This article is part of our DraftKings MLB series.
Tuesday's busy slate of games will be highlighted by a doubleheader between the Yankees and the Red Sox. There are also some exciting starting pitching matchups, including Corbin Burnes and the Brewers taking on Adam Wainwright and the Cardinals. Kyle Hendricks, who has rebounded from a dreadful start, will be seeking his 14th win of the season in a matchup against the Reds. Meanwhile, a Padres team that is scrambling to fill out their starting rotation certainly won't find themselves in an ideal scenario having to take on the Rockies at Coors Field. Let's highlight some players to target for your DraftKings lineups.
Pitchers
Logan Webb ($8,800) has quietly had a very good season for the Giants. He's started all but one of his 17 appearances and come away with a 2.96 ERA and a 3.32 FIP. He's only allowed 0.7 HR/9, which has been one of the keys to his success. In addition to that, he has a career-best 26.0 percent strikeout rate. Up next is a matchup against a Mets team that has the seventh-worst OPS in baseball.
Alek Manoah ($8,600) has burst onto the scene with the Blue Jays to record a 2.59 ERA and a 1.02 WHIP over 11 starts. His FIP isn't quite as impressive at 3.86, but he's only allowed 1.2 HR/9 to go along with his 29.3 percent strikeout rate. He could be in line for a masterful performance against the Nationals, who have a very underwhelming lineup around Juan Soto. This game will also be played in Washington, so Manoah won't have to deal with the DH.
After stripping down their roster at the trade deadline, the Cubs have struggled to score runs. They entered Monday with the eighth-worst OPS and tied for the most strikeouts in baseball. That adds up to Vladimir Gutierrez ($7,000) being an appealing option. He's already been pitching well lately, allowing two or fewer runs in six of his last seven starts. That included an outing against the Cubs in which he allowed two runs and recorded five strikeouts over 6.1 innings.
Top Targets
If you were to roll with the combo of, say, Manoah and Gutierrez at starting pitcher, you could have enough left over in your budget to deploy Shohei Ohtani ($6,500) on the hitting side. While his salary is certainly expensive, he has a great matchup versus Casey Mize ($6,400), who has allowed 1.7 HR/9.
The Padres are scrambling for healthy starting pitchers right now and even signed Jake Arrieta, who struggled to the tune of a 6.12 FIP and 1.76 WHIP with the Cubs. As of late Monday night, they had yet to officially name a starting pitcher for their matchup against the Rockies at Coors Field. It might be an underwhelming option, though, which would play right into the hands of Trevor Story ($5,300).
Bargain Bats
Eli Morgan's ($6,800) first stint in the majors has not gone well. Across 10 starts, he has a 6.52 ERA and a 5.31 FIP. He's allowed 2.2 HR/9 and an 11.3 percent barrel rate. While he won't face the deepest of lineups in the Twins, Jorge Polanco ($3,500) could at least do some damage against him. Entering Monday, Polanco had 21 home runs on his way to a career-high .215 ISO.
Dylan Bundy ($6,000) has usually been a pitcher to pursue stacking against. After thriving during his first season with the Angels in 2020, he's regressed to the tune of a 6.17 ERA and 5.46 FIP this season. One of the main reasons why he was successful last season was that he only allowed 0.7 HR/9. He's gone in the opposite direction this season by allowing 2.0 HR/9. This could be an opportune matchup to roll with Jonathan Schoop ($4,000), who is approaching his fifth straight full season in which he has launched at least 20 home runs.
Stacks to Consider
Dodgers vs. Wil Crowe ($6,200), Pirates: Max Muncy ($5,400), Trea Turner ($5,000), Cody Bellinger ($4,200)
Crowe only gave up one run in his last start against the Cardinals, but he allowed seven baserunners across 4.2 innings. That's been an area of concern for him this season given his 1.56 WHIP. The Dodgers are an appealing team to stack more often than not, but even more so based on this matchup. While Turner doesn't have the platoon advantage here, that might not be a problem given that Crowe has allowed a career .416 wOBA to right-handed hitters.
Blue Jays vs. Erick Fedde ($7,200), Nationals: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. ($6,400), Bo Bichette ($6,000), Teoscar Hernandez ($5,400)
Fedde is in the midst of another underwhelming season for the Nationals with his 5.12 ERA and 4.50 FIP. His WHIP checks in at 1.42 and he only has a 20.8 percent strikeout rate, which could be a recipe for disaster against the loaded Blue Jays' lineup. Hernandez is able to somewhat fly under the radar playing alongside the likes of Guerrero, Bichette and George Springer (ankle), but he's had a fantastic season of his own with 20 home runs and a .375 wOBA. He's also decreased his strikeout rate to 24.9 percent, which is more than five percentage points lower than his career mark.
Mariners vs. Spencer Howard ($5,400), Rangers: Mitch Haniger ($4,600), Abraham Toro ($4,000), Jarred Kelenic ($2,500)
Howard continues to pitch limited innings despite starting the majority of the games that he has appeared in this season. He's made two starts since being dealt to the Rangers and he only logged a combined 5.1 innings. That means we could be looking at a bullpen game for the Rangers, who don't exactly have a stellar stable of relievers. That makes the Mariners a team to consider stacking despite their overall struggle to score runs this season. A key to any Mariners stack could be Toro, who has a 1.002 OPS since being acquired from the Astros.
