1B Aubrey Huff, SF at MIA ($2,500). Huff has just 10 at-bats in May, but he should be in the Giants starting lineup tonight, which means you need to consider using him. Why? Because Josh Johnson is on the mound for the Marlins, and Huff is 5-for-11 in his career against the Miami pitcher with two walks to his credit. If he’s going to get it going against anyone, it’s this guy.

2B Irving Falu, KC at BAL ($2,600). This rookie made his debut on May 6 and has made nine starts. He’s collected at least one hit in all nine of them, and two hits in over half, including three doubles. Can he keep it up against the surprisingly solid Jason Hammel? The price is cheap enough to take a gamble on it. Just be sure the slumping Johnny Giavotella isn’t in the lineup instead before you lock Falu in.

3B Kevin Youkilis, BOS vs. TB ($2,800). The Greek God of Walks is 3-for-6 with a homer, a walk and two strikeouts since rejoining the Red Sox. However, it’s unlikely the Sox are going to play Adrian Gonzalez in right field at Fenway, so one of Youkilis or Will Middlebrooks may be on the bench today. If Youkilis is in the lineup, he’s worth a play at this cheap price.

SS Cody Ransom, MIL at ARI ($2,700). No, I didn’t get those teams switched. Ransom was placed on waivers by the Diamondbacks this week, and the Brewers moved in to scoop him up. They have a gaping hole at SS after the Alex Gonzalez injury, and Ransom should see all the time he can handle over Cesar Izturis. Ransom has four HRs this season in just 52 at-bats, and he may have a chip on his shoulder getting to face the team that waived him.

C Yan Gomes, TOR at TEX ($2,500). Gomes has played six times after making his debut on May 17, thanks first to Brett Lawrie‘s four-game suspension and next to the demotion of Adam Lind. He’s 5-for-17 with two homers, five RBI, four runs, two walks and four Ks, and he’s crushing it in FanDuel due to a 1.011 OPS, even though he has just a .231 BABIP so far. He was killing it in the minors before his callup (thanks largely to a high BABIP), and don’t be surprised if he remains a solid contributor while in the lineup.

OF Norichika Aoki, MIL at ARI ($2,700). Aoki has been hitting very well lately, raising his average from .239 to .297 in his last nine games. He’s started in right field in each of Milwaukee’s last three games, and it looks as if the Brewers are going to play Corey Hart at first base on most nights for the time being. If Aoki starts again Friday, he could take advantage of a good matchup against Ian Kennedy, against whom lefties have a .305 average this season.

Bob P., a 37-year-old attorney from Pennsylvania who goes by trentsteele on FanDuel, had been playing for less than a week when he won Week 7 of the Daily Fantasy Baseball Championship. Oh, and he only entered one team in it. And just for good measure, he also walked away with an extra $2500 in prize money from winning another tournament that day too. Talk about a hot start to your FanDuel career! We had the chance to speak with Bob about his amazing start and impressive DFBC win.

You won a very hotly contested Week 7 DFBC qualifier by just one point. Tell us what the experience was like as the final games of the evening were coming to an end.

Exciting. Fun. Nerve-wracking. I just joined FanDuel earlier in the week and this was the first time I entered the DFBC, so I really had no feel for what I needed to win. I assumed that I would be making a $10 donation. Things got off to a good start in the Toronto game, but it wasn’t until Scott Hairston hit a 3 run HR that I thought I might have a chance. My team was done after the Arizona game (Justin Upton), and there were 3 guys behind me with Pujols and one with Trumbo. I became a Padres fan.

Scott Hairston was really the difference for your team. What did you see in Hairston that others missed?

Greatness. And a $2500 price tag.

Once you decide to go with Verlander, you’re going to be forced to fill some spots cheaply. I used a semi-stack of Blue Jays, who were reasonably priced and playing at home. I would have been better off going with Rajai Davis instead of Hairston, but I don’t like to use complete stacks, especially complete stacks that include Rajai Davis. Rajai Davis tends not to have multi-HR seasons, let alone multi-HR games. I wanted to start Justin Upton, which left me with very little money for 1B and OF. For $2500, Hairston seemed like the right fit; he mashes LHP and Toronto is a very good hitters’ park. You’re going to need to get a little lucky to win a DFBC qualifier, and I did. Although I would argue that Hairston hitting a HR is significantly less lucky that Davis hitting two.

You won a seat in the DFBC Final less than a week after you joined FanDuel. Also, on the same day that you won your DFBC seat, you won the $5K Grand Slam. That’s a pretty impressive start on the site. What do you attribute it to?

