This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
Saturday's main slate features just six games and no five-figure priced arms, so we're set up to pay freely on the bump while still enjoying some solid bats. That said, at time of submission, five games had a total of 8.5 or less, with the Braves-Jays being off the board as we await Toronto's plans on the hill. That suggests offense won't come easily.
Pitching
Eduardo Rodriguez, BOS at TEX ($9,500): Everyone is going to be on Dustin May ($9,700) or Brandon Woodruff ($9,200) in a game that is billed as a lockdown pitcher's duel. But I'm targeting Rodriguez sandwiched in between. The Rangers have the third-lowest wOBA against lefties at .275, adding a meager .116 ISO. The K rate isn't huge (25.3 percent) but still targetable. Rodriguez has been as stable as they come, going for 33 to 46 FanDuel points (FDP) in four outings.
Zac Gallen ARI vs. COL ($9,000): This is a tough spot for managers. Gallen has fanned at least six in every outing, but the Rockies whiff only 24.5 percent of the time against righties. Their 72 wRC+ and .181 ISO shouldn't scare us away, but Gallen isn't efficient enough to just assume six innings and 4x at this number. We can assume low usage however, and that creates GPP appeal.
Anthony DeSclafani, SF vs. SD ($8,100): I can probably make a better case that DeSclafani is overpriced rather than suggest using him; that's quite the intro! He lands here nearly by default, as I've targeted bats against most other options below. But DeSclafani has only had one bad outing in five tries, and was worth 24 FDP in his season debut against these Padres. San Diego doesn't fan often, but a .308 wOBA and .130 ISO aren't exactly scary. He'll see bottom-tier usage, and 4x isn't out of the question.
Top Targets
Shohei Ohtani, LAA at SEA ($4,200): This slate screams taking a mid-to-upper tier arm and a balanced lineup, so that makes Mike Trout ($4,500) a potential overlook, especially for GPPs. But if I'm forced to choose, I'll take Ohtani's left-hand bat against Ljay Newsome, who is allowing a .377 wOBA against a .201 spot to same-handed bats. This comes with very minimal conviction.
Vladimir Guerrero, TOR vs. ATL ($4,000): As noted above, anchoring with top bats doesn't present as favorably as normal. But given the limited "sure" bets, Guerrero stands out, owning a .472 wOBA, 214 wRC+, .324 ISO and 41.5 percent hard hit rate. If everyone is as down on the top bats as I am, that will make for low usage at a minimum.
Value Bats
Evan Longoria, SF at SD ($2,900): Longoria's success to date isn't sustainable, at all, but how do we fade a successful small piece to this offense in a positive spot. He's carrying a .774 wOBA, .737 ISO and 52.9 percent hard-hit rate against lefties into Saturday. Padres' starter Blake Snell is too inefficient for us to expect him to work deep, so we're banking on three ABs at best, but Longoria has put up at least some points in every game since April 12, suggesting a positive floor at worst.
Kyle Lewis, SEA vs. LAA ($2,800): Lewis seems to be getting his timing, having homered in two of his last three after missing the season's first three weeks. Angels starter Griffin Canning is allowing a .449 wOBA to righties, having already allowed five homers in 41 plate appearances. At this number, we don't even need to chase power from Lewis, as his cleanup spot should have him in run-producing situations.
Stacks to Consider
Red Sox vs. Jordan Lyles: J.D. Martinez ($4,200), Rafael Devers ($3,700), Alex Verdugo ($3,200)
Any piece to this offense against Lyles should be a building block, who's surprisingly been more vulnerable against same-handed bats to date. That makes the third piece a bit interchangeable between Verdugo and Xander Bogaerts ($3,300) who is priced far too favorably. I'll let you make that choice. But Martinez homered two times Friday at submission and carried a .509 wOBA and .361 ISO into last night, while Devers owned a .392 wOBA and .339 ISO.
Diamondbacks vs. Austin Gomber: Carson Kelly ($3,700), Eduardo Escobar ($3,400), Asdrubal Cabrera ($2,800)
Gomber's splits say we need as many right handed bats as possible (.373 wOBA vs. .174), something the D'Backs are short on. And it's not enjoyable paying this number for a catcher in Kelly, but Arizona's production is just different than most lineups. Kelly is hitting near the top of the order and owns a .686 wOBA, 335 wRC+, .692 ISO and 69.2 percent hard hit rate against lefties. Escobar has gone deep four times in seven games while posting a .581 wOBA, 268 wRC+ and .478 ISO in this spot. The third piece isn't as obvious, and shouldn't be forced, as a mini two-man stack works. But Cabrera is coming to life, hitting safely in seven of nine, and offers another top-third bat from the opposite side.
