The calendar has finally flipped and we are officially into the second month of the baseball season.  Hopefully we at eDraft have helped bring success to your teams so far as we look to continue this trend and provide you with the knowledge need for a championship.  If you have questions about players you may want to start you have come to the right place as I am here to help answer those questions, and provide you with players I think will have quality games this coming week.

Pitcher
Nathan Eovaldi, Marlins: Eovaldi has a very good chance to look like a superstar pitcher for this upcoming week.  He has two absolutely fantastic starts coming up this week against the anemic offenses of the Mets and the Padres.  An increased strikeout rate this year has been very beneficial to him as he pitched to a 2.58 ERA and a much improved WHIP of 1.02 as opposed to the 1.32 WHIP he had last year.  Eovaldi is only owned in 40 percent of ESPN leagues, so if he is available in your league make sure that it doesn’t last as he is a  must pickup for this week with two great matchups in his future.

Catcher
Brayan Pena, Reds: With Devin Mesoraco once again sidelined by injury Pena takes over the catching duties and has been more than serviceable at the plate.  Since Mesoraco got injured again Pena is batting .400 with two homeruns, three runs scored and five RBI.  Unfortunately the Reds have two off days next week, but the five days they do have games includes one game against the Brewers followed by a two game series against the Red Sox and a three game series against the Rockies and their lackluster pitching.  Pena has proven himself to be a catcher who is capable of starting so for this week while Mesoraco is hurt get Pena into your lineups.

First Base
Allen Craig, Cardinals: At long last Craig is turning his season around at the plate.  We knew it eventually had to happen and even though the Cardinals don’t have the most favorable of matchups next week with three games against the superb Braves and the decent pitching of the Pirates, Craig is hot enough that he may be able to hit his way through their solid pitching.  According to our fantasyVA metrics Craig was expected to have a drop off in fantasy value this year from a value of 13.09 to a value of 3.28.  So far we have certainly seen the drop in value as Craig as predicted as Craig has not hit for average to this point, but considering how good of a hitter he is he will provide positive value for your team this week.

Second Base
Brian Dozier, Twins: At first you may be surprised to see this name but Dozier is actually one of the more productive players at his position.  Last season Dozier had a value that was just north of 10, and while he was expected to lose value this year with a value of 2.30 he will actually prove to be far more useful than that.  Dozier was expected to a large hit in the runs scored department which is the main reason for his drop in value.  However as the leadoff man in a powerful Twins offense he is actually seeing a huge increase in runs scored which means he should actually finish this season with a better value than last season.  It is not easy to find a player with Dozier’s speed and power especially as a middle infielder. The second baseman already has seven homeruns and nine steals which has helped lead him to 11 RBI and a whopping 26 runs scored.  Batting average is always a liability with Dozier as he is only batting .227 but if you can stomach the average hit the help Dozier can provide you with in other categories is worth the risk.

Third Base
Juan Uribe, Dodgers: Uribe has been one of the pleasant surprises of 2014.  He has displayed good power and the ability to consistently drive the ball which has led to his ability to bat for a high average.  This is a trend that is likely not to continue for the entire year so it worth using him while he is hot.  For the upcoming week  the Dodgers are scheduled to play the Nationals for three games followed up by a series against the Giants.  These are two teams that for the past couple of years have relied on their excellent pitching but that has not been the case for either team this year.  Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum have not been good over the past two years, and for the Nationals Stephen Strasburg has struggled for much of the year.  As long as Uribe is driving the ball for a potent Dodgers offense he is a must start for fantasy teams.

Short Stop
Jhonny Peralta, Cardinals: Peralta is an absolute must pick up and start right now in fantasy.  He is tearing the cover off of the ball over the last week and a half.  Peralta has hit in eight of his last nine games and has multiple hits in six of those eight games.  Even better is that he hitting for power as well as average during this span with three home runs.  Last year according to our fantasy metric system Peralta had the seventh best value of all shortstops and is projected to remain a top ten shortstop again this season.  Just as importantly as Peralta heating up at the plate is that he gets a three game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks and their last place pitching.  Be sure to get Peralta into your lineups now, especially with the other cold batters in the Cardinals lineup finally heating up, Peralta should provide plenty of RBI and runs scored this week.

Outfield
Angel Pagan, Giants: For some reason unknown to me Pagan is only owned in 75 percent of ESPN leagues.  Pagan is a consistent provider across the boards right now with decent power and speed numbers to go with an excellent batting average.  After a disappointing, injury riddled 2013 Pagan is rebounding well in 2014 for fantasy owners.  The Giants don’t have the easiest of schedules this upcoming week but he has proven to be a good enough hitter throughout his career to warrant a start especially when he is going this well at the plate.

Teams (batters) with good matchups: Cardinals, Brewers, Tigers, Rangers

Teams (pitchers) with good matchups: Marlins, Padres, Orioles, Mariners