Whatever non-luck component there is is probably attributable to the fact that I play too much fantasy baseball and watch too much real baseball. I have Jon Niese in quite a few National Fantasy Baseball Championship leagues, so I watch most of his starts. This was a terrible matchup for him. Toronto hits LHP well and is an elite offensive team at home. Niese had been struggling with his command coming into the start and Toronto runs a very RH heavy lineup out there. For all these reasons, I sat him in my NFBC leagues this week, which allowed me to root for his failure in the DFBC without feeling guilty.

Also, it doesn’t take a genius to take Verlander vs. the Pirates. In my view, elite SP tend to be pretty dramatically undervalued. There’s much less variance in the performance of a Verlander or a Kershaw on a given day (especially against poor teams) than there is in the performance of elite hitters on a given day. Hitter performance on a day to day basis is impossible to predict, and hitter/pitcher matchup numbers tend not to be meaningful. That’s not to say I always take the highest-cost SP (I don’t) – there are times when there are great values at SP that make sense to jump on. But I do think there’s less variance in a team with a great SP and low-cost position options than vice-versa.

I have to ask, is your username from the Max Power episode of the Simpsons?

It is. Trent Steele is Max Power’s oldest and dearest friend.

When during the evening did it occur to you, “I’m headed to Vegas.”

When Pujols singled in his last AB. The 3 guys behind me all had Pujols and were trailing by 3. Barring a steal, I was feeling pretty good about my chances. Since Pujols has destroyed at least 2 of my other fantasy teams this year, I thought it was entirely appropriate that Pujols’ failure was the direct cause of my win. It’s the most he’s contributed to any of my fantasy teams this year.

How long have you been playing fantasy baseball for?

Since I was in high school, although I’m not sure we ever actually finished any of those leagues. I remember getting a steal when I drafted Chuck Nagy in 1992. I’ve played in the National Fantasy Baseball Championship the last three years.

Have you ever won anything like this playing fantasy baseball?

I’ve had some decent results in the NFBC, but nothing like this in the daily games. Then again, I just started playing last week.

How do you like the concept of daily fantasy baseball as opposed to traditional season-long leagues?

I love it. The NFBC is a great contest and I will always play their season-long games in the NFBC, but season-long leagues are a grind. Free agency and injuries play a huge part in your success or failure. There is a huge time commitment involved if you have multiple teams, and you have an enormous year-long investment in your players.

On the other hand, FanDuel allows me to root for Josh Hamilton one night and root against him the next night. Dailies remove the injury factor for the most part, and, most importantly, require much less of a time commitment. With FanDuel I get to start over every night whereas I have season-long teams that are already toast. The two types of games complement each other perfectly. One of my problems with the season-long leagues is that I pay far too much attention to the day-to-day performance of my teams (especially the bad ones). Now that I play FanDuel, I’m more focused on the daily performance of these teams. It’s probably not any healthier, but at least it makes more sense.

What do you like most about FanDuel?

I think what most people want with fantasy contests is ease of use, and everything about FanDuel is as user-friendly as it gets. The software and interface is top-notch. The live scoring function is outstanding. Most importantly, I hate closers and the fact that I don’t need to think about them for my FanDuel teams makes me happy.

What will you do if you win the $100,000 first place in the Finals in Las Vegas?

Whatever my wife tells me I will do with the $100,000.

What was it like winning the closest DFBC qualifier yet?

On my way home from work I was in 10th place and I thought, “Eh, that’s fine.” I finished about there in the first week. So I got home and I didn’t see my name, so I thought I wasn’t even in the top 10 anymore. But I didn’t look at the top of the screen, and that’s when I looked up and saw I was in first. I thought I was dreaming. Keep in mind I got my team in with only 30 seconds left to go.

Since most of my team was Oakland, I still had a lot of players going. But one of the guys behind me had four Dodgers players going, so it was extremely close. I don’t have the MLB package, so I had to go ESPN and check scores. It really hit me then that this wasn’t a dream anymore. The people I know on FanDuel were rooting me on in chat, and I was like “Oh my goodness, I actually have a chance to go to Vegas.”

I had actually told a friend of mine who I work with at the beginning of the season that I’m going to win a week of the DFBC and I’m going to take you to Vegas with me. And he didn’t believe me at all. And I was like, I’m really going to win one. Inside, I didn’t really believe I’d win one, what chance do I have? But I found some interesting info on RotoGrinders about the A’s – and I knew this fact – that they hit .324 against Rick Porcello, so I decided to stack the A’s since they’re cheap. I was also able to afford Josh Hamilton too. In the end, it all worked out.

