This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
26 of 30 teams play Tuesday night in FanDuel's main slate, with Chicago (AL) at Cleveland, and Seattle at New York (AL) being absent. Weather largely looks solid, so we have a plethora of options to choose from, particularly on the mound.
Pitching
A dialed-in Stephen Strasburg ($11,300) leads the way. He's fanned at least eight in four straight starts and six of seven overall. The matchup with Milwaukee isn't as bad as the name/presence of Christian Yelich ($4,900) presents, as the Brewers have a 26.1 percent strikeout rate and modest .317 wOBA. The price is far more a deterrent than the matchup.
Jose Berrios ($10,700) will be the popular cash game pivot at the lower price. What he lacks in strikeout upside (8.94 per nine), he makes up for with six quality starts in seven outings, and he has a plus matchup against a light-hitting Toronto lineup that strikes out 27.0 percent of the time while posting just a .290 wOBA and 80 wRC+.
Noah Syndergaard ($10,400) and Caleb Smith ($10,000) round out the five-digit arms. Syndergaard is coming off of his best performance of the year, will throw in pitcher-friendly Petco Park, and faces a Padres offense that ranks 24th against righties with a .294 wOBA while striking out 27.1 percent of the time. This game comes with the slate's lowest total (7.5) as well. Smith is in incredible form, and given the lack of run support/win potential, he's likely going to have low ownership. The Cubs do rank 11th against lefties with a .332 wOBA, striking out 23.1 percent of the time. Similar to Strasburg, price is the deterrent given the lack of winning upside.
Jon Lester ($8,500) leads the next wave of options against the always targetable Marlins. Miami fans only 18.1 percent of the time against lefties, but ranks 29th with a .259 wOBA, adding a paltry .096 ISO and 63 wRC+. Lester comes in with a 1.73 ERA, owning a 1.80 xFIP at home, despite a .368 BABIP. That last number has to go down, which suggests the others may not rise to his career norms rapidly. Just expect high ownership.
I'm intrigued by Aaron Nola ($8,900) as a low-ownership GPP option, but the stats don't support this, so it's purely a gut feel. If looking to pay down for GPP purposes, Cal Quantrill ($6,600) is my preferred choice. The Mets have only the 20th-ranked offense against righties with a .301 wOBA, and while the strikeout rate (23.9 percent) isn't huge, it's enough to think Quantrill can build on the 20 FDP he put up in his debut, which works very nicely at this price. Daniel Norris ($6,300) is also in play against the Angels (.278 wOBA, 15.4 percent K rate).
Key Value/Chalk
Henceforth, this section when I'm on the docket will start with three things: Coors Field, the Houston Astros and the Boston Red Sox. Weather looks a little dicey in Denver on Tuesday, and Giants' starter Madison Bumgarner ($7,300) hasn't fared terribly in Denver (4.76 ERA, 17 Ks in 17 IP, very positive BvP lines), but lefties are the Rockies' jam normally. There's no reason to fade Nolan Arenado ($4,800) and his .522 wOBA and .486 ISO despite an 11-of-49 mark against Bumgarner. Trevor Story ($4,600, .393 wOBA) works as well.
Houston's bats present stable value, with a lack of individual upside. Alex Bregman ($4,300) comes with a .393 wOBA, 155 wRC+ and only a 11.7 percent strikeout rate, and can be complemented with a cheap Yuli Gurriel ($2,600) and his .385 wOBA and 150 wRC+ since the start of last year. Gurriel's salary puts stacking this lineup into the equation, and Carlos Correa ($3,900) comes fairly priced at a position with limited options. His .371 wOBA in this spot doesn't hurt matters.
Boston brings five $4K or higher bats. David Hess ($5,700) has nearly identical splits with regard to handedness (.340 wOBA vs. LHH, .343 wOBA v RHH), which has Mitch Moreland ($3,600) and his .357 ISO and Rafael Devers ($3,700, .365 wOBA) standing out over a more expensive Mookie Betts ($4,400, .437 wOBA) for GPPs.
Bryce Harper ($4,500) presents well thanks to a plus matchup. Dakota Hudson is allowing a .509 wOBA and 1.215 OPS to lefties (against a .217 wOBA and .500 OPS to righties). Harper's form isn't great, but the Phillies don't have any other left-handed bats worth trusting for stacking purposes. If you're rounding out your lineup and need a dart throw, Odubel Herrera ($2,800) and Cesar Hernandez ($3,100) can enter the equation.
Outside of Denver, there isn't a game with a double-digit run total, so there aren't any less obvious spots you can target for secondary options and hope for better than average production. I really wanted to work the Tigers into the stacks section against Griffin Canning, who struggled in his first start against a weak Toronto offense, but the splits just don't set up well enough. Second baseman Ronny Rodriguez ($3,500) looks to have sound standalone potential, boasting a .534 wOBA, 243 wRC+ and .471 ISO against righties.
Stacks
Giants vs. Antonio Senzatela (Rockies)
Brandon Belt (1B - $3,500), Buster Posey (C - $3,400), Steven Duggar (OF - $3,300)
Senzatela ($6,200) could actually be a minimally-owned GPP option against the weak-hitting Giants, as his 6.00 home ERA isn't supported by a 3.88 xFIP. But conventional wisdom says the Giants are going to be pretty popular as a rare affordable stack at Coors Field. This is largely about a power play, with Belt (.366 ISO) and Posey (.220) leading the charge, while Duggar's .334 wOBA is the lowest of the three. Getting three bats, likely hitting 2-3-4, for around 10K at Coors isn't usually an option.
Rangers vs. Steven Brault (Pirates)
Elvis Andrus (SS - $3,900), Joey Gallo (OF - $4,500), Nomar Mazara (OF - $3,600)
With Monday's off day, the Pirates bullpen should be rested if Brault, who has allowed eight runs and 10 hits in 8.2 innings as a reliever, doesn't make it deep into Tuesday's game in a spot start. As such, we may need a fast start from this stack. Mazara has the lowest current wOBA against lefties, sitting at a sound .373, while also striking out just 9.7 percent of the time. He brings a .379 ISO, while Gallo has a .346 number. Andrus currently has a 1.137 OPS against lefties.
Rays vs. Taylor Clarke (Diamondbacks)
Brandon Lowe (2B - $3,800), Tommy Pham (OF - $3,900), Avisail Garcia (OF - $3,200)
Clarke will make his first big-league start after putting up a 6.12 ERA and 5.92 xFIP at Triple-A. The D-Backs also needed seven innings from their bullpen Monday, so Clarke may get a longer leash than usual if (hopefully when) he gets into trouble. Lowe has a .407 wOBA, 161 wRC+ and .275 ISO, Pham goes .395/153/.202 and Garcia .397/154/.247 while also coming in on a seven-game hitting streak.
