Dream11 Fantasy NPB: Carp at Dragons

Chunichi Dragons (8-1-11) vs Hiroshima Toyo Carp (7-1-9)

Sunday, July 12th, 1:00 AM EDT

 Projected Starters

RHP Kodai Umetsu (2-1, 5.00 ERA) vs RHP Atsushi Endoh (0-1, 9.90 ERA)

Game Preview

The third game of the three-game set between the Chunichi Dragons and the Hiroshima Toyo Carp will be played Sunday, and both teams have split wins thus far. The Dragons won the series opener 3-2, but the Carp offense exploded in Game 2 as they scored 19 runs on route to a 19-4 victory. Game 3 seems to be an important game for both teams, as both sit near the bottom of the Central League standings – Chunichi are in fifth place, while the Carp are in fourth place but have four fewer wins than the third-placed team, the Yokohama DeNA BayStars. The pitching matchup for the series finale will feature Kodai Umetsu for the Dragons and Atsushi Endoh for the Carp. Neither pitcher inspires a lot of confidence, but Endoh's struggles are for real – he has allowed 11 runs while giving up 12 hits in just 10 innings of work as a starter. He posted a 3.16 ERA as a reliever in 2019.

Chunichi Dragons Expected Lineup:

CF – Yohei Ohshima

2B – Toshiki Abe

LF – Nobumasa Fukuda

1B – Dayan Viciedo

3B – Shuhei Takahashi

C – Takuya Kinoshita

SS – Yota Kyoda

RF – Masami Ishigaki

P – Kodai Umetsu

Hiroshima Toyo Carp Expected Lineup:

LF – Jose Pirela

2B – Ryosuke Kikuchi

CF – Ryoma Nishikawa

RF – Seiya Suzuki

1B – Ryuhei Matsuyama

C – Tsubasa Aizawa

3B – Shota Dobayashi

SS – Kosuke Tanaka

P – Atsushi Endoh

Top picks:

Dayan Viciedo, Dragons: Viciedo got off to a slow start this season, but he has been playing better of late and the numbers back him up. He is among the leaders when it comes to home runs with seven, but he has also added 18 RBI and a .313 average in 88 plate appearances.

Shuhei Takahashi, Dragons: Takahashi doesn't carry the same degree of importance as Viciedo in the Dragons lineup, but that doesn't mean he shouldn't be taken into account ahead of this contest. He enters this matchup with a .333 average and 10 RBI in the season.

Shota Dobayashi, Carp: Dohbayashi has a robust .418 average in 59 plate appearances, to go along with three home runs and 11 RBI. He is the Carp's best offensive option in this matchup by a sizable margin.

Kodai Umetsu, Dragons: Umetsu's ERA of 5.00 in 18 innings does not look promising, but there is no question he's the better pitching alternative in this matchup given the fact the Dragons are at home, but also because of Atsushi's Endoh's own struggles since converting as a full-time starter. Umetsu could provide decent value as the starting pitcher.

Captaincy Options:

1. Dayan Viciedo
2. Shuhei Takahashi
3. Shota Dobayashi

Dream11 Team

P – Kodai Umetsu

C – Takuya Kinoshita

IF – Dayan Viciedo (C)

IF – Shuhei Takahashi (VC)

IF – Shota Dobayashi

IF – Takashi Uemoto

OF – Yohei Ohshima

OF – Ryuhei Matsuyama

OF – Zoilo Almonte