Tell us a bit more about what happened after you won, especially about what you did once you got to work the next day.

After winning, I didn’t sleep. I stayed up until 6 in the morning, and I was texting my friends. A lot of my friends play fantasy sports, but they don’t play FanDuel. I’ve been convincing them that they should try it. I was like, looks like I’m going to have to prove to them by winning a tournament like this and going to Vegas that they should try it out. Now they won’t shut up about it at work.

But the day after winning I went in to work and had made photo-copies of my winning team. I gathered our whole team at work up and said, “I have an announcement to make.” And they said, “What is this about? Another fantasy league?” And I said, “Remember how I told you about that site FanDuel?” as I handed out copies of my lineup to them. Then I said “I’m going to Vegas.”

How long have you been playing fantasy baseball for?

I’ve been playing for 12 years.

Have you ever won anything close to this?

No, not at all. Certainly not a trip to Vegas, and not even a shot at what last place gets in the DFBC.

How do you like the concept of daily fantasy baseball as opposed to traditional season long leagues?

I think the biggest thing is I can get paid the same day that I win, I don’t have to wait a full season. The second thing is there’s always tomorrow, there’s always the next day. You don’t have to ride the same team, or go look for new third baseman or make a trade. I think  it’s funner. I don’t do as many traditional fantasy leagues anymore.

What do you like most about FanDuel?

There are a lot of choices. Even if you’re a beginner. I don’t play the big $500 head-to-heads. I play the smaller games, since I’m still trying to learn. Plus you’re always adding new, great things.

What do you plan to do if you win the $100,000 first place prize?

I’d like to get a new car and of course pay off my bills. And I’d put some back into FanDuel.

1B James Loney continued to hit well last week, posting a .360 average with four RBI. Alas, the sweet average came with no homers, as per usual. Adams is infinitely more interesting than Loney, so he’s an easy pick for our Keep an Eye On … team.

2B Danny Espinosa had a 2-for-5 day on Sunday while hitting a HR, though he didn’t do much for the rest of the week. He’s still undervalued in FanDuel leagues as he has multi-homer potential every night. On the flip side, Alexi Amarista is a no-power, speedy second baseman who’s taking over for Orlando Hudson in San Diego. No one hits for power in Petco, but that’s not going to affect Amarista’s game at all. He has the potential to hit for a high average and steal 30 bases this year, so keep an eye on him, particularly in standard leagues.

3B Will Middlebrooks is at $3,100, so let’s look for another cheaper option to keep an eye on. Brett Lawrie will be a 20/20 threat one day soon, and he hit .293 with nine HRs and seven SBs in just 43 games last season. He has just three HRs and six SBs in 38 games this year, and fresh off his suspension for his tirade last week, he seems primed to get his act together and start mashing. Currently priced at $2,700 with guys like Todd Frazier, John McDonald and Ryan Roberts, Lawrie offers incredible upside at a favorable price.

SS Brian Dozier caught our eye last week more for his $2,400 price than anything, but he came through with a homer and six RBI while hitting .290 last week. He’s up $400 to $2,800, so keep using him while he’s hitting well; however, I don’t expect him to keep it up all year. While we continue to monitor him, it’s time to start thinking about Stephen Drew, who appears to be two weeks or so away from rejoining the Diamondbacks. At $2,500, Drew won’t offer profit potential for very long, so strike as soon as he’s activated.

C Jesus Flores is hitting .292 in his seven starts since joining the Nationals starting lineup, and he hit his first homer of the season on Sunday. A rare $2,500 catcher that plays every day, Flores should continue to be a key piece in constructing FanDuel daily lineups. Another guy worth monitoring with catcher eligibility is Toronto’s Yan Gomes, who was mashing in Triple-A before being called up. He’ll be a super utility guy with Lawrie back in the lineup, but if you see him starting on any given day, his $2,400 price at catcher is golden.

OF Tony Campana took Andy Dirks‘ place on our KaEO team last week as the latter is climbing up FanDuel’s wage scale, and the speedy Cubs outfielder disappointed by only grabbing four hits while stealing two bags. Xavier Avery picked up 10 hits last week while scoring six runs and stealing a base. He had 36 swipes in Double-A last year and eight in Triple-A this year before his call-up, so he could provide with nice speed and run upside while Nolan Reimold and Endy Chavez are out. Peter Bourjos is another cheap guy with plenty of upside that should see a lot of playing time for the Angels with Vernon Wells out. With greater power potential than Avery, we’ll roll with Bourjos for now.

