This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
A large 12-game slate awaits Tuesday, with three games starting at 6:40 p.m. EDT omitted. Four games come with a run total of nine or greater, with two of those reaching double digits. Five pitchers are priced in five figures, with five more in the $9k tier, giving us ample choices atop the slate to build around.
Pitching
Hunter Brown, HOU vs. SF ($10,200): There's rarely anything wrong with the top options; they've all earned their salary. Tuesday looks like a spot where we can save a bit of cap space though, as Brown is $1,600 cheaper than the slate's top option Zac Gallen. There's certainly some variables, as Brown has two games where he's averaged 20 FDP, but in the other three, he's fanned 20, earning wins and quality starts. The Giants are a solid offense against righties, ranking third with a .353 wOBA, but they also fan 26.4 percent of the time. That should set Brown up for a nice floor and potentially high ceiling to combat the options priced above him. Minnesota's Joe Ryan ($11,000) has an more obviously advantageous matchup and is also a strong choice at a slightly cheaper salary than Gallen.
Tyler Wells, BAL at KC ($8,800): Lets get the bad out of the way first. Wells has only one win and one quality start, failing to reach 25 FDP three times in five starts as a result. He fans just 7.1 per nine and his 2.79 ERA is far better than his 4.31 xFIP. Point being, there's risk without a sky-high ceiling, but nonetheless he figures to be popular. That's because he has an obviously soft matchup with the Royals, who rank dead last against righties with a paltry .262 wOBA and 61 wRC+, bringing just a .108 ISO and 26.0 percent strikeout rate. Cleveland's Tanner Bibee ($8,400) may be the higher-upside, contrarian option to Wells against a slumping and injured Yankees lineup.
Hayden Wesneski, CHC at WAS ($6,600): Wesneski doesn't fan many, walks too many and gives up too many homers, so while there's risk with low upside, his opponent in Washington does none of those things, so he should have a decent floor at a very low salary. Outside of a five-run, 1.1-inning outing against Seattle, Wesneski has allowed a reasonable eight runs over 21.0 innings and has won two of his last three starts. 26.4 FDP is a 4x return, and while that may be stretching it, he should be able to limit damage against the Nationals across at least five innings, enabling a 3x return or better while saving a larger chunk of our budget for bats.
Top Targets
On these larger slates with so much high-priced pitching, the big bats often go overlooked. Mike Trout ($4,200) looks to be in a great spot against Steven Matz, who is allowing a .416 wOBA and .965 OPS to righties.
Kansas City's Ryan Yarbrough is a prime pitcher to target, but having not lasted more than four innings in an outing yet this year, Baltimore's bats may not get too many chances against him. Still, Cedric Mullins ($4,000) and his .382 wOBA and 147 wRC+, and/or Ryan Mountcastle ($3,900) and his .401 wOBA and 160 wRC+ look like nice building blocks that may not stand out among the bigger names in this price tier.
We likely don't have to force a Brewer bat in Coors Field into our lineup given the slate's depth, but Rowdy Tellez ($3,800) boasts a .333 ISO and .381 wOBA off righties to date that could play up while not getting a price boost given the ballpark.
Bargain Bats
Michael Wacha has had one dominate outing, while allowing 19 runs and 31 hits across his other four outings, spanning 19.1 innings. His splits suggest targeting lefties here, putting TJ Friedl ($2,900) and/or Jake Fraley ($2,800) on the radar, but I'm also intrigued by a surging Nick Senzel ($3,100), who has 13 hits in his last six games. A Reds stack isn't out of the question.
The Dodgers' Julio Urias hasn't looked right over his last two starts, allowing 11 runs and 14 hits across 9.0 innings, and lefties are surprisingly posting a .427 wOBA and 1.014 OPS against him. I see no reason to not deploy Bryce Harper ($3,500) in his season debut while his salary is discounted, and Kyle Schwarber ($3,200) merits consideration too if we think Urias' struggles continue.
Oakland's Mason Miller offers big strikeout potential, but he's also allowed six runs and nine hits in his first two starts, spanning 8.1 innings. Julio Rodriguez is the team's highest-priced option at $3,600, but we have ample choices below that to grab a piece of the Mariners' offense, with Jarred Kelenic ($3,200) profiling the best thanks to a .388 wOBA, 156 wRC+ and .286 ISO against righties.
Stacks to Consider
Twins vs. Michael Kopech: Byron Buxton ($3,500), Joey Gallo ($3,400), Max Kepler ($2,700)
Kopech has been hit hard all year but moreso at home, allowing a 9.31 ERA and 13.11 FIP in Chicago, surrendering a .536 wOBA and 1.342 OPS to lefties and a .552 wOBA and 1.339 OPS to righties. Sure, it's a small-ish sample of 48 batters, but targetable nonetheless. With Minnesota not having anyone priced above Buxton, there are plenty of ways to get various levels of exposure. This isn't a traditional stack in terms of batting order, as instead I'm just targeting the team's three top options against righties. Gallo is a boom or bust option, and slotting in Carlos Correa ($3,000) instead would offer three of the Twins' top four in the batting order.
Dodgers vs. Matt Strahm: Mookie Betts ($3,800), Freddie Freeman ($3,600), Will Smith ($3,400)
Los Angeles' bats appear to be slowly warming up, which is a tad unfortunate as I thought this trio might come slightly cheaper. Betts has hit safely in four straight, collecting six hits. Freeman has tallied 11 knocks in his last seven games, while Smith has hit safely in five of seven with seven hits total. That seems to create a reasonable floor for each, and surely Strahm is due some regression eventually. His current ERA is 1.40 lower than his career mark, and his FIP is 1.16 lower. This trio also doesn't strike out much, with Betts' 17.2 percent being the highest among them. Good things should happen Tuesday night on balls in play, as Freeman and Smith (.192 and .100 BABIP) are also due better fortunes.
