This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Baseball series.
Tuesday's 15-game MLB slate begins at 1:15 PM Eastern time. There's no shortage of top-end talent scheduled to take the mound, but some of the best pitching values come from the range just below the top guys. Making room for those players still isn't easy, of course, but stacking against some of the worse pitchers in this slate should help owners free up money without sacrificing productivity.
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PITCHER
Aaron Nola, PHI vs. SF ($51): San Francisco ranks 21st in runs per game overall at 4.15, but the Giants are tied with Kansas City for last in road scoring at just 3.47 runs per contest. Expect that tie to be broken by the time Nola's through with them, as the 24-year-old ace is absolutely dominating this season and still has room for improvement. Nola's 2.17 ERA and 2.98 FIP are both improvements over last season's 3.54 and 3.27 marks, respectively, but his 20.4 percent strikeout rate is well below both last season's mark (26.6) and his career rate (24.5). San Francisco whiffs more than league average at 9.06 per game, so Nola's positive regression in that category could well start here.
Sean Newcomb, ATL at TB ($38): This will be Newcomb's fifth road start through seven appearances this season, and two of the first four have featured at least six innings of shutout ball with nine-plus strikeouts. Those outings came at Coors Field and Citi Field against offenses that have been mediocre thus far, much like Tampa Bay's. Walks were Newcomb's biggest bugaboo as a rookie last season, but he's gotten his walk rate down from 12.5 percent to 10.3 percent while raising his strikeout rate from 23.7 percent to an elite 29.0. Given the talented southpaw's upside in the latter category and the fact that he's proven capable of putting it all together on multiple occasions this season, it's hard to pass on his upside at $38.
CATCHER
James McCann, DET at TEX ($15): McCann produced a .391 wOBA against left-handed pitching last season, and he's off to an even hotter start in that split this year. He's primed to maintain that success against lefty Mike Minor at the hitter-friendly Globe Life Park in Arlington. Minor's superficial stats have benefited from a .178 opposing average with runners in scoring position, but he's still allowing a .364 wOBA to batters from the right side. As for the venue, its Texas-sized park factor was second-highest in the league at 1.22 last season and is once again well above average at 1.07 in 2018.
FIRST BASE
Paul Goldschmidt, ARI at LAD ($18): Goldschmidt's rarely a bad choice against left-handed pitching given his career .432 wOBA in that split. The star first baseman gains even more appeal considering the lefty he's facing -- Rich Hill -- is 38 years old, has a 6.00 ERA and will be making his first start since April 14 due to a finger injury. Head-to-head performance isn't the most reliable statistic, but Goldschmidt's .462/.462/.692 line in 13 career at-bats against Hill doesn't hurt.
SECOND BASE
Wilmer Difo, WAS at SD ($16): The switch-hitting Difo was much more comfortable from the right side last season, producing a .355 wOBA against left-handed pitching compared to just a .273 mark when facing righties. He won't get to face many more vulnerable southpaws than San Diego's Clayton Richard, who allowed a .377 wOBA to hitters from the right side last year and is giving up a .395 mark in that split this season.
THIRD BASE
Maikel Franco, PHI vs. SF ($18): Franco was moved to the clean-up spot ahead of Monday's contest, earning that promotion by going 7-for-15 with two home runs and three doubles over the previous four games. He should have no problem staying hot against Giants southpaw Derek Holland, who was pummeled to the tune of a .408 wOBA by the 492 right-handed batters he faced last season.
SHORTSTOP
Jose Peraza, CIN vs NYM ($18): Whether it's been leading off or batting in the two-hole, Peraza has thrived near the top of Cincinnati's lineup recently. The right-handed shortstop is primed to find further success against lefty Jason Vargas, who has been one of the league's worst starters since coming out of the gate hot last season. Vargas posted a 6.66 ERA over 78.1 innings after the beginning of July in that campaign, and he's off to an even worse start in 2018 with a .590 wOBA allowed to right-handed batters through two starts.
OUTFIELD
Nomar Mazara, TEX vs. DET ($18): Mazara offers astronomical upside, as evidenced by his streak of four consecutive games with a long ball from May 1-4. The young, left-handed slugger has a .065 higher career wOBA against righties compared to his mark versus lefties, and he posted a .382 home wOBA against right-handed pitching last season. He'll thus be happy to see righty Mike Fiers take the mound for the visitors, as Fiers has an ugly 8.90 ERA in six career appearances against the Rangers and is allowing a .400 wOBA to batters from the left side in the early going after surrendering a .347 wOBA in 2017.
Michael A. Taylor, WAS at SD ($15): Given Richard's aforementioned struggles against batters from the right side, it's hard to argue with getting as many of them in your lineup as possible. Taylor won't burn a hole in your wallet, but his .356 wOBA against lefties last season and .365 mark so far this year suggest he's more than capable of holding his own in this highly favorable matchup.
Adam Duvall, CIN vs. NYM ($13): Richard isn't the only stack candidate in this slate, as Vargas' struggles make him a prime opponent to exploit as well. Duvall gives you another right-handed Reds bat to throw in against the underperforming lefty, and his $13 price makes this a low-risk, high-reward pick. While Duvall's off to a slow start this season, his .382 wOBA in 140 at-bats against left-handed pitching last year suggest he has more to offer than most players in this price range.
