This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Baseball series.
It's a weird slate Monday night with only one true ace and a slew of inexperienced arms making their first and second starts of the season. Because of that, I'm going with the top pitcher as well as a number of cheaper bats to help fill out the roster. Throw in some upside-heavy outfielders and there's a little bit of everything in this lineup.
PITCHER
Stephen Strasburg, WAS at SD ($56): If you want guaranteed points, Strasburg is the way to go. Strasburg hasn't been completely dominant with a 3.47 ERA, but he's racking up strikeouts with 28 in his last three starts and that should continue. The Padres have the worst K% (28.0) against righties in the league and a .290 wOBA doesn't help, either.
Michael Fulmer, DET at TEX ($39): Since there aren't any other aces on the mound, there aren't many more to trust for a second pitcher. Fulmer is a good place to turn since he's cheaper than someone like Kyle Hendricks ($45), but also more reliable than an unknown commodity like Zach Eflin ($26). Fulmer has hit 15 fantasy points in five of six outings and faces a struggling Rangers roster that strikes out a bunch against righties (25.9 K%) in addition to a lower .303 wOBA.
CATCHER
Carson Kelly, STL vs. MIN ($7): With Strasburg on the roster, Kelly is a great place to turn at catcher because of price. With Yadier Molina on the DL, Kelly could get his first start after Francisco Pena ($10) got the call on Sunday. His experience in the majors is minimal, but so is Fernando Romero's, who didn't allow a run in his debut last week. Still, Romero is an unknown and walked three of the 12 righties he faced and is worth taking a gamble against for cheap.
FIRST BASE
Carlos Santana, PHI vs. SF ($13):Jeff Samardzija hasn't blown anyone away in his first three starts (12 K, 10 BB) and presents a good opportunity for Santana to turn things around. Santana's ISO against righties (.207) is his only decent stat this season, but last year's numbers are hard to ignore with a .214 ISO and .359 wOBA. It helps that he's turned things up with two doubles, a triple and a homer in the last three games.
SECOND BASE
Wilmer Difo, WAS at SD ($14):Tyson Ross is carving up opponents this season with 10.09 K/9, but that's never been a major weakness for Difo with a career 19.9 K% against righties. Ross also isn't easy to trust, not having significant time in the majors since 2015 to go with a 5.73 xFIP against 118 lefty bats faced last year. Difo has hit safely in his last nine games and has an early .370 BABIP in 74 plate appearances against righties.
THIRD BASE
Todd Frazier, NYM at CIN ($19): The Mets are having a major issue with their bats and that's keeping me from recommending more of them, but a matchup against Homer Bailey should help. Bailey has allowed 15 runs in his last four starts and has just two strikeouts total in his last two outings. He struggled last season with a .394 wOBA against righties and Frazier can at least provide power against righty arms with four homers against them this season.
SHORTSTOP
Brandon Crawford, SF at PHI ($9): Crawford still comes at a discount even with multiple hits in the last four games. He's never been an outstanding hitter with a career .307 wOBA against righties, but it's worth a try against Zach Eflin, who had a brutal 5.43 xFIP and 2.70 HR/9 against 161 lefties faced last season. Eflin was fine in his first start last week, but it's hard to put much into a game against the Marlins.
OUTFIELD
Nick Castellanos, DET at TEX ($20): I think a lot of Detroit bats are overpriced because of the matchup, but I'd be fine with using any of their righties outside of JaCoby Jones ($13), who can't hit southpaws. Castellanos should return from the flu for this game and has been a consistent bat for the Tigers this season with a .366 OBP. Even better is that he's always had success against lefties with 2017's .307 ISO and .388 wOBA strong selling points. As for Matt Moore, he gave up 10 runs last start and has been all over the place after last year's 5.06 xFIP against righties.
Eddie Rosario, MIN at STL ($20): Rosario is another outfielder to spend up on with four homers and four doubles in his last six games. That's a continuation from last year's success with a .268 ISO and .377 wOBA against righties. John Gant may be favored in this game, but only because he's going against Romero. As both a reliever and starter the last few years, Gant has been iffy with a 4.98 xFIP against 157 lefties faced.
Brandon Nimmo, NYM at CIN ($12): If you think the Mets can turn things around against Bailey, Nimmo is another place to look. He can only hit righties with a career .366 wOBA against them. Bailey has been rocked by both sides of the plate this season and was equally bad last year with a 5.73 xFIP against lefty bats.
