This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
FanDuel is offering five different slates Saturday that span the entire afternoon/evening, but the main slate doesn't go off until 7:05 p.m. EDT and features just five games. Ten pitchers likely won't give us too many options to be different, but we'll certainly try! Run totals are low, with Astros - Mariners being the lowest at 7.5, and Royals-Rangers the highest at 9.0.
Thankfully, weather won't be a factor here with three games being played in a dome. Winds curiously look to be a minor detriment to bats in the slate's highest-expected scoring affair, making it a slightly less obvious game to target that initially anticipated, but overall a non-issue.
Pitching
Framber Valdez, HOU vs. SEA ($9,700): Valdez was solid enough in his return from injury last time out, earning 33 fantasy points in challenging conditions in Mexico against the Rockies, getting through five innings on 71 pitches. We have to assume he'll be able to handle a higher workload here to return favorably. Seattle comes with a 26.8 percent K rate against lefties, while ranking 22nd with a .282 wOBA. There's plenty of familiarity in division, with Seattle's current roster a combined 36-for-127 (.283) off Valdez, with an unimpressive ,753 OPS and a 24.3 percent K rate.
Michael King, SD at ARI ($8,100): King is not in good form, allowing 10 runs and 14 hits across his last two starts, spanning just 9.0 innings. As such, he's a GPP upside option only for Saturday. Of equal concern, the matchup presents itself more for stability than upside, as King has shown the ability to miss bats at a high level, but Arizona only strikes out at a 20.6 percent clip off righties. That comes with a .287 wOBA, which ranks 26th, adding just an 84 wRC+ and .123 ISO. Homers have been an issue for King, as he's allowed 2.5 per nine. We'll need to hope the Diamondbacks' 35.7 percent fly ball rate and 8.9 percent HR/FB ratio plays true.
Christian Scott, NYM vs. TB ($6,300): This seems far too obvious given the low price point. Scott has emerged as one of the games top pitching prospects, posting a 3.20 ERA and 3.38 xFIP at Triple-A while striking out a whopping 12.9 per nine innings. Homers have been a problem, as he's allowed 2.5 per nine, so I don't hate taking a one-off power play from the Rays, but Tampa's offense overall has been middling, coming with a near league-average 99 wRC+ off righies while posting a .300 wOBA and 23.2 percent K rate. You'd expect New York to be cautious with Scott's workload, but we don't need a quality start for a fair return on this price.
Top Targets
Bobby Witt ($4,000) extended his hitting streak to seven games last night, going 10-for-28 (.357) with eight RBI, seven runs and three steals, managing double-digit fantasy points six times. You can't get much more stability from a top bat.
Sticking with a stability angle rather than chasing power upside, Jose Altuve ($4,000) presents favorably. He's hit safely in five straight and eight of nine, scoring eight times while driving in five and stealing four bases. He's also 10-for-24 (.417) with a 1.231 OPS off Mariners' starter Logan Gilbert.
Bargain Bats
Corey Seager ($3,400) is one of many slumping, and thus underpriced, top names. He's a BvP play Saturday, going 6-for-12 off Royals' starter Michael Wacha.
The Dodgers' Andy Pages ($3,100) isn't getting enough ink. He collected four more hits Friday, rides a nine-game hitting streak that's seen him collect 16 hits total and boasts a .424 wOBA, 179 wRC+ and .263 ISO off righties.
I mentioned targeting power against Christian Scott above, and while the form isn't great, it has to just be a matter of time before Randy Arozarena ($2,900) gets going. He homered Friday and took three walks, perhaps a sign of a renewed approach.
Joey Loperfido ($2,200) in three games of big league action hasn't shown the power he did in the minors but he's hit safely in all of them, going 4-for-11. The matchup with Gilbert will likely be the hardest he's faced since promotion, but even just one single can be profitable at this low price.
Stack to Consider
Padres vs. Brandon Pfaadt (Diamondbacks): Fernando Tatis ($3,800), Jake Cronenworth ($3,100), Jurickson Profar ($3,100)
Stacking on a five-game slate isn't easy and it's even harder to find a different stack. I'd prefer two-man mini stacks for cash lineups, particularly from the Dodgers lineup. But for GPPs, this one has some potential. Pfaadt is allowing a .371 wOBA to lefties against a .256 wOBA to righties. That allows us to target some secondary options for a discount in Cronenworth and Profar, who have a .436/.424 wOBA, respectively, off righties. They offer position flexibility and top-of-the-order options, and further allow the inclusion of a high-end star in Tatis, who has been just average off righties with a .364 wOBA, but a more targetable 142 wRC+ and .227 isolated power.
