This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Baseball series.
Pitchers:
Zack Greinke, ARI vs. NYM ($50): There haven't been many pitchers as good as Greinke over the last month. Since struggling after his first three starts, Greinke has scored at least 22 fantasy points in five straight games while averaging 32 fantasy points per game in that span. It's a matchup that's hard not to like too, with the Mets ranking 19th in on-base percentage.
Danny Salazar, CLE vs. TB ($42): This has the ultimate strikeout potential, as both sides of the spectrum favor Salazar. Not only does Salazar lead the league with a 13.13 K/9 rate, he faces a Rays team that leads the league with 10.28 strikeouts per game. While he hasn't gone deep into games, Salazar could have some success against a Tampa Bay team that ranks 16th in both batting average and slugging percentage.
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Catcher:
Miguel Montero, CHC vs CIN ($10): Predicting whose going to play catcher for the Cubs is a difficult task, but Joe Maddon has surely seen Montero's success against Bronson Arroyo. While a 1.397 OPS in 19 at-bats is not the best way to approach a sample size, it's the profile of these players that allows those numbers make sense. Arroyo is a junkball pitcher who lives off of an 85 MPH fastball and Montero has always been the sort of hitter with a long swing that thrives off of meatballs. It will be easy for him to see Arroyo from the left side too, with Arroyo allowing a career wOBA of .354 to lefties.
First Base:
Miguel Cabrera, DET vs. BAL ($18): The Tigers have one of the toughest right-handed lineups in the league and that could spell trouble for Wade Miley. The reason for that is Miley's struggles against righties, as he allowed them to post a .351 OBP and .842 OPS against him last season. What makes Cabrera attractive is his value, with many of the top-notch first baseman being priced in the high $20's. Getting Cabrera for just $18 in favorable matchup like this is simply hard to pass up.
Second Base:
Ian Kinsler, DET vs. BAL ($12): Kinsler is the second piece of our Detroit stack, as he should be the table setter for the Tigers. It's Kinsler's ability to get on-base that makes him so attractive against Miley, as the Baltimore southpaw is posting an ugly 2.9 BB/9 rate in his career. That just feeds to an on-base machine like Kinsler, who has a career on-base percentage of .344. All this on-base potential comes at quite the value too, with Kinsler regularly approaching a $20 value rather than the $12 he's currently priced at.
Third Base:
Manny Machado, BAL at DET ($18): Matthew Boyd is a weak lefty worth exploiting and getting a righty like Manny Machado against him is a recipe for disaster. Not only has Machado destroyed lefties throughout his career, Boyd is allowing righties to post an .838 OPS against him in his career. Boyd is due for some negative regression too, as his 3.89 ERA and 4.98 xFIP don't add up with an ugly 5.8 K/BB percentage.
Shortstop:
Chris Owings, ARI vs. NYM ($19): Owings has quietly been killing lefties this season and he's a nice pick against someone like Tommy Milone. Against southpaws, Owings has posted a .364 average and .959 OPS this season. Not only does Milone sit with an ugly 5.88 ERA and 1.50 WHIP, he's allowed righties to post a .971 OPS against him this year as well. Not to mention, Arizona is one of the toughest environments to pitch in the majors and Milone is looking at a difficult spot start.
Outfielders:
Mike Trout, LAA vs. CWS ($27): The fact that Trout is not the highest priced position player is an absolute crime. It's not just the fact that he's hot, it's that he gets a spectacular matchup against Derek Holland. Trout not only gets the platoon advantage against the left-hander, he's posted a 1.043 OPS in 43 at-bats against Holland. That just backs-up the fact that Trout has accumulated 58.5 fantasy points across his last three games.
J.D. Martinez, DET vs. BAL ($14): Martinez recently came off the disabled list and his price has yet to rise to where it belongs. Martinez is a $20 player and he's shown that since his return, averaging 10.7 fantasy points in the three games he's played. He's another righty bat in this Tigers lineup too, as Martinez should have success against the aforementioned Miley, who has allowed at least 17 homers in five of his last six seasons.
Mark Trumbo, BAL at DET ($12): Trumbo is in the same boat as Machado, as he has a fantastic matchup against lefty Matt Boyd. What makes Trumbo a great pick is how cheap he is, as Trumbo was a $20 player last season when he led the league in homers. This is a guy whose starting to get hot too, homering twice in his last six games, while averaging 7.1 fantasy points across his last 16 games in total. An 8.3 percent HR/FB rate screams a hot streak from Trumbo too, as his strikeout rate is also nearing a career-low. A side tip may be to target Trumbo in a trade for season-long formats, as these numbers represent a big turnaround for the home run king from last season.
