Line of the Day: July 19th, 2011

Yuniesky Betancourt went 3-for-5 with two home runs and four RBI in the Milwaukee Brewers 11-3 rout of the Arizona Diamondbacks. It was the first two-homer game of his career. (MLB video recap)

Line: 5 AB | 3 R | 3 H | 4 RBI; 2 HR

My fantasy perspective: So far this season, Betancourt is the 24th-ranked player with shortstop eligibility in fantasy baseball. That's not good. His overall 5x5 line of .245/31/7/34/3 is nothing to write home about either. But there is a silver lining. Over the last 30 days, his line is a robust .305/12/4/12/3 and has him sitting pretty as the 6th-ranked fantasy baseball shortstop.

I wish I understood why major league teams keep running him out to his position 150+ times a season knowing, at best, they are getting a .269/65/10/61/5 player per his 162 games played averages. Is it his defense? I wish I understood some of the advanced defensive statistics better to get a feel for a player like this (if you know, please explain in the comments). Yuniesky is only owned in 1.5% of ESPN and 4% of Yahoo! leagues. Real GMs should listen to fantasy GMs and part ways with him.

Question: Can the Brewers make a serious run at a playoff spot with Betancourt as their everyday shortstop or should they make a move to upgrade this position before the July 31st Trade Deadline? If so, who do they target as his replacement.

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