BTS 4/26/13

I totally forgot to make my picks this morning.  Sorry for anyone who has been waiting to see my opinion in order to make your picks.  Oh wait, no one cares about my opinion, that's pretty much what I thought.  Well, in case you randomly stumbled across this site and want some help with your MLB Beat the Streak picks, that is what I am here for.  I also give some dating and fashion tips.  Just a few of my many hidden talents.  So if you have any questions about sports, love, or fashion, shoot them my way (@jim_lee2).  Lets take a look at one questions someone asked me yesterday:

Q: Hey Jim, what should I wear when I pick up a cute girl for a date on Friday?
A: Clothes.

Q: Hey Jim, I really like this girl named Ingrid, how do I get her to notice me?
A: Go to the courts and legally get her name changed.  First off, Ingrid is an awful name, and second, she will for sure notice you if you change her name legally.

There are just a few examples of my deep knowledge. So keep sending the questions and you will continue to get quality responses.
Now, on to the picks for the day:

1) Alex Gordon (.337) vs. Scott Kazmir (16.20 ERA)
Take a look at that ERA! Wow! Ok, I get it, it was his only start of the year but his career ERA is over 4, so he is not what you would call a future Hall of Famer.  Gordon is one of the brightest spots in the KC lineup and KC is actually in first place, yes it is still the first month of the season, things change.

2) Mark Trumbo (.310) vs. Aaron Harang (10.24 ERA)
I hate to say it since my wife is from Seattle and her family are all Mariners fans, but this team is pretty bad.  I mean, they lost a series against the Astros.  Uhh, I don't have too much faith in any of the Mariners pitchers and Trumbo has been hitting better the past couple of weeks.  Plus, the walls at Safeco have been moved in, the Mariners aren't taking advantage of that, maybe their opponents will.

3) Mike Napoli (.273) vs. Erik Bernard (6.17 ERA)
Like the pick above, this is more of a pick against the Astros starting pitching.  Napoli has been one of the Red Sox hottest hitters recently and Bernard, like all Astros pitchers, is not throwing too well this season, in fact, as a starter, he is struggling a lot, he works best out of the bullpen in relief, but tonight he is starting and tonight the Red Sox will rip him apart.

* You may also want to consider some Rockies tonight against Brandon McCarthy and the D-Backs.  I just couldn't bring myself to make any picks against my team, but he does have a 7.06 ERA and is yet to get a win.  But on the other hand, the Rockies pitcher is Juan Nicasio have an ERA above 5, so there should be plenty of hits tonight.  And it is in Arizona where hits are plentiful.

Beat the Streak, Thursday April 25

Yesterday we went 2-1 with our picks.  The Astros got 14 hits against the Mariners our pick, Jose Altuve couldn't get one.  I guess I learned my lesson to steer clear of picking the Astros.  So after a solid but not perfect day yesterday, lets make some picks for today:

1) Robinson Cano (.325) vs. Mark Buehrle (5.87 ERA)
In an injured and at times struggling Yankees lineup, Cano has been the biggest bright spot this season.  He leads the team in batting average, hits, runs, RBIs, home runs, and pretty much every offensive statistic.  Buehrle on the other hand has not given up less than 7 hits in any of his 4 starts this season.  Cano is also a lifetime .357 hitter against him.

2) Adam Jones (.345) vs. Jarrod Parker (7.50 ERA)
I'm picking Jones for the second straight day who is going up against a struggling right hander.  Parker is 0-3 on the season and has only once made it past the 5th inning in his starts. Should be another hitable night for Jones.

3) Mike Napoli (.274) vs. Phillip Humber (6.63 ERA)
Napoli has started to get hot in the past week with 8 hits and 2 home runs.  Tonight he goes up against one of last season's perfect game pitchers.  But Humber has been anything but perfect this year (and the last 5 months of last season as well).  Napoli may be the hottest Red Sox right now and hopes to stay hot again for the Sox.

BTS for April 24

1) Adam Jones (.354) vs. Brandon Morrow (5.54 ERA)
Jones is a career .400 hitter against Morrow and should get another one as he looks to continue his hot start against a struggling Brandon Morrow who is still looking for his first win of the season.