You wound up in a five-way tie for first place in Week 5. It was an Atlanta stack combined with David Price that you and four other guys pounced on. What was it like realizing you were going to be in a five-way tie and eventual playoff for the Vegas seat?

I just started playing daily fantasy sports a few weeks ago and I wasn’t well versed on how people play, and are successful, in these types of large field tournaments. I quickly saw that a large number of entries that performed well were stacking one-team lineups. At first glance, I thought this was a less than ideal way to play because of the automatic outs one would be taking by stacking a particular team, but then realized in order to beat such a large number of entries, it may very well be the way to play. Ironically, a stacked Braves team I used tied with four other teams. I had no idea that the rules called for a playoff among us, so I was celebrating as if all five of us were headed to Vegas. I didn’t find out until the next day that I had to play again in the tiebreaker. Total bummer!

You won the playoff handily, but tell us about the differences between preparing for a five-man playoff versus a regular week of the DFBC.

I think the biggest difference for me was that I did a lot of research in selecting my roster for the five-man playoff. I analyzed every statistic under the sun in an attempt to unearth some nugget of information that might give me an advantage. I knew right away that I was not going to use a stacked lineup and I thought everyone would roster Matt Kemp because he was facing Jamie Moyer. I didn’t want him to beat me if he had a big game, so I built my teams around his salary included. The top pitchers were all in, what I considered, bad match-ups. They were either on the road or up against good offenses, so I decided to stay away from these guys and look further down the food chain. To me, the obvious choice for that day was Vance Worley. He was pitching at home against the woeful Padres, had one of the few closers these days that could actually lock down a save, and even though the Phillies offense had been struggling, they were facing Clayton Richards, so I thought Worley had as good a chance as any pitcher to get a win. The problem was, he was so obvious to me, I wanted to go in another direction because the last thing I wanted was another tie and I thought I could possibly gain an advantage if he had a bad game. I narrowed down my pitching choices to Chris Capuano and James McDonald, and turned my attention to hitting. The key player for me was Josh Hamilton. He had been on fire at the plate and even though he was facing a good pitcher in C.J. Wilson, I really wanted him on my team. The other hitter that I locked in on was Robinson Cano. He had great lifetime numbers against Felix Hernandez and had been heating up during the past week. The rest of my team I juggled a bit before I settled on my final roster.

You not only beat over 1850 entries for the Week 5 DFBC, you also beat a who’s who of FanDuel users in the playoff, including beermakersfan (who won the 2011 FFFC). How does it feel to have threaded that gauntlet?

I had heard of Beermakersfan. He is a very successful player and a prior Vegas winner. I’m involved with a site called SportsDraftDaily that does mostly season-long fantasy baseball and football analysis, so I’m well aware of who the top season-long players are in the industry; however I’m just recently learning who the top daily players are. There really is no way of finding out any information on the players, so I didn’t find out until after the playoff (on a Rotogrinders podcast) that the other people were also very successful players. If we played ten more times, I may not win again. Luck was in my favor that night.

When during the playoff did it occur to you, “I’m headed to Vegas.”

Approximately 6:00AM the following morning. As I mentioned above, I wanted to play Josh Hamilton in my lineup that night. Friday afternoon, when I checked the weather forecast for Arlington,Texas it showed thunderstorms and rain, so I removed him from my lineup. I checked the weather again at 6:15PM and the forecast had completely cleared. It was now showing no rain until at least midnight. I put Hamilton back in my lineup and felt good about it. Well, by 8:30PM the Rangers/Angels game had gone into a rain delay. I once again checked the weather forecast. It showed thunderstorms and rain for the next few hours. I felt certain the game would be postponed, and without Hamilton playing I stood no chance to win, so I packed it in and went to bed. When I woke up Saturday morning and saw that I had won, largely in part to the game not being postponed and Hamilton’s big night, I was obviously pretty excited to be headed to Vegas!

How long have you been playing fantasy baseball for?

I grew up playing a strategy board game called APBA with my father and brothers, that game is what hooked my interest in fantasy baseball. Eventually, I started playing in the standard draft and manage roto leagues, and over the past several years I have been playing in a great season-long, high stakes contest called the National Fantasy Baseball Championship. I just started playing daily fantasy baseball a few weeks ago and I’m really enjoying it.

Have you ever won anything like this playing fantasy baseball?

I have in the season-long formats, but this is my first crack at a big prize in the daily games.

How do you like the concept of daily fantasy baseball as opposed to traditional season-long leagues?

