Let's start with the pitching. I wanted to try and fit Max Scherzer into the lineup, but his $14,000 pricetag was too steep to afford. I liked the other "Aces" going tonight in Corey Kluber, Chris Archer and Felix Hernandez. Decided to pay up for Kluber in what I perceived as the best matchup of the three against the White Sox. He started out pretty good, but fell apart in the 7th and ended up being tagged with six earned runs. His 11.75 points were a disappointment. Decided to go with Andrew Cashner as my 2nd pitcher at home against the Marlins. As I mentioned in my First Thoughts, I always have Cashner (and teammate Tyson Ross) on my mind when pitching at home in Petco. His $7,200 salary allowed me to pay up on a couple hitters I wanted to target.So with the pitchers locked in, I wanted to start by locking down a couple guys I had targeted earlier in the day. At 1B I loved Joey Votto at Coors. His $5,700 salary is more than I usually like to spend for a cash game, but I knew I could find some value with a near full slate of games tonight. The second guy I locked in was Ian Kinsler. I mentioned he has been on fire in the First Thoughts, and at $4,400 he seemed like a good bargain.
A couple other guys peaked my interest. At 3B, Evan Longoria was a steal in my estimation at only $3,200. He had killed opposing pitcher Chris Tillman in the past, launching six HRs against him in 40 ABs. I also really like how Kole Calhoun has been swinging the bat lately, and I liked his history against Colby Lewis. I also really liked Carlos Gonzalez as a lefty against Andrew Desclafini in Coors. At catcher, Jonathan LuCroy stood out, hitting 2nd in the lineup, at only $3,500 against a LHP in Patrick Corbin in Arizona.
I still needed to find some cheap bats. First I thought of Ryan Raburn at $2,200, hitting cleanup against a LHP in Carlos Quintana. Another option was Scott Van Slyke at $2,400, also hitting cleanup, against Jon Niese. Either guy would do along with Calhoun and Cargo. At SS, I liked Ruben Tejada at $2,600, who has been swinging a hot bat of late.I realized I had enough to pair Cargo with Tulowitski, so I was off Tejada. But when I put Tejada back in the lineup, I realized I had enough money to pay up for Mike Trout at $5,500. Again, I don't usually pay that much for a player in a cash game, but the thought of both Votto at Coors and Trout against Colby Lewis was too good to pass up. So Cargo and Tulo were out, Tejada and Trout were in and the lineup was locked down.
This lineup really fired on all cylinders. Kluber was over 20 points at one point but fell apart in the 7th. Cashner went a solid seven innings and with the win actually scored 23.55 points. All of the bats came through with the exception of Calhoun and Van Slyke. My main targets of Votto and Kinsler put up 20 and 19 points respectively. Trout went yard and led the team with 21 points. Thank goodness because Carlos Gonzalez, who was in the lineup until the last minute, launched two homers and had a huge night. But Tulo did nothing, so the tandem of Tejada and Trout actually outscored Cargo and Tulo.
That's two nights in a row topping the 130 point barrier. Not bad. Will be looking to keep it up in tomorrow's full slate.
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