C: Matt Wieters
1B: Joey Votto
2B: Brian Roberts
SS: Derek Jeter
3B: Pablo Sandoval
OF: Grady Sizemore
OF: Nate McLouth
OF: Hunter Pence
Util: Luke Scott
DL: Edwin Encarnacion
DL: Carlos Beltran
P: CC Sabathia
P: Josh Beckett
P: Matt Cain
P: Tommy Hanson
P: Javier Vazquez
P: Ricky Nolasco
P: Kevin Slowey
P: Jonathan Papelbon
P: Mariano Rivera
DL: Jake Peavy
Rich wants to know whether to replace Sandoval with Encarnacion upon the Reds third baseman's return from the DL. Rich also is questioning whether JJ Hardy or Ian Stewart would be better options at utility.
Regarding 3B—if this was a Roto league, I'd tell you the team looks like it's a little short on power. In such a case, one might construct the argument that although Sandoval should be more valuable than Encarnacion overall, it's certainly conceivable that the latter could hit more home runs in the second half.
But this is a points league, and better yet, the league penalizes strikeouts and loves a guy with good contact ability. Namely a guy like Sandoval, who might be more valuable in this format than you realize. The format doesn't even care that as a member of the Giants, he doesn't score too much.
As for Scott in Baltimore, he's a guy who might be slightly less valuable in this format. The league is only 10 teams, making Scott a marginal option because he'll get occasional rest days against tough left-handed pitchers. Plus, Scott strikes out at a decent clip and his average is probably due for a slight correction downward. That said, he's probably still a better utility option at the moment than Hardy or Stewart and probably even Encarnacion.
Eriq Gardner is a New York-based writer and founder of Fantasy Ball Junkie, a website for advanced fantasy baseball enthusiasts.
