'Turner Field - Atlanta GA - June 2009' photo (c) 2009, David Berkowitz - license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

 

Daily baseball is all the rage in the fantasy sports world, so I will be covering the game a couple of times a week here at BaseballGuys.com. To that end, I’ve partnered with DraftDay.com to give all my wonderful followers, that’s you, the chance to play the game on a daily basis. On Tuesday and Thursday’s here at the site, every week, I’ll be giving you some insight into the mind of The Oracle as I will give you some of my best plays for the day – even if I’m willing to admit that daily games are a bit of a crap shoot given the difficulty in predicting how a handful of at-bats will work out.

To join a daily league remember to visit DraftDay.com by clicking on the link to their site.

One other source for those of you on Twitter. @MLBDailyLineups – lists all the lineups in one spot so you can make sure you don't have someone in your lineup that is sitting on the bench that day.

CATCHERS1. Wilin Rosario2. Chris Iannetta

Rosario is hitting only .229 at Colorado if you can believe it, but he has had success against righties this season with eight homers and 21 RBIs in 120 at-bats (he faces the Astros' Lucas Harrell).

Iannetta has hit .278 with a .891 OPS against lefties this season, and it's not like Lilly has been on a roll or anything for the Dodgers.

FIRST BASE1. Adrian Gonzalez2. Freddie Freeman

AGone is batting, oh, .500 over his last 22 at-bats with three homers and eight RBIs. The good times should keep on rolling against Mr. Vargas who he's hit .357 against in 14 at-bats.

Freeman pretty much owns R.A. Dickey going .500-1-4 in 18 at-bats. He's also blasting away with a .440 average and five RBIs the past week.

SECOND BASE1. Jerry Hairston Jr. 2. Emilio Bonifacio

When Hairston goes 4-for-8 with a homer and seven RBIs against a guy (Vargas) you stand up and take notice.

Bonifacio has hit .375 with a homer versus Minor, and he's also stolen a bag. He's also hitting .269 the past week, which is a big improvement for a guy who is hitting .211 on the year.

THIRD BASE1. Mark Reynolds2. Ryan Zimmerman

Reynolds has three hits in seven at-bats against Bailey, one hit was a big fly, and he's batting .292 over the past week.

Zimmerman blasted three homers Wednesday night. He's also on quite a roll in May hitting .341 with 17 RBIs, so who cares if he is 0-for-4 against Freddy Garcia?

SHORTSTOP1. Yunel Escobar2. Ben Zobrist

Escobar has hit .370 with a big fly in 27 at-bats against the hot Nolasco. Still, Escobar has also hit .364 the past week as he's finally locked in at the dish.

Zobrist has produced four hits in seven at-bats against Nolasco, so even though he's hitting .237 on the road this year, and just .217 the past week, maybe the matchup will perk up his stroke.

OUTFIELD1. Matt Joyce2. Matt Holliday

Joyce has had two hits including a homer in three at-bats against Nolasco, and he's crunched righties to the tune of a .292/.381/.558 line this season with eight homers and 21 RBIs in 120 at-bats.

Holliday is 3-for-8 against Guthrie who has hit the skids of late with a whopping 17 earned runs allowed in his last three starts ballooning his ERA from 2.28 to 3.92.

STARTING PITCHERS1. Mike Minor2. Jason Vargas3. Homer Bailey4. Jonathan Pettibone

Minor has allowed four runs in four starts. He's also punched out 19 batters over his last 13.1 innings. Drop in a 2.47 ERA and 0.93 WHIP for the year and you've got a guy performing at elite levels. The Jays will be hard pressed to beat him at home where he has a 2.39 ERA and 0.68 WHIP over four starts.

Vargas has allowed four runs over his last three starts, all seven inning outings that resulted in a win, and he facse a Dodgers team that is withouth Matt Kemp and one that is starting Ted Lilly.

Bailey has allowed four runs over his last three starts as he's walked four batter while striking out 21. He faces an Indians club that he's struggled against over six career starts (5.28 ERA, 1.50 WHIP).

Pettibone is 3-0 on the year, and the Phils have actually only lost one of his seven games this season. He's also allowed three runs or less in every one of his outings as well. Tough matchup on paper with the Red Sox though.

By Ray Flowers