FanDuel lineup advice for the weekend of June 26-28

As for what we're going to be doing in this space: The goal here will be to direct your attention toward some players who you might not otherwise consider. If you're here and reading this, then you already know that Mike Trout is really good. But when filling out a roster you can't just pick out stars. You'll blow your cap that way and get stuck praying to the baseball gods that a guy like Wilmer Flores actually gets a few hits. No, if you want to win, you have to take advantage of certain matchups -- and in order to do that you have to know where to look. That's what we're here for. Below are three players to target and three to avoid for June 26-28.

Francisco Liriano, P, Pirates: Liriano is going for $9,900 on Friday night, which is a bargain because of the other hurlers taking the mound throughout baseball: Max Scherzer, the apparent second coming of Cy Young (more on him below); strikeout machine Corey Kluber; and Johnny Cueto, who gets to face the inept Mets. All three are going to be heavily used Friday night. All three will also cost more than Liriano. The lefthander will take on the Freddie Freeman-less Atlanta Braves in the friendly confines of PNC Park. Atlanta has whiffed in 23.3 percent of their at-bats against southpaws this season, the eighth-worst number in baseball, and they're wOBA against lefthanders is a porous .282, the second-worst mark in MLB. Liriano has a 2.93 FIP and is striking out 10.70 batters per nine innings. He should be able to dominate Friday night. Go with him and spend that $2,000 of extra cash on your position players.

Yoenis Cespedes, OF, Tigers: They're small sample sizes, but Cespedes has had lots of success against two of the White Sox pitchers he'll be facing this weekend: eight hits and four home runs in 14 career at-bats against Jose Quintana, and four hits and two home runs in 10 career at-bats against Jeff Samardzija. He's also riding a seven-game hit streak and will only cost you about $3,700.

Cameron Maybin, OF, Braves: Maybin has the honor of facing Pirates catcher Francisco Cervelli this weekend, possibly the worst-throwing backstop in baseball. Cervelli has allowed 48 stolen bases this season (!), the most in MLB. Maybin has swiped 13 bags this season and is working on a three-game hit streak. Assuming he can get on-base this weekend, he should be able to add to that stolen base total.

Scott Kazmir, P, Athletics: Kazmir has, yet again, been a pleasant surprise this season. He's sporting a 2.70 ERA and whiffing 8.53 batters per nine innings. So, why avoid him when he takes the hill on Saturday? Because he'll be facing the feisty Royals, a team that rarely strikes out. Only 15.9 percent of Kansas City's at-bats against lefthanders this season have ended in a strikeout, the third-lowest number in baseball. That doesn't bode well for Kazmir. Neither does the Royals' approach. Kansas City likes to work counts. Kazmir likes to throw a lot of pitches. Don't be surprised if he's knocked out of the game before the sixth inning.

Todd Frazier, Reds, 3B: Frazier's got some really tough matchups this weekend. In CitiField. He's going against Noah Syndergaard Friday night, Matt Harvey on Saturday and Steven Matz (more on him below) on Sunday. He's also hitting just .302/.490/.792 this season on the road, compared to .422/.800/1.222 at home. For $5,000, those are numbers you don't want to see.

Carlos Gonzalez, OF, Rockies: He's not on the disabled list, but Gonzalez has missed three straight games with an injured hand, and yet is still going for $3,500 on FanDuel. The frustrating part here is that CarGo has some good matchups this weekend. He's had success in his career against Tim Lincecum and Madison Bumgarner, both of whom he'll be facing. But Gonzalez is no stranger to injuries and an ailing hand can really mess with a batter's swing. Stay far away until he shows that he's back to being 100 percent.

He's going for an insane $12,500, but Max Scherzer is the man to target Friday night if you want to break the bank on one guy. He's allowed just one hit in his past two games and has whiffed 26 strikeouts batters in the 18 innings he's pitched during that time. He's only issued one walk and will be facing a Phillies team who is last in MLB in runs. ... Diamondbacks speedster A.J. Pollock (15 stolen bases) gets to face Padres catcher Derek Norris (46 stolen bases allowed) and pitcher Tyson Ross (a MLB-high 22 stolen bases allowed this season) on Saturday. ... The Mets are calling up flame throwing Steven Matz for Sunday. It's unclear how much he'll cost for Sunday, but his 2.19 ERA in AAA and 94 strikeouts in 90.1 innings do project well.