Jason Giambi hasn't given Yankees fans or fantasy owners much to praise, but that could change over the next week with some favorable matchups.

AP

By Ray Flowers, Fanball.com, Special to SI.com

Wondering who has the most favorable matchups this week? How about the most unfavorable? Each Monday, we'll take a look at every position on the field and give you a guy who looks to be in line for big-time numbers, as well as a guy who could be in line for big-time disappointment.

Catcher

Make sure you play ... John Buck  
Buck has been hitting right-handed pitching well this season (.271 in 70 AB), and the Royals are scheduled to face four righties this week. Toss in a .360 batting average over his last 25 AB and it would seem that he would be a nice play this week if you're looking for a spark.

Honorable Mention: Matt Treanor, Florida Marlins (seven games vs. RHP. Owns a .300 BA against right-handers this year).

Don't expect much from ... Russell Martin, Los Angeles Dodgers
Russell has struggled a bit against RHP this year with a .262 average, but he's hitting .343 against LHP, which follows his established career trend (.268/.357). The Dodgers face five right-handers this week, which should be all you need to know as to why we are a bit cool on the prospects of Martin this week.

Honorable Mention: Jason Varitek, Boston Red Sox (A mixed bag with a poor average - .241- but solid power -- three HR, 12 RBI -- versus RHP, who the Sox are scheduled to face six times this week).

First Base

Make sure you play ... Jason Giambi, New York Yankees
OK, OK, this is a bit of a stretch for a guy who is hitting just .183 on the year, but there are a couple of reasons to expect it to work. First, Giambi has six home runs and 17 RBI in just 69 AB against right-handers, and the Yankees will face five righties this week. Second, he has long been a better hitter against RHP with a higher BA (.295), OBP (.421), SLG (.563) and OPS (.983) in his career versus the numbers he has produced against lefties (.26/.384/.469/.853). Third, he has two home runs and seven RBIs in his last five games.

Honorable Mention: Eric Hinske, Tampa Bay (Has six home runs and a .307 average against RHP, and he will see five of them this week).

Don't expect much from ... Joey Votto, Cincinnati Reds
It will be tough to bench a guy who memorably hit three home runs in a game a week ago, but you might want to consider doing just that since Votto is scheduled to face four righties this week, and he has struggled somewhat in that situation so far (.271 average). Also, though the team plays seven games, all are scheduled for Cincy, where Votto is batting just .250 in 44 AB on the year.

Honorable Mention: James Loney, Los Angeles Dodgers (All six games are on the road where he has hit about as well as a good-hitting pitcher -- .205 with a .647 OPS).

Second Base

Make sure you play ... Dan Uggla, Florida Marlins
Matchups mean little when you are as hot as Uggla is right now. With two home runs on Sunday, Uggla now has seven HR, 13 runs and 15 RBIs in his last nine games. The Fish are scheduled to face seven right-handers this week, against whom Uggla has posted a career .498 SLG, and all of those games are scheduled to be played at home where he owns a career .274 batting average. It doesn't get much better than this.

Honorable Mention: Omar Quintanilla, Colorado Rockies (The Rockies face six right-handers this week, and Quintanilla has a 10-for-30 mark against them to start this season).

Don't expect much from ... Mark DeRosa, Chicago Cubs
DeRosa has struggled against port-siders this year, hitting just .194 with 10 K in 31 AB, and this week he and his mates are scheduled to face five left-handers. He has also struggled with his swing against all pitchers in the month of May, when he is batting .160 with only a single RBI over 25 AB.

Honorable Mention: Freddy Sanchez, Pittsburgh Pirates (Despite a hot-streak that has him hitting over .300 in May, Sanchez faces seven right-handers this week, and he has hit .081 points lower with an OPS .191 lower against RHP in his career than against lefties).

Shortstop

Make sure you play ... Jeff Keppinger, Cincinnati Reds
Who cares who he is facing this week, this guy is simply on fire of late, with nine hits in his last three games, and he is hitting .480 (12-for-25) over his last seven games. The team is also scheduled to play seven games this week, all at home, where he is hitting .344 on the year. Lock and load here.

