Daily Dime: James Shields, Evan Longoria, various other vets

You've got a limited daily budget; we've got bargains for your consideration. Please read on. As always, we urge you to view the weather reports and double-check lineups before finalizing your selections.

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James Shields, SP, vs. Hou (McHugh), $8100 at FanDuel: I'm using both starting pitchers from this game in various lineups, but I have a few more shares of Shields. He's $400 cheaper than McHugh, for one thing, plus he's at home in a friendly park, facing a lineup that leads the majors in Ks (157). Shields has pitched reasonably well in each of his four starts this season (1.12 WHIP), including a date at Coors Field last week.

Andre Ethier, OF, vs. SF (Lincecum), $2600: Yasiel Puig has hit the DL due to ongoing hamstring issues, so Ethier now has a clear path to playing time. He's slashing .342/.435/.605 so far this year, and he has a nice enough history against Tim Lincecum (14-for-51, 3 doubles, 2 HRs, 5 BB).

Chris Owings, SS, vs. Col (Matzek), $2600: Owings had a brutally slow start to his season, but the recent results have been just fine. Over his last six games, he has a homer, three steals and three multi-hit performances. I'm happy to use him at home against a sketchy lefty.

Evan Longoria, 3B, at NYY (Warren), $3200

: OK, this is where the Dime will begin to resemble a list of must-have players from 2009. But I swear, I'm just looking for value. Longoria is scorching hot, going 7-for-7 over the weekend, and Monday's opposing starter is not exactly a degree-of-difficulty matchup. Adam Warren enters the day with more walks (8) than Ks (6) on the year.

Ryan Braun, OF, at Cin (Marquis), $3100: Braun's year is off to a lousy start, but that helps explain the low price-tag. The matchups really don't get much friendlier than this. Bruan is 15-for-28 in his career against Marquis with five doubles, one homer, three walks and only four Ks. You might consider stacking a few low-cost Brewers here, perhaps rolling with Adam Lind ($3000) and Khris Davis ($2200).

Ryan Howard, 1B, at STL (Lackey), $2800: Yup, another vet with a rotten slash-line for the season (.193/.246/.404). But Howard has managed to homer in back-to-back games, driving in five runs, and he's had some nice moments against Lackey (3-for-10, 2 HRs). If you're building a lineup around the pitching talents of, say, David Price ($11K) or Corey Kluber ($9800), then you're going to need to find a few bargain bats.

Mitch Moreland, OF, vs. Sea (Walker), $2200: Here's a filthy-low price on a hitter who's slashing .310/.404/.476 for the season, coming off a three-hit game. Moreland is also facing a maddeningly wild right handed starter on Monday; Walker has issued 10 free passes in 12.2 innings so far this season. I'm starting both Nelson Cruz ($5K) and Adam Jones ($4K) in a few outfields on Monday, so I have a need for a dirt-cheap bat with upside.

Neil Walker, 2B, at CHC (Hammel), $3000: The Bucs' second baseman enters with a nine-game hitting streak, and he's been particularly dangerous over his last three: 7-for-12, 4 doubles, 4 RBIs, BB, K. Hammel hasn't been anything special to this point in the season (5.19 ERA), and he's given up plenty of loud outs. I'll be surprised if Walker doesn't extend his streak to an even 10 games.

Miguel Montero, C, vs. Pit (Worley), $2700: The Cubs have been running a three-man weave at catcher, so you'll want to triple-check Montero's starting status. But he homered in a 2-for-4 performance on Sunday, and I'd certainly like him here, in a matchup with a not-too-scary right-hander.

Adam Eaton, OF, at Bal (Jimenez), $2300: Eaton had a miserable start to his season, but he's delivered three multi-hit games in his last five while crossing the plate five times. If meaningless samples are your thing, then you'll want to know that he's 3-for-4 with a triple against Ubaldo. Eaton leads off for Chicago, so you're pretty much guaranteed five or more plate appearances.