This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
28 of 30 teams are included in Tuesday night's slate, which gets going at the traditional 7:05 p.m ET time slot.
Pitching Breakdown
Justin Verlander ($12,000) leads four arms priced in five digits. He'll get a Texas offense he's familiar with, and one he's dominated this season. Verlander has allowed nine runs and 22 hits across 30.0 innings against the Rangers, fanning 39 while winning four of five starts. There isn't much else to debate here, and the only deterrent is the price.
Yu Darvish ($10,400) and Sonny Gray ($10,100) are set to square off against each other. Darvish has really cranked up his strikeouts of late, fanning at least seven in eight straight starts, and he's fanned 32 Reds across 24.1 innings this year. He's allowed 23 hits and 12 runs, including six long balls, however, suggesting some volatility. Gray meanwhile has just been rock solid all year. He's had four games throughout the season of less than 20 FDP, and has averaged 39.3 FDP in four starts against the Cubs. Given the injuries across Chicago's lineup, there's every reason to think Gray at least replicates those numbers. Brandon Woodruff ($10,100) rounds out the pricey choices, and seems completely miscast at this number. He hasn't pitched since July 21 due to an oblique injury, and can't be expected to work a large number of innings. As such, he isn't even on GPP radars as a low-ownership pivot.
Patrick Corbin ($9,700), Dallas Keuchel ($8,900) and Chris Paddack ($8,700) look like preferred options in the next wave. Corbin just appears under-priced, having been worth 39 FDP or better in six of his last seven. Keuchel is on a ridiculous run for this price, having allowed just four runs across his last 37.0 innings (six starts), including an eight-strikeout performance against the Phillies in his last outing. Finally, Paddack has averaged 47.0 FDP over his last three and gets a Christian Yelich-less Milwaukee offense.
Marco Gonzales ($7,300) and Nathan Eovaldi ($6,600) jump out from the bottom tier, for distinctly different reasons. Gonzales has huge potential, going for 40-plus FDP in three of seven entering a matchup with a Pirates offense that has a league-worst 77 wRC+ and .290 wOBA. Eovaldi has a decent win chance with Boston being sound favorites (-198), but the run total here is 10.5, suggesting some volatility. He's had a 21 FDP floor in his last three starts however, which gives him 3x value if that trend continues.
Key Chalk/Value
We can regurgitate yesterday's section here; we're all in on Rockies-Mets in Coors Field, with Marcus Stroman and Tim Melville set to square off. We can pivot to left-handed bats on the Colorado side with a righty on the mound, so Charlie Blackmon ($4,200) and Ryan McMahon ($3,900) lead the way. The Mets lineup is loaded with left-handed options to target against Melville, none of which are cost prohibitive. Stack as you wish, or choose from Michael Conforto ($3,800, Jeff McNeil ($3,700), Robinson Cano ($3,500) and/or Brandon Nimmo ($3,300).
The slate's second-highest run total is shared between games in Boston and Baltimore. If we're trusting Eovaldi above, Red Sox bats will be doing the heavy lifting against Logan Webb, who has allowed 11 runs and 15 hits over his last two starts, lasting 7.1 innings. Thanks to some recent struggles, this is a great time to take advantage of Xander Bogaerts' ($3,800) and Rafael Devers' ($3,600) decreased prices.
Baltimore-Toronto presents more as a value game to target in a pitching matchup of Chandler Shepherd (staring over FD's listed Dylan Bundy) vs. Trent Thornton. Thornton has a 5.53 road xFIP and has been slightly more vulnerable to same-handed bats, so tossing in the likes of Trey Mancini ($3,800) or Anthony Santander ($3,300) could pay off. Shepherd is a bit of an unknown with only seven big-league innings. Exposure against him makes sense as he's allowed 11 base runners in those limited frames, so starting with Bo Bichette ($3,900) works, and the power potential of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. ($2,900) gets a slight boost in hitter-friendly Camden Yards.
Stacks
Braves vs. Vince Velasquez (Phillies)
Ronald Acuna, Jr. (OF - $4,000), Freddie Freeman (1B - $3,800), Nick Markakis (OF - $2,600)
Velasquez has a 5.40 ERA and 5.19 xFIP on the road this season, and allowed four runs over just 2.2 innings in an earlier meeting with the Braves. Atlanta's lineup is getting healthier and not as top heavy, but their pricing remains very affordable, giving you plenty of options. Acuna's power/speed combo and his continued efforts to join the 40-40 club make him worth the price here. Freeman is discounted having not homered since September 1, but is 9-of-24 (.346) against Velasquez in his career. Markakis has come back blazing from the injured list, going 7-for-13 in three games at Washington, and is always a better player when rested and fresh, allowing us to take full advantage of this low price.
Twins vs. Ross Detwiler (White Sox)
Nelson Cruz (OF - $3,700), Mitch Garver (C/1B - $3,100), C.J. Cron (1B - $2,700)
Detwiler will fill in for Lucas Giolito here, and has an 11.47 road ERA and 9.58 FIP, allowing a .509 wOBA to lefties and a .497 wOBA to righties. The Twins got to him for five runs over four innings in late August, and he should provide this offense with an opportunity to get hot again. These prices are incredibly low thanks to the team's current form. Cruz is a near automatic play against lefties, owning a .445 wOBA, 182 wRC+ and .442 ISO, but Garver has actually been better, going .470/199/.417. Cron and Garver together create a little bit of a position crunch, but it's difficult to ignore Cron's .417/163/.325 line against lefties. If you need to free up your UTL spot, Jonathan Schoop ($2,600) also has great numbers against southpaws.
