This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
Three games await Tuesday afternoon, with our first at 2:07 p.m. EDT. Atlanta and Milwaukee have not yet made their pitching plans known, limiting our options. Given Milwaukee's offensive ineptitude in the series thus far, whomever Atlanta uses could be of interest, even if they don't get many innings. It's possible it could be Charlie Morton on short rest and limited to maybe five innings, or a bullpen game anchored by Huascar Ynoa and Drew Smyly.
Pitching
Lance McCullers, HOU at CWS ($9,600): The AL games have been significantly more high scoring, so taking McCullers at a discount compared to Walker Buehler at $9,900 may blow up in our faces. Buehler has been tagged by the Giants for nine runs in his last 9.1 innings though, and the Dodgers could be turning to Tony Gonsolin over Buehler. McCullers meanwhile went 6.2 scoreless frames against the White Sox in Game 1 and has been dominant on the road, posting a 2.70 ERA, 3.39 xFIP while allowing a .200 batting average and fanning 11.7 per nine.
Truth be told, there isn't another appealing arm as of yet. Carlos Rodon hasn't gone more than five innings since July 17, Anthony DeSclafani has allowed six homers, 33 hits and 22 runs across 27 innings against the Dodgers, and we don't yet have confirmation on the three other starters. If the price is right (really low), Gonsolin would be interesting given his swing and miss potential.
Top Targets
Ozzie Albies, ATL vs. MIL ($3,800): This is operating under the assumption Milwaukee turns to Eric Lauer to start Tuesday, as we all know Albies' is a preferred bat against lefties. He sports a .393 wOBA, 144 wRC+ and .262 ISO, fanning just 13.7 percent of the time, a low number for this free swinger. He's enjoyed Milwaukee pitching to date as well, going 10-for-29 (.389) with four extra base hits. Austin Riley ($3,700) is a fair pivot if Lauer isn't Milwaukee's choice.
Kyle Tucker, HOU at CWS ($3,700): Fade Tucker at your own risk. He put up a .378 wOBA, .292 ISO and 144 wRC+ against lefties during the regular season, second only to Yuli Gurriel ($3,000) amongst Astro regulars. Pair that with the fact he's homered in four of his last five games while hitting safely in eight of nine, and the appeal is obvious.
Value Bats
Yasmani Grandal, CWS vs. HOU ($2,700): I really wanted to suggest a White Sox stack as a contrarian GPP, but the year-long stats against righties just aren't there. Perhaps they rise to the equation and stave off elimination, but it appears to be an uphill battle. Grandal is the exception, carrying a .389 wOBA, 150 wRC+ and .279 ISO against righties across 279 plate appearances. It's feast or famine, as he's 1-for-10 in the series, but that one went for a three-run HR. Grandal is always a threat to walk, and that alone could give us a solid return.
Joc Pederson, ATL vs. MIL ($2,100): Keep an eye on the Atlanta lineup. Manager Brian Snitker was reportedly close to switching things up and giving Pederson a start yesterday. He didn't, only to see Adam Duvall make an egregious base-running error, while Pederson homered off the bench, again. Pederson is 3-for-3 in this series with four RBI and two homers, and makes for a terrific discount option, perhaps even if he isn't starting.
Stack to Consider
Dodgers vs. Anthony DeSclafani
Cash: Trea Turner ($3,900), Mookie Betts ($3,800), Corey Seager ($3,600)
GPP: Justin Turner ($3,100), Will Smith ($3,000), AJ Pollock ($2,800)
Yes, I realize I just picked six of the Dodgers' likely eight starting bats, but we touched on their success against Desclafani above, and that runs throughout the order. There's enough value on this slate I think cash game players can just take the Dodgers' top three bats and build around them. This trio is 10-for-30 against the righty, each taking him yard.
I also assume high usage given the obvious appeal, however. We're still relying on BvP numbers, but the next three in the Los Angeles lineup have also hit DeSclafani well, are considerably cheaper and are less obvious plays, which allows you to differentiate and pay up in the Astros-White Sox game where runs have come more freely. This second group is 22-for-62 (.355) off DeSclafani, with Smith taking him deep twice in 12 tries. If we trust the bigger names to get on base in front of this trio, there will see run-producing opportunities at a fraction of the cost.