2) Jose Altuve (.370) vs. Joe Saunders (4.50 ERA)
There ain't gonna be many times this year that I am brave enough to pick the Astros or pick an Astros player in anything.  I don't know if I would trust an Astros player to hold onto my money if I asked them too (the whole team makes less than A Rod will this year sitting on the Yankees bench).  But Altuve is batting a career .429 against Saunders.

3) Jacoby Ellsbury (.287) vs. Brett Anderson (5.95 ERA)
With Anderson struggling this year for the A's, I had to pick one of the Red Sox to get a hit against him.  Ellsbury is not leading the team in batting average this season but he has improved recently batting .370 in the last week with 10 hits.

Beat the Streak picks for Friday, April 19

There are a variety of great hitters to choose from today.  Here are our picks.  We invite you to comment below to share your picks with us!

1. Coco Crisp (OAK) -- .333 (18 of 54)
• Crisp faces off today against Alex Cobb (1.93 ERA) of the Tampa Bay Rays.  Cobb has done well this season, but Coco has had good success against him, going 3 for 7, or .429 in the last 5 years, and has recorded at least 1 hit in each of his last 10 games.
2. Brandon Phillips (CIN) -- .333 (21 of 63)
• Phillips faces off against Kevin Slowey (2.04 ERA) of the Miami Marlins.  Phillips is one of the Reds' most consistent hitters and has recorded a hit in 8 of his last 10 games, including against the Marlins yesterday.
3. Tori Hunter (DET) -- .413 (26 of 63)
• Tori Hunter faces off tonight against Tommy Hanson (6.55 ERA) of the Los Angeles Angels.  He is 2 for 3, or .667 against Hanson in the last 5 years.  Hunter has been on fire lately, recording at least 1 hit in each of his last 10 games, many of those with 2 or 3 hits.
4. Pablo Sandoval (SF) -- .293 (17 of 58)
• Pablo faces off today against Edison Volquez (11.68 ERA) of the San Diego Padres.  Sandoval has recorded at least 1 hit in 9 of his last 10 games.  He didn't record a hit yesterday, but with Volquez struggling at the mound this season, Sandoval has a great chance tonight.

Beat the Streak Picks for April 17

There are a variety of great hitters to choose from today.  Here are our picks.  We invite you to comment below to share your picks with us!

1. Mike Trout (LAA) -- .300 (18 of 60)
• Trout faces off today against Vance Worley (10.50 ERA) of the Minnesota Twins.  Trout has at least 1 hit in 7 of his last 10 games.  He has recorded 2 hits in each of his last 4 games.
2. Mark Trumbo (LAA) -- .310 (18 of 58)
• Trumbo also faces off against Vance Worley.  Trumbo has recorded at least 1 hit in 9 of his last 10 games, including 2 hits in a number of those games.  Needless to say, he has been very consistent.
3. Kevin Youkilis (NYY) -- .348 (16 of 48)
• Youkilis will face off against Wade Miley (2.13 ERA) of the Diamondbacks.  He has recorded at least 1 hit in 8 of his last 10 games, including 2 hits yesterday.
4. Evan Longoria (TB) -- .302 (31 of 43)
• Longoria will face off tonight against Chris Tillman (7.00 ERA) of the Baltimore Orioles, who he is 6 for 12, or .500 against in the last 5 years.  Longoria has recorded at least 1 hit in 6 of his last 10 games, including each of his last 3.  

Beat the Streak Picks for Tuesday, April 16

Again, we apologize that we haven't had these picks for a few days.  Thanks for checking out the site, and we will do our best to have these picks every day!

1. Alex Rios (CHW) -- .360 (18 of 50)
• Alex faces off today against Josh Johnson (11.05 ERA), who he is 3 for 7, or .429 against in the last 5 years. Johnson's last start was terrible.  He lasted only 1 1/3 innings, giving up 6 runs on 7 hits.  Alex has recorded a hit in 9 of his last 10 games.
2. Adam Jones (BAL) -- .412 (21 of 51)
• Jones will face off against Roberto Hernandez (6.08 ERA), who he is 3 for 3, or 1.00 against in the last 5 years.  He has recorded at least 1 hit in 8 of his last 10 games.
3. Prince Fielder (DET) -- .429 (18 of 42)
• Fielder has been on fire lately. Tonight he will face off against Aaron Harang, who the Mariners just acquired from the Rockies last week.  This will be Harang's first start for the Mariners, so expect him to be a bit rusty.  
4.  Shin-Soo Choo (CIN) -- .353 (18 of 51)
• Choo will be hitting tonight against Kendrick (5.40 ERA).  He is 2 for 3, or .667 against him in the last 5 years.  Choo has been very consistent, getting at least one hit, and often 2 hits, in 9 of his last 10 games.

