This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
A 14-game slate awaits Tuesday evening, where we have a whopping 11 pitchers priced at $9,000 or higher. As this game always shows, none have perfect spots due to poor form or a challenging matchup, but we're definitely looking at a slate on which paying up for 30-plus FDP on the bump is a near necessity.
Pitching
Max Fried ($10,500) is the slate's headliner, and it's easy to see the appeal against a Washington lineup that could be without Juan Soto due to a knee issue. Just know that Fried has allowed 18 runs and 43 hits across his last 34.0 innings against the Nats. For a slight discount, Sean Manaea ($10,000) gets a Cubs lineup that has an identical .311 wOBA and 98 wRC+ against lefties, but fans 22.7 percent of the time compared to the Nats' 17.3 percent strikeout rate.
Dylan Cease ($9,600) and Nick Pivetta ($9,300) seem to sit in their own little space on this slate, as they are the lucky ones to draw the Tigers and A's, respectively. Cease has really struggled with his control of late, walking 10 in his last 9.1 innings and at least two in seven straight starts, resulting in just one quality start during that stretch. Detroit counters with just a 6.5 percent walk rate, while possessing a 24.7 percent K rate to go with a league-worst .260 wOBA, 67 wRC+ and .101 ISO. Cease pocketed 42 FDP against this lineup earlier in the year. Pivetta, meanwhile, faces an Oakland side he saw just 10 days ago, when he fanned seven en route to 52 FDP. This lineup is always targetable, carrying a .265 wOBA, 75 wRC+, .116 ISO and 24.2 percent K rate into Tuesday. Pivetta has been great in his own right too, with six quality starts in his last seven, showing a 36 FDP floor.
Jose Urquidy ($7,200) figures to be a popular pay-down option. He posted a whopping 57 FDP against Texas on May 22, but has since given up 12 runs over his last 15 innings. Though more expensive, I think a solid contrarian play is Zach Davies ($8,000) against Cincinnati. The Reds have been somewhat better recently, but still carry only a .303 wOBA, 88 wRC+ and 23.1 percent K rate into Tuesday. He struck out seven Reds in his last start and has quietly averaged 33.7 FDP across his last three starts.
Top Targets
I'm not sure you could price Jose Ramirez ($4,600) high enough to not use him Tuesday. His .469 wOBA, 214 wRC+ and .393 ISO speak for themselves, and oh yeah, he's playing in Coors Field.
Texas starter Dane Dunning has been far better at home than away, so loading up on Astro bats, particularly lefties, isn't imperative. That said, Yordan Alvarez ($4,100) makes plenty of sense in this spot. He's got four multi-hit games in his last five while driving in six during that stretch, has taken Dunning deep once in six ABs, and is generally known to crush right-handed pitching. Alvarez sports a .383 ISO, 45.5 percent hard-hit rate and 1.144 OPS against them to date.
It's a relatively small sample size, but Angels' starter Noah Syndergaard is allowing a .450 wOBA to lefties on the road (35 batters faced). Pair that with a lifetime 10-for-23 (.435) and 1.241 OPS against him from their time together in the NL East, and Freddie Freeman ($3,500) looks like a top option and a bargain simultaneously.
Bargain Bats
We know we want to target Royals' starter Kris Bubic and his 9.13 ERA (6.54 FIP), but the Giants lineup is heavily left-handed and don't present with favorable splits, so stacking is difficult. Give me Jason Vosler ($2,800) as a dart throw, as he's hit safely in six of his last seven.
Stacking the hot Philadelphia lineup makes plenty of sense, but Rhys Hoskins ($3,300) should have standalone appeal Tuesday. He boasts a .371 wOBA and .250 ISO against lefties, and is 5-for-11 with two homers and a 1.629 OPS lifetime against Marlins' starter Trevor Rogers.
Keep an eye on the Blue Jays lineup Tuesday. Orioles starter Jordan Lyles is allowing a .495 wOBA to lefties on the road, versus .322 to righties. That makes Cavan Biggio ($2,200) or Raimel Tapia ($2,200) a cheap in to this potent lineup that's otherwise heavily right-handed.
Atlanta launched five home runs Monday in Washington, where the ball is clearly carrying. The Nats have not named Tuesday's starter, and if they don't bring back Josiah Gray after he was scratched due to Monday's rain delay, they could be looking at a third straight bullpen game. Adam Duvall ($2,500) is surging with three homers in his last two games and five in his last eight. Michael Harris ($2,600) has hit safely in six straight, earning double-digit FDP in four of those. Orlando Arcia ($2,100) figures to see regular playing time with Ozzie Albies now sidelined, and even Marcell Ozuna ($2,700) is in play following Monday's two-hit, one-homer night.
Stacks to Consider
Red Sox vs. Athletics (Jared Koenig): Rafael Devers ($4,100), J.D. Martinez ($3,600), Xander Bogaerts ($3,500)
Koenig was a bit unlucky in his debut last week against Atlanta, but getting a slight discount on the likes of Martinez and Bogaerts against a lefty makes this stack very appealing. Martinez sits with a robust .489 wOBA, 223 wRC+ and 1.152 OPS against southpaws, with Bogaerts and his .430 wOBA, 182 wRC+, .986 OPS and meager 13.0 percent strikeout rate not far behind. If you want to go all righties in this spot, Trevor Story ($3,900) and his .298 ISO are certainly in play, but Devers seems far safer and gives us the likely 2-3-4 in Boston's order, making for a very traditional stack.
Brewers vs. Mets (Chris Bassitt): Christian Yelich ($3,200), Rowdy Tellez ($2,900), Omar Narvaez ($2,200)
Stacking Atlanta and the plethora of value mentioned above is advisable, but a tad too obvious. Stacking the Brewers is never for the faint of heart, as they don't have huge thump, but they do somehow find ways to push runs across. The target here is a seemingly fading Bassitt. He's allowed 22 runs across his last five starts spanning 26.0 innings, after 11 runs in his first seven starts (42.1 innings). He's also surrendering a .364 wOBA to lefties, something the Brewers have plenty of, as opposed to a .271 wOBA to righties. Yelich hopefully gives us some stability atop the lineup and is riding a six-game hitting streak that's seen him collect nine knocks total. Tellez is our thump with a .248 ISO and nine of his 10 homers coming against righties. Narvaez's profile is similar to Yelich's. His .349 wOBA isn't terrific in this spot, but he gives us another seemingly stable left-handed bat to plug in at a bargain salary. He's collected 12 hits during his current seven-game hit streak.
