This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
Tuesday brings the return of three starting pitchers from the DL with Carlos Martinez returning against the Marlins, Madison Bumgarner coming back for a home start against the Diamondbacks, and Anthony DeSclafani starting for the Reds after a lost 2017 season.
I'm making a concerted effort to indicate the type of contest I prefer to use players in -- cash (50/50) or tournaments (GPPs) -- which is generally an exercise in estimating ownership rates (or "finding the chalk") and making sure to have enough variation around the highly-coveted top value plays to have a dangerous lineup.
A strong cash-game play isn't necessarily a "bad" tournament play, but too many "chalky" players can create a limiting factor in big-field tournaments.
Your constructive feedback is appreciated, and always welcomed.
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Pitcher
Cash: Max Scherzer, WAS vs. TAM ($12,000) -- It's tempting to make sub-$9K MadBum the primary cash play, but paying the freight for Scherzer against the Rays is still my preferred way to go since there should be enough cheap bats -- especially in the outfield -- to put together a strong lineup despite the lofty price tag. The Rays haven't been a bad offense in 2018 (101 wRC+ vs. RHP), but Scherzer at home, the over/under sitting at a slate-low 7.0 (tied with Arizona-San Francisco) and the Nats being the biggest favorite on the board, this matchup checks enough boxes to make it worth paying up for Scherzer.
Also consider: Corey Kluber, CLE vs. MIL ($11,500), Kyle Hendricks, CHC vs PHI ($8,000), Madison Bumgarner, SF vs. AZ ($8,700)
GPP: Carlos Martinez, STL vs. MIA ($8,200) -- The Marlins continue to struggle against righties, carrying a low 81 wRC+ against right-handed pitching with a 22.7% K%. At -185, there are a few teams more heavily favored than the Cardinals at home Tuesday, but it's a short list and most of the alternatives come at significantly higher prices. Martinez wasn't perfect in his lone rehab start -- going four innings and allowing a pair of homers for Double-A Springfield -- while throwing 63 pitches. While the price and matchup would ordinarily makes Martinez a cash-game lock, the lighter-than-usual workload with his rehab start could lead the Cards to give him an early hook again Tuesday (~80 pitches?) if desired. There is definitely risk here, and the ownership rate might be inflated because of the cheap price.
Also consider…
Andrew Heaney, LAA vs. KC ($7,900) -- A -200 favorite who averaged 42 FanDuel points per game for a six-start stretch before a disappointing showing against the Tigers last time out, for less than $8K? Yes, please.
Anthony DeSclafani, CIN vs. COL ($5,700) -- DeSclafani threw more than 90 pitches in each of his final two rehab starts, so he shouldn't have any workload-related restrictions against the Rockies on Tuesday night. The Colorado offense continues to boast the league's worst wRC+ against righties (76), which is enough to make Disco a tournament consideration for me in his first start back from the disabled list.
Catcher/First Base
Justin Smoak, TOR vs. NYY ($3,500) -- Smoak is frequently a consideration with his mid-tier price tag, and his elite splits against lefties have resulted in a .947 OPS against southpaws since the start of last season. With CC Sabathia starting for the Yankees, the matchup is a favourable one for Smoak, though the risk comes in with the Yankees' bullpen ranking as the league's best to this point in the season. In any case, the over/under for Tuesday's matchup at Rogers Centre is an even 10, which is enough for me to use Smoak on a night where the top-end first basemen are in difficult matchups or poor run-scoring environments.
Other options to consider include: Anthony Rizzo, CHC vs. PHI ($3,900), Mitch Moreland, BOS vs. DET ($3,300), and Matt Adams/Mark Reynolds, WAS vs. TAM ($3,600/$3,100)
Second Base
Jonathan Schoop, BAL vs. NYM ($3,000) -- An 8.5 over/under total for a Jason Vargas-Alex Cobb pitching matchup seems a little bit light. Since returning from the DL in May, Schoop has put together a .242/.262/.414 line, but his 2017 breakout featured a 150 wRC+ against lefties, and despite his struggles in 2018, he's managed to handle southpaws at a league average mark (100 wRC+) this season while striking out 16.7% of the time in that split. Vargas' poor splits against hitters on both sides of the plate figure to make him a stack target Tuesday, but Schoop is one of the most affordable one-off plays with a great matchup on this slate.
Alternatives: Yoan Moncada, CHW at MIN ($3,600) and Gleyber Torres, NYY at TOR ($4,100)
Third Base
Eugenio Suarez, CIN vs. COL ($3,600) -- Following the basic platoon advantage approach with the right-handed Suarez at home against Rockies lefty Kyle Freeland makes sense even without knowing that Suarez has hit .301/.426/.566 (.993 OPS) against southpaws since the start of last season. As Freeland's splits go, he's shown some improvement in 2018, but a 16.1% K% is still low enough to target him in this spot. Since it's the fourth-highest total on the board Tuesday (9.0), the Reds-Rockies matchup may get slightly less attention than A's-Rangers, Yankees-Blue Jays and Tigers-Red Sox.
As bargains go, Rafael Devers at $2,900 against Artie Lewicki at the Tigers stands out.
Shortstop
Andrelton Simmons, LAA vs. KC ($3,500) -- Simmons has struck out once since May 3, carrying a strikeout rate below one percent during that span, while drawing walks a double-digit clip. Royals starter Brad Keller is a Rule 5 pick, who went three innings in his last start as he continues to stretch out in order to become a member of the Kansas City rotation. While the results thus far have been very good (2.13 ERA, 1.11 WHIP), there is little reason to believe it will continue after he spent all of last season at Double-A and posted 4.68 ERA and 1.53 WHIP over 130.2 innings (albeit, as a 21-year-old). Even if Keller effectively chews up four or five innings Tuesday, Simmons and the Angels will get a look at the league's 28th-ranked bullpen; which is one of three currently carrying a negative team WAR (-0.8).
Outfield
St. Louis Outfielders vs. Jose Urena -- Urena is improving against lefties, and his overall K% sits at a career-high 20.1% entering Tuesday's matchup against St. Louis. The appeal of targeting whichever of Marcell Ozuna ($3,600), Tommy Pham ($3,500), Dexter Fowler ($2,800) and Harrison Bader ($2,600) fits the budget comes from getting an opportunity to face the league's worst bullpen after Urena's departure. Ozuna is the best play if the budget isn't a concern, as he's homered in back-to-back games, and appears to be finally heating up after underperforming his draft-day price for the better part of his first two months with the Cards.
Michael Conforto, NYM vs. BAL ($2,900) -- Alex Cobb is starting for Baltimore on Tuesday, which opens the door for a few Mets bats, but Conforto might be the best play of the bunch. Since getting two days off in a span of three games in mid-May, Conforto is hitting .279/.388/.471 over his last 19 games, perhaps an indication that his surgically-repaired shoulder has fully healed, or that he's simply comfortable at the plate again after being brought along slowly this spring. With a .290/.409/.544 line against righties since the start of last season, Conforto and teammate Brandon Nimmo ($3,300) will garner plenty of interest Tuesday.
Chad Pinder, OAK at TEX ($2,400) -- For his career, Pinder has a .276/.351/.454 line against lefties (118 wRC+), which continues to push him into the lineup regularly when the A's face a southpaw. With two very price frontline starters to consider Tuesday, Pinder will be a very popular way to generate the necessary salary relief to afford an ace. Keep an eye on his placement in the lineup Tuesday, as the A's shuffle their lineup frequently, and a move into the bottom third of the order might bump Pinder out of cash-game consideration.
