This article is part of our DraftKings MLB series.
We're back with a full slate of games Tuesday. There are several strong to elite pitchers on the mound, which should mean that none of the group becomes too popular. There are also a few fairly obvious spots to pick from a hitter perspective, and those will be featured heavily in this article.
Pitchers
After a bumpy start to the season, Gerrit Cole ($10,500) has been good even when he's bad. In his last start, he allowed two home runs and five earned runs yet still posted 16.7 DK points. That makes him a great cash game play, but there's also plenty of upside still there – particularly against a Cincinnati lineup that strikes out at the fifth-highest rate in the league.
Jumping out of the five-figure prices, Dylan Cease ($9,700) and Logan Webb ($9,500) are my favorite pitchers to target among an abundance of intriguing arms in the same price range. Cease is a strong play in any contest type. In his last five starts, he's showcased his reasonable floor (16.5 DK points) and ceiling (40.8 DK points). He may end up on the lower end of that range Tuesday as the Guardians strike out at the lowest rate of any team in the league. On the other hand, they are a below-average offense as measured by wOBA and wRC+ so it's still not a matchup to shy away from. Webb lacks the ceiling of Cease, but he has the benefit of facing a Diamondbacks offense that is bottom five in wOBA and strikes out at a slightly above-average clip.
Mitch White ($7,800) is a nice target in the middle tier of pitchers. He's fully stretched out and has managed at least 15.7 DK points in three of his last five starts. Walks are a bit of a problem for him, but he can overcome that at his price point. The Cardinals' offense woke up Monday, but it's not a lineup I'd feel the need to avoid.
There aren't many appealing arms in the lower price range. Glenn Otto ($5,700) is the standout option. He's walked a tightrope in recent starts (15:17 K:BB across his last five outings) but has still managed at least 14.5 DK points three times in that span. Replicating one of those outings would return plenty of value, and he draws a matchup against an Oakland offense that he should feel free to aggressively put pitches in the zone against.
Top Hitters
It took a while, but since Marcus Semien ($5,000) hit his first home run May 28 he has maintained a .540 slugging percentage. He's in a good spot to make loud contact Tuesday, as James Kaprielian has served up 1.7 HR/9 and has the fourth-lowest strikeout of any pitcher taking the mound Tuesday.
Jason Alexander has managed to limit the quality of contact against him, but he has just a 10.2 percent strikeout rate. The Twins boast a lot of bats capable of taking advantage, with Byron Buxton ($5,700) being one prominent example.
Matthew Liberatore may develop into a useful pitcher for both fantasy managers and the Cardinals. However, he's not for the time being. Across his first 24.2 big-league innings, he has a 12.1 percent walk rate and has served up 1.5 HR.9. That makes the Dodgers an attractive team to target, and Mookie Betts ($5,900) in particular as the leadoff hitter.
Value Hitters
Jeimer Candelario ($2,100) has had a miserable season, though he's started to show signs of life by maintaining a .338 wOBA and 121 wRC+ across 29 plate appearances in July. That's a small sample to bank on, but he is extremely cheap and gets a matchup against Kris Bubic – who has allowed 1 .7HR/9 paired with a 4.3 K-BB%.
Austin Slater ($3,000) has become a regular in this column when the Giants face a southpaw. Until DraftKings changes its pricing there's little reason to change the approach. Slater is the regular leadoff hitter for the Giants against lefties and has a .376 wOBA across 96 plate appearances with the handedness advantage on the season. Dallas Keuchel is a pitcher to target, so this is a pretty straightforward pick.
The Royals won't be confused with a potent offense, but Hunter Dozier ($3,100) consistently hits in the middle of the lineup. He will square off against Beau Birieske who has allowed an 11.2 percent barrel rate and has a 5.70 xERA as measured by Statcast.
Stacks to Consider
Dodgers at Cardinals (Matthew Liberatore): Mookie Betts ($5,900), Trea Turner ($5,400), Will Smith ($4,300)
Liberatore has a 19 percent strikeout rate, which is a bit higher than I'd typically want given how expensive the Dodgers stack is. However, he checks the rest of the boxes, as discussed above. This could be a decent night to target Los Angeles because they are playing in a pitcher's park and a lot of teams find themselves in positive run-scoring matchups/environments. As a result, the lineup may be rostered at a lower rate than would typically be the case.
Rangers vs. Athletics (James Kaprielian): Josh Smith ($3,100), Marcus Semien ($5,000), Corey Seager ($5,00)
The Rangers came through Monday night with a big performance and they're in the position to do so once again Tuesday. There's nothing in Kaprielian's profile to suggest that we shouldn't attack him every time he takes the mound, including a low strikeout rate (14.9 percent), a high walk rate (10.9%) and a 1.7 HR/9. Smith continues to hit atop the order and his price hasn't risen so he offers some nice salary relief as compared to the fully priced Semien and Seager.
Twins vs. Brewers (Jason Alexander): Carlos Correa ($4,600), Byron Buxton ($5,700), Max Kepler ($4,600)
Alexander has a 1.2 K-BB%, which is an open invitation to stack against him. He has limited hard contact effectively but still has just a 4.75 ERA to show for it. As a result, there should be little hesitation to invest heavily in the Twins' lineup. This is likely to be a popular choice, but the hefty price points of the players at the top of the order could deter some roster rate.
