This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
A moderate six-game slate awaits Saturday evening's main slate, making it a tad more challenging to differentiate. Only the Cubs have failed to provide us with pitching plans, so we currently have 11 arms to choose from.
Pitching
Unlike Friday night when we had minimal pricing differences between each arm, Saturday seems to have very clear tiers. The upper echelon forces us to choose between Justin Verlander ($10,500) or Julio Urias ($9,800). There's nothing to dislike about the former, but for the discount, I'm fully in on Urias in a bounce back after a terrible season debut. Cincinnati has only a .270 wOBA, 66 wRC+, .134 ISO and 26.1 percent K rate to date.
Our middle tier choices appear to be Noah Syndergaard ($8,200), who was terrific in his return to the mount after two years of injury, or Jameson Taillon ($8,600) who has a soft matchup against the Orioles. It really feels like a coin flip, as Taillon's opponent is going to make him very popular. He's a fine cash play. Neither Baltimore nor Texas strike out often, however, so for me, I think I'd rather go with Urias or Verlander than force one of these two into a build, as a lack of Ks severely limits upside.
Does this slate even offer a pay down option? All of the sub 7K arms face good offenses, and only Hunter Greene ($6,500) brings strikeout potential. Personally, I think that's going to make him a lazy plug in with higher than deserved usage. The Dodgers are fanning only 21.2 percent of the time, and while Greene's heat will lead to some results, the depth of the Dodgers' lineup will make him work. This slate is Urias or bust for me on the bump.
Top Targets
Everyone will be targeting Yankee bats against Tyler Wells, so my preference is to take a piece, and hope to find upside elsewhere. And that piece can also be a differentiator in Anthony Rizzo ($3,700), who is playing with resurgence, carrying a .475 wOBA, 216 wRC+ and .450 ISO in the early going.
Kris Bryant ($4,300) seems a tad overpriced given he's yet to leave the yard to date. But he's hit safely in every game entering Friday, including three extra-base knocks, and I'll buy the revenge angle against his former club. With the price being as large as it is, he seems like a nice low-used option, and the power has to come eventually in Coors Field, right?
The Cardinals offense is an interesting in Saturday. I don't trust their starter in Steven Matz, so I assume the bats will need to produce to keep up. It's difficult to fade Nolan Arenado ($4,400), but Paul Goldschmidt ($3,700) is 6-of-21 with two homers and six RBI against Adrian Houser. It's not a tremendous line, but the discount is enough to entice when paired with power potential.
Value Bats
We touched on Yankee appeal above. If not going to the top tier, you need at least a share of their offense. Wells allowed a .389 wOBA to righties at home last year, so that opens up DJ LeMahieu ($3,500) and his position flexibility, Gleyber Torres ($2,400) or Isiah Diner-Falefa ($2,200) as bargain options.
There are so many names in the $2,900 to $3,200 range who merit consideration, so it will be hard not to get sucked in and just pick them off one at a time. Cody Bellinger ($3,200), Corey Seager ($3,200), Gavin Lux ($3,100), Anthony Rendon ($3,100), Cedric Mullins ($3,100) and Mitch Haniger ($3,000) all fall into that category, but my hope is Christian Yelich ($3,000) goes overlooked. He's drawn five walks to pair with six hits through Thursday, and Statcast has him with an average exit velocity of 94.6 MPH, the highest of his career, resulting in a 70.6 percent hard contact percentage. That's not sustainable, but it also show's he's barreling the ball presently and is likely due some extra-base knocks as a result.
Stacks to Consider
Angels vs. Rangers (Taylor Hearn): Shohei Ohtani ($4,200), Mike Trout ($4,100), Jo Adell ($2,200)
As nontraditional as a stack can be, but it's got loaded upside, and the addition of Adell balances the budget nicely. We don't really need to discuss splits when it comes to Ohtani and/or Trout; if they're healthy and in the lineup, they are threats nightly. And I've unfortunately leaned on BvP a bit too much in this column, but Adell is the last example. He's 4-for-6 against Hearn with two homers. That's a quarter of his career long balls. You'd be hard-pressed to find more upside at this average value.