I will always play season-long fantasy baseball. I really enjoy it and I look at the two different game formats as complimentary, rather than one or the other, but the things that bother me the most about the season-long format are the things that I like the most about the daily format. Injuries play a huge role in determining the winners in season-long games, there is only so much one can do to overcome the loss of star players. That doesn’t exist in the daily format. If a player on your team gets injured, it only affects your team for that one day. The biggest issue for me though, as I get older and recently having a child, is the time commitment required to play at a high level in the season-long format. It takes an enormous amount of my time to manage the roster and conduct the free agent process, and it’s primarily on the weekends, which drives my wife nuts. The daily game is so much easier to play from a time standpoint, and is far more conducive to my current lifestyle.

What do you like most about FanDuel?

I really like the DFBC set up, the amount of action that is available on the site each day, and I’m a big fan of how intuitive the site and player selection screens are. It is my favorite interface design of the daily sites.

What will you do if you win the $100,000 first place in the Finals in Las Vegas?

Have one hell of a time in Vegas with my wife, family, and friends. And make a donation to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

P Marco Estrada, MIL vs. MIN ($4,000). First up is Estrada, a player we discussed in this week’s Keep an Eye On … article. We expect his 19.0 HR/FB rate to regress, and when it does, he should be a very good starter, as is evidenced by his 20/3 K/BB ratio in the rotation this year. His first homerless start could be today against the Twins, who are one of the worst teams in the majors at hitting balls out of the park. I like Estrada for 6-7 innings, 1-3 runs and a handful of Ks as his team picks up a win.

1B Paul Goldschmidt, ARI at KC ($2,500). Though he hasn’t shown it this season, Goldschmidt has a mutli-HR power upside every time he plays. With eight HRs in 156 at-bats last year, we would be forgiven for expecting more than two bombs in 108 at-bats so far. Goldschmidt and his .219 average took a step in the right direction Thursday, going 2-for-3 with two walks. He could have a similar game against Luis Mendoza, who has a 13/18 K/BB ratio this year.

2B Marco Scutaro, COL vs. SEA ($2,700). Kevin Millwood posted decent numbers across the board in 2011, but when he was at home, he posted a 6.95 ERA and 1.64 WHIP. Why am I bringing this up? Because that home was Coors Field, and Millwood returns to the scene of the crime on Friday. I expect a lot of runs from the Rockies and Scutaro, the team’s leadoff hitter and the owner of an 8/11 K/BB ratio, stands to benefit.

3B Wilson Betemit, BAL at WAS ($2,500). On the surface, Betemit has a tough matchup against Edwin Jackson, who has a 38/9 K/BB ratio and a 1.01 WHIP this year. However, lefties are slugging over .500 against him this season, which benefits the switch-hitting Betemit, who performs better against righties anyway (.529 slugging and five HRs in 70 at-bats). Expect Betemit to hit his seventh HR of the year tonight.

SS Brian Dozier, MIN at MIL ($2,500). If you’re not buying Estrada tonight and rolling with a safer, more-expensive option (and I totally understand if you do), Dozier almost becomes a must-play. He’s hitting .298 with two HRs and three doubles in his 11 games with the club, with all that power production coming in his last six games. He’s settled into the two hole and has some nice run upside as well.

C Ryan Hanigan, CIN at NYY ($2,500). Andy Pettitte was tagged for seven hits and two HRs in his debut (and that’s two HRs against the Mariners), also walking three guys in 6.1 innings. That bodes well for Hanigan, whose OPS is about 100 points higher against lefties in his career anyway. He’s 11-for-31 in May, so a hit or two against Pettitte seems likely. You also have to like his odds at banging his first homer of the season.

1B Mitch Moreland made it out of our 1B smorgasbord last week and rewarded us with just one HR and a .222 average. Instead of re-hashing our options from last week, we’re going to veer off and take an entirely different track. James Loney doesn’t have the power to post huge lines most nights, but he’s plenty capable of hitting for a high average and producing solid stats at a cheap price. He’s in the midst of a six-game hitting streak after batting .368 last week, and his K/BB ratio is near 1.0. Expect that average to continue rising.

2B Dustin Ackley has watched his FanDuel price rise up over $3,000 after hitting .300 with a homer last week. Danny Espinosa hit two HRs and stole two bases last week, flashing the fantasy upside he displayed over the course of the 2011 season. He’s one of the few second basemen you’ll find that’s capable of hitting multiple HRs on any given night, so if you see a mediocre lefty on the mound, pounce.

3B Will Middlebrooks jumped out to a fast start, hitting four HRs in his first ten games while maintaining an average over .300. His FanDuel price is up $500 to $3,000 this week, but that’s still chump change for a young guy as hot as he is right now. If you want to keep an eye on another 3B as well, Placido Polanco has seen his quality batting average come back in the last three weeks, and he’s posted .333 averages in each of those last three weeks.

