FanDuel lineup advice for the weekend of July 24-26

First off, a quick introduction, though if you don't know what FanDuel is, well, you're missing out. FanDuel is a site that offers daily fantasy sports games. Participants are given a chance every day to select new players, fill out a lineup and, most importantly, win some cash. If you choose poorly Monday you can come back Tuesday and try again. Easy as that. Click here to enter a $5 FanDuel contest that offers a $10,000 prize today!

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 Ruben Tejada 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 July 24-26.

3 players to target

Chris Archer, P, Rays: Let everyone else splurge on Max Scherzer; the best matchup of the weekend belongs to Archer, who will be taking the hill Friday night at home and facing the Orioles. The right-hander has an ERA of 2.73, a FIP of 2.69 and is striking out 10.7 batters per nine innings while walking just 2.2. Baltimore has whiffed in 22.4 percent of its at-bats against righties, the third-highest mark in MLB. A strikeout pitcher and a strikeout-prone team is a dangerous combiation, one you should be looking to take advantage of.

Luis Valbuena, 3B, Astros: On Friday the power-hitting lefty gets to face off against Royals starter Jeremy Guthrie and his 5.36 ERA. Guthrie has been even worse against left-handers this season (.333/.395/.531). On Saturday Valbuena will take on Danny Duffy, a southpaw, but one with an ERA of 4.24 who lefties are hitting .322 off of this year. On Sunday Yordano Ventura will take the hill for Kansas City, the same Yordano Ventura who was recently sent down to the minors and is only back in the major leagues because of an injury to Jason Vargas. Ventura is also a righty. Valbuena is hitting .216/.293/.457 off of righties. Translation: A three-home run weekend is definitely in play.

Wilmer Flores, SS, Mets: Flores, like most of his Mets teammates, has struggled at the plate recently. So why list him here? Because now that Zack Greinke is on his way back to Southern California to be with his wife as she gives birth, Flories will spend the weekend facing a bunch of nobodies. The Dodgers are sending some dude named Ian Thomas to the mound on Friday and have yet to announce their Saturday and Sunday starters. Chances are they won't be studs. Flores will only cost you about $2,200, he plays a scarce position and you can be sure he'll be batting toward the top of the order.

3 players to avoid

Bryce Harper, OF, Nationals: This is more about the matchup and the lack of healthy bodies around Harper right now. Washington will travel to Pittsburgh to face the Pirates this weekend, and there they will be forced to take on A.J. Burnett and Gerrit Cole, two of the National League's best pitchers. That's the first strike against Harper. The other: The fact that every other decent Nationals hitter is seemingly injured at the moment, meaning you can expect the Pirates to spend the weekend pitching around the best player in the National League.

Dallas Keuchel, P, Astros: The Astros southpaw doesn't take the mound until Sunday, but you should make a note now to stay away from him. The reason: The Royals, who he'll be facing, and their league-low 15.1-percent strikeout rate against lefties. Keuchel "only" strikes out 7.9 batters per nine innings normally. Against the Royals' contact-heavy lineup, that number should be even lower.

Joc Pederson, OF, Dodgers: Pederson has been great this season, but he has to face a lefty in Jonathon Niese on Friday, and then Mets aces Matt Harvey and Jacob deGrom on Saturday and Sunday. Niese is, by far, the weakest of those three pitchers. But Pederson is only hitting .232/.321/.391 off of lefties this season. He's proven that he's one of the best hitters in the National League, but he's got a tough weekend slate ahead of him.

Other notables

If you really want to go with a cheap gamble, Dodgers hurler Ian Thomas, who will be given the spot-start in place of Zack Greinke, is a decent option. He's not very good, but he is facing the hapless Mets offense and only costs $4,100. ... The power-hitting Marlon Byrd in Coors Field against the weak Rockies rotation could be a strong play all weekend. ... Everything mentioned about Keuchel above -- same goes for the recently-acquired Scott Kazmir, who takes the hill Friday night.