This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
Pitching
George Kirby, SEA at OAK ($10,000): Justin Verlander has the "revenge game" factor working in his favor, but he's making his first start of the season and will likely be on a pitch count. Pablo Lopez is another decent option but he's barely a favorite (-132) against the White Sox on the road. This leads us to Kirby, who has an ideal matchup facing the hapless Athletics. Kirby is a -255 favorite in a game with an over/under of only eight runs and Oakland has been pretty bad on offense this season. The Athletics have a .286 wOBA (fourth worst) and a 26.6 percent strikeout rate (worst) against right-handed pitching, making this the best matchup possible for Kirby. Throwing out his first start of the season, he has scored 31 or more fantasy points in each of his other four starts.
Lucas Giolito, CWS vs. MIN ($8,300): Both Jack Flaherty and Lucas Giolito are interesting mid-range options, but ultimately I fell on Giolito. He has a slightly higher upside than Flaherty with a 40-point (against these Twins) and a 49-point game this season and has had two decent outings recently both against the Rays (24 and 36 fantasy points). The Twins strike out at a 25.1 percent rate (eighth-worst) and their team .306 wOBA on the road against right-handed pitching is below league average. Giolito is a slight underdog at home (+112) against Lopez but the game is expected to be low-scoring with an over/under of only 7.5 runs.
Top Targets
C.J. Cron, COL vs. MIL ($3,600): Cron is only averaging 10.29 fantasy points per game this season but as he has in the past, his numbers at home have been much better at home than on the road. Since 2021 he has a .993 OPS at home as opposed to a .682 OPS on the road while Wade Miley's ERA is almost a half run higher on the road in that same time period. Cron should be hitting cleanup as usual and has had 102 and 92 RBI over the last two seasons.
Rowdy Tellez, MIL at COL ($3,700): This game should have plenty of scoring with an over/under of 12 runs so it makes sense in cash games to have more than one player from this contest in your lineup. Tellez should also be in the cleanup spot and has an excellent matchup against Connor Seabold who has looked awful in small samples with Boston last year and the Rockies this year. Expecting at least six runs out of the Brewers seems reasonable and Tellez has a .928 OPS this season against right-handed pitching.
Bargain Bats
Yuli Gurriel, MIA vs. ATL ($2,400): It's tough to find a cheap bat that hits towards the top of a lineup and has a good matchup. Gurriel is in an excellent spot against Dylan Dodd and should be hitting third in the lineup, though. Gurriel has a respectable .821 OPS against southpaws since 2021 and Dodd struggled in his last big-league start.
Seiya Suzuki, CHC at WAS ($2,800): I think it's always a good idea to fade Patrick Corbin and Suzuki would be one of my targets to use against him. He should be hitting cleanup and has hit left-handed pitching better than right-handed pitching since coming into the league. Suzuki has a .935 OPS in 25 plate appearances this season against southpaws after sporting a .847 mark last season. Corbin allowed a .388 wOBA last season to right-handed hitters after a .387 mark in 2021.
Stacks To Consider
Cubs at Nationals (Corbin): Patrick Wisdom ($3,800), Nico Hoerner ($3,700), Suzuki, Trey Mancini ($2,800)
All of these players hit right-handed and you could substitute Cody Bellinger ($4,100) in as well considering his hot start against lefties (1.090 OPS in 43 PAs). Corbin should struggle against a right-handed heavy lineup and he's allowed seven home runs in his last five starts (28.1 innings). He hasn't pitched past the sixth inning yet this season, so there's a good chance the Cubs also get to hit against the Nationals bullpen.
Brewers at Rockies (Seabold): Tellez, William Contreras ($3,300), Joey Wiemer ($2,900), Jesse Winker ($2,900)
This will likely be the most stacked game of the day considering the over/under sits at 12 without either team being a heavy favorite. I think the key here is to not go straight down the list of the priciest bats for the Brewers and instead mix and match some players like Weimer or Winker, who will not as popular. Tyrone Taylor ($2,500) is another player who will likely be on few rosters.
