This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
PITCHER
Phil Hughes, MIN vs MIL, ($6,900): Today appears to be a good day to pay up for Noah Syndergaard considering his matchup with the Phillies and that there aren't a ton of great values at pitching, though Hughes is probably the best one with a home matchup against the Brewers. Last season, Hughes pitched much better at home than on the road with a 3.87 ERA and his wOBA was 50 points lower than on the road. This season, the Brewers are a good team to fade and have opened the season with a strikeout rate of 26.4 percent, the third-worst mark in baseball. Hughes also has the advantage of not facing the Brewers over the last two seasons and the pitcher usually has the advantage in matchups the first time facing a team.
CATCHER
Miguel Montero, CHI at STL, ($2,900): Montero will face off against Mike Leake, who struggled last season with lefties more than right-handed hitters. His wOBA was 40 points higher (.314) against southpaws last season and Montero has hit right-handed pitching better than lefties for his career. Albeit it a small sample, BvP data also comes into play here as Montero has hit Leake to the tune of a .879 OPS, including a home run, in 11 at-bats.
FIRST BASE
Joey Votto, CIN vs COL, ($3,900): While this isn't a great value play, Votto might be the best player to pay up for in this slate of games. All of his splits – home/away, vs. lefty/righty pitching – were pretty much even across the board last season with wOBAs well over .400. The key today is the matchup with Jordan Lyles, who had worse numbers on the road last season than at home and gave up a .380 wOBA on the road to left-handed pitching. While it's only 15 plate appearances, Votto has a 2.097 OPS against Lyles, including two home runs.
SECOND BASE
Joe Panik, SF vs ARI, ($2,900): Panik is averaging nine fantasy points per game in the last seven, including positive points in each outing. He gets a nice home matchup Monday against Rubby De La Rosa, who gave up a .404 wOBA to left-handed hitters last season. Panik homered in Sunday night's game to give Kenta Maeda his first earned run, and he had a .353 wOBA against right-handed pitching at home last season. Using his teammates Brandon Belt ($3,500) and Brandon Crawford ($3,000) isn't a bad idea, either.
THIRD BASE
Martin Prado, MIA vs WAS, ($2,900): Prado is one of the only players in DFS to register positive fantasy points in every game this season. In six of his 10 games he's recorded at least nine fantasy points and the home matchup with Tanner Roark sets up nicely for him. Roark gave up a .330 wOBA away from home last season and the games in Miami (five) have averaged 11 runs so far this season with the fences shortened and moved in.
SHORTSTOP
Zack Cozart, CIN vs COL, ($2,900): There isn't a lot to say here about Cozart that wasn't already covered in the Votto section other than to say the stars aligned today for him as well. He also has hit Jordan Lyles hard, going 6-for-11 with three extra base hits, including a home run. Cozart is off to a scorching start, batting .480 without a strikeout over 28 plate appearances. A Reds' stack might not be a bad idea today.
OUTFIELD
Michael Conforto, NYM at PHI, ($2,700): If you watched the Mets' series with the Indians over the weekend you probably saw many reasons Conforto didn't want leave Cleveland. He went 5-for-12 in the series with three doubles and a home run, a towering shot Friday night that was launched to straight-away center field. He now has three 24-fantasy-point performances on the young season and goes to a hitter-friendly park tonight in Philadelphia. He also has a nice history with Jerad Eickoff, going 5-for-10 against him with a home run.
Miguel Sano, MIN vs MIL, ($2,900): Sano got off to a slow start but has heated up recently, reaching base in seven straight games. This shows some signs of life for a player who hit 18 home runs in only 80 games last season. Chase Anderson gave up a .325 wOBA to both right and left-handed hitters last season. Surprisingly, Sano's damage last season came at home in Minnesota, as the slugger had a whopping .450 wOBA at home (.458 at home vs. righties).
David Peralta, ARI at SF, ($3,400): Once upon a time Jake Peavy was a pitcher you didn't want to fade but that was several years ago. Last season, Peavy had a 4.73 xFIP against left-handed hitters and has struggled out of the gate this year, giving up 10 earned runs in only nine innings. Peralta had a .397 wOBA last season against right-handed pitching and should be well rested after getting Sunday off with the Diamondbacks facing a southpaw. While AT&T Park is more of a pitchers' park, Peralta has the talent to overcome that, especially with Peavy on the mound.
