It's a great time in the baseball calendar with all four divisional series set to kick off Saturday. The teams with byes through the wild-card round carry a significant advantage early on in series as the other teams attempt to get their rotations back in order. With that brief backdrop, let's jump into the slate.
Pitchers
As noted, the available pitchers may not be as strong as expected based on the current stage of the season. Spencer Strider ($11,200) represents the standout option, and he's valued $2,100 more than the next pitcher. He maintained a 36.8 percent strikeout rate across the regular season, 10 percentage points higher than anyone else on Saturday. The Phillies aren't an easy matchup, but they do strike out at a relatively elevated 23.3 percent clip.
We can drop down significantly from there to Justin Verlander ($8,400), who goes against the Twins. They were the most strikeout-prone team in the league during the regular season. Their performance has improved of late, though the track record says Verlander should be able to rack up Ks even if he surrenders a few runs.
Kyle Bradish ($7,500) hasn't received the credit he deserves throughout 2023. He sits right in the middle of the eight pitchers taking the mound in terms of strikeout rate and lists the highest groundball rate of the group. The Rangers were a strong lineup overall throughout the regular season, so the matchup isn't ideal.
Top Hitters
Ranger Suarez is a decent pitcher, but he produced a low strikeout rate (22 percent) and will be going up against the MLB's best lineup. Any Atlanta hitter is a decent option, though Ozzie Albies ($5,200) has registered a .433 wOBA and 174 wRC+ against lefties this season and checks in at a discount relative to the other Atlanta stars.
Ryan Mountcastle ($3,800) doesn't neatly fit into either value or top hitter based on his salary, but his .435 wOBA and .317 ISO against lefties this year makes him worth mentioning. It's unclear how long Andrew Heaney will pitch, which does introduce some risk to playing Mountcastle.
Value Bats
Jose Abreu ($3,300) has slipped a bit down the Houston lineup since the start of the season, yet he's still batting fifth in a high-quality lineup. Meanwhile, Bailey Ober has a problem allowing 1.8 HR/9 to right-handers across 158 career innings.
Stacks to Consider
Orioles vs. Rangers (Andrew Heaney/Dane Dunning): Austin Hays ($3,400), Adley Rutschman ($4,600), Anthony Santander ($4,200)
As previously stated, there's some risk to this lineup if the handedness of the pitcher changes early on. At the same time, both Rutschman and Santander will be locked into the lineup as switch-hitters. Other than that, the Orioles draw the best matchup of the day on paper and check in at a great value. For those who want to pay up for Strider and Verlander, this is a good lineup to stack.
Atlanta vs. Phillies (Ranger Suarez): Ronald Acuna ($6,600), Ozzie Albies ($5,200), Austin Riley ($4,900)
This is pretty much the flipside of what was said about Baltimore. This trio is expensive and intriguing based primarily on the talent of the roster rather than the matchup. And Truist Park is the most beneficial stadium to offenses on Saturday. Rostering the top of the Atlanta matchup would obviously require spending less on pitching, with Bradish and Verlander a potential combination.
