Tuesday’s slate offers a fair mix of pitching studs, rookies, and veterans. We’ll dig into the cheaper SP options so more of your cap can be allocated to offensive weapons who are household names. The Yankees return home where they’ve blasted the ball in five games thus far this season, so they make a favorable stack against rookie Touki Toussaint. The Astros will roll out their righties at home against Giants’ lefty Tyler Anderson. And while there are some scorching hot hitters that may cost you that pretty penny, fear not because there is much value to be found. We’ll also pick on the left-handed pitchers by highlighting some additional favorable right-handed bats. Let’s dive in!

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Pitcher

• Jon Lester (CHC) @ Indians, $8,100, Matchup 4/5, risk medium
• Kyle Freeland (COL) vs. Diamondbacks, $6,900, Matchup 4/5, risk high
• Elieser Hernandez (MIA) @ Blue Jays, $6,500, Matchup 4/5, risk medium

Jon Lester is off to a hot start, allowing just one earned run in 11 innings, albeit one of the starts was against the Pirates. He starts on the road against Cleveland, a team struggling to find their offense. After 18 games, the Tribe’s batting average sits at .196, and they’re not exactly hitting the long ball either with just 13 as a team. Lester may not be an attractive option as his K/9 has dipped over the past three seasons, but the good news is that Cleveland has struck out 25.8% of the time. Progressive Field doesn’t pose much of a threat as a ballpark either, sitting just about average in run and home run park factors last year. Be wary however of Lester’s peripherals – he’s surfing on a wave of .091 BABIP right now through two starts, a wave that is sure to crest and break at some point. I’m also fairly certain that his 100% strand rate is unsustainable.

I’m throwing shade on Coors Field and tapping Kyle Freeland as a possible bargain at $6,900. This is mostly a match-up pick against Arizona; the Dbacks have scored just 3.5 runs per game in 2020. Their ISO is third-worst in baseball at .126, stemming from an inability to take pitchers deep. Arizona’s 11 total homers are fewer than teams like the Marlins and Phillies who’ve played six fewer games. Juicy match-up aside, Freeland carries a fair amount of risk. In 2019, his HR/FB spiked to 21.7% after posting rates of 8.5% and 12.5% in the two seasons prior. Thus, he has to keep the ball on the ground to succeed. Early returns are good, as Freeland has registered a ground ball rate of 54.9% in 18 2/3 innings this season, up from 46.6% last year. He’s carrying a 2.41 ERA into his fourth start of the season. I could look the fool with this one tomorrow, but if you’re looking for a way to afford that Trout guy for your lineup, consider Freeland as a risky ticket.

If you need to go cheaper than Freeland, head north of the border and take Elieser Hernandez in Toronto against the Jays. If you’re not yet familiar with Hernandez, it’s probably because 1) he plays in Miami and 2) he’s just 25 years old. He’s made 22 starts and 52 appearances in the Majors to this point, registering a 4.96 ERA with 135 strikeouts in 152 1/3 innings.  He takes the hill against host Toronto, a team bursting at the seams with young talent. Young talent means growth, and growth means struggling for consistency. The Blue Jays are 22nd in the league in ISO (.148), 20th in average (.218), 16th in K-rate (23.5%), and 26th in wRC+ (81). Rogers Centre is not ideal however; it owned the highest HR park factor in 2019 (yes, higher than Coors) at 1.32.

Catcher / First Base

• Daniel Murphy (COL) vs. Diamondbacks, $3,600 Matchup 4/5, risk low
• Mike Zunino (TB) @ Red Sox, $2,200, Matchup 5/5, risk high
• Yuli Gurriel (HOU) vs. Giants, $2,900, Matchup 4/5, risk low

The Rockies have been raking as a team of late, and Daniel Murphy is no exception. He’s 15-for-37 over the past 14 days (.405 BA) with three homers and 11 RBI. Colorado will face Arizona’s young righty Zac Gallen, who has faired well this season with a 2.81 ERA. Gallen has surrendered three homers in 16 innings pitched. Why in the world would I ever suggest Mike Zunino and his .095 batting average? Well, he will face off against lefty Martin Perez on Tuesday, a pitcher against whom he has some fairly sustained success. In 18 at-bats, Zunino has six hits including three homers. His price tag is only $2,200, and while it’s completely possible he whiffs in all of his at-bats, he’s a wild card and you might just make some profit when he blasts one.  That being said, let’s get back to sound decision making and go with Yuli Gurriel at home against San Francisco. He gets a righty-on-lefty matchup against the Giants’ Tyler Anderson. With the exception of Michael Brantley, all of the Astros big guns are righties, and Gurriel could find himself with a few RBI opportunities. In his last three games, Gurriel has a homer and three doubles, and has failed to register a hit in only one game in his last ten.

