This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
Sunday's FanDuel MLB slate will be quite a large one, covering 13 games. Every game except for both halves of the Yankees-Mets doubleheader and the Braves-Phillies evening contest will be included. As of writing, there haven't been any protest-related postponements, so it appears that won't affect Sunday's daily fantasy contests.
Pitchers
Blake Snell, TB at MIA ($9,400): Snell was eased into the season as he worked his way back from elbow troubles and wasn't asked to throw more than three innings in any of his first three trips to the mound, but he threw 101 pitches in his previous start and shouldn't be on a pitch count in this one. The management plan appears to be working as he's posted a 3.04 ERA in 23.2 innings of work, backing that up with a 33.3 percent strikeout rate and a 7.3 percent walk rate. Snell looks like an ace again and would be a deservedly expensive option even against a lineup much more imposing than the Marlins.
Brandon Woodruff, MIL vs. PIT ($9,100): Most pitchers would be interesting against the Pirates, and Woodruff would be interesting against most teams. Pittsburgh's lineup ranked second-last in the league with a 65 wRC+ through Friday's games. Meanwhile, Woodruff is building on his strong 2019 campaign - his first as a full-time member of the Brewers' rotation - by trimming his ERA from 3.62 to 3.19. It's not clear he's truly reaching another level as the strikeout rate has slipped a bit from 29.0 percent to 27.3 percent, but he's offset that by increasing his groundball rate from 44.6 percent to 51.0 percent.
Tony Gonsolin, LAA at TEX ($7,700): Gonsolin could produce an ERA far higher than 0.00 and would still be quite an intriguing option against the Rangers, who ranked last in the league with a team wRC+ of 64 heading into Saturday's contests. Granted, that ERA has come in just three starts, but it's hard to complain about what the 26-year-old righty has done thus far. Gonsolin's ERA definitely won't remain that low for long as he's been helped by a small-sample .167 BABIP and a 100.0 percent strand rate, but his combination of a 23.5 percent strikeout rate and a 3.9 percent walk rate looks quite promising.
Johnny Cueto, SF at ARI ($7,400): Cueto is far from his peak and certainly hasn't been dominant this season, but there's enough still there to make him a worthy cheaper option against a struggling Diamondbacks' lineup. The 34-year-old's 5.40 ERA is certainly not very encouraging, though his 4.41 FIP is perfectly adequate while his 22.1 percent strikeout rate represents his best mark since 2016. Cueto is coming off his worst start in terms of runs allowed after giving up six in four innings against the Dodgers on Tuesday, though he does have an encouraging 14:2 K:BB in 9.2 frames across his last two outings.
Top Targets
Nolan Arenado, COL vs. SD ($4,100): Last season, Chris Paddack may have been one of the few pitchers against whom you might avoid opposing hitters even at Coors Field, but he hasn't been the same guy this year with an ERA jumping from 3.33 to 5.15 as his strikeout rate has fallen from 26.9 percent to 22.4 percent. Arenado hasn't been the same either by posting a .259/.313/.491 slash line - good for a wRC+ of just 89 - heading into Saturday's games. A .221 BABIP is part of the problem, though he's making weaker contact and likely deserves somewhat of a lower BABIP given his average exit velocity has fallen from 89.5 mph to 87.3 mph. On the other hand, Arenado's dramatically cut his strikeout rate, whiffing in just 6.9 percent of his plate appearances. He's still Nolan Arenado even if he's in a slump, and he looks like a bargain as the third most expensive Rockie against a struggling opposing pitcher.
Cody Bellinger, LAD at TEX ($4,000): Bellinger was really struggling to start the season after hitting just .175/.245/.320 through his first 24 games, a slump which suppresses his overall numbers and keeps him cheaper than his talent likely deserves. He turned things around dramatically in his next seven games by posting a .444/.516/1.000 slash line with four homers. A pair of hitless games followed, but Bellinger hit yet another homer - his ninth of the year - on Saturday while walking twice, so it doesn't appear as though he's gone completely cold again. He should have a good chance to stay hot Sunday with the platoon advantage against Kyle Gibson, who's struggled to a 5.73 ERA through six starts.
Bargain Bats
Alex Verdugo, BOS vs. WAS ($2,900): Verdugo comes quite cheap for a leadoff man, even one who occupies that role for an underachieving lineup like the one the Red Sox have fielded this season. Verdugo himself hasn't struggled, as he's hitting .287/.353/.500 through Friday's games - with the latter two categories representing career highs. He's also chipped in with five homers and two steals and will receive the platoon advantage against Austin Voth and his 6.65 ERA.
Jedd Gyorko, MIL vs. PIT ($2,400): Gyorko hasn't played particularly often this season, though he typically hits in the heart of the order against southpaws such as Steven Brault, who starts for the Pirates on Sunday. Brault's 4.80 ERA is unimpressive, though it comes with a considerably worse 9:11 K:BB. The Brewers could make for a strong stack option against him here, though many of their top bats are struggling. Gyorko sure isn't in his limited opportunities, hitting .237/.326/.658 through Friday's games, good for a 153 wRC+. That level of power is new for the veteran, though Statcast mostly buys in, giving him a .580 xSLG.
Stacks to Consider
White Sox vs. Kris Bubic: Jose Abreu ($4,100), Tim Anderson ($3,600), Nick Madrigal ($2,00)
The White Sox have ranked as the league's top offense in terms of wRC+ (124) through Friday's games, making them a worthy stack against quite a number of opposing pitchers. The left-handed Bubic hasn't shown much through his first five starts to indicate he's capable of shutting them down. While a .338 BABIP may account for at least some of his 5.96 ERA, it's not as if he's been pitching well as both Bubic's 18.4 percent strikeout rate and 9.7 percent walk rate are worse than league average. The stack featured here is a bit of an unusual one, featuring the likely number nine hitter in Madrigal in with a pair of hitters who should bat near the top of the order - though Yoan Moncada could be inserted in place of one of the trio if the leg injury that forced him to leave Saturday's contest early doesn't wind up sending him to the bench.
Padres vs. Ryan Castellani: Fernando Tatis Jr. ($4,900), Manny Machado ($4,200), Trent Grisham ($3,700)
Don't let Castellani's 3.54 ERA through his first four MLB starts fool you. It comes with a 6.30 FIP, as it's taken a .157 BABIP and a 93.3 percent strand rate to get there. His 8.9 percent walk rate is fine, but he's striking out only 17.7 percent of batters while generating a below-average 41.1 percent groundball rate. Castellani's minor-league numbers aren't at all encouraging either, as he struggled to an awful 8.31 ERA in 10 starts for Triple-A Albuquerque last year after posting a 5.49 ERA in 26 starts for Double-A Hartford the year before. He looks like a very exploitable arm in the league's most hitter-friendly park, so it should be worth paying up for the Padres' top bats in this one.
