This article is part of our DraftKings MLB series.
As is typically the case on Saturday, we have two evenly split slates in the afternoon and evening. We'll limit our focus to the latter offering, which features seven games and kicks off at 7:10 p.m. EDT. There are a number of intriguing matchups, including Atlanta against San Diego, Cincinnati against the Dodgers and Milwaukee at Houston. There are also plenty of solid arms to work with, and that's where we'll begin our breakdown.
Pitchers
The top two options are Zac Gallen ($9,400) and Jack Flaherty ($8,900). They square off against each other in what has the makings of a low-scoring battle. It also offers a pretty clear choice between favoring skill or matchup. Flaherty has been the superior pitcher, most notably with a seven percentage point advantage in strikeout rate over Gallen. On the other hand, the Tigers have a far weaker lineup and strike out at a higher rate. I'll side with Gallen and hope he gets the win, though both are decent options (just don't play them together).
The Cardinals have recently shown some signs of life, but not enough for me to shy away from Kutter Crawford ($8,500). He's been more of a floor rather than ceiling option of late, and there are better values available. Because of that, I'd only play Crawford if I wasn't rostering either Gallen or Flaherty.
Yu Darvish ($8,200) and Patrick Sandoval ($8,000) are a pair of similarly-skilled arms to Crawford who offer some savings. Darvish draws a tough matchup against Atlanta, yet he's tallied between 19.5 and 32 DK points from his last three starts. His 32-point effort came against the Dodgers, so he's capable of overcoming tough matchups. Sandoval is a bit of a sneakier option as he has a relatively poor track record and pitches for a subpar team. A matchup against the Rangers also does him no favors, but he does have a 3.70 SIERA (third-best among available pitchers) and a 23.8 percent strikeout rate (fourth-best on the slate).
This is a top-heavy day for pitching, with no particularly good options at a lower salary than Sandoval. If I wanted to take a chance on a punt play, it would be Graham Ashcraft ($6,800) against the Dodgers, though that's a very risky move.
Top Hitters
Miles Mikolas lists one of the worst combination of skills possible for a pitcher as he doesn't strike batters out and gives up a lot of hard contact. That makes Boston a strong candidate to put up runs, and Rafael Devers ($4,900) would be the most likely to lead the way.
Bryce Elder is another pitcher who allows plenty of contact, so I'd like to get some San Diego hitters on my rosters. Fernando Tatis ($5,700) represents the obvious option, though Jurickson Profar ($4,400) has been one of the team's more productive players and is significantly cheaper.
Value Bats
The common theme of Saturday's contest is getting a bit creative with bats due to pitchers carrying elevated salaries, so the Brewers seem like a good place to start. Justin Verlander surprisingly carries the worst SIERA of all pitchers on the evening slate and has allowed a 12 percent barrel rate. He's still at a 3.38 ERA, so I'm not stacking Milwaukee or even paying for the premium options, but Joey Ortiz ($3,400) is swinging a hot bat and hasn't seen his salary rise that much.
The story is similar for the Reds as Walker Buehler still looks uncomfortable on the mound after returning from Tommy John surgery. Will Benson ($3,600) should be leading off and is a solid boom-bust option at his valuation.
Stacks to Target
Astros vs. Brewers (Bryse Wilson): Jose Altuve ($5,600), Kyle Tucker ($6,200), Alex Bregman ($4,300)
Bryse Wilson has walked at least three batters in three of his last four starts and has only managed a 9.5 K-BB% overall. He can't keep getting such positive results (2.65 ERA), and Houston boasts the talent to make him pay. The tricky part of this stack is the salary as it'll be difficult to get the heart of this order and some of the better pitchers in the same lineup.
Angels at Rangers (Jose Urena): Taylor Ward ($4,700), Luis Rengifo ($4,000), Willie Calhoun ($3,300)
The Angels aren't exactly an imposing roster, but it'll be important to find cheaper bats as there with few pitching values available. Urena is a pitcher to target as he gives up a lot of contact and only lists a 6.6 K-BB%. Ward has quietly hit well all season while Rengifo returned to hit second in the order on Friday. His salary will probably increase soon enough while the combination of factors on Saturday makes this one of the better times to stack the Angels.
