2014 Fantasy Baseball: 5 Shrewd Plays For July 8

Perez continues to shine after a sluggish start to the season, as he's batting a solid .328 since the beginning of June. He'll look to keep that momentum going today when the Royals take on the Tampa Bay Rays. Jeremy Hellickson will make his first start of the season for Tampa, and he's coming off a disastrous 2013 which saw him post an ugly 5.17 ERA. Expect some rust, and expect Perez to improve on his .309 average versus right-handers.

Looks like someone finally lit a fire under Zobrist's behind. The super-utility man has posted eight multi-hit performances over his last 13 games, and is batting a cool .389 over that stretch. He'll face lefty Jason Vargas today, and that should lead to more good times. Zobrist sports an excellent .342 average vs. LHP this season, and in 26 career at-bats, he's managed a superb .423 average against Vargas.

Fantasy's top 3B is searing-hot at the plate right now. He's posted a ridiculous 13 multi-hit performances over his last 23 games, and is batting a tidy .360 thus far in July. He'll take on lefty triple-A call-up Tsuyoshi Wada in the second game of today's doubleheader with the Chicago Cubs. Frazier has been a far better hitter vs. LHP in his career, and Wada is sure to show some nerves in his first big league start.

This fireballer has significantly improved on last season's impressive numbers. His 2.29 ERA places him seventh among all starting pitchers in baseball, and his 0.95 WHIP sits at fourth overall. He'll take on the offensively challenged New York Mets tonight, and those numbers should improve even further. The Mets are batting a paltry .233 vs. RHP this season, and Teheran held this team to just one run in his last start.

This slugger is off to a quiet start in July, but a date with a weak left-hander should get him going again. Vidal Nuno will get his first starting nod with the Arizona Diamondbacks today, and he's really struggled to this point with a 2-5 record and ugly 5.42 ERA. Stanton has demolished lefties to the tune of a .380 average this season, and Nuno has already allowed a whopping 13 HRs to RHB this year.