Beat the Streak News

We are sorry that we have not posted picks for the last couple of days.  We will try and post picks for tomorrow (April 14), but definitely will start again with daily picks on Monday April 15.  Sorry again for any inconvenience.

Beat the Streak Picks for April 12

If you haven't yet, we invite you to join our Beat The Streak (BTS) group, and leave comments to let us know how you like the site.  Our choices for BTS are:

1. Miguel Cabrera (DET) -- .378 (14 - 37)
• Miguel Cabrera has recorded a hit in nearly every game this season.  Against Bartolo Colon he is 5 of 10, and Colon hasn't beaten the Tigers in nearly 10 years, so I like Cabrera's chances tonight.
2.  Ian Kinsler (TEX) -- .300 (12 - 40)
• Kinsler faces Iwakuma of the Mariners who he is 4 of 9 (.444) against in the last 5 years.  Kinsler has recorded a hit in 6 of his last 10 games.
3. Matt Carpenter (STL) -- .400 (14 - 35) 
• Carpenter will bat against his old teammate, Kyle Lohse.  He has been a pretty solid and consistent hitter for the Cardinals, recording a hit in 6 of his last 10 games.
4. Ryan Braun (MIL) -- .500 (9 - 18)
• Braun has recorded at least one hit in every game he's played in so far this season.  He has never faced Shelby Miller, but it's almost lunacy to not pick him right now.

Beat the Streak Picks for Thursday April 11

If you haven't yet, we invite you to join our Beat The Streak (BTS) group, and leave comments to let us know how you like the site.  Our choices for BTS are:

1. Prince Fielder (DET) -- .310 (9 - 29)
• Prince will be facing Josh Johnson (4.50ERA) of the Toronto Blue Jays, who he is .600 (3 - 5) against in the last 5 years.  The Tigers lost to the Blue Jays, so they should be extra motivated to win this game, and Fielder has been awesome for Fantasy numbers so far this season.
2.  Buster Posey (SF) -- .276 (8 - 29)
• Buster faces Scott Feldman (7.71ERA) of the Chicago Cubs.  He is 0 - 3, or .000 against him in the last 5 years, but Posey has been awesome so far this season, especially for Fantasy numbers.  He had a phenomenal game yesterday, getting 3 hits, 3 RBIs, 0 Ks, and scoring 2 runs.
3. Dustin Pedroia (BOS) -- .357 (10 - 28) 
• Dustin will be batting against Chris Tillman (12.27ERA) of the Baltimore Orioles who he is .364, or 4 - 11 against in the last 5 years.  Pedroia has also been very valuable for Fantasy owners so far this season.
4. Kevin Youkilis (NYY) -- .367 (11 - 30)
• Kevin will be facing Zach McCallister (3.00ERA)of the Cleveland Indians.  He is .333 (1 - 3) against Carrasco in the last 5 years.  Youkilis has done very well for the Yankees so far this season, recording a hit in nearly every game.

Beat the Streak picks, April 9

Thanks for visiting!  We invite you to follow us on Twitter (@TheFantasySC), join our BTS group, and leave comments to let us know how you like the site.  Our choices for BTS are:

1. Brandon Phillips (CIN) -- .344 (11 - 32)
• Brandon will be facing Lance Lynn (9.00ERA) of the St. Louis Cardinals and is .667 (2 - 3) in the last 5 years against him.  The Reds crushed the Cards yesterday, and should do it again with Lynn at the mound.
2.  Ryan Braun (MIL) -- .500 (7 - 14)
• Ryan faces Travis Wood of the Chicago Cubs.  He is 6 - 17, or .353 against him.  Ryan has been on fire this season, but has sat out at least one game with a stiff neck.  Hopefully he won't be scratched from the lineup right before the game this time.
3. Mike Trout (LAA) -- .250 (7 - 28) 
• Mike will be batting against Jerrod Parker(7.20ERA) of the Oakland Athletics who he is .333, or 2 - 6 against in the last 5 years.  
4. Kevin Youkilis (NYY) -- .370 (10 - 27)
• Kevin will be facing Carlos Carrasco of the Cleveland Indians.  He is .500 (2 - 4) against Carrasco in the last 5 years.  Youkilis has done very well for the Yankees so far this season.

