This article is part of our DraftKings MLB series.
PITCHER
Ian Kennedy, KC at CLE ($7,700): After yielding a whopping 31 home runs in 2015, Kennedy has seen the ball leave the yard only three times over 31 innings this year. He'll draw a matchup that should be favorable for continued success, as the Indians are tied for the fifth-fewest homers in the majors (24), while whiffing at the sixth-highest clip in the AL. Kennedy has also been racking up the K's this season, striking out less than six hitters only once in his first five starts.
Jesse Hahn, OAK at BAL ($7,200): Hahn is currently slated for duty in the second game of the A's-Orioles doubleheader, and he could make for a sneaky cost-saving pivot in tournaments. The Orioles can often be feast-or-famine on offense, as their impressive power is somewhat offset by their bottom 10 AL ranking in strikeouts. Hahn has also proven proficient at neutralizing the long ball throughout his career, with 0.49 and 0.47 HR/9 rates over his first two major league seasons, respectively. His career figure in that category is even better on the road (0.25) over 72 innings, and he was impressive in his first start of the season against another power team with an elevated strikeout rate in the Astros, shutting them out on three hits over 6.2 innings.
CATCHER
Carlos Ruiz, PHI at MIA ($2,600): With the relative dearth of offensively viable catchers, it's never a bad idea to take a flyer on an underpriced option with some pop in his bat. Such is the case with Ruiz, who also has the added appeal of a good matchup against Tom Koehler, and who is just one game removed from a six-game streak of double-digit fantasy points. The veteran backstop has been mashing righties over his first 37 plate appearances this season, posting a .354 wOBA. Koehler is already yielding a .376 wOBA to right-handed bats this season and has surrendered a .332 wOBA over 280 career innings against them. He's also coming off a disastrous outing against the Brewers where he was unable to get out of the third inning while surrendering eight earned runs (including two homers).
FIRST BASE
Prince Fielder, TEX at DET ($3,900): Fielder has undeniably been frustrating to roster this season, so he sets up as a definitive contrarian play for tournaments, especially on such a large slate. Despite his struggles, he's certainly got the upside in his bat to return some explosive value, and he might just have the matchup to snap him out of his current doldrums. Fielder sees old friend Mike Pelfrey, who he's generated a .355 batting average, two doubles, three homers and 13 RBI against over 31 career at-bats. Putting his struggles this season aside for a moment, what Fielder did to right-handed pitching last season over 411 plate appearances gives you plenty of reason for optimism as well, as he managed a .392 wOBA, .164 ISO, and 32.5 percent hard contact rate, along with a .343 average and 14 homers. Meanwhile, Pelfrey could get any struggling left-handed bat healthy, as he's already surrendering a .422 wOBA over a 69-batter sample and 42.9 percent hard contact rate to them this season, and has surrendered a .349 wOBA and 66 homers to lefty hitters over the course of his 10-plus major league seasons.
SECOND BASE
Josh Harrison, PIT at STL ($3,600): Harrison seems to frequently go under-owned, yet he is extremely consistent and offers a safe floor for both cash games and tournaments. He scored five to 14 fantasy points in nine of his last 10 games and also has a favorable history against Adam Wainwright, whom he's touched up to the tune of a .400 batting average (6-for-15). Harrison has been solid this season against both handedness of pitching, and he has generated a .321 wOBA against righties that essentially mirrors his career .320 mark. Wainwright been a reverse-splits pitcher this season, struggling against right-handed bats to the tune of a .405 wOBA, four homers and a 35.6 percent hard contact rate to them over a 91-batter sample.
THIRD BASE
David Wright, NYM at SD ($3,800): Wright draws one of the best matchups for a right-handed power hitter in the form of James Shields, even in spacious Petco Park. Although he's been relatively solid in his last two outings, Shields has still yielded a .366 wOBA overall to righties in 2016 over an 82-batter sample, including a .364 wOBA at home, where's he's faced 58 of those batters. The line drive rate surrendered to right-handed bats is also at 25.9 percent and the hard contact rate at 30 percent, while Wright has a .343 wOBA, 47.7 percent hard contact rate, and 29.5 percent line drive rate against righties this season. His career .357 wOBA against righties also corroborates his current success, and he also boasts four double-digit fantasy point outings in his last 10 games.
SHORTSTOP
Aledmys Diaz, STL vs. PIT ($3,600): Diaz has shown no mercy to pitchers of either handedness this season, amassing a gargantuan .475 wOBA over his first 94 major league plate appearances. He's caused his greatest damage against southpaws, generating a .476 wOBA, .250 ISO, and outstanding 45.5 percent hard contact rate. Considering that degree of success, Jeff Locke is a match made in heaven for Diaz, as he's surrendered a .387 wOBA to right-handed bats that balloons to .469 when facing them on the road (over a 56-batter sample). Diaz also has three double-digit fantasy point efforts in his last four games, furthering his appeal.
OUTFIELD
David Peralta, ARI at ATL ($3,200): There's usually no need to deviate from the tried-and-true formula of deploying Peralta against a right-handed pitcher, particularly when that pitcher is Julio Teheran and Peralta continues to be underpriced. Now that's not to gloss over Teheran's last two outings versus the Red Sox and Cubs, which have admittedly been stellar. However, Peralta's proven track record against righties—combined with Teheran's history against lefty hitters—makes the D-Backs outfielder worthy of consideration. Despite his most recent successes, Teheran continues to surrender a .365 wOBA to left-handed bats over a 69-batter sample this year, along with a 40 percent hard contact rate and 16.7 percent HR/FB rate. Nothing has changed for the perennial righty masher Peralta this season, as he's already posting a .357 wOBA over 92 plate appearances against them. He's also been hot over the last three games, scoring seven to 18 fantasy points over that span.
Jay Bruce, CIN vs. MIL ($3,800): Bruce has gotten the better of opposing pitcher Jimmy Nelson in their previous encounters, posting a .429 batting average (6-for-14), including two doubles, two homers and six RBI against him. He's also enjoying his typical success against right-handed pitching, posting a .358 wOBA, .278 ISO, 35.2 hard contact rate, and 28.3 percent line drive rate over 79 plate appearances. The numbers look even better when he faces them at hitter-friendly Great American Ballpark, as he's managed a .378 wOBA and .313 ISO at home against righties. Nelson tends to surrender the long ball to lefty bats, giving up five of his seven homers on the season to them, as well as 21 of his 31 career gopher balls. Great American Ballpark has also been a house of horrors for the Brewers starter, where he's generated a 10.38 ERA and surrendered five homers over 13 career innings, career worsts in any road park for him.
Hunter Pence, SF vs. COL ($4,100): We'll go back-to-back with veteran sluggers in tantalizing situations, as Pence draws the vulnerable and inexperienced Jon Gray. His 11-strikeout outing against the Padres in his last start was undeniably impressive, but we have to keep the performance in perspective considering the opponent. A glance at Gray's first two starts— where he surrendered 11 earned runs over 8.2 innings to the Dodgers and Pirates— gives us ample reason to target him, particularly with a righty masher like Pence. He's already amassed a .400 wOBA, .203 ISO and 35 percent hard contact rate against right-handed arms this year, and the numbers look even better at home. Pence has a .456 wOBA and .286 ISO at home, including .416 and .222 figures in those respective categories when facing righties. Meanwhile, Gray is yielding a .355 wOBA to right-handed bats in 2016, and a .387 figure to them over 28.2 career innings. Even with many of his struggles to date having come in the thin air of his home park, he still presents as a target for Pence to potentially tee off against.
