This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
Pitching
Kodai Senga, NYM vs. WAS ($10,600): Today is a tricky day with only five games being played and only three available for the main slate on FanDuel. Senga carries the biggest hit to your salary cap (by $600), but I think the home matchup against the Nationals is worth fitting him into your lineup. Justin Steele at $10,600 has a tough road assignment in St. Louis against Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Arenado, Tyler O'Neill, Jordan Walker, Paul DeJong and Willson Contreras who have gone a combined 19-for-58 (.328) against him. Senga is a -205 home favorite, putting him firmly in line for the win, while Dylan Cease has the next best odds at -115 (Steele is around even). While he's coming off a tough outing in Boston, Senga had averaged 42 fantasy points per game over his previous six outings.
Josiah Gray, WAS at NYM ($8,600): I know it seems odd to recommend both pitchers in the same game but I'd use Senga for cash games and consider Gray for tournament play. The first-time All-Star has been better on the road than at home this season with a 2.74 ERA and a respectable 8.2 K/9 rate. The Mets only strike out 21 percent of the time against right-handed pitching (fourth-best in baseball) but their team .319 wOBA against that handedness is league average. Gray has upside in any matchup given that he has nine games of 30 or more fantasy points this season. I like him as a contrarian play who will create some cap space in GPPs on this small slate.
Top Targets
Cody Bellinger, CHC at STL ($4,200): There a good argument that Bellinger has been the hottest hitter over the last three weeks and his 1.265 OPS is evidence of that. Bellinger should be in his usual cleanup spot with opportunities for RBI and he quietly has 12 stolen bases on the season. Miles Mikolas has a 4.95 ERA at home this season and has allowed a .319 wOBA this season to left-handed hitters. Bellinger has been consistent with only one scoreless fantasy outing over his last 13 games.
Paul Goldschmidt, STL vs. CHC ($3,900): Goldschmidt is in play both today and tomorrow going a combined 10-for-28 (.357) against Justin Steele and Drew Smyly with a home run against each of them. Goldy has a 1.062 OPS against left-handed pitching since 2021 and has a .898 OPS at home this season. He comes into the game on a small hot streak with two home runs in his last three games and has scored fantasy points in every game this month since July 2.
Bargain Bats
Tim Anderson, CWS vs. CLE ($2,600): It might not be too late for Anderson to salvage his season and his early-season woes have helped keep his salary cap hit depressed. Anderson has a .940 OPS over the last week recording multi-hit games in seven of his last 11 games. Tanner Bibee has been worse on the road this season with a 4.38 ERA (1.43 WHIP) although it's been a small sample (37 innings). Anderson addresses positional scarcity qualifying at shortstop especially considering there are only three games tonight.
Willson Contreras, STL vs. CHC ($2,800): Contreras is usually overlooked due to being a catcher but he seems like a rather obvious choice tonight with only six teams to choose from. He should be hitting cleanup against a left-handed pitcher and he has a .873 OPS against southpaws this season. Contreras has gone 3-for-9 against Steele and the Cardinals are penciled in to scores four or five runs tonight according to Vegas.
Stacks To Consider
Cardinals vs. Cubs (Steele): Goldschmidt, Arenado ($3,800), Contreras, O'Neill ($2,300)
O'Neill could easily be in the Bargain Bats section considering he has a .865 OPS against left-handed pitching since 2021. Walker ($2,800) is also worth considering here, but O'Neill seems likely to be the more unpopular play. Steele could easily turn in an outstanding performance, which is why this probably won't be the most popular stack.
Cubs vs. Cardinals (Mikolas): Bellinger, Christopher Morel ($3,800), Ian Happ ($3,000), Mike Tauchman ($3,000)
Obviously I think this will be the highest scoring game on the slate, so I don't mind entering two different stacks from the same game into tournaments. Both Bellinger and Happ homered yesterday and Tauchman has been effective over the last two weeks with a .861 OPS. Morel probably has as much upside as Bellinger on any given day and comes into the game with games of 21.7 and 25.4 fantasy points over his last two.
