This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
A nine-game slate is on tap for Saturday's main contest, with all games getting underway in the 4:00 p.m. EDT timeframe. All teams have listed starters, two of which are priced at $10,000 or above, with five more coming in in the 9k tier. Keep an eye on weather. For this column, we'll assume everything is fine, but the east coast is looking like some showers could come into play, making Baltimore-Los Angeles and Atlanta-Washington somewhat risky.
Pitchers
The top three arms all have soft matchups on paper, so I see little reason to get creative and look elsewhere. Framber Valdez ($10,700) is in terrific form, with a 34 FDP floor over his last 11 starts, and gets lowly Oakland. Brandon Woodruff ($10,000) has averaged 50 FDP in two starts since returning from injury, fanning 18 across 11 innings, which included six shutout frames against Saturday's opponent in Pittsburgh. And finally, Kyle Wright ($9,900) appears to have righted his ship, allowing just one run across his last 11 inning. His last start was cut short due to a rain delay, but he should see ample run support and have a great shot at a win against light-hitting Washington. He's probably the most likely to be ignored of this big three, though he also likely has the lowest ceiling.
Further bolstering my belief in paying up Saturday is the lack of clear options that follow. Sure, Patrick Sandoval ($9,400) has an okay matchup in Baltimore, but I'd much rather spend $500-$600 more for Wright or Woodruff. Carlos Carrasco ($9,000) merits some consideration against swing-happy Miami, but he's worked six frames only once in his last five outings.
Perhaps we can squeeze a good return out of Kyle Freeland ($8,200). He's earned four quality starts in his last six outings, so we can feel decent about his innings count. Arizona ranks 25th against lefties with just a .296 wOBA and 87 wRC+ while striking out 23.4 percent of the time. With 30+ FDP, that'd be enough savings over the big arms to justify usage here.
Top Targets
Exactly half of the listed starters are left-handed, so we have a plethora of splits we can hone in on, with the challenge being where do you stack versus going with one-offs who mash left-handers. Starling Marte ($3,900) looks like a solo entry to the Mets lineup Saturday. That he's priced over Pete Alonso ($3,800) should lead to low usage, and the splits are very favorable. Marte boasts a .404 wOBA, 169 wRC+ and .209 ISO to Alonso's .317 wOBA, 117 wRC+ and .213 ISO, and Marte is riding an eight-game hitting streak as well.
Jose Altuve ($4,200) is seemingly in a class unto himself against left-handers, sporting a .476 wOBA, 221 wRC+ and .435 ISO against them. The only reason I may be adverse to stacking Astros solely based on left-handed splits is I don't expect starter Zach Logue to stick around long.
Bargain Bats
Brendan Rodgers ($3,200) leads the Rockies with a .420 wOBA and 160 wRC+ against lefties, offering a cheap option against an average starter in Madison Bumgarner. Staying in Arizona, if you're not on Freeland on the mound, Christian Walker ($3,500) has a .442 wOBA, 186 wRC+ and .324 ISO against lefties to date, having homered twice in 22 at bats against Freeland.
Texas has three bats with a wOBA north of .400 against lefties, none of which I'd consider traditional DFS targets. Jonah Heim ($2,800) leads the way at .452, with a .340 ISO, followed by Mitch Garver ($2,400) at .439/.380 and Nathaniel Lowe ($3,100) at .407/.333. Unfortunately, they all fill the same slot on FanDuel, so you can't include more than one of them.
Jeremy Pena ($3,400) makes for a nice 1-2 stack with Altuve atop the Astros lineup, carrying a .390 wOBA, 160 wRC+ and .267 ISO against lefties into Saturday. Chas McCormick ($2,700) sits at an almost identical .389 wOBA, 160 wRC+ and .240 ISO and offers a cheap entry point, though I'll echo those fears of Logue not lasting long enough to give McCormick even two cracks at him.
Stacks to Consider
Braves vs. Nationals (Patrick Corbin): Austin Riley ($4,100), Travis d'Arnaud ($3,300), Marcell Ozuna ($3,200)
We were all in on Atlanta on Friday, and they didn't disappoint, with everyone in their lineup either getting a hit or scoring a run. Expect more of the same Saturday against Corbin, who this lineup is a collective 46-of-156 (.376) against with a .912 OPS. Picking the right trio is challenging given the production can come from anywhere, however, which is further bolstered by the fact that five Atlanta hitters have a wOBA of at least .390 against lefties. Riley leads the way at .434, adding a 180 wRC+ and .354 ISO, though he's just 5-of-22 off of Corbin. D'Arnaud should be back in the lineup after getting Friday off and offers some salary relief paired with a .392 wOBA and 152 wRC+. Ozuna is a bit of a leap of faith, but he appears to be getting his timing down. He's riding a seven-game hitting streak, has just a 17.2 percent soft-contact rate against lefties and has taken Corbin deep twice in 30 at bats. Ronald Acuna ($4,100) saw his price drop $300 from Friday despite homering, and is certainly in play if you can afford him, just make sure he's in the lineup after being lifted early last night after fouling a ball off his toe.
Rays vs. Reds (Hunter Greene): Isaac Paredes ($3,700), Yandy Diaz ($3,000), Ji-Man Choi ($3,200)
We don't want to ignore the right-handed arms on this slate, and Hunter Greene, for all his heat and strikeouts, continues to allow a plethora of runs and homers to both righties and lefties. I don't love the price on Paredes, but he gives us some power upside in a lineup not chalk full of it, bringing a .302 ISO to go with his .377 wOBA. Diaz has standalone appeal, not so much for his .361 wOBA but for his terrific current form, as he's riding a 12-game hitting streak into Saturday that's seen him collect 21 hits, including eight doubles. Choi gives us a little power potential and is a third option that hits in a run-producing spot.
