This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
My most recent article was a hit, with Tommy Edman and Enrique Hernandez homering in the final game of the Tokyo Series, so we're looking to carry over that momentum here. No offense to the Tokyo Series, but this is the real opening day for baseball. Most of the teams kickstart their season today, and I can't wait to sit around and watch baseball all night and day! It is a difficult day to navigate with every pitcher's ace toeing the rubber, but we'll try our best to navigate those murky waters.
Pitching
Cole Ragans, KC vs. CLE ($9,800)
Paying up for Paul Skenes ($11,000) against Miami is the obvious play, but Ragans is a better value below $10K. This lefty is one of the preseason favorites for AL Cy Young, collecting a 3.14 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and 10.8 K/9 rate last year. He also had an 11.5 K/9 rate at home last season and enters this matchup as a -135 favorite in a game with a 7.5-run total. A matchup with Cleveland might look concerning on the surface, but this lackluster offense ranked 27th in xwOBA last season.
Freddy Peralta, MIL at NYY ($8,200)
Using any pitcher against the Yankees sounds scary, but this isn't the offense we saw last season. Not only did Juan Soto switch boroughs, but Giancarlo Stanton (elbow) is also missing while Aaron Judge is slumping through spring training. That will leave this shorthanded lineup extremely thin, and a guy like Peralta could cruise right through them. The righty has a 3.49 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 31 percent strikeout rate since 2021. That makes it shocking that Peralta is 17th in salary among pitchers on this slate, despite the "tough" matchup.
Top Targets
Yordan Alvarez, HOU ($4,100) vs. Clay Holmes
The attention that goes towards studs like Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge has left Alvarez as one of the most underrated superstars in baseball. The consistency is what's truly remarkable, with Alvarez posting an OPS above .959 in five of his six seasons at this level. That's hard to believe, and it comes with a .390 career OBP and .973 OPS. His splits against righties are even better, including a .992 OPS against them since 2022. That could be beneficial against a pitcher trying to transition into a starter, especially since Holmes had a 1.30 WHIP last year.
Mike Trout, LAA ($3,800) vs. Sean Burke
The only question mark surrounding Trout has been his health, but he should never be below $4K when he's out there. The former MVP only played 29 games last year but was ninth among position players with 12.7 FanDuel points per game. We're talking about a superstar with a .410 career OBP and .991 OPS facing the worst pitcher on this slate. We'll dive into that later on in the stacks section.
Bargain Bats
Ryan O'Hearn, BAL ($2,600) vs. Jose Berrios
O'Hearn has been one of the most underrated platoon players in the league in recent seasons, hitting in the heart of the O's lineup when they face a righty. It's easy to see why he does that, with O'Hearn tallying a .788 OPS against righties over the last two years. That should bode well against an inconsistent pitcher like Berrios, who has a 4.13 ERA in that same span. We also love the BvP numbers for O'Hearn, collecting a .400 OBP and .981 OPS in nearly 40 plate appearances against Berrios.
Austin Slater, White Sox ($2,200) vs. Yusei Kikuchi
Slater has always been a DFS darling whenever he faces lefties. A signing with the White Sox left the southpaw smasher under the radar, but he could hit leadoff whenever they face a lefty. The splits are simply stupendous, with Slater sporting a .364 OBP and .793 OPS against southpaws throughout his career. That's even more enticing since Kikuchi is one of the worst pitchers on this stacked slate, posting a 4.57 career ERA and 1.34 WHIP.
Stacks to Consider
Phillies at Nationals (MacKenzie Gore): Trea Turner ($3,700), Nick Castellanos ($3,000), Alec Bohm ($3,000)
Stacking on the first slate of the year is always challenging, because most teams are sending out their best pitcher. That's not saying much for the Nationals, though, with Gore generating a 4.20 career ERA and 1.42 WHIP. That 1.42 WHIP is a disastrous number against one of the best offenses in baseball. The Phillies ranked fifth in runs scored and OPS last season, which is terrifying since Gore has a 4.96 ERA and 1.41 WHIP in eight starts against the Phils.
Let's kickstart our stack with Turner, totaling a .363 OBP and .889 OPS against lefties last year. Turner has throttled Gore throughout his career, too, compiling a .979 OPS in 20 at-bats against him. Castellanos and Bohm are two more guys with the platoon advantage in their favor. Bohm has an .889 OPS against lefties over the last three years, while Castellanos has an .835 OPS against them in the same span.
Angels vs. White Sox (Sean Burke): Mike Trout ($3,800), Taylor Ward ($2,900), Jorge Soler ($2,900), Nolan Schanuel ($2,700)
Stacking the Angels sounds impossible, but Burke is easily the worst pitcher on this opening slate of the season. While he did have a nice final month, the righty had a 5.59 ERA and 1.48 WHIP at the minors over the last two years. That's nearly 200 innings of pitiful pitching, and we have to assume he'll regress back to that this season.
We already discussed Trout as one of our favorite plays of the day, but we want to stack him with his outfield compadres. Soler is the guy who brings the power, posting a .478 SLG and .813 OPS since 2018. Ward has been a solid DFS option as well, producing a .778 OPS since 2021. Schanuel is the sneaky option of the bunch as the potential leadoff hitter, accumulating a .356 career OBP against right-handers.
