This article is part of our FantasyDraft MLB series.
PITCHER
Jake Arrieta, CHC vs. PIT ($20,700): Arietta disposed of the Cardinals and Brewers with relative ease over his first two starts this season, and he had three victories, 40 strikeouts and a .220 BAA over 38.1 innings against the Pirates last year. The potent trio of Andrew McCutchen, Starling Marte and Gregory Polanco have not found much success over robust sample sizes against Arrieta either, with a home run from Marte counting as the only round-tripper they've managed in 96 at-bats. The Pirates have also posted a .299 wOBA over 232 plate appearances against righties this season, and a .316 wOBA and 20.9 percent strikeout rate versus that handedness in 2016.
Ervin Santana, MIN vs. CWS ($14,800): Santana has turned back the clock over the first two starts of the season, posting 21.35 and 23.10 fantasy points, respectively. The second outing came against this same White Sox squad in Chicago, an outing in which he shut them out over six scoreless frames. He notched two wins against them in 2016 as well, and the White Sox are posting an unsightly .288 wOBA and 25.4 percent strikeout rate in their first 256 plate appearances against righty arms this season.
INFIELDER
Anthony Rizzo, CHC vs. PIT ($9,900): Pirates starter Tyler Glasnow has had a difficult time against left-handed hitters in his short career, surrendering a .311 batting average, .368 wOBA and an absurd 9.31 BB/9 over a 55-batter sample. Rizzo comes in with a four-game hitting streak and posted a .305 batting average, 24 homers, .404 wOBA and 38.6 percent hard contact rate against right-handed pitching last season.
Daniel Murphy, WAS vs. PHI ($8,800): Murphy has opened the season with a 10-game hitting streak and has already enjoyed some success (.357 batting average) against Phillies starter Jeremy Hellickson over 14 career at-bats. He also has a .432 batting average, .487 wOBA and 42.4 percent hard contact rate against right-handed pitching this season. While the sample size is small (37 plate appearances), there's little reason for skepticism, as Murphy tallied a .419 wOBA, 19 homers and a 41.1 percent hard contact rate versus righty arms in 2016, while Hellickson gave up a .325 wOBA to left-handed hitters in 2016.
Welington Castillo, BAL at TOR ($6,400): Castillo has victimized Blue Jays starter Marco Estrada over his career, belting four homers and driving in eight runs over 26 at-bats. He's also gotten off to an excellent start this season, posting a .353 batting average, .375 wOBA and 38.5 percent hard contact rate against right-handed pitching, while Estrada has yielded a .419 wOBA, two homers, 3.18 HR/9 and 47.4 percent hard contact rate to the 26 right-handed hitters he's faced in 2017.
OUTFIELDER
Ryan Braun, MIL at CIN ($9,900): Braun is off to a bit of a slow start overall but already has three homers, along with a .333 batting average and .474 wOBA in the early going against lefties. That's an extension of last season, when he posted a .344 average, .417 wOBA and 39.1 percent hard contact rate versus southpaws. Meanwhile, Brandon Finnegan yielded a .334 wOBA, 27 homers, 1.83 HR/9 and 38.3 percent hard contact rate to righty bats in 2016, and gave up three home runs in three starts against Milwaukee last season.
Billy Hamilton, CIN vs. MIL ($8,100): Brewers starter Zach Davies has given up a .383 wOBA to the first 30 left-handed hitters he's faced this year, and he yielded a .330 wOBA and 34 percent hard contact rate to that handedness last season. The switch-hitting Hamilton is much more effective from the left side of the plate, posting a .314 batting average against righty arms in the early going, and he is always a threat to pad his fantasy production with a stolen base or two.
Lonnie Chisenhall, CLE vs. DET ($6,600): Chisenhall made his season debut two games ago and also came through with a pinch-hit grand slam in Friday night's loss to the Tigers. He should be in the lineup against right-hander Justin Verlander on Saturday, whom he's enjoyed some solid success against over his career (.297 average, three doubles, one homer and five RBI over 37 at-bats). Chisenhall also tagged right-handed pitching in 2016 for eight homers and a .333 wOBA, while tallying a .309 average and .346 wOBA at home.
UTILITY
Joey Votto, CIN vs. MIL ($9,900): Brewers starter Zach Davies' problems against left-handed hitters were detailed earlier, while Votto already has a solid track record against him over 12 career at-bats (.417 average). He punished right-handed pitching for a .330 average, 24 homers, .429 wOBA and a 41.9 percent hard contact rate last year, including a .408 wOBA and 42.2 percent hard contact rate at hitter-friendly Great American Ballpark.
Xander Bogaerts, BOS vs. TB ($8,400): Bogaerts got off to a relatively slow start over the first three games of the season, but he has multi-hit efforts in each of his last three. Rays starter Jake Odorizzi surrendered a .343 wOBA and 19 homers to right-handed hitters last season, with the former number climbing to .362 when facing that handedness on the road. Meanwhile, Bogaerts had a .323 batting average and .384 wOBA at Fenway Park in 2016, along with a .340 wOBA against right-handed pitching overall. He's also had Odorizzi's number over his career, hitting .375 (9-for-24) with five doubles, a triple, three RBI and five walks.
