This article is part of our FantasyAces MLB series.
Fantasy Aces has a great baseball product that offers games at every level and in a variety of formats. Whether you play Traditional or Salary Pro, this article will help you find the optimal plays and build a lineup that'll help build that bankroll.
Pitchers:
Madison Bumgarner ($8,250): Bumgarner has been good all season, but more importantly he's been great of late. His ERA over the last 30 days is a sparkling 2.03. Pittsburgh, one of the best teams in baseball, is mediocre against lefties with a .707 OPS and one of the highest strikeout rates at 8.15 per nine innings. Let's not forget to mention that PNC Park is quite friendly to pitchers as well.
Gio Gonzalez ($6,900): For the price, Gonzalez is my favorite play of the day. Milwaukee is absolutely abysmal against left-handers, sporting a .647 OPS (and their lineup has just weakened that much more since the trade deadline). Gonzalez on his own has been solid across the board with a 3.15 FIP, 8.0 K/9 and 3.45 ERA over the last 30 days.
Chris Bassitt ($5,250): Bassitt is in a very good scenario to succeed and has collected an impressive streak of quality starts. Over his last two, he has an ERA of 2.45 with 16 strikeouts in just 14.2 innings. Meanwhile, Tampa Bay has the second worst OPS against righties in the majors.
Catcher:
Matt Wieters ($4,750): Wieters has been very good from the right side of the plate this year, posting an .868 OPS against lefties, while opposing starter Tommy Milone has allowed a .292 batting average against righties. Note: if Caleb Joseph starts for Wieters, he's a cheaper, albeit lesser, replacement.
1B/3B:
Ben Paulsen ($4,750): Paulsen is the first Rockie I will mention, but he will be part of a quadruple lefty special. First, we have the Coors Field factor, but on top of that we have Bartolo Colon on the mound, a pitcher who has allowed a supremely high .302 batting average to left-handed batters this season.
Joey Votto ($5,600): Votto is on a tear at the moment with a 1.204 OPS over the past month, while Rubby De La Rosa is allowing a .309 batting average to lefties this season. Votto stands a good chance to knock one out of home-run friendly Great American Ballpark on Friday.
2B/SS:
Jose Reyes ($5,000): Reyes is a switch hitter, but he will bat from the left side Friday night and has been more successful from this side of the plate throughout his career.
Brandon Crawford ($4,850): Crawford may be a sneaky play because he's opposing a lefty, though Jeff Locke has been equally bad against batters from both sides of the plate. Crawford has a higher batting average against lefties than righties while also posting a .966 OPS over the last week.
Outfield:
Charlie Blackmon ($5,500): An .873 OPS and 24 stolen bases against right-handed pitchers. Not too shabby.
Carlos Gonzalez ($5,650): A .987 OPS and ridiculous 26 home runs off righties this season.
Adam Jones ($5,150): Jones gets coupled in with Wieters as batters from the right side of the plate that should succeed against Milone at Camden Yards. Jones has a .985 OPS against lefties this year, including a 1.324 OPS over the last seven days.
