Dream11 Fantasy NPB: Marines at Lions

Chiba Lotte Marines (15-14) at Saitama Seibu Lions (14-13)

Friday, July 24th, 5:00 AM EDT

Projected Starters

Saitama Seibu Lions: RHP Zach Neal (2-0, 4.75 ERA)

Chiba Lotte Marines: LHP Ayumu Ishikawa (0-2, 4.83 ERA)

Game Preview

The Lions and the Marines both are just one game above the .500 threshold, and both teams enter this matchup knowing the victory is a must to keep their playoff chances on the right track given how tight the Pacific League standings are. The Lions seem to enter this game in better form, though, as they've gone 3-2 in their last five games while the Marines have won just twice during that stretch. Seibu have also gone 2-1 during this week's series. The pitching matchup will feature two guys with similar ERAs. Zach Neal (4.75) will get the ball for the Lions, while Ayumu Ishikawa will get the nod for Chiba. Neal carries a 4.75 ERA and 1.09 WHIP over 30.1 innings in his first five starts this season, while Ishikawa has posted a 4.83 ERA and 23:9 K:BB over 31.2 innings in 2020.

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

Marines' Expected Lineup

1. Takashi Ogino
2. Leonys Martin
3. Ikuhiro Kiyota
4. Brandon Laird
5. Seiya Inoue
6. Shogo Nakamura
7. Hisanori Yasuda
8. Tatsuhiro Tamura
9. Yudai Fujioka

Top Picks

Brandon Laird, Marines: Laird has been one of the best players for the Marines in 2020, and he has six home runs with 14 RBI in 114 plate appearances. He also supports that strong display of power with a .255/.325/.451 slash line.

Hotaka Yamakawa, Lions: The star infielder has been Seibu's biggest source for offense throughout the entire NPB season, and he enters this matchup leading his team in both home runs (nine) and RBI (28) while posting a .986 OPS. His average of .242 doesn't stand out, but he is creating offense even if he doesn't have a high contact rate.

Leonys Martin, Marines: Martin has not shown as much as power as Laird, but he has also been an effective source for run production with 19 RBI, as well as going yard five times. He boasts a stronger average, though, as he has hit for .276 with a .898 OPS in 122 plate appearances.

Takashi Ogino, Marines: Ogino is not much of a run producer, but he makes an impact with his batting average – he has hit for .333 while adding 12 stolen bases. He is a threat every time he makes contact with the ball.

Captaincy Options

1. Brandon Laird
2. Hotaka Yamakawa
3. Leonys Martin

Dream11 Team

P – Ayumu Ishikawa
C – Tatsuhiro Tamura
IF – Hotaka Yamakawa (VC)
IF – Brandon Laird (C)
IF – Shogo Nakamura
IF – Haruka Yamada
OF – Takashi Ogino
OF – Leonys Martin
OF – Shohei Suzuki