This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
Seven games are featured in FanDuel's Saturday main slate, which starts at 7:10 p.m. EDT and stretches to 9:40. Coors Field is present and obviously features a double-digit run total, and the smaller nature of the slate makes it tough to fade. That's amplified by the fact that five of these seven games come with a low run total of 7.5, with Dodgers-Padres being the only other game not at that mark. We've got three five-digit pitchers, but only one more in the 9k tier however, which shouldn't force a pay up. Oakland does not currently have a listed starter within FanDuel.
Weather makes this slate a little tricky, as rain is probable in Colorado. Winds are favorable there too, but if they don't play, this gets a touch chaotic offensively. That game starts at 8:10, so we'd have a half hour and three later starts to pivot to. Either use big bats there with easy options to pivot to other top-end options, or take a punt play where it may not matter if he zeros. We're dry elsewhere, with some minor wind assistance in most of the West Coast games.
Pitching
Bryce Miller, SEA vs. OAK ($10,000): When considering the top-six priced arms, three are left handed, and while their opponents aren't feared lineups, they all do have at least decent splits off southpaws but, more importantly, low strikeout rates, so while not saying they aren't fine plays, I'm going to look elsewhere. That leaves Miller and Freddy Peralta, and I'll back Miller for $500 cheaper against an opponent with a higher strikeout rate. Oakland fans at a 25.5 percent rate and current As' are only 4-for-27 (.148) with a .444 OPS off of him, striking out 29.6 percent of the time.
Triston McKenzie, CLE at CWS ($8,300): This will be a trending mid-tier option, as we know we can always target the White Sox offense when necessary. They rank second-to-last against righties with a .278 wOBA and 78 wRC+, though they don't swing and miss a ton at 22.2 percent. McKenzie has control issues, resulting in high pitch counts and only one quality start to date, capping his upside. But he's also allowed two runs or less in four straight and five of six, somewhat quietly turning around his season. It's another divisional game where there's familiarity, and McKenzie has allowed his adversary to go 16-for-87 (.184) with a .509 OPS with a 25.5 percent K rate. That works well at this price.
Mason Black, SF vs. CIN ($6,300): The paydown options are very limited Saturday. I don't hate Andrew Heaney if the weather clears, even in Coors Field, but that's too risky to highlight here. Black is the slate's cheapest option and doesn't need to do a ton to return fairly. The Giants allowed him to pitch through his struggles in his debut, and he gets a much softer opponent this time out. Cincinnati fans at a 27.6 percent clip off righties while posting just a .288 wOBA and 80 wRC+. He was more ground ball than fly ball at Triple-A, and that plays into the Reds' trends as well. This won't be clean and could make you nervous, but there's a path to fantasy points via matchup rather than the actual player.
Top Targets
The easiest path here is to mini-stack Adolis Garcia ($4,300) and Marcus Semien ($4,600), with clear and obvious pivots to Shohei Ohtani ($5,000) and Mookie Betts ($4,500). They play the same positions, making swaps easy if rain factors in Colorado, and you can use one of each if you'd like. No hard hitting analysis needed, though Betts and Garcia aren't in the best of form.
Truthfully, the top bats price-wise don't present at an elite level based on matchups. Cleveland's Jose Ramirez ($3,900) has homered in two straight and four of six, collecting eight hits and eight RBI in that stretch and gets a decent matchup against Mike Clevinger, who made it only two innings in his debut, and a White Sox bullpen that has a 4.35 ERA and 1.46 WHIP. And I don't think many are comfortable paying for William Contreras ($4,000), but he just continues to hit, with seven over his last four games and at least one in 14 of his last 16.
Bargain Bats
Salvador Perez ($3,500) has a .400 wOBA, 157 wRC+ and walks more than he strikes out against lefties. He's also 4-for-14 with three extra-base hits off Angels' starter Tyler Anderson.
If you're a BvP guy, Cleveland's Andres Gimenez ($3,000) is 3-for-10 with two homers off Clevinger.
The seemingly obvious spot for bargain options is Seattle's lineup. Oakland appears to be calling up Joey Estes to start, and he allowed eight runs and 12 hits in 10.0 big league innings last year, and has a 6.04 ERA, 6.60 FIP and 1.46 WHIP at Triple-A. Julio Rodriguez ($3,300) is priced too low for his potential, even if we haven't seen that potential all season. Josh Rojas ($3,000) has been the Mariners' best off righties to date with a .437 wOBA, 191 wRC+ and .195 ISO. I don't hate Mitch Garver ($2,700) in this spot either. He's walked in four straight and has seven hits in his last seven games.
Stack to Consider
Padres vs. James Paxton (Dodgers): Fernando Tatis ($3,900), Manny Machado ($3,200), Luis Arraez ($2,900)
This is a tough slate to stack given the small nature and weather concerns in the most obvious spot. But if we target the Dodgers atop of the slate, and rightfully so against Matt Waldron, and we believe this could flirt with being the slate's highest-scoring game, it makes great sense to stack both sides. Tatis and Machado aren't in great form, and their season-long splits against lefties aren't good. But they are a collective 6-for-17 (.353) with two homers off Paxton. Arraez gives us a third piece at the top of the lineup so that we can feel safe in regards to reaching base and giving the other two run producing opportunities. Paxton is due some regression, as his 3.06 ERA comes with a 5.98 xERA and 6.09 xFIP, and he's averaging just 5.0 Ks per nine. The Padres offense likely has to match the Dodgers here.