Honorable Mention: Jason Bartlett, Tampa Bay Rays (Hitting .333 over his last 45 AB even though he is facing a ton of right-handers this week, six, which have held him in check this year).

Don't expect much from ... Rafael Furcal, Los Angels Dodgers
Furcal has missed four straight games because of a wonky back, and though he is expected back in the lineup on Tuesday, he doesn't have good numbers against Ben Sheets (.150) and Jered Weaver (.167), two of the starting pitchers the Dodgers are scheduled to face.
  
Honorable Mention: Ryan Theriot, Chicago Cubs (Look at these averages against the starters he is scheduled to face this week: .000, .000, .400, .333, .167 and .125).

Third Base

Make sure you play ... Blake DeWitt, Los Angeles Dodgers

Nomar Graciaparra is scheduled to come of the DL later this week, but with the way he hit prior to his injury (.226-1-5-6-1), and the way that DeWitt is hitting right now (.378-2-11-7 in his last 12 games), would you bench Blake for Nomar if you were Joe Torre? I sure wouldn't.

Honorable Mention: Ty Wiggington, Houston Astros (Hitting .395 with three HR and 13 RBIs in 38 AB at Rangers Ballpark, where the Astros play on the weekend).

Don't expect much from ... Alex Gordon, Kansas City
Gordon owns a batting average of under .190 against the three Tigers starters he is scheduled to face (Justin Verlander, Kenny Rogers and Jeremy Bonderman). Throw in the fact that he is batting an anemic .179 against left-handed pitching (he is likely to face three this week), and this is a situation where you might go with another option if you have one.

Honorable Mention: Ryan Braun (Scheduled to face seven RHP. He is hitting .270 with a .744 OPS against right-handers this year and is hitting.279 off righties in 451 career AB.)

Outfield

Make sure you play ... Luis Gonzalez, Florida Marlins
With Josh Willingham on the DL with s sore back, Gonzo has taken full advantage of the extra playing time to hit .375 with five RBIs in nine May games. He has also tossed in three doubles, leading to a 1.007 OPS on the month. The Fish are scheduled to face seven righties this week, and Gonzalez has always hit them very well (.290 average and a .873 OPS in his career).

Honorable Mention: Brandon Boggs, Texas Rangers (Plays six games at home where he has hit .500. Hitting .357 with a .999 OPS in 12 games since his call up).

Don't expect much from ... Jason Kubel
The Twins face the Rockies this coming weekend at Colorado, which of course means that they won't be able to use their DH spot, so Kubel will likely lose some ABs. The Twins also face six right-handed pitchers this week, and though that has been Kubel's "strong" side so far, it has still produced just a .247 average with a .680 OPS.

Honorable Mention: Michael Cuddyer, Minnesota Twins (Six games against RHP this week, and he has only a .255 BA and .286 OBP in 47 AB this year against righties).

Pitcher

Make sure you play ... Roy Halladay, Toronto Blue Jays 
Of course you start Halladay each week no matter what, but given his career numbers against Minnesota, do yourself a favor and double check to make sure he is active: 6-0, 2.66 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 4.09 K/BB with a .205 BAA.

Honorable Mention: Mark Hendrickson, Florida Marlins (Has won his last five decisions and owns a 4-2 record with a 2.85 ERA against the Royals, who he faces late in the week).

Don't expect much from ... Livan Hernandez, Minnesota Twins
Sure, he is 5-1 on the year and has allowed just two earned runs over his last 16 IP (both victories). But let's face it, it's smoke and mirrors. Livan has an awful 3.48 K/9 mark that is dangerously low unless you are a batting practice pitcher, and he is scheduled to face the Red Sox and the Rockies in Colorado. Do those sound like good matchups to you?

Honorable Mention: Brad Penny (4.74 career ERA against the Brewers and 4.99 against the Angels. Also allowed 10 runs last time out).