This article is part of our DraftKings MLB series.
The players featured in this piece will be building blocks that can work in several lineup configurations (cash and GPP).
Though the upcoming All-Star break is often seen as the halfway point of the MLB season, in truth every team has played more than half of their games. That's a real sample size. Flukes are less fluky. That makes it easier to find matchups to exploit for daily fantasy purposes, if not necessarily easy.
There are 15 games Sunday, but only the first 11 are included in the main contest slate. The first one starts at 1:07 p.m. ET. Here are my recommendations for your lineup.
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STARTING PITCHER
Jon Lester, CHC vs. CIN ($9,400): Lester's numbers are looking good, as he has an 11-2 record, a 2.25 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP. Granted, he does have a 4.25 FIP, but he's averaged a 3.42 FIP over the last three seasons. He also has a 1.49 ERA at home this year. The Reds may be ninth in runs scored, but on the road, they are actually in the bottom 10 in that category.
GPP Fade: Junior Guerra, MIL vs. ATL ($9,000): Guerra has an impressive 2.87 ERA, but the underlying numbers are less remarkable. He has a 3.98 FIP, and even with that, his career FIP is 4.49. The Braves are sixth in runs scored, so they have the kind of bats to take it to Guerra, regardless of what his ERA looks like.
Cheap GPP Consideration: Michael Fulmer, DET vs. TEX ($7,000): Fulmer's numbers are the worst of his career this season, but his .298 BABIP is above his career number of .283. He's still only 25 and has a career FIP of 3.71. The Rangers have struggled offensively on the road this year, as they rank in the bottom six in runs scored in away games and have a .226 batting average in those outings. That will help Fulmer in this home start.
CATCHER
Yan Gomes, CLE vs. OAK ($3,600): Gomes is probably quite happy to see Brett Anderson has been activated off the disabled list and will start Sunday. Anderson is left-handed, and Gomes crushes lefties. He's consistently hit them better than righties, and he has a 1.086 OPS against left-handed pitchers this season. Also, Anderson hasn't had a FIP below 4.00 since 2014.
FIRST BASE
Matt Adams, WAS vs. MIA ($4,000): Adams has been hitting well the last three seasons, but this year, his first with Washington, has been his best. He's slashing .290/.361/580, and he's been hitting better at home. Perhaps the change of environment has paid off. Trevor Richards has a 5.26 ERA, but on the road, he holds a 6.08 ERA.
SECOND BASE
Niko Goodrum, DET vs. TEX ($3,700): This is Goodrum's first season getting real playing time in the majors, and he's shown a little promise with his bat. He's slashed .248/.322/.459 and hit eight homers while swiping seven bases. Austin Bibens-Dirkx has a fun name but poor numbers with a career FIP of 5.14.
THIRD BASE
Anthony Rendon, WAS vs. MIA ($4,700): Rendon has a career slash line of .280/.357/.460, and the last two seasons, his slugging percentage has been well over .500. The 28-year-old is a premier bat, but this is also a favorable matchup for him. As previously noted, Richards has a 5.26 ERA in his rookie season though 11 starts.
SHORTSTOP
Jorge Polanco, MIN vs. BAL ($3,900): Polanco only recently came back from an 80-game PED suspension, so the sample size this year is rather small. His career slash line is .267/.324/.417, and last season he hit 13 homers and notched 13 stolen bases. Alex Cobb has a 6.53 ERA this season to go with a 5.08 FIP. In fact, over the last three years, he hasn't had a FIP under 4.20.
OUTFIELD
Andrew Benintendi, BOS at KAN ($4,800): Benintendi has slashed .281/.363/.492 this season, despite struggling against lefties. Southpaws have been his Achilles heel his entire career, but righties have worried him zero percent. Kansas City's Jakob Junis is right-handed, and he has a 5.55 FIP this year.
Kyle Schwarber, CHC vs. CIN ($4,500): Schwarber is even more of a platoon guy than Benintendi. All 17 of his home runs this season, and 27 of his 30 from last season, came against righties. If there is a right-handed pitcher on the mound against Schwarber, he better look out. Luis Castillo is a righty, one with a 5.53 ERA at that.
Josh Reddick, HOU vs. CWS ($4,200): Reddick has had less of a split than he usually does, but he's still better against righties than lefties. In fact, the lefty bat is often sat against his fellow southpaws. It seems to work for him, though, as he's averaged a .289/.346/.445 slash line over the last three seasons. Righty Lucas Giolito is having an awful campaign. He has a 6.46 FIP this year and a career FIP of 6.06. Giolito has also allowed 1.78 home runs per nine innings as a major-leaguer.
