This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
We've got eight games to navigate during Saturday's main slate, starting at 7:05 p.m. EDT. All teams have listed pitchers, with only one being priced in five digits. It presents almost as opposite as possible from Friday, where we had massive pitching depth. Saturday we're going to have to pick wisely on the bump and spread resources for some quality bats.
Pitching
With so few clear options on the bump, paying for Carlos Rodon ($10,600) atop the slate makes too much sense. What isn't obvious in a matchup against lowly Oakland? The A's have only an 85 wRC+, but their strikeouts are lower against lefties at just 22.3 percent. Rodon needs 42.4 FanDuel points (FDP) to reach 4x, which he's done only three times in his last seven.
Nick Lodolo ($9,200) stands out to me in the 9k tier. He's allowed just one run across his last two starts, spanning 12 innings, while striking out 16. He'll face a Milwaukee lineup with an 88 wRC+ and 24.3 percent K rate. Merrill Kelly ($9,800) merits consideration too against a Rockies lineup away from home. He's allowed only one run in his last three starts combined, spanning 21 innings, fanning 20 in the process.
Nathan Eovaldi ($8,300) appears to offer nice upside at his price point. He's priced down thanks to two bad outings last month but bounced back with 6.1 shutout frames against the Astros last time out. Kansas City's K rate has been climbing, up to 22.1 percent. There's 40 FDP upside here.
The bottom tier doesn't appear to have the upside of Eovaldi, but if you're grabbing someone for a 20 to 30 FDP return, Antonio Senzatela ($7,600), Dane Dunning ($7,400) and Mitch White ($6,400) are the likely choices. Senzatela has allowed at least three runs in five straight, including against Arizona where he lasted only two innings. But he also has five quality starts in his last eight, so we can feel somewhat confident in innings Saturday. Dunning gets a White Sox lineup that is heavily right-handed, who post just a .284 wOBA against him. And White makes an AL debut and should be staked to ample run support, squaring off against Dylan Bundy. If he can last five or six innings, a win and a quality start could lend itself to upside despite the Twins' seventh-ranked 113 wRC+ against righties.
Top Targets
As just mentioned, I don't expect Bundy to fair well against the Blue Jays lineup. But his splits aren't terrific if we trust that over anything, as he's been far better at home, allowing a .188 wOBA to righties, posting a 2.61 ERA and 3.79 FIP. Still, building around Vladimir Guerrero ($4,100), who has homered in consecutive games and has a stable .378 wOBA and 145 wRC+ works for me.
Truthfully, none of the other top-priced bats sit in must-use situations, and I'm doing my best to make this an Aaron Judge-less section most times out. Perhaps Nolan Arenado ($3,800) makes for a nice pivot from Paul Goldschmidt ($4,400). He's surging at the moment, with seven hits, including three homers, eight runs scored and five RBI in his last six and has a 151 wRC+ against righties on the year.
Bargain Bats
You'd assume Jordan Montgomery has a little extra juice Saturday, facing the team that surprisingly traded him away at the deadline. But if we trust Yankee bats against the lefty, DJ LeMahieu ($3,600) and/or Gleyber Torres ($3,100) offer cheap ins with positive splits. LeMahieu sits with a .393 wOBA, 161 wRC and .165 ISO, while Torres sits at .394/161/.340.
Kyle Farmer ($2,800) gave us 9.5 FDP Friday, not huge but still a 3.4x return. With another lefty on the hill Saturday, his .416 wOBA and 165 wRC+ seem targetable again here.
Boston faces lefty Daniel Lynch Saturday, which should put J.D. Martinez ($3,200) and Xander Bogaerts ($3,100) on radars. Martinez sports a .436 wOBA, 185 wRC+ and .234 ISO, while Bogaerts sits at .451/196/.195.
Stacks to Consider
Padres vs. Dodgers (Andrew Heaney): Juan Soto ($4,000), Manny Machado ($3,900), Josh Bell ($3,200)
Heaney has allowed only two runs across 23.1 innings to date, so this should come with low usage. Soto's had just a .169 ISO and .344 wOBA against lefties while in Washington, but that should continue to rise as he has better lineup protection in San Diego. Machado's .277 ISO and .379 wOBA are decent, and Bell has shown more power against lefties despite a lower contact rate. His presence in the cleanup spot comes at a solid discount, making the big two in front of him affordable and a nice traditional 2-3-4 stacking opportunity.
Giants vs. Athletics (Adam Oller): Wilmer Flores ($2,900), Brandon Belt ($2,500), Luis Gonzales ($2,400)
This is all about the matchup with Oller, who is allowing a .428 wOBA and 1.014 OPS to lefties, and a .409 wOBA and .969 OPS to righties. This should give us another 2-3-4 stack in the Giants lineup, and mixes power upside from Belt, stability with Flores and hopefully on base potential from Gonzales. Keep an eye on Joc Pederson ($2,600) too, who would be intriguing if activated and slotted into the top of the order.
