2014 Fantasy Baseball: 5 Shrewd Plays For June 16

Blackmon has cooled down in recent weeks after a blistering hot start, but looks to be firing up the grill again. He's hitting .529 over his last four games with three doubles and a HR, and will look to continue rolling today when the Rockies take on the Los Angeles Dodgers and Hyun-Jin Ryu. While Ryu's overall stats are solid, his home ERA is an ugly 6.15, and left-handed bats are hitting .333 against him this season.

We are finally seeing Butler's 2014 breakout. After a mostly miserable season, he's hitting .357 over his past 16 games, and has been even better over his last five with a HR, seven RBIs and .444 average. He'll face Justin Verlander today, and that's a good sign of more success. Verlander owns an unbelievable 7.50 ERA over his last six starts, plus Butler has owned him to the tune of a .432 average over 74 career at-bats.

Santana's numbers are quickly nearing the point of respectability. He's hitting .343 so far in June, and that's brought his overall average back near the Mendoza Line (.190). He'll square off against Jered Weaver today, and the hurler has struggled recently with a 5.45 ERA over his past four games. Santana has had plenty of success off of Weaver as well, as he sports a .529 average versus him in 17 career at-bats, including a HR.

Speaking of heating up, someone seems to have turned Castro's kettle on. He's batting .382 over his last nine games, and has two HRs and six RBIs over that span. Look for continued success when the Cubs take on Tom Koehler and the Miami Marlins tonight. Koehler has been terrible of late with a 7.33 ERA over his last four starts, plus right-handed bats are hitting 64 points higher against him than lefties.

Hamels has been utterly dominant of late. He's allowed one earned run or fewer in five of his last seven starts, and sports a 0.41 ERA over his last three games with 26 Ks. He could be in for another really big night when he takes on the Atlanta Braves. Not only does Atlanta rank just 27th in the league in runs scored per game, but they have struck out the fourth-most times per game as a team in 2014.