This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
This should be an interesting slate to dissect. We have three games starting at 1 p.m. EDT and four night games beginning at 7 p.m. There is one other game during the day, but we're going to avoid that one since it's not part of either main slate. Even with the short card, there are still three pitchers we love, so let's start there!
Pitching
Carlos Rodon, NYY at LAA ($9,600)
Rodon had a rough 2023 season, but he's been an ace outside of that. This lefty had a 2.67 ERA and 1.00 WHIP in the two years prior while providing a 2.95 ERA and 1.18 WHIP this season. He also comes into this matchup scoring at least 34 fantasy points in six of his last seven outings, doing that damage against some of the best offenses in baseball. The Angels definitely aren't one of those, ranked 20th in OBP and 18th in K rate, struggling mightily without Mike Trout, Shohei Ohtani and Anthony Rendon. All of that has Rodon coming into this game as a -190 favorite!
Reynaldo Lopez, ATL vs. WAS ($9,000)
It's hard to believe that Lopez is one of the best starters in the NL right now because he was one of the worst pitchers in baseball throughout his first five years. A move to Atlanta has seemingly fixed the right-hander, allowing three runs or fewer in all nine starts. He's also scored at least 27 FanDuel points in all but one of those, amassing a 1.75 ERA and 1.09 WHIP. That makes him tough to avoid in a home matchup against Washington, with the Nats ranked 25th in OBP and 26th in wOBA. That's why Lopez enters this matchup as a -230 favorite!
Afternoon update: Atlanta announced it would be switching to Ray Kerr as tonight's starter. He offers nice value at only $5,500.
Nick Pivetta, BOS vs. DET ($8,800)
Pivetta was terrible in his most recent start but he was brilliant before that. The Red Sox righty scored at least 30 FanDuel points in four of his previous five starts, providing a 3.04 ERA, 0.82 WHIP and 10.1 K/9 rate. His only two duds this season were against elite offenses like Milwaukee and Atlanta, but Detroit is far from that. The Motor City Kitties rank 20th in wOBA, 22nd in OBP and 21st in K rate. We also don't mind that Pivetta scored 36 FanDuel points in his last tussle with the Tigers.
Top Targets
Aaron Judge, NYY (vs. Patrick Sandoval) $4,500
Judge got off to a slow start, but this is the hottest hitter in baseball right now. This beast has 11 homers over his last 21 games, generating a .520 OBP and 1.495 OPS in that span. It's difficult for most players to post a .500 OBP and 1.500 OPS for one weekend, let alone a month. That's scary when you look at Judge's splits, sporting a .490 OBP and 1.119 OPS against lefties this season. Sandoval is a southpaw he can slice right through and we'll dive into that later on!
Matt Olson, ATL (vs. Trevor Williams) $3,500
Atlanta needs Olson to step up with Ronald Acuna out for the year, and it appears the slugger is starting to do just that. He has a .346 OBP and .921 OPS across his last 19 outings, accounting for four doubles and a homer across his last four fixtures. That's the stud we've seen in the past, with Olson averaging 42 homers and 118 RBI over the last three seasons. He's also destroyed righties in that span, registering a .366 OBP and .919 OPS against them. Williams has been a huge surprise this season but he's got a 4.61 career xFIP and 1.37 WHIP.
Bargain Bats
Randy Arozarena, TB (vs. JP Sears) $3,000
There's no doubt that Arozarena has been awful behind his .159 AVG, but this guy will inevitably be one of the hottest hitters in baseball at some point. He's still got eight homers and seven steals this year, recording 20-20 seasons in three straight years. He's also never hit below .250, and we have to assume he'll skyrocket this average throughout the summer. A matchup with a lefty might be the way to kickstart a hot stretch, accumulating a .240 ISO, .372 OBP, .381 wOBA and .897 OPS against them throughout his career.
Mike Tauchman, CHC (vs. Colin Rea) $3,000
Tauchman isn't an exciting DFS option, but he's too cheap. This outfielder has been Chicago's primary leadoff hitter for most of the season, totaling a .372 OBP and .776 OPS. Any leadoff hitter flirting with a .400 OBP should never be this affordable, especially since he has a .800 OPS against right-handers. Rea is a righty Tauchman can destroy, with Rea ready for some negative regression. The righty has a 5.64 xERA, 4.80 SIERA and 16 percent K rate, despite having an ERA below 4.00.
Stacks to Consider
New York Yankees at Los Angeles Angels (Sandoval): Judge ($4,500), Giancarlo Stanton ($3,400), Gleyber Torres ($3,000)
Sandoval's advanced numbers might look impressive, but the standard statistics are dreadful. The Angels lefty has a 5.60 ERA and 1.55 WHIP so far this season. That's no surprise since he had a 1.51 WHIP last year, showcasing one of the worst walk rates in baseball. That's scary against the Bronx Bombers, with NY ranked first in OBP and fifth in runs scored!
We already discussed Judge as our top option of the day, but we love his power partner in Stanton. The slugger has homered in seven of his last 18 games and has a .375 OBP and .963 OPS against lefties throughout his career. Torres is the cheap part of this stack, with the second baseman tallying a .343 OBP and .806 OPS against southpaws. He's also starting to get hot, accruing a .872 OPS across his last 15 fixtures.
Seattle Mariners vs. Houston Astros (Spencer Arrighetti): Julio Rodriguez ($3,300), Cal Raleigh ($2,900), Luke Raley ($2,500)
We've been stacking against Arrighetti all season and it's worked nearly every time out. The righty has yet to record a quality start through eight starts, generating a 6.93 ERA and 1.78 WHIP. He only has a spot in this rotation because of how beat-up this pitching staff is right now, and we love how cheap many of these Seattle bats are against him.
J-Rod is the most important piece of the stack because he's Seattle's best player. Despite a slow start, Rodriguez has a .343 OBP and .820 OPS across his last 16 outings, while recording 14 steals this year. He was the second-best player in fantasy over the closing months of last season and should reclaim that role soon. Raleigh is the power hitter of the bunch, hitting cleanup for the Mariners. He has 69 dingers since the 2022 season, showcasing a .475 SLG and .775 OPS against righties in that span. Raley is the cheap option, batting between third and fifth whenever they face a righty. He has a .343 OBP and .858 OPS across his last 20 outings while providing sensational splits against right-handers.
