Dream11 Fantasy NPB: Eagles at Lions

Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles (24-19-1) at Saitama Seibu Lions (18-23)

Tuesday, August 11th, 5:00 AM EDT

Projected Starters

Saitama Seibu Lions: RHP Kona Takahashi (2-4, 6.23 ERA)

Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles: LHP Hayato Yuge (2-1, 3.26 ERA)

Game Preview

Based on the standings and the overall performances, the Golden Eagles should be clear favorites over the Lions and for good reason – while Tohoku lead the Pacific League standings, the Lions are in fifth place of the standings while riding a four-game losing streak. The pitching matchup for Tuesday's contests features a righty versus a lefty, as Kona Takahashi will start for the Lions and Hayato Huge will do so for the Golden Eagles. The Eagles also have the edge when it comes to the pitching department, as Yuge's 3.26 ERA looks excellent compared to Takahashi's 6.23 mark. Yuge has also pitched more innings (36.2 against 34.2) and allowed fewer walks (13 against 17), although Takahashi has the edge in the strikeout department (31 against Yuge's 27) while pitching two fewer frames. That means both pitchers could still carry value ahead of this contest.

Injuries

Neither team is dealing with injuries at the moment.

Saitama Seibu Lions Expected Lineup

1. Cory Spangenberg

2. Sosuke Genda

3. Shuta Tonosaki

4. Hotaka Yamakawa

5. Tomoya Mori

6. Takeya Nakamura

7. Takumi Kuriyama

8. Seiji Kawagoe

9. Shohei Suzuki

Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles Expected Lineup

1. Eigoro Mogi

2. Daichi Suzuki

3. Jabari Blash

4. Hideto Asamura

5. Hiroaki Shimauchi

6. Stefen Romero

7. Ginji Akaminai

8. Hikaru Ohta

9. Ryosuke Tatsumi

Top Picks

Hideto Asamura, Golden Eagles: Asamura has been one of the top offensive players in the NPB this season, and the fact that he hits in the middle of the order for one of the best teams in the league enhances his value even further. Asamura has accounted for 14 home runs and 49 RBI while slashing an excellent .293/.419/.624 in 191 plate appearances.

Stefen Romero, Golden Eagles: Like Asamura, Romero also has 14 homers this season, but he "only" has 33 RBI in 159 plate appearances. Romero edges Asamura when it comes to hitting for average, however, as he has posted a .348/.415/.745 slash line in 2020.

Hotaka Yamakawa, Lions: Yamakawa leads the Lions in home runs by a wide margin – he has 14 this season – but his average doesn't stand out, as he is only hitting for .237 in 139 at-bats. He has 39 RBI, so he can produce runs, but the lack of support in the rest of the lineup clearly hurts his upside.

Daichi Suzuki, Golden Eagles: Suzuki only has two homers and 29 RBI, so he doesn't base his game on power alone. He can get on a base at an effective clip, however, as evidenced by his .324 average and his .415 on-base percentage. Those numbers still carry decent value in a productive lineup such as Tohoku's.

Captaincy Options

1. Hideto Asamura
2. Stefen Romero
3. Hotaka Yamakawa

Dream11 Team

P – Hayato Yuge

C – Hikaru Ohta

IF – Hideto Asamura (C)

IF – Hotaka Yamakawa

IF – Daichi Suzuki

OF – Seiji Kawagoe

OF – Stefen Romero (VC)

OF – Jabari Blash

OF – Cory Spangenberg