2014 Fantasy Baseball: 5 Shrewd Plays For Sept. 3

The Kansas City Royals' top backstop is heating up again with a strong .370 average over his past six games while pitching in a HR and seven RBIs. More success should be expected on Wednesday against starter Nick Tepesch. Tepesch has been knocked around to the tune of a .306 average in his road starts this year, and Salvador Perez has been far more productive against right-handed pitching in 2014.

The Chicago White Sox as a whole have a delectable matchup on Wednesday as they will face terrible Minnesota Twins' starter Trevor May. May has posted a laughably bad 10.42 ERA over his first five big league appearances, and opponents are batting a ridiculous .366 against him. Alexei Ramirez has been hot as of late, with five multi-hit efforts over his last 10 games, and he is likely to improve upon that number in Wednesday's tilt.

Brian Dozier had been pretty quiet since the All-Star break, but looks to be heating up for a strong finish. The second baseman has posted an excellent .390 average over his last 11 contests, and is driving the ball well with six doubles over that stretch. The Twins will face lefty John Danks on Wednesday, and not only has Dozier been far more productive against lefties in his career, but Danks owns a horrid 7.35 ERA over his last eight starts.

Since returning from a lengthy DL stint, this right-hander has picked right back up where he left off. Andrew Cashner has allowed just three runs over his past two outings, lowering his ERA to a superb 2.37 on the year. It should go even lower on Wednesday when he faces the Arizona Diamondbacks at home. The D-backs have posted a terrible 6-14 record over their last 20 played, and have managed a lowly 2.80 runs per contest over that span.

The Kung Fu Panda is tearing it up again at the plate with an exceptional .412 average over his past 13 contests. That number could go even higher when the San Francisco Giants finish their series at Coors Field on Wednesday. The Colorado Rockies will send Christian Bergman to the hill in this one, and the right-hander has posted an ugly 7.63 ERA over his three home starts this year.