MLB Picks for Monday

C- Humberto Quintero KC- Quintero is the guy that catches Hochevar, so we don't even need to look at confirmed lineups later in the day (we will though). He's been swinging great to a clip of .286. He is only 3K because he doesn't provide much of anything else. The lineup for the Royals hasn't been too hot with him in it, but against a lefty in Duane Below things might change.

1B- Bryan LaHair CHC- LaHair is one of the hottest hitters in baseball as seen by his .406 batting average. He hits in the middle of that Cubs order, and is facing a righty in Worley today. He has hits in 8 of his last 10 including a 3 hit game yesterday.

2B- Jose Altuve HOU- It's hard to pick against the little guy these days. He's hitting .400 with 17 hits in his last 10 games. That's a great stat for anyone let alone someone that hasn't been in the big leagues for a full season. He's going to be facing RA Dickey, the knuckleballer, but he has been struggling as of late, so we don't like that to slow Altuve down.

3B- Miguel Cabrera DET- Miggy is one of the best hitters in the game, but honestly he hasn't shown that on a consistent basis like he usually does. Tonight he faces one of his favorite pitchers in the MLB. Miggy has a career line of 10 for 20 with 2 doubles and 2 home runs against Hochevar. Those are great numbers and he has been swinging it well as of late with hits in 8 of the last 10 including 4 home runs.

SS- Dee Gordon LAD- Gordon is one of those guys that can completely disrupt a game by getting on base one time. His batting average is low (.229), but he'll be facing Nicasio (3.65 ERA) today, a righty, that doesn't overpower people (10Ks in 12.1 innings).

OF- Josh Reddick OAK- Reddick is facing the struggling Buchholz (8.10 ERA) today IN Boston. That's a very favorable matchup for the lefty who has 7 hits in the last 4 games with 3 being for extra bases. We saw a stat yesterday showing that Fenway Park averages over 3 home runs a game. Could it be destiny?

OF- Michael Bourn ATL- Bourn is STROKING as of late. What's up with little guys hitting so well right now (Altuve and Bourn)? He has 18 hits in the last 10 games, but has only scored 6 runs. That's a low number considering he's been on base 24 times (6 walks) over those 10 games. The Braves are facing McDonald (1.63 ERA), but those numbers are skewed due to only throwing 11 innings as a starter. 

OF- Curtis Granderson NYY- Grandy is one of the hottest fantasy hitters in the game right now. He is averaging 5.12 points in the last two weeks of games. He has found his power stroke hitting 6 home runs in that time period. The best part about today is that he'll remain at home where he peppers the right field fence. He'll be facing Jason Hammel (1.38 ERA), but does anyone really think that'll last?

SP- Nick Blackburn MIN- We took a chance and went with Derek Lowe against the Angels yesterday and it proved to be beneficial to our squad. We like this pick, but not quite to Lowe's level. He's only 5K, so all we are looking for out of him is 2+ points. The Halos are struggling also.

SP- Jeremy Hellickson TB- Hellickson is pitching great this season (3-0 2.84ERA), and is facing an average offense. We have seen the Mariners come alive in the last week or so, but most of their success came off of average pitchers. Hellickson is easily a tier above that for us, and already gives up less than 1 hit per inning pitched (25 innings 21 hits).

RP- Fernando Rodney TB- Rodney should be a part of a low scoring game today as the Rays face King Felix. We think it'll be a pitching oriented game with no more than 6-7 runs scored total. Rodney didn't throw yesterday, so he'll be fresh and ready for the save opportunity.