SS Erick Aybar still doesn’t look any closer to delivering positive fantasy lines this season, and he was just 2-for-13 last week with a single run being his only fantasy contribution. He’s still available for a song ($2,500), but let’s also watch rookie Brian Dozier, who went 8-for-30 last week with one HR after being summoned to the bigs by the Twins. Dozier’s minor league numbers certainly don’t hint at a fantasy breakout season, but with his price at $2,400, he’s worth watching and moving on if he heats up.

C Ryan Doumit has been very hot the last two weeks, but both he and KaEO favorite A.J. Ellis are at $3,100 heading into Tuesday. One guy that certainly bears watching is Jesus Flores, the Washington backstop taking over for Wilson Ramos, who’s out for the year with a torn ACL. Flores hasn’t been exciting in spot duty this year, but a $2,400 price tag that may be slow to rise could keep him undervalued for several weeks.

OF Andy Dirks went ballistic last week, picking up 11 hits in 22 at-bats as well as his third HR of the year. He’s taking up some prime real estate in the Tigers lineup and should continue to mash if he remains healthy. At $3,200, Dirks is a little high to stick on our KaEO team. We’ll bounce right back to the $2,900 Tony Campana, who hit .400 last week and finally started stealing bases again after a (relatively) long drought. If you’d like to go Dumpster diving, keep an eye on $2,400 Lorenzo Cain and his return date.

1B Brandon Belt still doesn’t have a homer this year, but he’s a solid 5-for-18 with four walks in the month of May. But there are a few other first basemen under $3,000 worth watching. Paul Goldschmidt had a six game hitting streak that ended on Sunday, and though he has just one HR this year, he’ll be a 30-HR threat for most of his career. A power outbust could be on the way. Ike Davis was excellent last year when healthy, but he’s hitting just .168 this season. That won’t last. Mitch Moreland was hitting .139 on April 24 but is up to .279. With three HRs and a stud lineup around him, he could explode on any day. We’ll stick with the cheapest of the bunch and put Moreland on the KaEO team.

2B Skip Schumaker has a solid .308 average this year, but we’re shifting to an intriguing young guy whose slow start has depressed his price tag to $2,800. Dustin Ackley hit .273 with six HRs and six SBs last season in his 333 at-bat debut, and fantasy owners expected a step forward this year. However, he’s actually moved backward, hitting .239 with one HR and two SBs. He’s on a modest four-game hitting streak and could be coming around. At the very least, he’s better than this.

3B Pedro Alvarez has been on quite a tear. At one point he was hitting .042 (1-for-24) to open the year, but he’s now up to .247, going 18-for-53 (.340 average) since his slow start. He’s ben installed as the lineup’s cleanup hitter thanks to his power: seven of his 19 hits this year have been home runs. If you want a cheaper Fanduel option, keep an eye on Will Middlebrooks, the Red Sox rookie filling in for Kevin Youkilis. He’s batted .312 in his first three games, hitting a grand slam and stealing a base. At $2,500, he’s worth a spot on many FanDuel lineups.

SS Tyler Pastornicky has been decent since earning a nod last week, with his highlight being a 3-for-4 day on May 2 in which he collected three RBI. We’re turning our attention to the slumping Erick Aybar. He hit .279 with 10 HRs and 30 SBs last season, but he’s been abysmal this year, hitting .206 with no homers and just one stolen base. The callup of Mike Trout has put Aybar in the bottom third of the lineup, and we’ll have to see if that removes some of the pressure from him and lets him rediscover his swing.

C A.J. Ellis has still be taking walks at an amazing clip, and he has one free pass in three straight games. He’s right at $3,000, so let’s see if we can find a cheaper catcher to keep an eye on. Ryan Doumit had the feel of a sleeper coming into this season, as he was expected to be the team’s regular DH, picking up more at-bats than most catchers. Justin Morneau has had to play at that spot more often than not, shifting Doumit into a utility role. He’s struggled to find consistency, but with Morneau now on the DL, Doumit can get comfortable as the DH. He smacked two HRs on Sunday and finished 3-for-3 on the day. It could be the start of a great stretch for him.

OF Tony Campana started May slow, going 1-for-9 in his first four games, but his 2-for-4 and ninth-inning game-tying RBI double on Sunday shows he shouldn’t be forgotten yet. We’re going to go cheaper than Campana’s $3,000 (though he’s still great) and tell you to keep an eye on Andy Dirks. He’s hit all over the Tigers lineup but settle into the No. 2 hole on Sunday, rewarding the team with two hits in five at-bats, including a solo HR. I don’t have to tell you that the lineup spot ahead of Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder should see plenty of hittable pitches, so if Dirks sticks there as the regular hitter, he’ll be worth a long look in fantasy.

