In four our of the six division races this year, 4 games or fewer separates second place from first. What exactly does this mean? Managers, especially those on contending teams, are going to be trying to keep the scores as low as possible with multiple pitching changes at the very moment any starter looks like he might be wavering.
With that, we can expect numbers to dip a little, especially from young hitters dealing with their first stretch run. This is where the more clutch/timely hitters will prosper.
Catcher
A season long slump doesn’t stop Carlos Santana from having big games every now and then. His big game against the Tigers helps to bolster his status, but it looks like his play is going to be rather unpredictable.Â
Robinson Chirinos had a good start to the week but the Ray’s catcher only looks to be a temporary replacement until teammate John Jaso returns to action.
Keep an eye on Luis Martinez if the Padres ever give him some extensive playing time, he could offer some value with his ability to steal bases which would lead to a higher percentage of runs scored.
We all saw Yadier Molina’s tirade which resulted in his suspension, but we feel that he could come out of this with ferocity.
First Base
Over the last couple weeks Mike Carp has been on a crazy hot streak for the M’s and has been proving a point with his .350 plus average. At 1st, fantasy owners would like to have big power players from their starters and while Casey Kotchman doesn’t bring the boom with his bat, the batting average helps a lot.Â
Mark Teixeira may be in a slump right now, but a player of his caliber could jump out of it at any moment so keep him in the lineup. Same goes for Adam Lind. He is indeed slumping but don’t look for him to get back to the numbers you like as soon as the prior.
There are no hotter players at first right now than Jesus Guzman. He is producing in all of the critical offensive categories and even if one or two slip up, he is still more than serviceable.
When taking a chance, it will be just that with Justin Smoak, he hasn’t played in about a week and even if he does return his production may not be very crisp from that sore thumb.
Second Base
It looks like Jason Kipnis was a very good addition to the Indians with the departure of Orlando Cabrera. Yes his production will slow down after his monster 5-hit game against the Indians romp over Detroit but if consistent playing time will help his bat, he may become a hot commodity.
Some people around the league feel as if the Blue Jays are receiving some sort of unfair advantage by way of their homerun numbers. While that may or may not be true, owners of the new face, Brett Lawrie don’t seem to care at all. Even with his little playing time (5 games this year) his production cannot be ignored.
As we all know, Dan Uggla had a 33-game hitting streak, but the more telling number is that his average has been raised by over 50 points!Â
Carlos Guillen  is hitting under the .100 mark with ZERO extra-base hits this week. Hopefully you don’t have him starting.
Third Base
Call me crazy if you want but seriously consider placing Kevin Youkilis on the bench.Â
Chase Headley is on the 15 day DL so people will have to deal with that accordingly.
On the flip side, Edwin Encarnacion has been hitting out of his mind over the past two weeks with a .447 average and 3 homeruns.Â
Ty Wigginton has been Mr. Everything for the Rockies when an injury happens to occur. He may be struggling this week but his production is just too valuable to pass up at this point of the season.
One thing to add about Danny Valencia. He is hitting great against left handed pitchers but only .220 against righties. Make sure to take that into account when he is in your lineup.
Shortstop
Erick Aybar went hitless over the course of this last scoring period, which is not what anyone wants to hear who needs his production during these trying times.
A look at some other players who are cooling off would include Derek Jeter, Darwin Barney and Ian Desmond are among those who are highly owned with low production.
While Jose Reyes may be the highest rated shortstop this year but his injuries raise some serious concern. DL stint after DL stint wont only hurt GMs in the real baseball world but the fantasy owners are hurting just as much.
As for some good news, Troy Tulowitzki  has had a numerous amount of multi-hit games that looks to be a long standing streak of production.
Outfield
Due to recent success, JD Martinez and Rick Ankiel have been a couple of the highest added outfielders over the past week but there are some other players who will do some impressing for the next scoring period.Â
Garrett Jones, Hunter Pence, Shane Victorino, Will Venable and David DeJesus all have been hot and have more than favorable matchups on their plate for this scoring period. Do yourself a favor and put these guys in your lineup.
On the flip side, there are some guys who will not be performing up to the best of their abilities. Vernon Wells, Jose Bautista, Raul Ibanez and the likes of Johnny Damon headline those guys who could see some struggles this week. Nevertheless the tide could change for these guys and only time will tell regarding all of the outfielders whose fortunes can change day to day.
