This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
Twelve games await on our Tuesday main slate, with start times ranging from our traditional 7:05 p.m. EDT to 9:45 p.m. We're missing pitching plans from only St. Louis, giving us 23 arms to sort through, and nine of them are lefties, providing further matchups worth targeting.
Pitching
Seeing Kyle Wright ($10,900) leading the way over Justin Verlander at $10,800 doesn't pass the name recognition test, especially with both in solid form. That could lead to the slate's top-priced arm coming with a low roster rate. Over his last two starts, Wright's Ks are down, his runs are up and so are his innings. He has a sneakily solid matchup though, with Boston carrying only a .276 wOBA and .118 ISO.
It's not difficult to find flaws in any of the other arms priced at $8,600 or above, as they either don't fan enough or face offenses that don't strike out, limiting their upside even though most or all of them seem to present a stable floor. No shade if you're interested in any of the nine pitchers on that list. In the tier below, Madison Bumgarner ($7,500) and Mike Clevinger ($7,600) stand out. Clevinger threw 95 pitches in his debut, so he clearly doesn't have any limitations. He wasn't sharp, but you can expect less rust in this outing. The Cubs are an on-base machine thanks in part to a 10.4 percent walk rate, but they also fan 25.0 percent of the time, giving Clevinger some upside. Bumgarner gets a shot at redemption after a ridiculous early ejection against the same Marlins lineup he faces here. He's allowed one run or none in every outing to date, going five innings in four of them. Pair that with a Marlins lineup that fans 29.7 percent of the time against lefties while posting a .289 wOBA and 91 wRC+, and there's clear path to value.
This truly is a weird pitching slate. Plenty of recognizable names, and plenty of matchups that aren't appealing. I don't see a ton of low-end value either. Patrick Corbin ($6,700) will likely be targeted, but he's turned in two straight decent outings and the Mets have a .289 wOBA against lefties, fanning at a 24.0 percent rate. He could be a little-used GPP dart. Whomever the Cardinals turn to could be an option against always-targetable Baltimore, so long as it's not a full bullpen game.
Top Targets
The way Manny Machado ($4,500) is locked in right now, it's difficult to not just automatically put him in your lineup. He carries a ridiculous .643 wOBA, 326 wRC+, .500 ISO and 57.1 percent hard-hit rate against lefties into a matchup against Wade Miley, who he's 5-for-15 with two homers and five walks against in his career.
Ronald Acuna ($3,900) seems to be getting his timing down, getting at least one extra-base hit in three straight games and five of six. He's reached base in 32 straight games dating back to last season, and Atlanta is allowing him to run more than expected, giving him multiple paths to fantasy production.
I was able to successfully stack the Rays bats last week against a lefty, and that's absolutely in play here against Reid Detmers, who's been tough on left-handed bats and hit hard by righties. The anchor remains Wander Franco ($3,800), who has a robust .495 wOBA, 245 wRC+, .269 ISO and only 7.4 percent K rate against southpaws.
Value Bats
Nick Castellanos ($3,400) is an interesting case Tuesday. He's priced down and sports a .445 wOBA against lefties, but the power hasn't been there (.160 ISO), limiting his upside and somewhat explaining the low cost. Robbie Ray hasn't been great or bad, but his strikeouts are down, so I'll take my chances Castellanos puts a few in play. Alec Bohm ($2,900) could offer additional value with a .378 wOBA and .259 ISO.
There's no way I'm buying Martin Perez as an $8k pitcher, but the Royals don't exactly offer a stackable lineup. Still, Salvador Perez ($2,800) is always in play against a lefty, carrying a .485 wOBA, 231 wRC+, .296 ISO and a 0.0 percent soft contact rate. Whit Merrifield ($2,500) looks completely lost at the plate, but he's had moderate success against Perez in his career (8-for-21, .911 OPS) if you're a BvP person.
As noted above, more lineups are likely to target Mets bats against Corbin than will risk using him. Pete Alonso ($3,800) is certainly a big part of that thought process, but Corbin has also struggled against same-handed bats, allowing a .464 wOBA and 1.033 OPS to lefties. As such, give me Brandon Nimmo ($2,900) as a nice bargain. He has a team-leading .387 wOBA against lefties.
Stacks to Consider
Yankees vs. Blue Jays (Yusei Kikuchi): Aaron Judge ($4,400), DJ LeMahieu ($3,300), Gleyber Torres ($2,600)
Kikuchi is coming off his best start of the year, fanning seven across six innings against this same Yankees lineup. I'll bank on a better approach here in their second look at him. His 3.75 road ERA isn't supported by a 6.25 FIP, and he's allowing a .394 wOBA to righties. Judge is the obvious anchor, posting a .471 wOBA, absurd .483 ISO and 223 wRC+, but LeMahieu is actually outdoing him with a .474 wOBA and 226 wRC+. DJ's salary and spot atop the lineup help balance the budget, as does deploying Torres, who sports a .431 wOBA, .417 ISO and 194 wRC+ against southpaws while striking out only 8.0 percent of the time. This trio is a combined 14-for-38 (.368) against Kikuchi as well.
Giants vs. Rockies (Antonio Senzatela): Wilmer Flores ($3,300), Joc Pederson ($3,200), Mike Yastrzemski ($2,800)
Our potential value stack of the evening. Senzatela isn't missing any bats, striking out opponents only 2.6 times per nine innings while also allowing a .409 wOBA to lefties and a .449 wOBA to righties. He's been relying on soft contact to survive, something Pederson isn't prone to, doing so just 5.9 percent of the time while posting a 45.1 percent hard-hit rate. Flores has the "highest" soft contact rate of this trio at 13.0 percent, but a 131 wRC+ works at this salary and he'll likely hit cleanup. Yastrzemski furthers the value of this stack. While his .326 wOBA isn't great, it's the result of a slow start. He's hit safely in seven of his last eight, reaching base 13 times.