Second Base

• Rougned Odor (TEX) vs. Mariners $2,700, Matchup 5/5, risk medium
• Donovan Solano (SF) @ Astros, $3,000, Matchup 3/5, risk low
• DJ LeMahieu (NYY) vs. Braves, $3,700 Matchup 4/5, risk low

Odor’s 2020 stats are dreary at best. In fact, don’t look at them, because you’ll most definitely not pick him. Let’s look instead at the facts that he has a hit in two consecutive games and he gets Marco Gonzalez on Tuesday. I’ll punt on avoiding the lefty-on-lefty scenario and take Odor’s 8-for-20 history against Gonzalez. Odor has been historically strikeout prone, but against Gonzalez, he’s only struck out once in 22 plate appearances. He just sees him better. Clearly there are safer options, like Donovan Solano. Wait, what? Yes, Donovan Solano. Solano is currently batting .458 and is in the midst of a 14-game hitting streak. In half of those 14 games, he’s registered multiple hits. He’ll face Brandon Bielak who makes just his third Major League start. DJ LeMahieu is cheaper than the big two (Marte, Altuve) and will face Braves rookie Touki Toussaint in Yankee Stadium on Tuesday. The Yankees are good stack against the rookie at home, where DJ is 10-for-20 with a homer this season and is batting .397 overall.

Third Base

• Gio Urshela (NYY) vs. Braves, $3,100, Matchup 4/5, risk medium
• Kyle Seager (SEA) @ Rangers, $3,200, Matchup 2/5, risk medium
• Todd Frazier (TEX) vs. Mariners, $2,800, Matchup 4/5, risk medium

Gio Urshela might bat lower in the order in the Bronx, but that hardly seems to matter with the firepower of the Yankees. New York was held in check by the Rays’ staff over the weekend, so they’ll be looking to take it out on the rookie Toussaint when they return home. In five games at home this season, the Yanks have blasted 13 homers and scored 32 runs. Kyle Seager has scorched the ball in 2020, registering a hard-hit rate of 52.8%. Meanwhile, his opponent Mike Minor is getting scorched in a similar fashion with a 49.0% hard-hit against.  Seager has struggled against Minor in the past, going 4-for-18 in the lefty-on-lefty match-up. Overall, Seager is batting .297 with three homers and 13.3 FPPG. Todd Frazier is another less-than-flashy option, but he’s putting up really good numbers (.308, two homers), especially of late.  He’s riding a seven-game hit streak in which he’s averaging 10.5 FPPG, and Frazier could cash in on a favorable match-up against Seattle’s southpaw Marco Gonzalez.

Shortstop

• Gleyber Torres (NYY) vs. Braves, $2,700, Matchup 4/5, risk medium
• Jake Cronenworth (SD) @ Dodgers, $2,800, Matchup 3/5, risk high
• Nick Ahmed (AZ) @ Rockies, $3,000, Matchup 5/5, risk low

Gleyber Torres is another player that you might pass over because of his overall season stats, but this just presents an opportunity for inexpensive points. Torres has hits in three straight games, and his peripherals suggest that there’s not much he’s doing wrong except running into bad luck (.179 BABIP).  He’s actually striking out less often (19.6%) than last season (21.4%), and there’s only a slight dip in hard-hit rate. He could be about to emerge from a slump in which he is too good to endure much longer. Jake Cronenworth has made good on his chances as a rookie, hitting .344 with a couple of homers in the Padres’ exciting offense. Keep an eye on the starting lineup for this one because he’s not a sure thing. It’s not an ideal matchup against Ross Stripling, but Stripling’s 4.00 ERA is a result of a 26.9% line drive rate and a hard-hit rate of 48.1%. Nick Ahmed comes into Tuesday’s contest in Mile High with a .182 average, but he’s scored 62.3 points in the last two games. He’ll face lefty Kyle Freeland in a favorable match-up in which Ahmed has prospered before, going 7-for-21 with five extra-base hits including two homers.  So if I’m wrong about Freeland above, it could be Ahmed who gets him.

