This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
A somewhat reduced nine-game main slate awaits Tuesday evening at FanDuel, getting underway at 7:10 p.m. EDT. It's an incredibly light pitching slate as no arm is priced in five figures and just two are priced at more than $9,000. Despite that, we don't have massive run expectancy. Boston-Texas leads the way with a 9.5 run total with three other games coming in at 9.0. Two games bring us our low scoring spots at 8.0 runs.
Weather looks to be remarkably calm, with no rain expected anywhere and the only possibility for double-digit winds comes in San Francisco.
Pitching
Kevin Gausman, TOR at LAA ($8,800): The clear and obvious play is Nestor Cortes ($8,600) against the White Sox, but Cortes hasn't been sharp lately, allowing at least three runs in five straight, 24 in total across just 23.1 innings. Gausman too hasn't been a model of consistency, but he does have four wins and four quality starts across his last six starts. The Angels come with an 89 wRC+ off righties anda marginal 23.1 percent K rate. There is some surprising BvP success from this lineup, namely Kevin Pillar and Anthony Rendon, who are a combined 25-for-65 (.385) against Gausman, but I'm willing to challenge that rather than fade it.
Paul Blackburn, NYM vs. OAK ($8,300): Matchup and form over talent here. Blackburn has been a nice addition for the Mets, allowing just two runs and 11 hits over his last 12 innings, striking out 12 while earning three quality starts in his last five outings overall. Oakland comes with a 25.4 percent strikeout rate off righties and a below average 98 wRC+. They can pop off, and Blackburn has shown to be combustible, so this is far from safe, but the A's have just a 3.4 run expectancy so we should expect Blackburn to work six frames, get a strikeout per inning and maybe allow three runs while potentially adding a win, which works great for the price.
Eduardo Rodriguez, ARI vs. COL ($7,900): This looks too obvious, so perhaps temper expectations. Colorado stinks against left-handed pitching, striking out at a 27.2 percent rate while posting a .301 wOBA and 82 wRC+. But it's just Rodriguez' second start, and while he worked 5.2 frames in his debut, he was super efficient, needing only 65 pitches. It resulted in just one strikeout, so while we'd think the Ks will increase, as well as the workload, it's a relatively big leap from one start to the next. Still, Arizona is heavily favored at (-200) and the Rockies have just a 3.4 run expectancy so five innings, 80 pitches and a few extra strikeouts gets a fair return.
Top Targets
If we accept we want shares of Boston-Texas given the high run total, Corey Seager ($3,500) feels underpriced. He's streaky, but we're in the good stretch of that currently, with six hits, two homers and six RBI over his last three. Boston starter Kutter Crawford is laboring, allowing 22 runs and 26 hits across his last 18.2 innings.
Staying in Boston, Rafael Devers ($3,800) isn't in elite form, posting single-digit fantasy points in seven of his last eight. But he's 3-for-8 off Rangers' starter Jose Urena, who the Red Sox lit up for seven runs and eight hits across 4.0 innings two starts ago.
Mookie Betts ($3,800) at a sub $4k price is a virtual lock for all lineups. He had two hits, including a homer, in his return from the injured list and offers three-position versatility.
Bargain Bats
Diamondbacks' bats are the clear and obvious target on this slate, but we have numerous injury concerns. If he is in the lineup, Ketel Marte ($3,800) is an automatic play, but that seems questionable at best. Until we see the lineup, the safer options appear to be Jake McCarthy ($2,900) who has a .397 wOBA off lefties, and perhaps Eugenio Suarez ($3,000) or Josh Bell ($2,800), who are a combined 6-for-20 (.300) with two homers off Austin Gomber.
With pitching not likely to take up a ton of your budget Tuesday, we can more liberally target bats at a higher price. The Padres' feel like they'll be a popular stacking option against Luis Ortiz, who they just put four runs on in 4.0 innings and has allowed 13 runs across his last 16.1 innings. Manny Machado ($3,200) stands out for upside, as does Jackson Merrill ($3,300), while Xander Bogaerts ($3,000) has the safer floor with less power potential.
If we want to get a little crazy for GPPs, perhaps we don't ignore the White Sox on Tuesday against the aforementioned Cortes and his recent struggles. Andrew Vaughn ($3,000) and Andrew Benintendi ($2,800) have the BvP "success" here, going 5-for-25 with a homer. Gavin Sheets ($2,500) isn't guaranteed to play in the LvL matchup, but he's quietly 10-for-16 with four doubles and four RBI in his last four games.
Stack to Consider
Yankees vs. Jonathan Cannon (White Sox): Aaron Judge ($4,700), Giancarlo Stanton ($3,100), Alex Verdugo ($2,800)
The Yankees have the highest expected run total on the slate at 6.7 and this stack feels affordable given the secondary pieces and non-premium pitching across the slate. I will warn that Cannon has been very solid of late, allowing just four runs in his last 19.0 innings and has been a far better pitcher at home (2.90 ERA vs. 5.05 away). With that out of the way, we know the massive upside Judge comes with, and Stanton does too while balancing the budget. Verdugo further helps that effort, and should hit leadoff, giving us a 1-3-4 stack on the perceived best offense of the slate at an average cost of $3,500 per player.
