This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
FanDuel's main slate gets going Tuesday evening at 7:10 p.m. EDT and currently features nine games. But weather is a major factor here, with both games in Chicago and one in New York looking highly suspect. They are too risky to include here, so we'll completely ignore them. That's a shame too, because I'd have some interest in Atlanta's Reynaldo Lopez and possibly Detroit's Casey Mize. Chicago looks to possibly clear up late, so it will be a matter of waiting. Atlanta bats would be in a phenomenal spot should they play, with winds reportedly whipping and blowing out.
Of the six remaining games, Yankees-Diamondbacks has the highest run total at nine, while Guardians-Mariners is the low point at seven. Not a ton of disparity there.
Pitching
Yu Darvish, SD vs. STL ($9,300): St. Louis' lineup just doesn't scare me, so I'll back Darvish at a discount over the four arms with higher salaries Tuesday. Darvish is coming off a seven strikeout showing against the Giants, and the Cardinals are currently whiffing at a 30.2 percent rate off righties while not showing much power. They also aren't taking walks, which Darvish has issued four of in 8.2 innings. We know he can be a bit erratic and have rising pitch counts, limiting his longevity, but we'll back him to pile up strikeouts even if it's only across five frames.
Brayan Bello, BOS at OAK ($8,800): Even reducing this slate to six games, we still have nine arms priced at Bello's salary or above, but he's got the clear easiest matchup against always targetable Oakland. The A's are their usually selves early on, posting a .248 wOBA, 63 wRC+ and 32.9 percent strikeout rate off righties. The last number is key, as Bello isn't a high strikeout guy. We can feel confident in limited damage and perhaps a win, but Bello needs the Ks to rise to provide a fair return on this number.
Nestor Cortes, NYY at ARI ($7,900): Eliminating the games with rain scares really shortens the pitching options, so much so we only have two options at a sub-$7k salary, neither of which inspire confidence. Cortes then becomes the "bargain" pitcher by default, and he's still relatively pricey. He did fan five in his debut against Houston across five frames while retiring 12 of the final 13 batters he faced, so perhaps that can carry over. Arizona is off to a white-hot start against lefties, but that came against Colorado pitching. They were limited last night when they stepped up in class, and the Yankees and fantasy managers will hope Cortes can match Zac Gallen and keep this game lower scoring than expected.
Top Targets
It's already a broken record situation here, but pick any of Mookie Betts ($4,600), Shohei Ohtani ($4,200) or Freddie Freeman ($4,000) and build out from there. Giants' starter Logan Webb can't get them out. The trio is a combined 25-of-60 (.417) against him, though with only two homers and five doubles, so perhaps their upside isn't as great as usual.
Going in on Houston bats is never a bad decision, and Kyle Tucker ($3,600) just looks mis-priced with seven hits and two homers thus far.
Atlanta bats really are the way to differentiate here and/or combat the big Dodgers above. They're slated to face a lefty, which puts Ozzie Albies ($3,800) at the front of the top options, with Austin Riley ($3,900) not far behind. You're just going to have to track rain all day and night, and be ready to have pivots in the later window to adjust to.
Bargain Bats
We don't want to rely too much on BvP numbers, but early in the year, there isn't a ton to go on other than a hot start. Jose Abreu ($2,500) is not off to one, and we also know he isn't the same player he once was, but he's 18-of-60 (.300) with three homers off Jose Berrios. Chas McCormick ($2,900) has shown a touch more out of the gates, and is 5-for-8 (.625) off Berrios.
Jake Cronenworth ($2,900) isn't priced like the middle-of-the-order bat he is, and he's swinging it well too, clearly benefiting from hitting between Fernando Tatis and Manny Machado. He offers position flexibility, but is 0-for-3 with two strikeouts against Miles Mikolas.
Stack to Consider
Red Sox vs. Alex Wood (OAK): Tyler O'Neill ($3,200), Triston Casas ($3,100), Trevor Story ($2,800)
We can anticipate everyone wanting shares of the Red Sox lineup, so it's really a matter of how you want to piece this together. I like this trio, likely hitting 3-4-5, and we don't want to go too heavily on splits off lefties as it would be surprising to see Wood get through the order twice. O'Neill has hit safely in four of five, homering twice and scoring five times. Casas hasn't shown much early on, perhaps giving us a lower roster run producer. Story profiles similarly, but does have three hits in his last two games. All three are very fairly priced for the matchup, and can allow additional spending for a pitcher.