Outfield

• Khris Davis (OAK) vs. Angels, $2,500 Matchup 5/5, risk high
• Michael Conforto (NYM) vs. Nationals, $2,900 Matchup 4/5, risk high
• Mike Tauchman (NYY) vs. Braves, $2,600, Matchup 4/5, risk low
• Luis Robert (CHW) @ Tigers, $3,300, Matchup 4/5, risk medium
• Kyle Lewis (SEA) @ Rangers, $3,100, Matchup 5/5, risk low

Khris Davis presents a lot of risk no matter who he’s facing and Dylan Bundy (2.08 ERA, 10.38 K/9) will be a tough opponent for Oakland’s surging offense. Davis, however, is 6-for-13 lifetime against Bundy with four extra-base hits including three dingers. Meanwhile, the A’s have posted at least six runs in five of their last eight contests. Michael Conforto is one of the few people in the universe who thrives on facing Max Scherzer, but he’s 10-for-31 with four homers against old brown-and-blue eyes. He’s been extremely consistent this season, batting .311 with three bombs, and has registered at least six fantasy points in ten consecutive games. He has not posted zero points yet this year. That’s a nice high floor, but there’s always risk for disappointment when facing Max Scherzer. As crazy as it may be to believe, Giancarlo Stanton is on the IL. I know, right?! But into the void slides Mike Tauchman, who should benefit from the injury by inheriting an everyday role. He’s a left-handed hitter facing the rookie righty Toussaint.

This is my third article in the 2020 season and I’ve highlighted Luis Robert in the first two. He has an insane amount of talent and is already showing it off with a .297 average and two homers. He’s cooled off of late, but he posted a 15-point performance last Tuesday so I’m rewarding him with a chance to get off the schneid. He does bat right-handed and he’ll square off against lefty Tyler Anderson so there is something to like about this match-up as well. And finally, we’ll finish off with yet another rookie, Kyle Lewis. Lewis is on fire right now, batting .373 with four homers and 13.6 FPPG. He’ll get to face lefty Mike Minor in hitter-friendly Globe Life Park in Arlington.

Five Studs Worth Their Salary

• Jose Altuve (HOU) $3,800: Houston’s righty-heavy lineup makes a nice stack against lefty Tyler Anderson.
• Max Scherzer (WAS), $10,700: Cleared to pitch after missing one start with a hammy injury, Scherzer dominates the Mets (except for the aforementioned Conforto). Dozier, McNeil, Nimmo, and Alonso are a combined 10-for-59 career against Mad Max.
• Mike Trout (LAA) $4,500:  Remember that Zunino pick earlier? Use it to own stock in Trout today.  He homered twice on Monday and goes into Tuesday’s match-up with sparkling numbers against Mike Fiers: 10-for-29 with eight extra-base hits (four homers).
• Charlie Blackmon (COL) $4,400:  Nobody on Earth, Mars, Tatooine, or otherwise is hotter than Charlie Blackmon right now. He’s batting .484 with a 14-game hitting streak, including multiple hits in his last five games.
• Aaron Judge (NYY) $4,500: Judge is slightly less hot than Blackmon, but his Yankees return to the Bronx where he homered five times in five games last week. Deploy!

Five Notable Players to Fade

• Eric Hosmer (SD) $3,100: Hosmer is 1-for-14 career against Ross Stripling, and hasn’t played games on consecutive days all season.
• Jorge Soler (KC) $3,100: Soler has been hitting well lately, but sit him against Luis Castillo who has allowed just one homer in 17 innings thus far.
• Pete Alonso (NYM) $3,400: As mentioned, Alonso does not have favorable numbers against Max Scherzer (2-for-12 with 7 strikeouts).
• George Springer (HOU) $3,700: While the Astros stack may work on Tuesday, Springer likely won’t be a part of it. He’s day-to-day with a wrist injury.
• Cody Bellinger (LAD) $4,000: Bellinger is hitting just .176 and the price tag is not worth it until he starts raking again.

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Steven Boysko is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Steven, check out his archive and follow him on Twitter, @StevenBoysko.