This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
We've got 14 games with no overwhelming weather concerns -- and some warmer temperature -- around the league Tuesday night.
Additionally, there is a series in Colorado, where the Angels are visiting the Rockies.
Not surprisingly, Mike Trout has a 1.688 OPS in five games (three homers) in Coors Field.
Exposure to Rockies and Angels bats feels necessary today, especially with lefty Andrew Heaney taking the ball for Anaheim.
Once again, the pitching is not loaded with several viable mid-tier arms, leaving most lineups to choose from paying up at the top, or getting very creative with high-risk, high-reward options on the cheap.
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Pitcher
Cash: Corey Kluber, CLE at MIL ($11,400) -- Over the past calendar year, no pitcher available on Tuesday's slate has a better K% (34.1%), BB% (3.9%), ERA (1.81), or WHIP (0.76) than Kluber. The Brewers had a day off Monday, after delivering one hit over seven innings against Chad Kuhl on Sunday. While the arrival of Christian Yelich and Lorenzo Cain has helped lower their propensity as a team to strike out (21.5% K%), the Brewers have a team wRC+ of 89 against right-handed pitching.
Also consider: Aaron Nola, PHI vs. SF ($9,000)
GPP: Dylan Bundy, BAL vs. KC ($8,900) -- The Royals' lineup is better than we might have expected thanks to the development of Jorge Soler, and the late-offseason return of Mike Moustakas. Despite that improvement, the Royals have an 83 wRC+ against right-handed pitching this season, along with a 23.4% K%.
Cheap GPP: Luis Castillo, CIN vs. NYM ($6,200) -- Maybe it's because he's looked good in his two starts against the Brewers, but I'm still willing to believe that some of the draft-season hype with Castillo was warranted. The Mets continue to be an above-average lineup against righties (106 wRC+), but one that offers plenty of strikeout upside thanks to a 26.9% K% in that split. Castillo's changeup has been his best pitch in 2018, and if he can establish good command of his fastball early, he should be able to bounce back somewhat from his dismal start (7.01 ERA, 1.64 WHIP).
Catcher/First Base
Paul Goldschmidt, ARI at LAD ($3,400) -- Goldschmidt's K% has jumped above 30 percent, which is probably more surprising that his reduced power output to this point (four homers in 143 plate appearances). The Dodgers will welcome Rich Hill back into their rotation Tuesday night, and while he remains a very useful per-inning starter for fantasy owners, Hill's biggest skills flaw has become his tendency to serve up the long ball, as he's carried a 1.25 HR/9 since the start of the 2017 season. Of course, Goldschmidt's splits against left-handed pitching are excellent, as he's put together a .312/.420/.606 line against southpaws during that span.
Second Base
DJ LeMahieu, COL vs. LAA ($3,300) -- The Rockies are expected to activate LeMahieu from the DL on Tuesday night, as he's been recently sidelined by a hamstring injury. The price is extremely low (again), and while it will be prudent to ensure that he does in fact get activated as expected, the Rockies will likely put him back in the leadoff spot, where he hit for 16 straight games before the stint on the DL. Angels starter Andrew Heaney has struggled mightily against right-handed hitters in a limited number of innings over the last two seasons, allowing a .402 wOBA and 3.66 HR/9.
If Jonathan Schoop returns from the DL as expected Tuesday, he's an interesting GPP consideration at $2,600 against struggling Royals lefty Danny Duffy.
Third Base
Anthony Rendon, WAS at SD ($3,400) -- Rendon had his best game since returning from the DL over the weekend (24.9 FanDuel points) in Monday's 8-5 win over the Padres. He'll draw lefty Clayton Richard on Tuesday, whose extreme splits against righties (13.7% K%, 9.1% BB%, 1.32 HR/9, .372 wOBA) continues to make him vulnerable against lineups with quality bats from the right side. The over/under total for Tuesday's game at Petco sits at 8.0, but nearly five of those runs are projected to come from the Nats, making them one of the higher-scoring teams on the slate behind many of the usual suspects (Colorado, Texas, Baltimore and Cincinnati at home).
Shortstop
Trevor Story, COL vs. LAA ($3,800) -- Like LeMahieu, Story benefits from an excellent home matchup against Angels lefty Andrew Heaney. The concern with both players is a very high ownership rate in tournaments, so adjust your plans accordingly if you don't have enough differentiation elsewhere in your lineup. Story's excellent numbers against lefties make him a consideration even when the Rockies are on the road (.291/.377/.626), but getting this matchup at Coors Field should make him one of the highest-owned players on the board.
Scott Kingery against Derek Holland at $2,200 is a nice option for salary relief in tournaments, assuming that he's in the starting lineup Tuesday. Kingery's 6:31 BB:K and .611 OPS are disappointing, but not entirely surprising for a rookie getting his first exposure to big-league pitching. Holland has been extremely vulnerable to righties, carrying a 16.4% K%, 10.3% BB%, 1.87 HR/9, and .376 wOBA against them since the start of 2016.
Outfield
Corey Dickerson, PIT at CHW ($3,900) -- Dickerson's sub 10-percent strikeout rate this season is one of the more surprising improvements in a player's hitting profile to this point, and his improvement is tied to being much better at hitting fastballs. White Sox starter Lucas Giolito has a sub-15 percent strikeout rate for his career against left-handed hitters, giving Dickerson (and Pirates switch-hitter Josh Bell) are great matchup Tuesday with the Pirates on the road at Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago.
Nomar Mazara, TEX vs. DET ($3,100) -- Mazara has been heating up over the past two weeks (15-for-48, .313, with four doubles, five homers and 15 RBI over the past 12 games), and the price does not fully reflect that, or the matchup against Tigers right-hander Mike Fiers. The Rangers are projected to be among the highest-scoring teams on the board, thanks to the combination of warm weather, park factors, the starting pitcher matchup, and the bullpen behind Fiers.
Adam Duvall, CIN vs. NYM ($2,900) -- It's been feast-or-famine with Duvall to this point, but he's sitting in a pretty good spot Tuesday with a sub-$3K price tag, and a home matchup against a struggling lefty in Jason Vargas. Since the start of last season, Duvall has hit .262 /.342/.555, and while his long-term value and playing time outlook points toward the small side of a platoon with Scott Schebler, he should get a chance in the heart of an underrated Cincinnati lineup for this matchup. Vargas' 8.1% K-%BB, 1.78 HR/9, 5.35 ERA and 1.49 WHIP all rank near the bottom among Tuesday's starting pitchers.
