We should note that almost all of our numbers-drive suggestions are from the early-evening slate. With four games on the late slate – all of which feature righthanded starters – the best plays are going to be lefties and, quite simply, guys who are generally good hitters. There’s no reason to get too cute with those matchups when putting together your FanDuel and DraftKings’ lineups.

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The splits point to the Reds, Marlins, Rays, and Blue Jays being popular stacks, with the Rays offering the best values. 

Daily fantasy baseball picks

AFTERNOON GAME

Red = 1B; Orange = 2B; Yellow = 3B; Green = SS; Blue = OF; Purple = C

The Cubs’ usual crew of lefty-crushers (2B Ben Zobrist, OF Dexter Fowler, 3B Kris Bryant, SS Javier Baez) are in play against Francisco Liriano, but be careful with 1B Anthony Rizzo. Not only does Liriano dominate lefties (.214/.290/.285 for his career), but Rizzo is also just 4-for-23 lifetime against the Pirates’ ace.

EARLY EVENING GAMES

Luis Severino has allowed a .512 SLG to righthanders in his brief major league career (94.2 innings), so give a little bump in value to 1B Jose Abreu and 3B Todd Frazier.

The Phillies are facing a lefty (Brandon Finnegan), which means 1B Darin Ruf (career .297/.379/.536) and catcher Cameron Rupp (.822 OPS vs. LHPs the past two seasons) are in play. If you’re looking for a reverse-platoon option, OF Odubel Herrera (.805 OPS vs. LHPs this year; .292 average and .364 OBP vs. LHPs for his career) makes the cut.

Jeremy Hellickson has already given up nine HRs in just 36.2 innings this year. Load up on heavy-hitting Reds like 1B Joey Votto, OF Jay Bruce, and 3B Eugenio Suarez.

Justin Verlander is mowing down lefties this year (.210/.256/.375), which is in line with his career numbers. To that point, 1B Chris Davis is 6-for-25 (all singles) with 11 Ks lifetime against Verlander, and catcher Matt Wieters is 3-for-24.

The Marlins are loaded with guys who crush lefties, with OF Giancarlo Stanton leading the way. Catcher J.T. Realmuto (.792 career OPS vs. LHPs), OF Marcell Ozuna (.843), and 3B Martin Prado (.825) are also in the mix, and don’t be afraid to use OF Christian Yelich, who has a .306/.373/.401 line against lefties since 2014.

You can never go wrong with OF Bryce Harper, and he looks even better than usual today against Tom Koehler, against whom he’s gone 9-for-28 with six homers in his career. Teammate Ben Revere is 10-for-22 lifetime against Koehler.

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Red = 1B; Orange = 2B; Yellow = 3B; Green = SS; Blue = OF; Purple = C

Lance McCullers will be making his first start of the season today, and last season in 125.2 innings, he allowed just a .208/.272/.318 line to lefties, which is in line with what he did in the minors. Don’t overpay for 1B David Ortiz, 3B Travis Shaw, or OF Jackie Bradley Jr.

Since the start of 2014, Josh Tomlin has served up a .282/.313/.510 line to righthanded hitters and just a .222/.239/.398 line to lefties. Using guys like OF Miguel Sano, 1B Byung Ho Park, and 2B Brian Dozier – while avoiding 1B Joe Mauer – isn’t a bad idea.

If 2B Logan Forsythe (shoulder) is back in the Rays’ lineup, he’s worth using against Rich Hill. Since the start of last season, Forsythe has a .987 OPS vs. LHPs, and 3B Evan Longoria isn’t far behind him (.929). Tampa also has a trio of outfielders (Steven Souza Jr., Steve Pearce, and Brandon Guyer) who are all crushing lefties this season and have good track records against them.

It’s always a good idea to stack Blue Jays against a lefty like Martin Perez. Your best bet is 3B Josh Donaldson, but SS Troy Tulowitzki, OF Jose Bautista, 1B Edwin Encarnacion, and catcher Russell Martin also have good career numbers against southpaws.

Julio Teheran is allowing a .516 SLG to lefties this year and just a .287 mark to righties. That’s similar to his career splits (.462 to LHHs; .318 to RHHs). It could be a very good day for 1B Eric Hosmer, OF Alex Gordon and OF Jarrod Dyson, but you’d have to be pretty contrarian to go with any of KC’s righties.

LATE GAMES

Michael Wacha has given up more hard-hit balls than usual to lefties this year, but for his career, he’s allowed just a .213/.284/.314 line to LHHs. The Dodgers’ lefty-heavy lineup (1B Adrian Gonzalez, SS Corey Seager, OF Joc Pederson, catcher Yasmani Grandal, 2B Chase Utley, and OF Carl Crawford) could be in for a long night.

  • Stats as of 5/12