2014 Fantasy Baseball: 5 Shrewd Plays For Aug. 1

Johnson is in the midst of his most productive stretch of the season right now. He's batting a solid .305 over his past 15 games and has chipped in five HRs to go along with a whopping 17 RBIs over that span. He'll face unimpressive starter Eric Stults today, and that should lead to more success. Not only does Stults sport a horrible 5.22 ERA to this point, but Johnson is batting a ridiculous .433 vs. southpaws this season.

The Mets' second baseman is dialed in and absolutely crushing the ball right now. Murphy has posted a magnificent .480 average over his past six games and has a great matchup to help keep that number soaring. Ryan Vogelsong gets the start against the Mets this evening, and to go along with a terrible 5.44 ERA on the road, he's allowing left-handers to bat a tidy .299 against him on the year.

This veteran has been smoking hot the past month, as he's batting an impressive .376 since July 2 and has pitched in six HRs and 23 RBI over that span. Hunter has been dominating left-handed pitching all season and will have the luxury of facing a weak lefty today. That pitcher will be Franklin Morales, and to go along with an ugly 6.20 road ERA, he's allowing right-handers to bat a lofty .315 on the season.

Santana has performed poorly for a good chunk of the season, but he's making up for it in a big way right now. The switch-hitter has mashed six HRs to go along with 12 RBIs over his past nine games and is batting a gaudy .515 over that stretch. He has a fantastic matchup today vs. starter Jerome Williams and the Texas Rangers. Williams has posted an awful 5.53 ERA on the year, and opponents are batting .296 against him.

Sale is certainly making a case for Cy Young Award consideration, as he's now 10-1 on the season with a remarkable 1.88 ERA and 0.86 WHIP. He has a great chance of padding those numbers tonight when the Sox host the Minnesota Twins. The Twins have posted a terrible 4-9 record since the All-Star break, and Sale just dominated this team in his last start, going eight shutout innings while striking out 12.