St. Louis Cardinals infielder Matt Carpenter had three hits Monday night against the Colorado Rockies. Carpenter has a sizzling .397 wOBA for the year. He has 10 home runs in the month of July. He also has 21 runs and 17 RBI in that time. Since the all-star break, Carpenter has been hitting .341. He'll continue to get everyday starts at first base with Jose Martinez playing poorly. This also opens up the door for Jedd Gyorko to get normal playing time. Expect Matt Carpenter to keep this hot s[...]

Welcome to Week 17 of the 2018 MLB season and a new week of our investigation into the steepest power trenders in baseball, whether those trends are positive or negative. As the season is already nearing the beginning of August, the window of opportunity to snag a surging slugger or to deal a down-and-out disappointment grows shorter with every plate appearance. Getting the jump on identifying the catalytic variables and telling trends in these player's recent offensive performances could be [...]

Every week in baseball, a significant player will hit the disabled list, slip into a slump, or get traded out of a good spot. How fantasy owners adapt to these situations can make or break the season as a whole. One lousy add might not hurt the long-term standing of a team, but failing to take advantage of breakouts or impact bats before others sure can. The primary challenge of playing in an NL or AL-only league is often the lack of options regarding adding and subtracting players when neede[...]

This article is the fourth in our series on trade and acquisition targets for the second half of the season. Part 1: Top-50 Players to Target Part 2: Mid-Tier and Bargain Targets on Offense Part 3: Mid-Tier and Bargain Pitchers Part 4: Offensive Category Targets Part 5: Pitching Category Targets Tweaking an offense to strengthen an area of weakness can often be the move that clinches a championship. For Rotisserie owners, in particular, improving one or two categories can make all the [...]

St. Louis Cardinals infielder Matt Carpenter had an unbelievable game on Friday, going 5-for-5 with three home runs, two doubles, seven RBI, and four runs scored. He became only the second player in baseball history to hit three homers and two doubles in a game. After a laughably bad start to the season, Carpenter has been one of the better hitters in the game lately. He's brought his average to .274 and his OPS to .957.

St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Jose Martinez is sitting on Monday against the Cubs. He'll be replaced by Matt Carpenter with Jedd Gyorko playing third. Both are safe to use on Thursday. It's important to note that Martinez hasn't been in either of Mike Schildt's lineups since he took over as interim manager. If that becomes a recurring theme, Martinez would be a drop candidate. For now, owners can wait and see if Martinez begins getting playing time again.

St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Jose Martinez is receiving a day off on Saturday when the Cardinals take on the Cincinnati Reds. Matt Carpenter will be starting at first base in his absence. Martinez has been a fantastic surprise for fantasy owners so far this season. He has a .298 average, 13 home runs, and 55 RBI on the year and continues to bat in the heart of the Cardinals order. Get him back into your lineups on Sunday.

Hey RotoBallers and Ottoneu fans. I'm back after a bit of a break, and I'm ready to grade a few more trades for you all. I didn't receive much Twitter feedback, so I'll be throwing in a few deals that I found among the Ottoneu Fantasy Baseball Official Trade Thread. Let's see what kind of deals you all have been working on prior to the All Star Break. Basically I will be breaking down the pros and cons of each side of the deal, and I'll let you know who I think won the deal. I'll give the win[...]

This article is the second in our series on trade targets for the second half of the season. Part 1 focused on players generally ranked in the top 50. This installment focuses on offensive players ranked outside the top 50. Part three will focus on pitchers. After that, we'll focus on players to target for specific categories rather than positional improvement. Most of the players below have suffered injuries, uncharacteristically disappointing first halves, or shifts in the prevailing atti[...]

St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Matt Carpenter is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Giants to get some rest. Carpenter got off to a dreadful start to this season but has completely turned it around batting .317 with a 1.113 OPS over the last month and nine home runs to go along with it. He is more valuable in points and OBP leagues because of his high walk rate, but while he is as hot as he is, he should be owned and started in all formats.