Dream11 Fantasy NPB: Hawks at Fighters

Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters (5-6) vs Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks (4-7)

Friday, July 3rd, 6:35 AM EDT

Projected Starters

RHP Kohei Arihara (0-2, 5.25 ERA) vs RHP Nao Higashihama (0-0, 2.45 ERA)

Game Preview

Both the Hawks and the Fighters enter this matchup posting losing records and it's safe to say both teams have struggled with consistency in the first few weeks of the regular season. However, the pitching matchup is what stands out ahead of this game, as Kohei Arihara will collide Nao Higashihama in a battle of righties. Don't let Arihara's ERA fool you, because he has already racked up 14 strikeouts in just 12 innings of work this season, and could be in line to add a few more in his third start of the regular season. Higashihama produced a scoreless performance in the season opener, but he couldn't repeat that effort in his second outing of the campaign. He faces some tough hitters in this matchup and already allowed two homers the last time out, while racking up eight strikeouts in 11 innings so far in 2020.

Fighters' Expected Lineup

C – Haruki Nishikawa

RF – Taishi Ohta

LF – Kensuke Kondoh

1B – Sho Nakata

DH – Po-Jung Wang

2B – Ryo Watanabe

SS – Kazunari Ishii

3B – Yuki Nomura

C – Shingo Usami

Hawks' Expected Lineup

RF – Seiji Uebayashi

1B – Ryoya Kurihara

CF – Yuki Yanagita

DH – Wladimir Balentien

LF – Yuya Hasegawa

3B – Nobuhiro Matsuda

SS – Kenta Imamiya

C – Takuya Kai

2B – Taisei Makihara

Top Picks

Ryoya Kurihara, Hawks: Kurihara is hitting for a strong .333 to begin the season and he has also contributed with 11 RBI, meaning he can do damage and take advantage every time he has runners on base. He also owns an OPS that is steadily above the .950 mark.

Sho Nakata, Fighters: The first of two power hitters to be recommended ahead of this slate, Nakata gets a bump over Wladimir Balentien (spoiler alert!) because he's a superior all-around hitter. He has six home runs and 12 RBI, but also owns a slash line of .273/.353/.727, meaning he can do more damage than Balentien and in far more ways.

Haruki Nishikawa, Fighters: Nishikawa has been one of the most consistent hitters for the Fighters in 2020 and is hitting for .313 with a .389 on-base percentage through his first 55 plate appearances. He has also chipped in with six walks and three stolen bases, meaning he is more than just a pure hitter.

Wladimir Balentien, Hawks: Balentien might not be a very attractive option due to his .186 batting average, but he already has four home runs to go along with eight RBI. He is the true definition of a power hitter, although unfortunately he doesn't bring much else to the table.

Captaincy Options

1. Ryoya Kurihara
2. Sho Nakata
3. Haruki Nishikawa

Dream11 Team

P – Kohei Arihara

C – Ryoya Kurihara (C)

IF – Sho Nakata (VC)

IF – Ryo Watanabe

IF – Kazunari Ishii

IF – Yuhei Nanba

OF – Yuki Yanagita

OF – Wladimir Balentien

OF – Haruki Nishikawa