This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
Welcome to my Daily Plays article for Tuesday May 26, 2015. Now that the season is nearly two months underway, we have a nice base of statistics to consider when constructing daily lineups. Memorial Day provided some great baseball action, and Tuesday has a full slate of games on the schedule, so let's get on to the picks.
Pitcher
Jacob deGrom, $9,700 - deGrom is an absolute stud when he pitches at home in Citi Field, and he has a juicy matchup against the offensively challenged Phillies. Even though Clayton Kershaw, $11,000, is pitching at home, deGrom offers the best value and most enticing matchup of the starting pitchers. deGrom is 5-1 with a 1.13 ERA at home so far in 2015, and has 41 strikeouts in 39 innings. Those are very impressive numbers, and he also beat the Phillies earlier this year, without allowing a run in that start. He also has tremendous upside, as evidenced by his last start where he struck out 11 Cardinals without allowing a run. Lock in deGrom as the top pitcher of the night.
Kyle Hendricks, $6,700 - For those looking to save some salary at pitcher, Hendricks provides a nice value option at an attractive price. Hendricks had a rough April, but has settled in nicely in May with a 3.24 ERA in four starts. He is coming off a complete game shutout in his last start, and has a solid strikeout rate at home (21 strikeouts in 16.2 innings). The Nationals are no pushover, but they are loaded with right-handed bats. If Hendricks can pitch around Bryce Harper he should have success on Tuesday, and makes a nice value play for the price.
Catcher
Russell Martin, $3,300 - There are very few options at catcher, but Martin offers a tremendous matchup at an affordable price. Martin has been batting cleanup lately for the Blue Jays, and they have the best matchup of the night facing John Danks (5.11 ERA) at Rogers Centre. Martin is batting .375 versus left-handed pitching in 2015, and loves hitting at home (.314 batting average, .586 slugging percentage). Add it all up and lock in Martin as the top catcher option of the night.
First Base
Lucas Duda, $3,400 - Duda has been hot lately, with three home runs in his past two home games. He has a nice matchup against the struggling Jerome Williams, and has two home run upside. Duda also prefers hitting at home in Citi Field, evidenced by his .542 slugging percentage at home (.405 on the road). Edwin Encarnacion has the best matchup of the night versus John Danks, but he costs $4,400. Duda offers similar upside at a much cheaper salary and is the top value play at first base.
Second Base
Jimmy Paredes, $3,100 - Paredes is usually the designated hitter for the Orioles, but he is listed at second base on FanDuel. Paredes has been on fire in 2015, and has a juicy matchup at home in hitter-friendly Camden Yards. Paredes feasts off of right-handed pitching, as he is batting .349 against them, including all six of his home runs. Scott Feldman is a mediocre right-hander and is prone to the long ball, so fire up Paredes at a tough position to fill and take advantage of his salary and matchup.
Third Base
Josh Donaldson, $3,700 - Whenever the Blue Jays are facing a left-handed pitcher, Donaldson should be on your radar. Donaldson absolutely crushes left-handers, and Danks is one of the worst in the league. Donaldson is batting an incredible .444 and slugging .778 versus left-handed pitching, and also loves hitting at Rogers Centre (.344 batting average, 6 home runs). Donaldson is the top option at third base, and possibly the top overall option at any position on Tuesday night.
Shortstop
Erick Aybar, $2,700 - Aybar has been producing since the Angels moved him to the lead off spot in the lineup. Aybar batted .222 in April, but has found his stroke in May, batting .322 so far this month. He also prefers hitting at home, with a .304 batting average at Angels Stadium. Facing the struggling Odrisamer Despaigne (6.11 ERA) at home, Aybar provides a nice value play at a very difficult position to fill. Lock him in at shortstop at a very nice salary.
Outfield
Marlon Byrd, $3,000 - There are a lot of expensive outfielders with juicy matchups worth mentioning such as Giancarlo Stanton, Mike Trout, and Andrew McCutchen, so use them if you can fit them in your lineup. For those looking for a value outfielder with power, look no further than Byrd. Byrd is hot, with home runs in back-to-back games, and feasts off of left-handed pitching. Byrd is batting .306 and slugging .667 versus southpaws in 2015, and faces Jorge De La Rosa at home, in hitter-friendly Great American Ballpark.
Kole Calhoun, $2,800 - another outfielder that is under $3k with a nice matchup is Calhoun. Calhoun is now batting cleanup for the Angels and loves hitting at home. Calhoun is batting .360 at home, with three of his four home runs coming at Angels Stadium. Batting after Mike Trout and Albert Pujols, he should have plenty of opportunities to drive in some runs facing the struggling Despaigne. Calhoun is a strong value option in the outfield at his price point.
Chris Colabello, $2,800 - another Blue Jay that loves facing left-handed pitching is the red-hot Colabello. Since being called up from the minors, Colabello has been crushing the ball, batting .386 so far in 2015 and now batting in the hearty of the Blue Jays lineup. Colabello also sports a .421 batting average versus left-handed pitching, and a .429 batting average at home. Yet, his salary is still under $3k for some reason. Take advantage of his depressed salary and fire him up on Tuesday night.
Matt Kemp, $2,400, is also worth mentioning due to his near-minimum salary. He is facing Matt Shoemaker, who has been prone to the long ball in 2015, so he is worth a shot.
