This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
PITCHER:
Patrick Corbin, ARI at SDP ($6,900): Corbin scored 37 and 22 fantasy points, respectively, over his last two starts, while the Padres' considerable troubles from last season versus left-handers — which included an NL-worst 25.3 percent strikeout rate — have carried over into this season. San Diego is sporting an anemic .264 wOBA and is striking out at a 20.9 percent over their first 158 plate appearances against southpaws in 2017, while also sporting the NL's second-lowest (and fifth-worst in the majors) team wOBA (.287).
CATCHER:
Brian McCann, HOU vs. LAA ($3,000): Angels starter Matt Shoemaker has endured some struggles through his first three starts and has already yielded a .440 wOBA and three homers to the first 29 left-handed hitters he's faced. McCann is hitting righties very well in the early going also, as he's posted a .300 average and .356 wOBA over his first 26 plate appearances against that handedness. That's an extension of his career success, as he owns a .351 wOBA and 35.2 percent hard contact rate against righties over his 12-plus major-league seasons.
FIRST BASE:
Freddie Freeman, ATL vs. WAS ($3,500): Despite the tough matchup against Stephen Strasburg, Freeman is too good of a hitter — and has enjoyed too much success against the Nationals' righty — to pass up at a relatively modest price. Freeman has hit safely in 10 of the past 11 games and has already scored over 50 fantasy points twice, providing a glimpse at his massive upside. He's also hitting .400 (14-for-35) with three doubles, four homers, 13 RBI and six walks in his career versus Strasburg, and already boasts a .421 average, .546 wOBA and 53.6 percent hard contact rate over his first 46 plate appearances versus righties this season.
SECOND BASE:
Jonathan Schoop, BAL at CIN ($2,900): Schoop has enjoyed plenty of success against right-handed pitching over his career and posted 20 homers and a .329 wOBA versus that handedness last season. Nothing's changed in the early going this season, as he's generated a .296 average and .363 wOBA in his first 29 plate appearances versus right-handed pitching, and currently boasts a six-game hitting streak as well. Reds starter Scott Feldman has been solid in his first three starts this season but has given up a .329 wOBA to right-handed hitters in the early going in 2017, along with a .330 wOBA and 79 homers to righty bats over his 12-plus major-league seasons.
THIRD BASE:
Mike Moustakas, KC at TEX ($3,200): Moustakas has already smacked five homers this season and draws a matchup Thursday that could facilitate more of the same, considering Rangers right-hander Andrew Cashner's propensity for giving up the long ball. Four of Moustakas' round-trippers have come against righties, and he's posting a .429 wOBA and 37.5 percent hard contact rate over his first 41 plate appearances against that handedness this season. Cashner was touched up by lefty hitters last season for a .380 wOBA, 1.53 HR/9 and 41 percent hard contact rate, and the hitter-friendly conditions of his new home stadium isn't going to do him any favors with respect to helping him keep the ball in the park.
SHORTSTOP:
Zack Cozart, CIN vs. BAL ($3,200): Cozart has been outstanding over the first two weeks-plus of the season and draws a favorable matchup against Orioles lefty Wade Miley, who surrendered a .360 wOBA, 22 homers, 1.53 HR/9 and 32.7 percent hard contact rate to right-handed hitters in 2016. Cozart has managed a .481 wOBA and 50 percent hard contact rate over a very small sample against lefties this season, and his caliber of performance renders him a strong value play for either cash or tournaments at his current price.
OUTFIELD:
Mitch Haniger, SEA at OAK ($2,800): Haniger's price is nowhere near reflective of the caliber of returns he's provided thus far, even as the Mariners offense has largely underperformed as a whole. The slugging outfielder was at it again Wednesday, compiling 38.6 fantasy points against the Marlins on the strength of a 3-for-4, four-RBI night. He now has a 13-game hitting streak and has blasted righties for a .346 average, .455 wOBA, .269 ISO and 37.8 percent hard contact rate in the early going, while A's starter Cesar Valdez will be making his first start in the majors since 2010.
Eddie Rosario, MIN vs. CLE ($2,400): Indians starter Trevor Bauer has already given up 10 earned runs, including three home runs, in his first two starts, while Rosario has hit safely in five of his last six after a slow start. He's also touched up Bauer for a .444 average (8-for-18), a double, a homer and five RBI in his career, while the Indians' right-hander has yielded a .440 wOBA, two homers and 40 percent hard contact rate to the 17 lefty bats he's faced in 2017.
Yasmany Tomas, ARI at SDP ($3,400): Tomas decimated left-handed pitching last season to the tune of a .364 average and .460 wOBA, with the latter figure climbing to .507 when facing southpaws on the road. He also terrorized San Diego pitching at Petco Park last season, hitting .378 with five doubles, two homers and three RBI over 40 plate appearances. Meanwhile, Padres starter Clayton Richard is already struggling against righty bats this season, allowing a .367 wOBA, a 2.63 HR/9 and 32.6 percent hard contact rate over a 56-batter sample. Those numbers are far from an outlier, as he's given up a .350 wOBA and 34 percent hard contact rate to that handedness over nine-plus major-league seasons.