You won by the largest margin yet in the DFBC qualifiers. Tell us about how you assembled such an incredibly potent lineup.

The lineup I won with (I had 4 entries total) was a play against Mets pitcher Chris Schwinden, who was just called up from Triple A, and making his first start of the season in Colorado. I started by stacking as many players as I could from the Rockies lineup. I noticed that the Rockies didn’t have a 3B eligible player in their lineup, so I knew right away that would be a spot I would have to use a player from another team. The third baseman I really liked was Evan Longoria, who was 3 for 3 with a home run in his career against Matt Harrison. I plugged Longoria in at 3B and took a look at the available pitchers. I realized that I did not like any of the bottom of the barrel pitchers that I could afford under my remaining cap. I scanned over my lineup again and decided the player whose value I liked least was Dexter Fowler. I looked over the cheapest possible OF’s and noticed Scott Hairston at only $2400 was starting for the Mets. I plugged him in as my 3rd OF instead of Fowler, and again looked over the starting pitchers I could now afford. I finally found Jake Westbrook, who had some pretty good career success against the Brewers, and was my favorite lower priced pitcher of the night.

Who were some of the key players in Week 4 that propelled you to victory?

I guess the first player I have to mention is Scott Hairston. Sometimes this game takes some luck, and obviously winning a tournament of this size involves even more luck. I wish I could say Scott Hairston was one of my favorite sleeper plays of the night, but as I explained above, he was the cheapest starting OF available I believe, and allowed me to keep everything else as is. I couldn’t possibly think he would hit for the cycle and give me 16.75 fantasy points. The other player who kind of allowed me to breathe a little easier was Ramon Hernandez. I only held a 0.25 point lead over generalv when Hernandez came to the plate with the bases loaded and 2 outs. He launched a grand slam to right which gave me a pretty comfortable 9 point lead at that point. By the way, it’s pretty amazing that generalv had 2 entries finish in the top 4, and a total of 6 different entries finish in the money.

When did it occur to you, “I might just win this thing.”

I actually was down by Citizens Bank Park where I watched the end of the game and met up with some friends after the game at XFinity Live. I had been following some of the early games on my phone but then hadn’t checked any scores for a little while. While walking to the subway, I opened up FanDuel on my phone and noticed I was in 2nd place. I also saw the Rockies were only in the 5th inning, so I had several more scoring opportunities available. I sent a text message to another friend, who quickly logged on FanDuel and started monitoring my team and the DFBC. I tried to follow the game as much as possible for the next 20 minutes on the subway, but the internet connection underground wasn’t the best. I also was getting sporadic updates from my friend. I finally got off the subway and was able to follow the rest of the game on ESPN Gamecast from my phone. It was pretty nerve wracking when I lost the lead momentarily, but when Hernandez hit the grand slam, I couldn’t believe it.

How long have you been playing fantasy baseball for?

I played a little bit of fantasy baseball in high school, but I started playing in more competitive season long leagues in college, about 10 years ago.

Have you ever won anything like this playing fantasy baseball?

I have finished 1st a couple times in season long leagues, but I’ve never won anything close to this.

How do you like the concept of daily fantasy baseball as opposed to traditional season-long leagues?

Daily fantasy baseball (and other daily sports) has revolutionized the fantasy industry. The ability to pick a new lineup every day, compete against other fantasy players, and win money that same night, is incredible. I still enjoy my season long leagues, but daily fantasy has given me something else to enjoy and follow on a nightly basis.

What do you like most about FanDuel?

I have tried playing a little bit at several other sites, but FanDuel was the first site that introduced me to daily fantasy sports. I am just most comfortable with the FanDuel interface and scoring setup. FanDuel also offers some amazing contests and promotions like the DFBC.

What will you do if you win the $100,000 first place in the Finals in Las Vegas?

I really haven’t even thought about that too much. I don’t know if it’s even really hit me yet. I am getting married this August, so I guess the money would be unbelievable for us to use towards a vacation or two, as well as a very nice down payment on a house.

Want to win a spot in Las Vegas with a shot at $100,000 as well? Then join Week 5 of the DFBC now!

