Posted on July 22 2011 by Caitlin Carver

Fantasy Baseball Weekly Hitting Planner: Week of July 25th, 2011

Think fast, when is the trade deadline for 2011? July 31, 2011 would be the answer.While some of you may feel that information isn’t important, it really is. 

Some teams may need a bat, while others need pitching, causing a specific player to change from the NL to AL and vice versa.These changes may not affect your team in any extreme way, baseball, like other sports, is a game of inches. 

There are roughly 60 games left for each team which leaves about 9-10 weeks of the regular season left.Now the heat is on, literally.

In this post, I look past this weekend and into next week to give you a head start on the hitters you should be targeting on waivers and starting/sitting in your lineups.

Catcher

Joe Mauer receives our attention again this week but it’s not because of his 6 for 8 day against Cleveland.Twins skipper Ron Gardenhire is doing all he can to get Mauer playing time at 1st base and as he continues to do so, his eligibility for the position should open up. 

The number one man behind the plate this week is Matt Wieters thanks to a couple of multi-hit games against Cleveland and Boston.That luck may run out with 7 straight away games in 6 days. 

Humberto Quintero should see extending playing time do to a roster shuffle in Houston.He was been filling the role nicely, with .400 plus average along with an increasing number of RBIs and homeruns. 

Big time players should step up in big games but this isn’t necessarily the case for Russell Martin as he has seemed to disappear in meaningful series. 

Two players having a down week who should be avoided are Kurt Suzuki and Jonathan Lucroy.

First Base

Wow.That’s the only way I can describe Blue Jays’ hitting at this time and they are getting big contributions from Edwin Encarnacion and Adam Lind. 

Good times continue to roll along for Freddie Freeman as he inches closer to the 100% owned mark.There are no signs of him slowing down so it would be best to ride the hot streak. 

Going up against the Tigers’ Verlander and Scherzer followed up with series against the Red Sox and Yankees could put Paul Konerko into a 9-10 game slump that is going to leave a lot of managers unhappy. 

There is a lot to like about what Mark Teixeira does in the power department but everyone knows that his average is on the low side which leaves you with a decision to make.  If the power isn’t present for a few games, he presents little to no value due to his current limitations at the plate.

Second Base

Jemile Weeks is dealing with a couple nagging injuries but he should be ready to go by the time the new scoring period hits so there is no reason to fret as he should be back in action soon.

It looks like Dan Uggla has the same issues as some other hitters throughout the league: great power but poor average.His average is up 90 points this month alone, and if it can stay up there he very well may be the best player at the position. 

Here are some surprise players who look to have a big week ahead of them: Orlando Hudson, Gordon Beckham and Aaron Hill continue to be some of the best options at the position since the break. 

At the beginning of the year, Darwin Barney looked like the best fantasy 2nd basemen in the game.Now that we are 100 games in, that doesn’t seem to be the case so if your team is looking for more scoring, this may be the position you look for some help.

Third Base

Aramis Ramirez is on the radar for a lot of different teams who want his services.He doesn’t want to go anywhere though and prefers to stay in Chicago.He has been tearing it up this month, and it’s fair to say that he will tune out the rumors and continue to produce at a high level. 

There is no doubt that Eduardo Nunez is a capable hitter for the Yankees when he replaces players like Alex Rodriguez, but will his horrible fielding allow him to stay on the field?  It wouldn’t be wise to have him on your squad as he could be gone at any moment. 

For the very small percentage of you who owned Orioles Josh Bell, make a move with him because he got sent back town to Triple-A.Same goes for Colorado’s Ian Stewart.He has been back and forth between the big leagues and Colorado Springs and hasn’t been able to keep his spot. 

Casey McGehee’s production has been a crapshoot to say the least.He started the second half of the season off with some terrible games but followed it up with a few multi-hit efforts.If his hitting starts to dip again this weekend, then it may be the time to show him the bench or get rid of him all together because it looks as if the Brewers are going to do so.

Shortstop

Jimmy Rollins is back!While this is a fantasy no-brainer, managers have to be excited about the 9 multi-hit games in only 15 contests. 

Even with the little work that he has done, Jesus Guzman has numbers that deserve attention.  His teammate Jason Bartlett who also has shortstop eligibility is playing at a high level as well.  The two won’t compete for playing time even though they are at the same position for fantasy.  Once Guzman plays enough games at 1st, managers will be able to play him there. 

As long as Brendan Ryan continues to hit for a decent average and scores runs, he could be serviceable to those of you looking for a mediocre option at short. 

Alexei Ramirez is a good hitter, no doubt about it, but this is the week where it looks like he could use a rest on your bench.The reasoning?  Scroll up a little and see the problems that his teammate Paul Konerko is going to experience this scoring period. 

If you are looking for someone else to sit down then that would be Rafael Furcal.  The question would be as to why you have him on your team in the first place?

Outfield

There are a few players who will be HOT:

  • Josh Reddick made the most of his playing time, and if it continues to be steady then he will produce.  
  • Chris Heisey is going up against two of the worst staffs in MLB this year this next scoring period.  
  • Jason Heyward: amidst his sophomore slump, the Braves youngster looks like he may finish the season strong as he has found his bat after the break.  

The ones who are NOT:

  • Adam Jones: will only play in 5 games due to a double header against the Yanks.
  • Carlos Quentin: see any White Sox player in this article. 
  • Carl Crawford:he is only batting .125 against the Red Sox biggest foe and they come to town for a critical three game series.

The surprise player of this week is Will Venable.Position battles are always interesting, especially when the player is being called up from the minors.His average has jumped up 30 points since June and he has been increasing his power steadily.While he isn’t a great option now, he could be more than serviceable down the road.

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