This article is part of our DraftKings MLB series.
DraftKings gives us a great 11-game slate to work with that will cover the entire afternoon on the East Coast. There aren't many standout pitching aces, yet there's still a deep pool of quality arms to work with. We have a few good parks to target on the hitting side, highlighted by Coors Field along with American Family Field and Guaranteed Rate Field.
Pitchers
There's a decent crop of pitchers toward the top of the salary range, but most face fairly difficult matchups. For that reason, I'd be willing go down to a riskier option in Kodai Senga ($9,800) as my first pitcher. He's inconsistent, but has delivered some of the best ceilings in the league having topped 30 DK points twice in his last four starts. Senga also flames out regularly, yet should be in a position to rack up strikeouts and points against Pittsburgh. He's best suited as a tournament play.
Michael Kopech ($9,100) certainly seems to have figured out something as he's dominated his last four starts by maintaining a 38:4 K:BB across 26.1 frames. He draws a matchup against the Marlins, who are a slightly-below-average offense this season. They don't strike out much, so it may not be a ceiling performance for Kopech, but it still looks like a safe cash play.
Bobby Miller ($7,000) has gotten off to a fast start to his big-league career by posting at least 20 DK points in each of his first three starts. The Phillies on the road may not be the best opponent, but he's misvalued based on his skills. For those willing to take a chance, Miller offers the potential to be Saturday's best salary-saving option.
Speaking of potential value, Andrew Abbott ($6,500) also fits that description. He looked excellent in his first big-league start and will draw a stiff test against the Cardinals on Saturday. With Abbott's salary, he doesn't need to be great to emerge as a solid value.
Top Batters
A matchup at Coors Field is always an easy place to start, but that's particularly true Saturday as Fernando Tatis ($6,300) and the Padres will be set to take on Kyle Freeland. Freeland has allowed 1.5 HR/9 this season and has maintained the second-lowest strikeout rate of any pitcher available for this set of contests.
Lane Thomas ($4,400) isn't likely to be the first name to come to mind when thinking of star hitters, yet he's in a good spot Saturday. He's taken over as the full-time leadoff hitter in Washington and will take on Jared Shuster, who carries an abysmal 1.5 K-BB% and 6.14 SIERA.
Value Hitters
Maikel Garcia ($2,400) hasn't been particularly productive in the first 103 at-bats of his career, but the Royals appear to be ready to give him a shot in the leadoff role against lefties. He'll draw a matchup against Cole Irvin on Saturday, who's given up 1.4 HR/9 with only a 7.7 K-BB%.
Most of the attention in Oakland has gone to Brent Rooker, but Ryan Noda ($2,700) has also quietly enjoyed an excellent season. He'll take on Julio Teheran and his favorable results, though his 4.80 SIERA suggests he lacks the skills to make those results stick for the long term.
Stacks to Consider
Padres vs. Rockies (Kyle Freeland): Fernando Tatis ($6,300), Juan Soto ($6,100), Manny Machado ($5,300)
This stack is obviously expensive, but the spot is unbeatable at Coors and in the aforementioned head-to-head with Freeland. The Padres lineup hasn't lived to its star power through two-plus months, though we saw an example of what they could do when they racked up nine runs Friday. With some decent punt and value pitching options, stacking the Padres - and the Rockies - is extremely viable.
Mets vs. Pirates (Johan Oviedo): Brandon Nimmo ($4,100), Francisco Alvarez ($3,400), Francisco Lindor ($4,800)
The Mets don't check the boxes in the same ways as the Padres due to the hitting environment. However, they have a solid matchup against Oviedo and his seventh-worst SIERA among the available arms. He's recorded decent results of late, but has also endured blowups of six and seven earned runs on his ledger. The top of the Mets lineup got a lot cheaper without Pete Alonso, so there should be many different ways to build the stack while also fitting in some of the higher-end pitching.
