Building daily fantasy baseball lineups can be intimidating. On any given slate, you have a massive number of options in front of you and a ton of factors to consider.
We're here to help take some of that burden off and break down some hitters who you can slot into your lineup for nice and cheap, while still being well-positioned to provide your lineup with solid fantasy production.
Let's take a look at where we can find value on today's slate.
Mark Reynolds, 1B, Colorado Rockies
FanDuel Price: $3,400
Mark Reynolds remains a strong, budget-friendly way to get exposure to Coors Field.
Reynolds is a slugger that hits left-handed pitching quite well, with a career .348 wOBA and .224 ISO, and while he strikes out at a fairly high rate, his 43.2 percent fly-ball rate against lefties is the kind of thing you love to see from a hitter in Coors, and his 35.5 percent hard-hit rate is solid as well.
The Rockies have, predictably, one of the highest implied totals on the slate, and it's nice to not only get exposure to their offense for cheap, but to do it with a bat that would be appealing even if they weren't playing at Coors.
Chase Utley, 2B, Los Angeles Dodgers
FanDuel Price: $3,600
Staying on the topic of hitters in Coors, Chase Utley is exactly the kind of player you're looking for.
The Dodgers have a huge implied total of 5.82 (by far the highest of the day) against Jordan Lyles and the Rockies. Lyles tends to struggle with lefties, with a 4.76 career xFIP, a 13.8 percent strikeout rate, and allowing a .356 wOBA.
To make things better, Utley is solid against right-handed pitching, with a career .368 wOBA and .202 ISO, with only a 13.2 percent strikeout rate. He also has a 40.8 percent fly-ball rate, and offers huge upside today.
Troy Tulowitzki, SS, Toronto Blue Jays
FanDuel Price: $3,100
Troy Tulowitzki's salary has fallen far enough that it's nearly impossible to ignore him against a lefty.
He blasted two home runs last night, breaking out of the slump that has his salary so low. He has a great matchup today against Eric Surkamp, who has allowed a career .367 wOBA to right-handed hitters, with a 12.2 percent strikeout rate and 5.72 xFIP.
Tulo has been excellent against lefties over his career, with a .406 wOBA and .234 ISO, and with the Blue Jays sporting the third highest implied total on the slate, he's in a great spot.
Alex Gordon, OF, Kansas City Royals
FanDuel Price: $2,800
Kansas City lefties all make for appealing plays today against Mike Wright and the Orioles.
While Wright is only in his second season, and the sample size is small, he has been brutal against lefties so far, allowing a .403 wOBA and 5.54 xFIP. He also allowed a .748 OPS to lefties in his 27 Triple-A games in 2015, and really hasn’t shown anything to indicate that he might be even decent against left-handed hitters.
Gordon's numbers aren't going to blow you away, with a solid but unexciting .348 wOBA and .166 ISO against righties, but with the Royals offense being so well positioned today, getting him for sub-$3,000 with an ideal pitching matchup is easy to like.