Beat the Streak picks for April 8

Thanks for visiting!  We invite you to follow us on Twitter (@TheFantasySC), join our BTS group, and leave comments to let us know how you like the site.  Our choices for BTS are:

1. Lance Berkman (TEX) -- .471 (8 - 17)
• Lance will be facing Jeremy Hellickson(7.11ERA) of the Tampa Bay Rays and is .500, or 2 - 4 in the last 5 years against him.  
2.  Dustin Pedroia (BOS) -- .318 (7 - 22)
• Dustin faces Wei-Yen Chen of the Baltimore Orioles.  He is .375, or 3 - 8 against him.
3. Michael Brantley (CLE) -- .353 (6 - 17) 
• Michael will be batting against Huroki Kuroda(13.50ERA) of the New York Yankees who he is .333, or 2 - 6 against in the last 5 years.  Hiroki has had a terrible start to the season, and Michael is on fire this season.
4. Jose Altuve (HOU) -- .400 (8 - 20)
• Jose will be facing Joe Saunders(9.00ERA) of the Seattle Mariners.  He is .750 (3 - 4) against Saunders in the last 5 years.

Beat the Streak, April 6

The season is still young and it is hard to figure out what hitters and pitchers are doing well and which ones are not.  A lot of the info we have to work off of is their play from last season, but since momentum does not carry over from one year to the next, we cannot always tell which batters are most likely to get a hit against which pitchers.  For now, your guess is probably as good as ours, but here are a few suggestions.

1) Freddie Freeman (.462) vs. Carlos Villanueva (4.16 ERA)

• Freeman is a career 1.000 hitter against Villanueva and has started off the season hitting very well.  

2) Eric Hosmer (.357) vs. Kyle Kendrick (7.94 ERA)

• Hosmer has had a solid start to the season and should get a hit today against Kendrick who he has a lifetime .667 batting average.

3) Jose Reyes (.375) vs John Lackey (4.10 ERA)

• Lackey has a career ERA of 4.10 and is making his first start this season.  It is always hard to predict a how a pitcher will throw in their first few outings, but the Red Sox starter has struggled the previous few seasons and I can only assume he will give up a few hits today as well.

4) Mike Trout (.263) vs. Matt Harrison (7.94 ERA)

• In his first outing of the season Harrison have up 6 hits and 5 ER in just 5.2 innings pitched and that was against the Astros.  The Angels are a much better hitting team and I expect Trout to start hitting better.

Beat the Streak Picks for April 5

Thanks for visiting!  We invite you to follow us on twitter, join our BTS group, and leave comments to let us know how you like the site.  Our choices for BTS are:

1. Michael Brantley (CLE) -- .545 (6 - 11)
• Michael will be facing Matt Moore of the Tampa Bay Rays and is .250, or 1 - 4 in the last 5 years against him.  Brantley is on a tear this season though, recording 6 hits through 3 games.
2.  Freddie Freeman (ATL) -- .500 (5 - 10)
• Freddie faces Scott Feldman of the Houston Chicago Cubs.  Freeman has had 5 hits through 3 games and the Braves should do well against the Cubs.
3. Ryan Braun (MIL) -- .400 (4 - 10) 
• Ryan will be batting against Wade Miley of the Arizona Diamondbacks who he is .400, or 2 - 5 against in the last 5 years.
4. Alex Rios (CHW) -- .455 (5 - 11)
• Alex will be facing Blake Beavan of the Seattle Mariners.  He is .400 (2 - 5) against Beavan in the last 5 years.  He's also recorded 5 hits through 3 games this season.

BTS Picks for 4/4

1) Bryce Harper (.500) vs. Wade LeBlanc (3.67 ERA)

• Harper has gotten off to a great start and against the Marlins, I expect him to get another hit today as well.  Harper is 0-3 lifetime against LeBlanc but I believe he'll get his first hit today.

