This article is part of our DraftKings MLB series.
PITCHER
Madison Bumgarner, SF at SD ($11,100): Bumgarner is coming off his most dominant performance of the season, a one-hit, 14-strikeout effort versus the D-backs. He draws an opponent that could well facilitate a similar result, as he's dominated the Padres on two previous occasions already this season. The Giants ace sports a 2-0 record, 1.72 ERA and a .190 batting average against versus San Diego this year, striking out 20 over 15.2 innings. While the Padres have been one of the best teams against left-handers this season, they've clearly been unable to solve Bumgarner, who could be taking things to another level as the season moves into the second half.
Jorge De La Rosa, COL at ATL ($7,300): While this selection may cause a bit of hand-wringing, keep in mind that De La Rosa has a number of advantages going for him Friday. For starters, he's away from Coors Field and in a pretty strong pitchers' park to boot. He's also facing the second-weakest squad versus southpaws in the Braves, who have amassed a .280 wOBA and .105 ISO against lefties this season, while also notching a 21 percent strikeout rate. Furthermore, De La Rosa has actually pitched very well over the last month-plus, allowing just nine earned runs over his last 35 innings while going 4-2 and lowering his ERA over three full runs. Even the two blemishes on this record during that period are excusable, as they've both come during quality starts when he's received a meager one run of support overall.
CATCHER
Salvador Perez, KC at DET ($3,500): Any time that Perez is both priced unusually low and draws a great individual matchup, I'm clicking and moving on. Such is the case Friday, as the Royals backstop meets up with a pitcher he's frequently tormented in Justin Verlander. Perez has slashed .478/.469/.761 over 46 at-bats against the Tigers starter, with seven doubles, two homers and 13 RBI. An extensive BvP history such as that one is usually unwise to disregard, especially when Perez's price isn't reflective of his recent production. He closed out the last four games before the All-Star break with three games of double-digit fantasy points, along with a pair of homers and four RBI.
FIRST BASE
Jose Abreu, CWS at LAA ($3,400) Granted, Abreu has enjoyed more success against righties than lefties this year, but I like the slugger's prospects at his price and against a very home run-prone southpaw in the Angels' Hector Santiago. Santiago has given up 15 of his 17 homers on the season to right-handed hitters, including 10 at home, where's he's also yielded a .422 wOBA to righty bats. Abreu has also tallied a 47.4 percent hard contact rate against left-handed pitching away from U.S. Cellular Field, and he still has a .349 wOBA against that handedness over his career despite his struggles this season.
SECOND BASE
Ian Kinsler, DET vs. KC ($4,600): We have another interesting BvP situation on the other side of the Royals-Tigers matchup, as Kinsler has gone 6-for-9 with four doubles and three RBI against KC starter Ian Kennedy in his career. Kennedy has also been much more vulnerable on the road, where he's surrendered a .349 wOBA and 17 of his 21 homers on the season. Kinsler has a .344 wOBA against right-handers, and a 35.4 percent hard contact rate versus that handedness at Comerica Park. His overall hard contact has also noticeably gone up this month—certainly a positive for a veteran player this far into the season—as Kinsler has notched a 40.7 percent figure in that category over his first 37 at-bats of July.
THIRD BASE
Kyle Seager, SEA vs. HOU ($4,900): Seager closed out the first half of the season with six multi-hit outings over his last seven games, and double-digit fantasy points in eight of his last 10. He also blasted three homers over the latter span, and will see a pitcher Friday that he's had some success against in Doug Fister. Seager has five hits, including a pair of doubles and a homer, against the Astros starter over his career, and he also has a .433 wOBA and .301 ISO against right-handed pitching this season. He's been even more lethal at home against them with a slightly higher .444 wOBA, and 13 of his 18 homers this season against that handedness. Fister has surrendered nine of his 12 homers and a .374 wOBA to lefty bats this season, with the latter figure rising to .411 when facing them on the road.
SHORTSTOP
Manny Machado, BAL at TB ($4,200): Chris Archer simply hasn't been able to get it together this season, and Machado is certainly no cure for any ailing pitcher. Machado has once again crushed right-handed pitching this season, posting a .388 wOBA and .254 ISO against that handedness, along with 16 of his 19 homers. Archer has given up a .335 wOBA and 11 of his 18 homers to right-handed bats and has yielded a .360/.429/.480 line to Machado over 25 career encounters with him.
OUTFIELD
Jackie Bradley, Jr., BOS at NYY ($4,300): Bradley enters the season's second half with a seven-game hitting streak and draws a matchup that could well help him extend it. Yankees starter Michael Pineda has given up a .346 wOBA to left-handed hitters and a 33.3 percent hard contact rate to them at Yankee Stadium. Meawhile, Bradley has a .413 wOBA and .297 ISO against right-handed pitching, along with a 156 wRC+. Far from a Fenway mirage, he's been even better against right-handers on the road, where he's managed a .447 wOBA, .375 ISO and 46.2 percent hard contact rate. A career .400/.500/.700 line against Pineda over 10 at-bats certainly doesn't hurt his case either.
Jayson Werth, WAS vs. PIT ($3,600): Werth is a cost-effective option for getting some exposure to Pirates starter Francisco Liriano, which isn't a bad idea on a couple fronts. To begin with, consider Werth's .475 wOBA versus southpaws that's an even slightly better .483 when facing them at home. Then there's the matter of Liriano's .359 wOBA surrendered to righty hitters, which rises to .367 when facing them away from PNC Park. He's also generated a bloated 24.3 percent HR/FB rate against right-handed hitters on the road, which makes for a bad combination with Werth's astronomical 60 percent hard contact rate against southpaws at Nationals Park.
Kevin Pillar, TOR at OAK ($3,100): Pillar's price actually dropped $700 from his last game despite the fact he scored 11 fantasy points on the strength of a 3-for-5 performance. He's now hitting .361 in July, while A's starter Daniel Mengden has been heading in the opposite direction, generating a 9.00 ERA and .392 wOBA over 10 July innings. With a cost that belies the quality of his recent production, Pillar provides some nice upside while offering flexibility elsewhere.
