This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
Saturday's main contest includes nine games, a slightly larger than normal weekend evening grouping. We've got a plethora of slumping arms that will surely be heavily targeted against, but we'll still need to differentiate to take home some larger pools. The Twins and Dodgers have not immediately made their pitching plans known, and Washington-Houston looks like our only potential weather threat.
Pitching
Chris Bassitt ($10,100) is the only arm priced in five-figures. I don't love that price, as there's only a slim chance at a 4x return against a Mariners' lineup that ranks 12th with a .311 wOBA against righties and fans only 21.9 percent of the time. But he seems safe, failing to reach 32 FanDuel points (FDP) just one in six starts. With no clear other options, paying for stability makes sense. Shane Bieber ($9,100) is the clear upside play, but his velocity drop is very concerning.
A couple of soft matchups could yield Bassitt-like production for a discount. Cristian Javier ($8,300) fits that bill, though I'm concerned about whether he's stretched out enough to work deep into the game given his varied pitching roles to date. He's striking out 10.4 per nine innings, but the Nationals only fan at a 21.2 percent clip. Michael Lorenzen ($7,500) figures to be a popular fallback. His 6.7 Ks per nine likely plays up here against an Athletics' lineup that fans 25.8 percent of the time, and they rank last in the league with a .250 wOBA, 69 wRC+ and 0.99 ISO.
This slate doesn't seem to offer a real pay down option, as we want to target bats against all of the sub 7k options. Rich Hill ($7,000) is as far down as I'd consider, and his upside is like a 3x return against a Texas lineup that ranks 12th against lefties with a .309 wOBA while fanning at a 21.2 percent clip. Keep an eye out for an update, as it appears Kyle Hendricks (unlisted) will go for the Cubs. Depending on his price point, he could hold some appeal.
Top Targets
How many Rockies can one squeeze into builds Saturday is likely the question. They'll be incredibly obvious/popular against lowly Carlos Hernandez, who has allowed 18 runs in 22.2 innings, highlighted by a .549 wOBA and 1.261 OPS to righties on the road. Pick one of C.J. Cron ($4,100), or Connor Joe ($3,800) to build around, and then look to lower-used bats.
With Coors Field, and the stacks below feeling kind of chalky, you'll likely see some low usage rates from some other big names. The Dodgers' lineup seems to fit that bill, specifically from the right side as Phillies' starter Ranger Suarez is allowing a .386 wOBA to opposite-handed bats against a .141 to lefties. Mookie Betts ($4,100) and/or Trea Turner ($3,700) fit the bill.
Value Bats
The upside is solely derived from playing in Coors Field, but Andrew Benintendi ($2,900) profiles as one of the most likely targets on this slate, carrying a team-high .381 wOBA and only 11.4 percent K rate against righties.
Alek Thomas ($2,400) is off to a hot start since his promotion, going 5-of-13 with a homer, two doubles and three RBI. He's yet to run but that's part of his profile too, giving him multiple paths at production.
I wouldn't ignore Houston bats in Washington either, facing Erick Fedde who is allowing a .437 wOBA and 1.034 OPS to lefties at home. Michael Brantley ($2,800) gives us some cheap exposure there.
Stacks to Consider
Yankees vs. White Sox (Dallas Keuchel): Aaron Judge ($4,300), DJ LeMahieu ($3,400), Gleyber Torres ($2,400)
This lineup is targetable nightly, so much so it may be as or more obvious as the Rockies Saturday evening. Judge is a known lefty masher, currently sitting with a .442 wOBA, 203 wRC+ and .438 ISO while striking out 35.1 percent of the time. Keuchel is fanning only 5.6 per nine, so if we think Judge gets the ball in play four times, there's huge upside. LeMahieu likely hits in front of Judge and has a better .482 wOBA against lefties. The third piece here is open for discussion. Torres is my choice for his affordability and upside, as he has a .370 ISO against lefties to go with a .415 wOBA. But if you want to be less obvious, Aaron Hicks ($2,600) is worth a look, as are some lefties, which Keuchel has struggled against to date, putting Anthony Rizzo ($3,500) and even a slumping Joey Gallo ($2,600) in play.
Angels vs. Athletics (Adam Oller): Mike Trout ($4,600), Taylor Ward ($4,300), Brandon Marsh ($3,100)
The inclusion of this game is odd, as it's the second of a Saturday double header, which isn't often included. Oller gets the starting nod, but likely isn't going to go too deep and the A's bullpen could very well be shortened thanks to the DH. But while he's in there, his .553 wOBA allowed to lefties and .439 to righties is certainly targetable. Trout and Ward need no introduction here, but both have a wOBA north of .450 and an ISO north of .360. Marsh helps balance this budget and has a usable .388 wOBA and 166 wRC+ in this spot.
