of Boston over August as he is hitting out of his mind. The Cardinals are a good team but Vazquez at home is a play that I love.
Santana-CLE-1B- Santana is hitting below average at .243 but the Indians are a great play today. Colon isn’t a great pitcher so I would stack as many Indians as possible.
Gordon-MIA-2B- Gordon is a play that I love today as the Marlins are hot and will beat MadBum in this game. He will score runs as the ball looks like a beach ball for Stanton. A great play today as he won’t be owned because he is facing MadBum.