This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
Pitchers
Matt Garza, $6,500 – Garza has been one of the hotter pitchers in baseball over the last month, posting a 2.56 ERA to go along with a 1.11 WHIP. His home splits are much better than his road splits and he gets a good matchup. Garza and the Brewers will take on the Marlins who are without Giancarlo Stanton and Christian Yelich, probably their two best hitters. In addition, Garza is almost half the price of the elite pitchers on tonight's slate allowing the cap space to add multiple elite bats.
Catcher
Jonathan Lucroy, $2,300 – Lucroy is only $100 above the minimum and catcher isn't a position that shouldn't generally be heavily spent on. Coming into this season Lucroy batted .304 and .312 against left-handed pitching and gets an inexperienced southpaw tonight in Justin Nicolino. Throughout his minor league career Nicolino has had a low strikeout rate and his 1.42 WHIP at Triple-A shows his propensity for putting batters on base. It doesn't hurt that Lucroy is coming off a combined 3-for-6 effort over the weekend with two walks, a double and a triple.
First Base
Pedro Alvarez, $2,700 – While Chris Davis is receiving a lot of attention for his hot hitting, Alvarez is flying a little under the radar in that regard. After going deep off Matt Harvey on Sunday, Alvarez is now 11-for-23 (.478) over his last six games with two doubles and three home runs. Tonight he draws Jeremy Hellickson who has a 6.09 road ERA and has given up a .804 OPS to left-handed batter this season. As a comparison, Chris Davis is $2,400 more expensive tonight and draws a tough matchup against Sonny Gray.
Second Base
Kolten Wong, $2,800 – Wong is at a nice price point for a thin position and has been a steady fantasy producer this season. He's up to 11 home runs to go with 14 stolen bases while scoring 59 runs and driving in 48. Chris Heston has struggled more against lefties than right-handed batters and Wong has 10 of his 11 home runs against right-handed pitching. Brian Dozier ($3,600) is also an excellent choice against CC Sabathia in Yankee Stadium if you have an extra $800 in cap space.
Third Base
Luis Valbuena, $2,800 – Valbuena has been a nice surprise for the Astros this season, raising his home run total to 21 after hitting only 16 with the Cubs last season. He's been better against right-handed pitching and faces off against Erasmo Ramirez and his 4.83 road ERA. Teammate Colby Rasmus ($3,000), with four home runs in his last four games, is another left-handed bat to consider.
Shortstop
Francisco Lindor, $3,100 – Already one of the best defensive shortstops in the league, Lindor is showing his bat may not be that far behind. He's been a model of consistency lately, recording at least 3.5 Fanduel points in eight of nine games before yesterday's contest. Boston will be sending Matt Barnes to the mound, a pitcher making his first start in the big leagues. He's been used as a reliever for the Red Sox and struggled with the long bell, giving up four in only 6.2 innings at Fenway this season.
Outfield
Aaron Hicks, $3,200 – Hicks has become the new Ryan Raburn of the American League, a player that be counted on to crush left-handed pitching. His OPS against lefties this season sits at 1.022 and he has six home runs in only 68 at-bats against them. CC Sabathia is a candidate to get blown up at any time, especially in Yankee Stadium where he holds a 6.13 ERA.
Austin Jackson, $2,600 – Usually a matchup against Cole Hamels is a spot to avoid but Jackson is worth a look today. He's had five straight multi-hit games that have included a home run, four doubles and four RBI and his OPS is 50 points higher against lefties this season. The weather has been scorching hot in Texas and the ball has been carrying out of the park over the last few weeks. Hamels hasn't been lights-out since joining Texas as he's given up nine earned runs (five home runs) over 13.2 innings over his last two starts.
Josh Reddick, $2,300 – Reddick had Sunday off with a lefty on the mound and should return to the lineup Monday against Chris Tillman. Reddick hit his first home run in some time Saturday and benefits from playing in Camden Yards rather than his home ballpark in Oakland. 12 of Reddick's 14 home runs have come against right-handed pitchers and Tillman has sported a 4.55 ERA at home this season.
