This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
What's becoming standard, we have 12 games to sort through Saturday evening, beginning at a usual 7:05 p.m. et. Pseudo normalcy is welcomed!
Pitchers
Tyler Glasnow ($9,800) sets up nicely at Baltimore. He managed 36 FDP despite only going four innings against the Braves in his first appearance, thanks largely to nine strikeouts. Glasnow allowed only 10 hits across 14 innings against the Orioles last season, inducing 21 ground ball outs, demonstrating soft contact. And he comes at a decent discount to Jack Flaherty ($10,300), who's Friday start was pushed back a day due to ongoing health concerns and seemingly could be postponed again Saturday.
Tyler Chatwood ($8,000) presents as the next clear target against a weak-hitting Pirates side that ranks last in the league with a .226 wOBA, mixing in a meager 46 wRC+ and 27.9 K percentage.
Marginally paying down, we're presented with Julio Urias ($7,800). It's a clear preferred matchup against a Diamondbacks side that has only a .229 wOBA and 48 wRC+ against lefties thus far. He should see ample run support, and having worked five innings in his first outing, Urias looks set for a win.
If hoping to punt/pay down, targeting Mike Fiers ($7,000) could work out, as he faces a weak, though surging, offense in a pitcher's park in Seattle. Brett Anderson, who opposes Flaherty and is equally at a PPD risk, will garner low ownership given the risk and the fact that he's coming off of the IL due to a blister on his finger. But the Cardinals are fanning 25.7 percent of the time with only a .291 wOBA, so he could be in a spot for 3x return even if his pitch count is low in his first start.
Top Targets
Two lefties in Joey Lucchesi ($6,400) and Kyle Freeland ($6,000) square off in Coors Field - so it should be all systems go with right-handed bats. Queue up Nolan Arenado ($4,100), Trevor Story ($4,300), Fernando Tatis ($4,100), Tommy Pham ($3,800) and/or Manny Machado ($3,800) in any capacity possible.
Arizona's Luke Weaver ($7,500) was lit up in his first appearance, allowing six runs and seven hits in 3.1 frames, which sets the Dodgers bats up for a solid contrarian stack opposite Coors Field above. Max Muncy ($3,800) is the hot choice, while Cody Bellinger ($4,300) is overdue a solid night.
Giancarlo Stanton's ($4,100) price continues to rise, and he and Aaron Judge ($4,300) figure to be less targeted than the options above given their preferred matchups. Fading the Yankees is always risky, especially against a bad Red Sox pitching staff, so if we can project lower ownership, there's value here.
Bargain Bats
My continued strategy remains mixing and matching top offenses, not names. So if we're not buying top Rockies or Padres in plus situations, we're eying anything in the lineup to pair with a Dodgers stack. Enter Wil Myers ($3,500), or possibly Matt Kemp ($2,700) if the lineup plays out.
Using a similar strategy, stacking Rockies and Padres leaves us with secondary Dodger bats such as Corey Seager ($3,300), Justin Turner ($3,300) and/or A.J. Pollock ($2,900).
Royals-White Sox makes for a solid game stack with a total of 10 runs and a weak pitching matchup of Gio Gonzalez ($5,700) squaring off against Ronald Bolanos ($5,500). The Royals didn't have huge splits against lefties last season however, and Gonzalez has only 3.2 innings under his belt, so he may not see the lineup multiple times. Jorge Soler ($3,600) and Whit Merrifield ($3,500) figure to be the chalk options, while Salvador Perez ($2,800) and Maikel Franco ($3,000) come cheaper. The White Sox aren't cost prohibitive either, led by Yoan Moncada ($3,600) and Eloy Jimenez ($3,100).
Stacks to Consider
Cubs vs. Mitch Keller: Anthony Rizzo ($3,900), Kyle Schwarber ($3,000), Ian Happ ($2,900)
There's truthfully no wrong answer in the surging Cubs offense at the moment, as even struggling Kris Bryant ($3,400) and Javier Baez ($3,700) are appealing as low-owned, contrarian options. But we want to target left-handed bats against Keller, who allowed a .415 wOBA to them last year. Rizzo is off to a white hot start, posting a .617 wOBA and .643 ISO against righties, while Happ owns a .433 wOBA in the early going. Schwarber is strictly a LvR play given his slow start, and if you need to save some funds, looking at Victor Caratini ($2,700) could work, though that's not a traditional top of the order stack.
Mets vs. Touki Toussaint: Pete Alonso ($3,700), Jeff McNeil ($2,900), Michael Conforto ($3,000)
A more traditional stack, grabbing the 2-3-4 hitters in the Mets lineup, two of which are opposite handed against a erratic Toussaint. Friday's game featured 21 runs, the total in this contest sits at 10.5, where I'll loosely take the over. Toussaint allowed five hits and six runs in just 2.2 innings in relief in his first appearance.
Braves vs. Michael Wacha: Freddie Freeman ($3,800), Marcell Ozuna ($3,600), Dansby Swanson ($3,200)
As noted above, I expect plenty of runs scored in this contest, so building a lineup of both sides, paired with some Rockies and Padres should pay off handsomely. Swanson continues to square up pitches, hitting safely in every game to date and owning a 57.9 percent hard hit rate. Ozuna isn't far behind, hitting safely in all but one contest, going for at least 9.5 FDP in four straight. Freeman started slowly, but has five hits in his last three games and is drawing walks at a 20.6 percent clip, leading to run scoring opportunities. Ronald Acuna ($3,800) is squaring balls better of late, driving the ball to the opposite field, just right at the defense, making for a lower owned option, as is Ozzie Albies ($3,500) if he's in the lineup.
