This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Baseball series.
Thursday night features another slate without any true aces on the mound, and per usual, I'm going with consistent arms that face reeling lineups. That means there are many places to look for bats and I focused heavily on the Rockies-Brewers game with an over/under of 11.5 runs.
PITCHER
Miles Mikolas, STL at SD ($45): Mikolas has been a nice surprise for the Cardinals this season; he already has four wins and five straight quality outings. He should make that six against the lowly Padres, who have been near the bottom all season with a 27.7 K percentage and .286 wOBA against righties. Mikolas hasn't had more than seven strikeouts in a start, but that could change with this matchup.
Mike Foltynewicz, ATL at MIA ($36): I'm keeping things on the cheap with Foltynewicz, who hasn't been as consistent as Mikolas, but he's still been good. He got shelled by the Giants last time out, yet didn't allow more than two runs in any of his previous six starts. He should get back on track against the Marlins, who have no power (.098 ISO) and have the worst wOBA (.265) against righties in the league.
CATCHER
Tony Wolters, COL vs. MIL ($7): With a righty on the mound, Wolters should make the lineup and he doesn't cost a thing. His numbers aren't desirable, but this is more of a play against Jhoulys Chacin at Coors Field. The righty hurler isn't striking anyone out and has a 3.6 K percentage against 83 lefty bats faced this season. He had similar struggles last year with a 5.55 xFIP.
FIRST BASE
Tyler Austin, NYY vs. BOS ($15): Austin hasn't been right since jamming his hip, but after sitting on Wednesday, this is a good spot for him to get back to form. His career numbers are much better against southpaws with a .290 ISO and .423 wOBA, albeit in only 74 plate appearances. It'd be wise to put at least one Yankee on your roster, as Eduardo Rodriguez has slipped up and allowed 10 runs in his last two starts. His overall numbers are fine, but his career 4.41 xFIP against righties won't work against this lineup.
SECOND BASE
Jonathan Villar, MIL at COL ($13): It's usually a good strategy to grab cheaper bats from the game with an over/under that's two more runs than any other on the slate. That's the role Villar fills in this lineup, and it helps that 24 of his 27 hits this season have come against righties. That's good enough for the price, especially at Coors. German Marquez hasn't been great at home this season, giving up at least six runs in two of his three starts. He hasn't been good against either side of the plate and has a career .325 wOBA against lefty bats.
THIRD BASE
Yangervis Solarte, TOR vs. SEA ($18): I needed at least one Toronto lefty on my roster, and Solarte fits the bill. He has five homers against lefties this season and sported a stout .192 ISO and .335 wOBA against them last year. That should work against a struggling Mike Leake, who has given up 20 runs in his last four starts. Leake doesn't have any positive numbers this year and that's kind of how 2017 went for him against lefty bats with a .335 wOBA.
SHORTSTOP
Johan Camargo, ATL at MIA ($14): There aren't many reasonably priced shortstops in good situations, so Camargo will do with a career .253 ISO and .400 wOBA in 91 plate appearances against southpaws. He doesn't strikeout much (19.8 K percentage) and that should work against Caleb Smith, who relies on Ks. Smith carved through his last three opponents, but that may not be possible against the Braves, who lead the league with a 16.7 K percentage against lefties.
OUTFIELD
David Dahl, COL vs. MIL ($17): Charlie Blackmon ($27) is the reasonable Rockies outfielder to grab, but if you want to save money, there are other options. Dahl has only hit righties this season and has a career .230 ISO and .401 wOBA against them (215 plate appearances). He strikes out a decent amount (24.7 K percentage), but that shouldn't be a factor against Chacin, who hasn't struck out more than five batters in a game this year and had a 16.1 K percentage against lefty bats in 2017.
Gerardo Parra, COL vs. MIL ($9): Parra is surprisingly cheap given that this game is in Colorado and Chacin isn't an ace. Parra may not be a home run hitter, but he's still worth the gamble after last season's .170 ISO and .364 wOBA against righties in home games.
Alex Gordon, KC at BAL ($17): This may be the only Royal I wrote about, but I'd feel comfortable using any of them against Chris Tillman. The righty hurler has been all over the place and has allowed at least four runs in five of his six starts. His 7.12 xFIP against lefties last season has carried over. Gordon has a .386 BABIP against righties this year to go with a career .337 wOBA.
