2014 Fantasy Baseball: 5 Shrewd Plays For July 26

This switch-hitter is going through quite the hot stretch at the moment. Lowrie has posted eight multi-hit efforts over his past 15 games and sports an outstanding .379 average over that span. Look for more of the same on Saturday when the A's take on Nick Tepesh and the Texas Rangers. Tepesh has struggled throughout this season, but has been especially brutal with an 8.10 ERA in the month of July.

The month of July has been kind to this youngster, as Yelich has posted 11 multi-hit efforts in 19 games and sports an excellent .342 average. He'll look to keep the train rolling on Saturday vs. Houston Astros starter Jarred Cosart. The Houston right-hander owns a ghastly 8.04 ERA in three July starts, and 20 of Yelich's 27 extra-base hits have come against RHP on the season.

Kipnis started the month of July red hot, but has cooled off a bit the past couple weeks. I smell a turnaround on Saturday though, as Kipnis will face one of his favorite pitchers. Jeremy Guthrie will get the nod for the Kansas City Royals against the Indians in this one. Guthrie sports a horrific 10.93 ERA in three July starts, and Kipnis is batting a smooth .588 against him in 17 career at bats, including two HRs.

When this slugger is healthy, he can still be a beast at the plate. Pujols is batting a fantastic .371 over his past 17 games and has posted 10 multi-hit performances over that span. He'll take on the struggling Justin Verlander on Saturday, and more success is likely to follow. Right-handers are batting a preposterous .329 off this former ace in 2014, and in eight career at bats Pujols has managed five hits, including two doubles, against him.

This fireballer has been nearly unhittable at home this season as he's managed a tremendous 1.23 ERA in 10 starts, and opponents are batting a microscopic .176 against him. He'll take the hill at home on Saturday against one of the worst offenses in recent memory. The San Diego Padres will be his opponents, and on top of averaging a pathetic 3.09 runs per game this year, the club sports a terrible .216 team average.