2014 Fantasy Baseball: 5 Shrewd Plays For Sept. 2

Jose Ramirez has really excelled since being inserted into the two-hole for the Cleveland Indians, as the shortstop is batting a cool .372 over his past 10 games heading into Monday's action. He may be able to raise that number even higher on Tuesday vs. Kyle Lobstein and the Detroit Tigers. Ramirez is batting .325 vs. southpaws this season, and aside from his last outing, Lobstein has failed to impress in the big leagues or the minors in 2014.

The streaky Trevor Plouffe has dialed up his bat of late with an excellent .357 average to go along with three HRs and 11 RBIs over his past 11 contests. Look for more of the same when the Twinkies face starter Hector Noesi on Tuesday. Noesi has struggled this season, as he's posted an unsightly 4.75 ERA, plus right-handed bats have teed off on him to the tune of a .316 batting average.

The "good" Upton brother has been productive as always, recently with five HRs and a whopping 19 RBIs over his past 17 games. With an outstanding matchup on Tuesday, more of the same is likely to be in the cards. Kyle Kendrick will square off with the Atlanta Braves, and to go along with a horrific 6.11 ERA over his past 13 outings, Justin Upton has managed a lofty .364 average against him in 22 career at bats.

This slugger is making opposing pitchers shutter in fear right now, as he's posted a ridiculous .458 average over his past 16 contests. Jose Abreu has especially tormented left-handed pitching this season, and will look to pad his stats against a struggling southpaw on Tuesday. Tommy Milone will oppose the Chicago White Sox, and since being traded to the Minnesota Twins three weeks ago, he's posted a god-awful 7.94 ERA over four outings.

With few strong matchups to take advantage of on Tuesday, going with the best pitcher in baseball makes a lot of sense. Clayton Kershaw is having one of the best season's in recent memory, and he'll likely keep the momentum going Tuesday evening vs. the Washington Nationals. The Nats have been swinging some pretty hot bats of late, but Kershaw has gone 4-0 with a microscopic 1.19 ERA and 35 K's in his last four starts against them.