The White Sox are a fun team to watch. They have a great young player by the name of Jose Abreu who can lead them above .500 along with getting Chris Sale back in the rotation to help. Abreu has raw talent and it is obvious he will not be another Chris Shelton who if you remember hit 16 homers in the first-half of 2006 and didn’t hit another one the rest of the year. Hitting one off of Clayton Kershaw after being back from the DL proves his talent.

Jose Abreu

There are areas of concern in his game. For instance, he strikes out 26 percent of the time and does not get on base enough. However, he makes up for that with his slugging ability and hits homers off of top pitchers in the game. He has plated 24% of his baserunners and only Cano and Cabrera have done better in the AL. Rather than focus on numbers, it’s better to enjoy his talent and watch his progress. He’s homered off of three Cy Young winners like Kershaw, Verlander, and Price. When we see more Abreu than we can pinpoint his weaknesses and what he needs to work on. He’s been great so far and is attracting a lot of attention for his ability and power. It’s exciting for White Sox fans who were used to seeing Franck Thomas go yard for years.

With Abreu producing like he has it is not out of the question that the Sox make a push for the playoffs. Cuba has gifted baseball another gem and as fans we should appreciate the talent and see if he is able to carry the Sox offensively into the playoffs.

The Houston Astros have promoted Jon Singleton from Oklahoma City and will join team after agreeing a five-year, $10 million guaranteed contract. Singleton’s contract includes three club-option years that could increase his payout to $30 million over eight years. When bonuses and awards are included, Singleton can earn a maximum of $35 million over the course of the deal. The deal runs from the 2014 through 2018 seasons. He will receive $1.5 million in total compensation this year, and salaries of $2 million in each of the next four seasons. The Astros have a $2.5 million option for 2019 with a $500,000 buyout. If that is exercised, the club has a $5 million option for 2020 with a $250,000 buyout. Houston also has a $13 million option for 2021 with a $250,000 buyout. The new deal replaces a one-year contract Singleton signed in February that called for a $500,000 salary while in the major leagues and $40,750 while in the minors.

Jon Singleton

Singleton is 22 years old and moved to Houston in 2011 in the Hunter Pence deal. He was hitting .267 in AAA with 14 home runs. He has struggles with marijuana and alcohol and has failed two drug tests in his career but the Astros have supported the youngster. Singleton joins George Springer in the big leagues  and is part of a huge crop of talented prospects in the Astros system. Singleton is an update on Guzman and Krauss who have been woeful at the plate with .181 batting average.

The Mariners have had an interesting season thus far. Only one game above .500, yet they are a half-game back in the wild-card race and should be taken seriously as contenders for a playoff spot. Felix Hernandez and Robinson Cano have been valuable to the Mariners cause, and other key players like Kyle Seager, Michael Saunders, and Chris Young have chipped in. They are on the edge of a wild-card spot even without the contribution of young talents like Justin Smoak or Dustin Ackley. The youth throughout their lineup have yet to prove their worth and show their talent. The shortstop duo of Miller and Franklin need to improve their play defensively and at the plate if the team wants to climb up the standings. The Mariners are getting less than a .700 OPS not just from defense-first positions such as short and center, where they’ve been testing their prospects, but also at power positions such as first base, left field and DH.

Using youth as an excuse is no longer valid. Smoak is in his fifth season and Ackley his fourth. They’re established veterans who need to start producing. Away from home, Smoak has been decent with a .765 OPS which is slightly above the average for an AL first baseman (.764). Criticism of the Mariners prospects is justified, but it’s important to keep in mind that they are the third youngest club in the majors ahead of the Cubs and Astros. A consensus top-20 prospect Freddie Freeman and Jason Heyward have been nothing short of disappointing considering the hype surrounding both after being drafted.

Justin Smoak

Regardless of the sub-par play from many of the younger players throughout the Mariners lineup their time is now. If they can turn things around and have a solid few months before September everything can be forgiven. It would be the first time they make the playoffs under GM Jack Zduriencik. All his deals since he took the position will be put to the test this season. His draft choices (Ackley, both shortstops and James Paxton) player he signed such as Cano, Young and Rodney, and players he chose to keep like Erasmo Ramirez have formed this present team.

The Mariners best hope of making the playoffs lies in their rotation. The play of Paxton and Walker behing Hernandez and Iwakuma will be telling. It can create a pitching and defense formula that can lead to success. If Cano and Seager can produce enough runs, and Zunino develops into more than a top prospect things may be looking up for the Mariners. Trading away Ackley or Smoak or Franklin wouldn’t be wise since the Mariners probably won’t get much in return.

Robinson Cano

Zduriencik has done everything he can to create a winning team. From trying pitching and defense, to creating a lineup with plenty of veteran DHs, to trusting youth, to signing a star like Cano, he has tried everything. If the kids can produce and Cano plays like the superstar he is things may just happen for the Mariners this season.

The idea of building a solid fantasy lineup involves more than just the player. The lineup needs to be made up of players who can perform well but balance out across the entire stat sheet. The other part of building a solid fantasy team is knowing how the MLB stadiums are playing affect for those players.

Now this plays more into the daily fantasy player but can also be used while setting your lineup. Many fantasy newbies or beginners just look at the players and maybe how they are doing over the course of seven days. They don’t even start to consider how the ball park plays in to affect.

For instance if you have Jayson Werth playing at home in Nationals Park verses Nick Markakis playing on the road at Yankee Stadium. The right move might look like drafting Werth as he has more power based on pure knowledge or statistics. If you start to look at how the stadiums might affect the outcome you would see that Nationals Park is allowing the fewest home runs per game at 1.2 verses Yankees stadium that is allowing 2.71 home runs per game.

Top Five Most Home Runs Per Game Stadiums in 2014:

Coors Field (Colorado Rockies) – 2.96

Yankee Stadium (New York Yankees) – 2.71

Rogers Centre (Toronto Blue Jays) – 2.70

Great American Ball Park (Cincinnati Reds) – 2.46

Chase Field (Arizona Diamondbacks) – 2.29

Top Five Fewest Home Runs Per Game Stadiums in 2014:

Busch Stadium (St. Louis Cardinals) – 1.19

Nationals Park (Washington Nationals) – 1.20

Kauffman Stadium (Kansas City Royals) – 1.30

Glove Life Park in Arlington (Texas Rangers) – 1.38

Citi Field (New York Mets) – 1.47

The other key tool is using one of the many websites that feature rankings of stadiums based on Park Factors. These numbers will show you if a stadium plays more of affect for the hitter or pitcher for runs, home runs, hits and some sites feature for left handed hitters and right handed hitters. For any one that might be new to these charts anything below a 1.00 benefits the pitcher with any number over 1.00 going in the favor of the hitter.

Top Stadiums That Benefit Hitters For Hits:

Coors Field (Colorado Rockies) – 1.191

Wrigley Field (Chicago Cubs) – 1.087

Nationals Park (Washington Nationals) – 1.062

Top Stadiums That Benefit Pitchers For Hits:

Citi Field (New York Mets) – .895

Petco Park (San Diego Padres) – .915

U.S. Cellular Field (Chicago White Sox) – .946

These are just a few of the key stats to consider when building your daily roster for your fantasy team. This is also a key tool to look at next year to see what stadiums to select hitters from and the stadiums to select pitchers.