2) Michael Brantley (.714) vs. Mark Buehrle (3.74 ERA)

• Although the season is young, Brantley has been one of the hottest hitters in the league so far.  He is .250 against Buehrle in his career.  I do not have much confidence in Buehrle this season after struggling last year with the Marlins (but then again, everyone struggled who played on the Marlins).

3) Joey Votto (.182) vs. Joe Blanton (4.71 ERA)

• Votto started the season 0 for 6 but his first hit of the year came in the bottom of the 9th, a walk-off single.  I expect Votto to get things going now that he got his first hit.  He will be batting with more confidence, especially tonight against a good, but not great pitcher.

Beat the Streak 4/3

Don't forget to read our 2013 MLB season preview over at The James Lee Sports Report.  It is still early in the year to know which hitters are hitting well and which pitchers are throwing well and hitting their spots.  But here are a few players that I believe have favorable match-ups and should be able to get a hit tonight.

1) Buster Posey (.336) vs.  Josh Beckett (4.65 ERA)

• It is hard for me to have much faith in Beckett and I don't know how he will be this season.  I think Posey gets a hit off an unreliable Beckett.

2) Adrian Beltre (.321) vs. Phillip Humber (6.44 ERA)

• Humber threw a perfect game at the beginning of last season before finding himself in the minors before the season was up.  He has now been traded to the Astros, but it will be interesting to see if he can get back on track.

3) Robinson Cano (.313) vs. Clay Buchholz (4.56 ERA)

• Cano is hitting nearly .500 against Buccholz which should translate to a hit for the Yankees star.

4) Martin Prado (.301) vs. Lance Lynn (3.78 ERA)

• Lynn is a good pitcher and Prado is a new D-Back, but I think Prado who is hitting .400 against Lynn will get a hit.

MLB Season Preview

Have a few extra minutes at work you need to kill? Check out my 2013 MLB Season Preview.  I promise you, it's not awful.  Go to The James Lee Sports Report and enjoy.

Beat the Streak Picks for April 2

For those who are new to the site, we say Welcome and thanks for visiting!  We ask that you share the site with anyone you know and help us spread the word!  As mentioned in the Welcome and Introduction post, we will try our best to give you 4 or 5 batters that we believe are most likely to record a hit.  We wish you the best of luck!

Our choices for tomorrow are:

1. Melky Cabrera (TOR) -- .346 (159 - 459)
• Melky will be facing Justin Masterson (4.93 ERA) of the Cleveland Indians and is .417, or 8 - 17 in the last 5 years against him.
2. Adrian Beltre (TEX) -- .321 (194 - 604)
• Adrian faces Lucas Harell (3.76 ERA) of the Houston Astros and is .714, or 5 - 7 in the last 5 years against him.
3. Ryan Braun (MIL) -- .319 (191 - 598) 
• Ryan will be batting against Jorge De La Rosa (9.28 ERA) of the Colorado Rockies who he is .667, or 2 - 3 against in the last 5 years.
4. Buster Posey (SF) -- .336 (178 - 530)
• Buster will be facing Hyun-Jin Ryu of the Los Angeles Dodgers.  Ryu is a new pitcher and no stats are available for him or how batters have fared against him.

Welcome and Introduction

Welcome to the Baseball section of The Fantasy Sports Center!  Thank you for visiting the site.  We hope you enjoy it and find it useful.  We invite you to follow us on Twitter and/or subscribe to the site via RSS feed or email.

Mainly due to time constraints, we will only be covering the games Beat the Streak and Million Dollar Pick'em.  Hopefully in the future we will be able to expand and include coverage of Fantasy Baseball and Baseball Challenge.  We invite you to join our groups for the games we cover by clicking on the appropriate links under the Join Our Groups box to the right.

Beat the Streak started today (April 1) and goes until the closing day of the MLB season.  Each day we will be giving 4 to 5 players that we think will record a hit, giving you a variety of options to choose from.

Million Dollar Pick'em will begin in May and goes until the end of the MLB season, excluding playoffs. We will give our picks and write-ups for each game featured on the game.

Please help us spread the word by sharing this site with everyone you know!