FanDuel MLB: Saturday Targets

Saturday gives us a larger than normal nine-game slate, which goes off at a later 7:05 p.m. EDT time. All 18 starters are known, seven of whom are lefties, creating plenty of targetable matchups, and as the column evolved, plenty of value bats emerged, seemingly allowing us to spend as much on the mound as we'd like.

Pitching

There's plenty to like in all three of the top starters Saturday evening. Gerrit Cole ($11,300) has been surprisingly vulnerable to the Orioles', allowing seven runs across 15.0 innings while fanning 16. He's averaged 49 FanDuel points (FDP) across his last seven starts, failing to reach 40 points just once. Kyle Wright ($10,500) doesn't have the name recognition for this price, and he hasn't struck out more than five in five straight starts. But he's won four of those and gets an Angels lineup we're targeting more and more nightly thanks to their 27.4 percent K rate. And finally, Brandon Woodruff ($10,300) gets a Rockies team outside of Coors' Field that has just an 84 wRC+ against righties. I'd probably rank these three as they are priced.

Despite the appeal to the top tier, I find Julio Urias ($9,200) to be my favorite target Saturday. San Francisco is fading in the standings, and they have a decent amount of left-handed bats in their lineup, against whom Urias allows a .276 wOBA and .605 OPS, while striking them out at 32.5 percent. It will be his third start against the Giants, having allowed just two runs on solo homers across 12.0 innings, striking out 14.

Max Meyer ($8,100) is a fun unknown here. He fanned five in his first career start, but also allowed five runs. It's unlikely Pittsburgh dings him up like the Phillies did, however, as they have just an 87 wRC+ while striking out 25.2 percent of the time.

Paydown options aren't plentiful. Luis Patino ($6,500) may not work five innings even if he limits damage against a light-hitting Royals team and their 91 wRC+ against righties. And I don't know if I trust Taylor Hearn ($7,200) in our always targetable spot against Oakland. The A's have a .282 wOBA and 86 wRC+ against lefties, fanning at a modest 22.6 percent clip. He did go for 37 FDP against them earlier, however, which would be a 5.1x return and set you up awfully nicely if he's able to repeat.

Top Targets

Dodger stars Mookie Betts ($4,200) and Trea Turner ($4,100) are always in play, even moreso against lefties, as they come with a .396 wOBA and 160 wRC+ and .394/158, respectively. Perhaps Betts' 5-for-9 success with a 1.859 OPS against Alex Wood is the separator. 

I don't trust Atlanta bats when facing a pitcher for the first time, as they will in Patrick Sandoval Saturday. But they also have four regulars with a .389 wOBA or greater against lefties. That's led by Austin Riley ($4,100) who has a robust .464 wOBA, 201 wRC+ and .393 ISO against southpaws.

Bargain Bats

Ramon Laureano ($3,000) probably has a permanent spot in this portion of the column. He's hitting only .235 and no one wants A's bats. But he also has 10 homers and steals bases, while carrying a .392 wOBA and 164 wRC+ against lefties into Saturday. 

I loathe the Milwaukee offense, as we just don't ever know who is going to come through nightly due to it's lack of star power. But we know we need shares against Jose Urena. He's allowing a .416 wOBA and .952 OPS to lefties, so Christian Yelich ($3,100) or Rowdy Tellez ($2,700) make sense.

Unlike Milwaukee, Arizona's offense isn't one we trust on a nightly basis, but likely should Saturday against Anibal Sanchez. The Diamondbacks don't have a bat priced above $3,000, so we can look to fill out our lineups here on the cheap and plug a hole. The team's best options against righties have been Ketel Marte ($3,000) and Daulton Varsho ($2,700), with a 122 wRC+ and 118 wRC+, respectively.

Finally, I think the Marlins could be a sneaky/dirt cheap stack against Jose Quintana, but I'm not going to go all in here. But Brian Anderson ($2,300) offers position flexibility, and has a .403 wOBA and 166 wRC+ against lefties. He doesn't offer much power, but doesn't need much to return at this number.

Stacks to Consider

Rangers vs. Athletics (James Kaprielian): Corey Seager ($3,900), Marcus Semien ($3,200), Leody Taveras ($2,900)

There weren't many clear stacks on this slate for me, with most of the bottom tier pitchers facing bottom tier offenses. Kaprielian should be targetable however, as his 6.57 home FIP is higher than his 5.40 ERA, though none of the Rangers have terrific splits against righties. Seager seems to give us an anchor and power upside. Semien was percolating heading into the break with multiple hits in four of seven, including two homers, and started right where he left off with two more hits Friday. Taveras offers further value and continues to find ways to produce, managing 12.4 FDP Friday without a hit. This isn't an overly traditional stack in terms of batting order, likely going 2-3-9, so you can punt and choose other heart-of-the-order options, as none are cost prohibitive.

Yankees vs. Orioles (Jordan Lyles): Anthony Rizzo ($3,900), Giancarlo Stanton ($3,700), Josh Donaldson ($2,600)

A Yankee stack figures to be rather obvious, but hopefully the names suggested here are a little different than the norm. Lyles has been far better at home, and this will be his fourth start against the Yanks to date, previously allowing 14 runs and five homers across 23.2 innings, while striking out 23. Lyles is allowing a .388 wOBA to lefties, but I just can't see paying for Matt Carpenter ($4,200). But that makes Rizzo the obvious answer to build around. I'm largely banking on BvP numbers here as we differentiate. Rizzo is 8-for-28 (.286) with two homers, decent enough. Stanton is 7-for-18 (389) with one bomb, and Donaldson 7-for-13 (.538) with a 1.308 OPS.