MLB Picks for Friday

C- Carlos Ruiz PHI- Ruiz is hitting out of his mind this season. He has shown power, clutch hitting, and the ability to hit for average. We spent a little less than usual on pitching today, so we don't mind spending 8K on a guy like Ruiz who is easily a top 3 catcher in the league right now.

1B- Justin Smoak SEA- Smoak has always had big time potential. He has the size and the power to become one of the best first basemen in the league, but has never reached anywhere near his potential. Recently, he has been swinging it great though with a batting average of over .300 and adding 5 home runs in the last two weeks. In his last game, he hit 2 home runs and a double, so you know he's hot.

2B- Danny Espinosa WAS- Espinosa is only hitting .244 in the last two weeks, but the last time he faced Minor he hit a double and a home run off of him. Add to it that he had two hits two days ago (one being a triple) and we like him as far as second basemen go.

3B- Alex Rodriguez NYY- ARod might be getting up there in age, but would you pass him up at 5K vs a rookie lefty? I know we wouldn't. He has been hitting for a decent average as of late (.292 in last two weeks), and has hit 2 home runs. We are hoping he gets into another one today off the rookie.

SS- Ian Desmond WAS- What we didn't add when talking about Espinosa was that Minor has been struggling this season. Many people have been calling for him to be demoted to AAA it's been that bad at times. He has a 6.55 ERA in the last two weeks, and Desmond has been hitting .226 with 3 home runs, and 3 stolen bases during that same time.

OF- Delmon Young DET- Young is priced at just 4K after having a big game yesterday going 3-5 with a home run. His numbers aren't the greatest over the last two weeks (.271 with 2 home runs). He is facing a great lefty in Sabathia, and he's in a pitcher's park (Comerica), but we like the price, and the potential of him staying hot.

OF- Justin Upton ARI- Upton has been swinging it great every since we traded him from our season long fantasy team. He has been hitting .320 with 2 home runs in the last two weeks, and is striking out a lot less than he did at the beginning of the season. He faces a lefty in Richard, and is at Petco Park, but he is a great pick at the 7K price.

OF- Matt Holliday STL- Holliday has been hitting very well this season and in the last two weeks (.340, 3) HR, 10 RBI, 10 Runs scored). He faces a lefty today that has been dominant as of late in Santana, but we don't like him to be as effective as his last start. Holliday should get some solid points today off the lefty.

SP- Madison Bumgarner SF- Bumgarner is going against the bad Cubs today. They are notorious for not giving their pitchers any run support and today is going to be another instance of that. He has a 3.41 ERA in the last two weeks, and has 17 Ks in 13.2 innings.

SP- Mike Leake CIN- Leake is turning it up a bit as of late with a 3.21 ERA in the last two weeks. He is facing a hot pitcher in Happ, but an average team in the Astros. We don't like Happ to stay hot, and we like a Cincinnati win tonight.

RP- Addison Reed CWS- We like Peavy to pitch well enough tonight to match King Felix on the mound. Felix hasn't been himself this season with his velocity dropping on his fastball, so we like him to give up 3-4 runs today in a 5-2 loss.