This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Baseball series.
PITCHER
James Paxton, SEA at OAK ($50): Paxton is off to a great start this season with 22 strikeouts in 21 scoreless innings. His hot start comes on the heels of a strong finish to the 2016 season, so he might actually be the real deal. The A's present a nice matchup for Paxton as they enter with a .259 wOBA against lefties and their strikeout rate is in the lower half of the league at 21.9 percent. The southpaw's dominant run should continue through this game as Oakland has little outside of Khris Davis that will present a challenge.
Lance McCullers, HOU vs. LAA ($43): It's no secret – Lance McCullers is a completely different pitcher at home than he is on the road. You might say he's Bruce Banner on the road and the Hulk at home; it really is that drastic. Last season McCullers posted a 2.40 ERA at home and a 5.57 ERA on the road. This season, through three starts, that trend is holding true. The Angels are a middle of the pack team against righties in both wOBA and strikeout rate, so with the Hulk on the mound, I expect McCullers to rack up the points.
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CATCHER
Alex Avila, DET at TB ($12): Avila's price has come up thanks to a recent power surge, but it's still low enough that he still has plenty of value. Avila will face Erasmo Ramirez, who really struggles against lefties. Last season, opposing lefties posted a .374 wOBA against him and his xFIP in that split was a monstrous 5.69. Avila is a specialty hitter in that he only plays against righties. This season, he's off to a 7-for-17 start and he just blasted home runs in back-to-back games.
FIRST BASE
Freddie Freeman, ATL vs. WAS ($25): Normally you'd want to avoid hitters that are facing Stephen Strasburg, and while that's true for the majority of the Braves lineup, Freddie Freeman is the exception. Freeman has fared very well against the Nats righty in his career and although it's a small sample size, it's enough to know that Freeman sees the ball well from Strasburg. In 43 plate appearances, Freeman has posted a .510 wOBA against him with four home runs. If Freeman were in a slump I might fade him here, but he's been hot lately so it's definitely a green light.
SECOND BASE
Robinson Cano, SEA vs. OAK ($19): Cano is starting to heat up and he gets journeyman right-hander Cesar Valdez, who last pitched in the majors in 2010, at the perfect time. While we don't know much about Valdez, we know plenty about Cano. Cano posted a .396 wOBA against righties last season and his OPS was a robust .955. With the entire Mariner lineup starting to heat up, Valdez will have nowhere to hide and Cano should be one of many taking advantage of him.
THIRD BASE
Eugenio Suarez, CIN vs. BAL ($20): A colleague of mine made an interesting point last night regarding the Reds. Tuesday they hammered a good pitcher in Kevin Gausman but then Wednesday they didn't score against Ubaldo Jimenez. The point was, this game can be weird sometimes. With that in mind, the fact that the Reds failed to score Wednesday only strengthens my opinion that they will get to Thursday's starter Wade Miley early and often. Miley is awful against righties and Eugenio Suarez was the best Red hitter against lefties last season, so he's certainly at the top of the list for targeted Red batters.
SHORTSTOP
Elvis Andrus, TEX vs. KC ($17): Danny Duffy had a solid 2016 campaign and he's off to a good start this season as well, but he has one hole in his game right now – he's vulnerable to righties. Last season, righties posted a .325 wOBA against Duffy, a number that was .124 higher than lefties. Elvis Andrus hit lefties very well last season to the tune of a .377 wOBA. Andrus is also off to a great start with 18 hits and three home runs in 14 games.
OUTFIELD
Yasmany Tomas, AZ at SD ($18): Clayton Richards takes the mound for the Padres against the Diamondbacks, and one thing we know about Richard is that he struggles against righties. Another thing we know is that he's given up four home runs in his past two starts. That's not a good recipe for success when facing the right-hander heavy Diamondback lineup. Of all those righties, Tomas produced the best wOBA against lefties last season at .460, which also happened to be the best number in the league last season.
Adam Duvall, CIN vs. BAL ($17): I mentioned Miley's issues versus righties earlier and while Suarez posted the best wOBA against righties on the Reds last season, Duvall has been the most dangerous hitter from the right side in the lineup this season. Duvall has four home runs this season and his OPS against lefties is a healthy 1.083. The Reds are going to get theirs and it's just a matter of picking the ones who do the most damage. As you can tell, my money is on Suarez and Duvall.
Steven Souza, TB vs. DET ($17): Souza is off to a great start this season with two home runs, eight RBI and a .325 average through 11 games. Souza also bats from the right side, which is how you want to attack the left-handed Daniel Norris. Last season righties posted a .341 wOBA against Norris.
