This article is part of our DraftKings MLB series.
As we barrel through the final week of the regular season, we have a 10-game slate to work with Tuesday. With fall here, the weather starts to take on a more significant role once again as the Orioles-Yankees, Mets-Atlanta and Angels-White Sox all have weather concerns. All three of those matchups have start times of 7:40 pm ET or earlier, so be sure to pivot if the weather looks to continue to be a problem.
Pitching
Particularly this late in the season, this is a strong day for pitching, meaning there is opportunity at all price points. At the top, both Framber Valdez ($10,000) and Logan Gilbert ($9,300) have been excellent to close the season. Unfortunately, they're squaring off against each other, so rostering both doesn't make much sense. Valdez has the benefit of matchup and win potential, but Gilbert has topped 30 DraftKings points in two of his last five appearances.
Bailey Ober ($8,600) is the standout option in the second tier of pricing. He has also topped 25 DraftKings points in three of his last five outings and draws a matchup against the Marlins, giving him a high win potential. Bowden Francis ($8,300) has slowed some since his torrid stretch through August, but he has still shown the ability to safely bank at least 15 DraftKings points in every game since August 7th. It's hard to make a case for him given his price relative to Ober, but he at least deserves a mention.
One reason to forego Ober is to instead roster Ryan Weathers ($6,500), as the duo square off. Taking a glance at Weathers' stats won't tell the whole story. He understandably showed rust in his first outing in three months against the Dodgers, but he posted a 5:0 K:BB ratio. The Twins have been a disaster at the dish lately (23.9 percent strikeout rate and .275 wOBA in the last 30 days), making Weathers a high-risk/reward option for tournaments.
Top Hitters
Nathan Eovaldi has allowed 11 earned runs across his 9.2 innings pitched, highlighted by four homers surrendered. The A's are an interesting stacking option, but Brent Rooker ($5,700) and Shea Langeliers ($4,000) both stand out as good options independently.
The Rockies and Cardinals are both worth considering as a whole given that the game is at Coors Field, but it's worth highlighting Charlie Blackmon ($4,800). He's averaged a very solid 8.1 DraftKings points at home this season and has operated as the team's leadoff hitter against right-handed pitching. This will be an emotional week for him after announcing his retirement, so the narrative suggests we may see some big performances on his way out the door.
Value Bats
There are often "cheat code" players against lefties, who aren't priced properly due to their limited usefulness on most nights. Manuel Margot ($2,300) is a good example, as he should hit atop the order with Ryan Weathers on the mound for Miami. For the season, Margot has a .321 wOBA against lefties – a more than useful number given his projected role and price point.
Assuming the game proceeds as scheduled, the Angels are a decent place to dig around for value in a matchup against Jonathan Cannon (4.76 SIERA, 1.4 HR/9). Eric Wagaman ($3,300) stands out in the RotoWire optimizer and has slowly been creeping up the Angels' lineup, most recently hitting fourth and fifth.
Stacks to Consider
Toronto Blue Jays vs. Boston Red Sox (Brayan Bello): Nathan Lukes ($3,500), Vladimir Guerrero ($5,300), Spencer Horwitz ($3,800)
As was noted, this is a strong day for pitching, so looking for pitchers with a higher potential to turn in disastrous outings is a good way to identify stacking options. Bello has pitched well lately, but walks remain an issue (9.2 percent walk rate in the last 30 days) and he has benefitted from good luck that won't sustain over the long term (.266 BABIP, zero home runs in last 30 days). He's also surrendered at least four earned runs in eight of his starts this season. This isn't the best version of the Jays lineup we've seen, but they've still been a league-average lineup.
Arizona Diamondbacks vs. San Francisco Giants (Logan Webb): Corbin Carroll ($5,600), Ketel Marte ($6,200), Joc Pederson ($4,500)
Webb may not be the first option to consider stacking against, but he has the fourth-lowest K-BB% in the last 30 days among pitchers available on the main slate. The Diamondbacks have a .358 wOBA and .206 ISO in that same span, making them one of the most dangerous lineups in the league. This game has a lot of run-scoring potential, as the Giants also should be able to do some damage against Brandon Pfaadt.