1B Chris Parmelee earned our attention last week, and at $2,700 he’s still very inexpensive if we want to use him in our lineups and keep him on our KaEO team. Do we? He’s played a lot but not hit very well. However, an injury to Aubrey Huff begs us to move our attention to Brandon Belt. Ask anyone vested in Belt becoming a star and they’ll tell you he’s been severely mismanaged in his young career, spending most of his time on the bench instead of learning how to hit major-league pitching. With Huff on the DL, Belt is expected to get most of the playing time at 1B, so he has a little over a week to show what he can do. At 4 for 10 with three RBIs over the last three games, Belt has gotten off to the right start.

2B Skip Schumaker made our list last week after coming off the DL, and he’s currently in the midst of a six-game hitting streak in which he’s batting .368 with five runs and five RBIs. Part of a potent Cardinals offense, Schumaker should continue to collect RBIs and runs by the bunches as long as he’s hitting and getting on base. Still a bargain at $2,800, he’s an easy choice to remain on our team this week.

3B Luke Hughes showed up in our column last week after the A’s claimed him off waivers. With a gaping hole at 3B, the A’s were expected to give him immediately playing time, and he did. Unfortunately for Hughes, he didn’t hit, and a superior player also became available in free agency. With the signing of Brandon Inge, Hughes can be safely forgotten. There are several intriguing sub-$3,000 players at the position, none more intriguing than Pedro Alvarez. A former top draft pick, Alvarez was once a much-hyped fantasy prospect, but when he finally got his chance, he flopped. Still just 25 years old, Alvarez has a shot at being a productive fantasy player, and he may be finally putting it together. Even though he’s hitting just .200 on the season, he’s 7-for-18 with two HRs, three doubles and two walks in his last five appearances. He still strikes out way too often, but he may be getting close to realizing his potential.

SS Sean Rodriguez has seen his price slip; that’s what happens when you don’t hit. He’s still worth watching long term, as he’s locked into a starting job. If I had the right lineup in place and dug into the bargain bin for a shortstop, S-Rod would be the first guy I’d pull out, even with his current .190 average. But it may be time to keep an eye on Tyler Pastornicky, who’s the owner of a five-game hitting streak that’s seen him collect eight hits in 16 at-bats as well as two walks, two runs and an RBI. He wasn’t projected to be a fantasy monster in his rookie year, but Pastornicky does possess high-average potential, especially if he can eventually work his way to a premium lineup spot.

C Wilin Rosario hasn’t managed to get much playing time with Ramon Hernandez hitting well, so while we’ll keep him in our minds long term, let’s find a catcher to monitor that’s actually getting at-bats. A.J. Ellis, a guy that’s made it into our Bargain Bin rotation, is now hitting .288 after collecting seven hits in his last five games. But the incredible part of Ellis’ game is his batting eye — he’s up to 14 walks this season (against 15 strikeouts), which has pushed his OBP to .439. As of Sunday, Ellis falls one plate appearance short of qualifying for the OBP leaderboard, but his .439 would rank eighth in the entire league, placing him between Evan Longoria and Josh Hamilton. That’s some pretty good company, and it’s worth keeping an eye on to see if he can keep it up.

OF Lorenzo Cain has been delayed in his return to the lineup, but our other featured OF Tony Campana has been running up a storm since joining the Cubs. The trade of Marlon Byrd opened up playing time for Campana, and he’s responded with a .435 average, six runs and an incredible six stolen bases in his first eight games. The Cubs have hit him first or second in five of those eight games, so it’s clear he’s quickly made an impression on the team. Best of all, he’s still quite the bargain in FanDuel formats at $2,800. Another guy in particular worth keeping an eye on is Chris Coghlan, the former Rookie of the Year who was optioned to the minors this weekend. Will he get his swing sorted out on the farm?

P Drew Smyly kept us smiling with his first win on Saturday, which came against the Yankees in New York. Just like in his previous start against the Rangers, he only surrendered a lone home run to keep crooked numbers off the scoreboard while striking out seven guys in six innings. His price tag is rising to the point he’s worth waving goodbye to for our purposes, but Smyly’s still well worth an investment for the time being both in FanDuel and standard formats. Felix Doubront also picked up his first win of the season with a quality start in Chicago, while Marco Estrada couldn’t build off his outstanding first start when he faced the Cardinals, allowind four runs and two homers in six innings. I still like Doubront and Estrada as guys to watch and use in the right matchups at their current prices. We’ll also watch Patrick Corbin, a quality prospect and $2,000 guy who’s replacing Josh Collmenter in the Arizona rotation, Jeff Wieland at home in Petco Park, and Jeff Samardzija, who’s been inconsistent while flashing brilliance at times. I’m using Samardzija’s two-start week in my standard fantasy leagues.