This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
Welcome back to another season of DFS baseball. There have been some tweaks to FanDuel's contests.
First, FanDuel took a page from their basketball contests and now offer the single-game feature, which includes players from a "game of the day" and only allows roster construction from those two teams.
One player is an "MVP", who gets 1.5X whatever fantasy points they score, then there's an infielder, an outfielder and two utility spots.
FanDuel also combined the catcher and first base spots into one (C/1B) and added in a utility player in place of the lost position. As a result, owners don't have to use a catcher, or they could add multiple catchers in a contrarian scenario.
Good luck this season!
PITCHER
Chase Anderson, MIL at SD ($7,600) – It's easy to pay up for Kershaw and fit him in a lineup with some of the value plays. However, Anderson makes for a nice mid-level pitcher given his matchup, as well as the fact he's coming off a breakout season. Anderson finished last with a 2.74 ERA last year, and the Padres had the second-lowest wOBA against right-handed pitching with a .299 mark. The move to Petco Park helps Anderson out as well.
CATCHER/FIRST BASE
Marwin Gonzalez, HOU at TEX ($2,700) – Gonzalez should get the nod at first base to start the season for the World Series Champions. This game sports the biggest over/under of the day at 10, and the Astros are favorites despite being on the road against Cole Hamels. Gonzalez had a .361 wOBA against left-handed pitching on the road last season, while Hamels gave up a 4.43 ERA at home.
SECOND BASE
Whit Merrifield, KC vs CWS ($3,300) – Merrifield is coming off a breakout season where he hit 19 home runs and swiped 34 bases. Despite playing in a pitcher's park, he's actually hit better at home the last two seasons (.800, .891 OPS) as opposed to the road (.780, 698 OPS). James Shields at this point of his career is an ideal matchup, as he's given up 100 home runs over the last three seasons despite pitching less than 120 innings last year.
THIRD BASE
Jake Lamb, ARI vs COL ($3,300) – Lamb is expected to hit cleanup, and it's easy to forget how good he was at home against right-handed pitching last season. Lamb finished with a .384 wOBA against righties and faces off against Jon Gray tonight. While Gray is arguably the best pitcher for the Rockies, his splits on the road were much worse than at Coors Field.
SHORTSTOP
Trevor Story, COL at ARI ($3,100) – This is a fair price for Story, who is coming off a disappointing season. A closer look at his numbers shows he was just fine against left-handed pitching and sported a .399 wOBA against southpaws away from Coors Field. Patrick Corbin gave up a .337 wOBA at home to righties last season, which isn't a terrible number, but it's not great either.
OUTFIELD
Domingo Santana, MIL at SD ($3,200) – This can be viewed as a sneaky pick as most won't target players in San Diego due to the ballpark. Santana was dominant on the road against lefties last season with a .417 wOBA. His opponent, Clayton Richard, gave up a .351 wOBA at home to right-handed hitters, putting a Brewers stack in play.
Mookie Betts, BOS at TB ($4,200) – This is a good contrarian pick given that Betts is expensive and it appears to be a tough road matchup against Chris Archer. However, Betts has four home runs over 39 plate appearances against Archer with a 1.352 OPS. Betts also adds the speed dimension, which is another way for him to accumulate fantasy points.
UTILITY
Gary Sanchez, NYY at TOR ($3,900) – It seems that a stack of Sanchez, Giancarlo Stanton ($4,600) and Aaron Judge ($4,100) should be put together every game. Each of those three has homered off today's opponent, J.A. Happ, in less than 10 at-bats apiece. Sanchez is mentioned here because he will likely be the least owned of the trio.
