This article is part of our DraftKings MLB series.
It's a busy day in sports as baseball and football have started to overlap. However, the big prize pools and tournaments are still with MLB for now. DraftKings has an eight-game main slate to work with that kicks off at 7:05 p.m. EDT. Though the matchups are limited, there are plenty of interesting spots. That begins with the pitching pool, which is strong up top and offers some solid choices to work with lower in the salary pool for those willing to take on some risk. Identifying hitters will be based primarily on matchup as few of the traditional offense-friendly home parks are hosting games on Saturday.
Pitchers
It's hard to argue with the top available pitcher. Chris Sale ($11,000) carries the highest salary and draws the Angels. LA has been surprisingly good against lefties this season (100 wRC+, 19.4 K%), so it's not quite a cakewalk matchup. It's also not worth avoiding even with Sale's very slight recent downturn.
Hunter Brown's ($9,100) value admittedly comes with a bit of sticker shock, but everything checks out going up against the White Sox. It's not really a surprise at this point, but Chicago has been abysmal over the last 30 days (.266 wOBA, 25.7 K%). Brown doesn't boast the same ceiling as Sale, yet is a relatively safe bet for 20 DK points.
From there, things become less certain. From a "buy the dip" perspective, there's no better time to roster Bobby Miller ($7,500). He peaked at $10,100 this year, though has really struggled and is deserving of his current position. A matchup against the Cardinals is middle-of-the-road, so the bet would be that Miller discovered something in his month-long minor-league stint. His stats don't reflect that, but it did come in the very hitter-friendly PCL.
David Festa ($6,700) represents the most enticing cheap option. The Rangers are an interesting matchup as their lineup hasn't been great this season or the last 30 days, yet they also haven't struck out at high rates. It won't require a lot of Ks for Festa to pay off, though his inconsistency is a concern. He was crushed by the Guardians last time out, but also recorded recent performances of 18.2, 16.3 and 30.9 DK points.
Top Hitters
Hayden Birdsong looked to be a pitcher on the rise, yet he's allowed 12 earned runs across his last two starts. That puts the A's in the stacking conversation with the trio of Brent Rooker ($5,500), Shea Langeliers ($4,700) and even JJ Bleday ($4,000) worth considering.
Matt Olson ($5,400) and Austin Riley ($5,700) have produced three and four homers respectively in their last 10 games. They've done little else at the plate, but Griffin Canning has given up at least one long ball in 10 of his last 11 starts. He's also surrendered at least four earned runs seven times during that span.
Value Bats
Trevor Larnach ($3,300) hasn't hit the ball well of late, but he's still batting second against righties. The Twins draw Nathan Eovaldi on Saturday, which typically wouldn't be a favorable matchup. However, he had this start pushed back due to an oblique issue and has struggled since the All-Star break by conceding 19 earned runs across 26 innings.
Stacks to Consider
Red Sox at Orioles (Cade Povich): Jarren Duran ($5,700), Rob Refsnyder ($3,900), Rafael Devers ($5,900)
Boston is a really intriguing stack on Saturday. The first reason is pretty straightforward: Povich hasn't looked ready for The Show with a 25:23 K:BB paired with a 1.69 WHIP through eight starts. That volume of runners will lead to trouble, and the Red Sox offers a solid enough lineup to take advantage. The other reason is that the top of their lineup is really cheap against lefties. Duran will remain leadoff, though Refsnyder and Romy Gonzalez ($3,100) have recently been the two and three hitters. That means Boston can be a secondary stack in addition to a more superstar-filled lineup.
Astros vs. White Sox (Chris Flexen): Jose Altuve ($5,400), Yordan Alvarez ($6,000), Yainer Diaz ($4,700)
The savings with the previous listing leads us nicely into the Astros. Flexen is a difficult pitcher to assess since he's either typically been a disaster or shut down opposing lineups. Even with that caveat, he's allowed at least six earned runs in two of his last five outings while only completing more than 4.2 frames once over that stretch. The White Sox carry a bad bullpen, so the Astros should score runs one way or another on Saturday.
