I’ll be trying a few different formats for our daily fantasy baseball hitter analysis over the next few weeks. If there is anything you like or want us to include leave a comment or create a post in the forums. Friday’s a big daily for daily fantasy sports, so let’s jump into the analysis!

Carlos Ruiz (Catcher | Phillies) – Ruiz carried the struggling Phillies offense during the first half of their injury plagued 2012 season. He’s sporting a .350 batting average with 13 homeruns, 41 runs, and 46 RBIs. The Phillies welcomed back a few of their big bats right before the All-Star break and have a weekend series in Colorado. Normally I don’t spend a lot of my salary cap on the catcher position, but this is the perfect setup for Ruiz.

Kevin Youkilis (3B | White Sox) – Youkilis is reliving his glory days (“I had a friend was a big baseball player, back in high school…” sing it with me) since joining the White Sox. He was the 2nd hottest hitter in daily fantasy baseball before the All-Star break and gets to face the Royals’ LHP Bruce Chen. Chen has surrendered 6 ER in both of last two starts although he has pitched much better at home this year (3.21 Home ERA vs. 7.11 Road ERA).

Carlos Beltran (OF | Cardinals) – Beltran has 3 homeruns against his opposing pitcher today, Mat Latos. Oh yeah, those 3 homeruns came in 6 plate appearances! Latos was smart and walked Beltran two times, so he has a .750 batting average. Latos has been pitching well lately as mentioned in Matt’s starting pitcher analysis, but this is a pure numbers play.

Jose Bautista (OF | Blue Jays) – I think it’s safe to say Bautista isn’t a one (or two) year wonder! He’ll face the Indians Justin Masterson who seemed to be putting it all together right before the All-Star break. Unfortunately for him, he’ll face the explosive Blue Jays offense in Toronto. Bautista is 5 of 10 lifetime against Masterson with 2 homeruns, 5 RBIs, and 3 walks. If the Blue Jays can get to Masterson early he could unravel and revert to his generous ways.

C. Friedrich (Rockies) – The Phillies travel to the launching pad known as Coors Field to take on the Colorado Rockies. Coors Field has been the most generous hitter’s park by far this season based on our recent Park Factors analysis. Friedrich’s ERA at home this year is 9.62. Enough said!

B. Chen (Royals) – As stated above, Chen does pitch much better at home, but the White Sox’s right handed hitters in the middle of the order (Youkilis, Konerko, and Rios) could have a big day against Chen’s marginal stuff.

10 runs – PHI @ COL

9.5 runs – CLE @ TOR

9 runs – DET @ BAL

8.5 runs – LAA @ NYY | NYM @ ATL

We write our daily fantasy baseball hitters analysis early in the day before starting lineups are announced, so make sure you confirm our picks are in the starting lineup before submitting your final roster! For a complete run down of the big events in daily fantasy baseball today read our recap here. Good luck today!