This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
Starting Pitcher
Michael Wacha ($9,200)
Wacha has been very solid all season, and in his last four starts he has pitched at least six innings with seven strikeouts. He faces a San Diego team that has a top-five strikeout rate and a bottom 20 percent batting average against right-handed pitchers. He also faces them in San Diego, which is a top pitchers' park. More than anything though, he is about as low as I would feel going in a cash game. The guys beneath him like Lance McCullers and Trevor Bauer have been bad lately. Eduardo Rodriguez has been good, but faces the Royals. Jake Odorizzi has been good and has a good matchup, but his innings have basically been limited to six per start, which caps his upside. There are chinks in the armor for most of these guys, so they only really make sense in tournaments. For cash games I think it is a day to pay up, so either get Clayton Kershaw or come down to Wacha.
Catcher
John Jaso ($2,200)
The price on Jaso is a gift that is hard to ignore. Kyle Schwarber is the top option on the day, but he is also the top priced one (nearly twice Jaso's price). Jaso has a matchup with Kendall Graveman, who has allowed left-handed batters to hit .281 against him this year. Jaso was the DH on Saturday with Curt Casali catching, so he should be the starter behind the dish Sunday. He leads off for the Rays, so he should get four or five at-bats and does not need to do much to return value at minimum salary. He homered on Saturday and his numbers are hovering around a .360 wOBA and .185 ISO, so he likes hitting against right-handed pitching.
First Base
Ben Paulsen ($3,400)
Paulsen is a nice salary-saving option at first base with huge upside. The left-handed bat in the middle of the Rockies' order is at home against a relief pitcher who is being stretched out for a spot start. It's likely going to be a bullpen game on get-away day for a team who has a taxed bullpen in what was a high scoring series. Paulsen has a .360 wOBA and a .211 ISO against right-handed pitching. He may only see two at-bats against the starter, but the relievers for the Mets are nothing special either. Their top arms have come in to close out the last two games, so you are probably going to see the weaker bullpen arms and a lot of runs.
Second Base
Andres Blanco ($2,800)
Blanco has been a good salary saving option all week and Sunday is no different. The No. 2 hitter for the Phillies has been hot with 29 fantasy points in his last seven games for an average over four per start. That is great value and consistency out of a guy who is under $3K. He faces Adam Conley who has allowed a .317 average to right-handed bats and Blanco currently owns a .455 wOBA with a .244 ISO score, so the numbers point to a good game as well.
Shortstop
Jose Reyes ($3,600)
Reyes is another way to get some cheap Coors exposure. The shortstop position is a rough one Sunday, with Carlos Correa facing Kershaw and Troy Tulowitzki facing Garrett Richards. Reyes has the best matchup against a relief pitcher stretching out and the Mets bullpen. He also is in the best hitters' park and homered the day before, so he makes the most sense. Colorado should put up some runs against the Mets again Sunday, so Reyes should see at least four at-bats on top of that order and be a good value pick.
Third Base
Derek Dietrich ($3,100)
The price and matchup are too good to ignore Dietrich on Sunday if you choose to save at third base. The fifth hitter for Miami has 35.75 fantasy points in his last seven games, which breaks down to an average of 5.1 per contest. He has at least 5.5 in five of those seven and has no negative games during this stretch. He faces Aaron Nola, who has allowed left-handed batters to hit .308 against him so far in limited innings. Dietrich has a .410 wOBA and .287 ISO, which are elite numbers for any batter and at only $3,100, you will be hard pressed to find a better player at any position.
Outfield
Yasiel Puig ($2,800)
It is easy to gloss over Puig at his price, but he is a guy you should look at here. Lance McCullers has great numbers this year, but he was lit up in his last start before the time off and may not be 100 percent coming in for his first start in three weeks. Puig is back in the two hole for the Dodgers and gets a park bump as they are in hitter-friendly Minute Maid Park. Puig has a six-game hitting streak and if you believe McCullers will struggle, then he is the most cost-effective way to take advantage of it.
Franklin Gutierrez ($2,900)
All Gutierrez keeps doing is hitting. He added another 3-for-3 night Saturday to increase his batting average to .303. He is hitting fifth lately and has provided nice balance in the lineup behind Kyle Seager, Nelson Cruz and Robinson Cano. He faces John Danks, who has allowed right-handed batters to hit .300 against him this year with 13 homers in 100 innings. Gutierrez currently has a .400 wOBA and .308 ISO against left-handed pitching, so this is a dream matchup. He has 13 hits in his last 35 at-bats which includes four doubles and four home runs. For under $3K, you will not find a guy playing better with a matchup as good.
Nelson Cruz ($5,000)
A lot of what was said for Gutierrez also applies to Cruz, who has hit safely in nine of his last 10 games. He has five home runs during that run and is in a great spot Sunday. He has mashed left-handed pitching his whole career and this year has a .479 wOBA and .339 ISO against southpaws. Cruz, Mike Trout, Bryce Harper and Carlos Gonzalez are all in good spots Sunday. It would be nice to afford them all, but you most likely have to choose one and Cruz has the best situation of the four.
