This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Baseball series.
PITCHER
Madison Bumgarner, SF vs. COL ($55): If there were some good options at pitcher, I'd make more of an effort to avoid paying the steep price for Bumgarner, but there aren't so the Giants ace is nearly a must-have. This is actually a really good spot for Bumgarner as not only are the Rockies slumping as a whole right now, but they've always been much better at home than on the road, for obvious reasons. He is a better pitcher at home as well as he posted a 2.14 ERA at home last season versus a 3.39 ERA on the road.
Jordan Zimmermann, DET vs. MN ($34): As mentioned there aren't many good pitching options outside of Bumgarner and that's why I'm going with Zimmermann here. There are some good pitchers in play, but they are in tough spots. Zimmermann is certainly not at the top of my list on most days, but he gets a Twins team that is struggling at the plate right now and he's coming off a solid outing against a very good Red Sox lineup. Normally I would point to some numbers from 2016 to justify this pick, but Zimmermann was awful last season, so there's nothing there to bolster his case. However, he looked like the pre-2016 version of himself last week and if he's going to be that guy this year, then he'll be worth a look quite often.
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CATCHER
Robinson Chirinos, TEX at LAA ($11): Ricky Nolasco takes the mound for the Angels here and although his overall game is still in question, one thing we do know is that last season, he was tougher on lefties than he was on righties. Opposing righties posted a .326 wOBA versus Nolasco, while lefties posted a .307 wOBA. That's not a huge difference, but we're looking for any advantage we can get. Chirinos posted similar wOBA numbers vs. lefties and righties last season, but he's a better hitter against righties. His wOBA was also lifted due to a higher walk rate against lefties last season.
FIRST BASE
Eric Hosmer, KC vs. OAK ($13): Hosmer is off to a slow start this season, but his matchup with Jesse Hahn here should be to his advantage. Hahn didn't pitch much last season, but over his career he has had trouble with lefties, who have posted a .335 wOBA against him. To make matters worse, he's been bad on the road throughout his career, with an ERA of 4.91. Hosmer's wOBA was .050 points higher against righties last season versus lefties.
SECOND BASE
Jonathan Villar, MIL at CIN ($20): Bronson Arroyo takes the mound for Cincinnati here and if he doesn't turn things around quickly, he'll be out of the league soon. Actually he has been out of the league for the past couple of years as it is, so to get a feel for his splits, we have to look at his career numbers. Historically, he's been better against righties than lefties, but he's been bad against both and in his current form, he'll likely struggle against everyone. Villar is a switch hitter who fared well against righties last season, posting a .341 wOBA against righties, which was good for second on the Brewers.
THIRD BASE
Pablo Sandoval, BOS vs. PIT ($11): Sandoval is off to a slow start this season, but he hit a home run from the left side last night and that could get him going. He's facing Chad Kuhl, who really struggles against lefties. Last season, they posted a .363 wOBA against him and his xFIP against lefties came in at 5.07. Sandoval is one of a few left-handed hitters in the lineup for Boston and he comes with a lot of value at this price.
SHORTSTOP
Francisco Lindor, CLE vs. CHW ($23): Lindor is the highest-priced shortstop on the slate, and with good cause. He is on fire to start this season with four home runs and eight RBI in just seven games. Almost every matchup is in Lindor's favor now, and this one is no exception as he's facing Miguel Gonzalez, a righty who's actually better against lefties. Lindor's wOBA was .033 points higher against righties last season.
OUTFIELD
Ryan Braun, MIL at CIN ($22): The struggles of Arroyo were documented above. Braun, though right-handed, posted the best wOBA versus righties (.365) last season among all Brewers, which was top 50 in all of baseball. He's also the best hitter on the team and the one most likely to take advantage of a weak opposing pitcher.
Brock Holt, BOS vs. PIT ($9): Chris Young got the start in left field yesterday, but I'm hoping with another righty on the mound that Holt will get his shot. As mentioned previously, Kuhl struggles against lefties and although Holt hasn't produced much this season, he certainly has an advantage here. Perhaps most important is his price tag. It's always nice to find lower-priced guys with a good matchup. Holt posted a respectable .329 wOBA against righties last season.
Alex Gordon, KC vs. OAK ($9): Gordon is a guy who never seems to come through for me, but my personal opinion is irrelevant. What matters is the numbers and as I detailed earlier, all the lefties in the Royals line-up will have the advantage on Hahn. Just like Hosmer, Gordon is off to a slow start, but he's better than a .200 hitter and he'll snap out of this funk soon. He's also hitting at the top of a lineup that should score several runs here.
