This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Baseball series.
Let's hope it'll be a nice Saturday around the country, for the sake of baseball fans and those not wanting to have any games rained out. Because the thing is, chaotic weather and a looming hurricane approaching Southern California have changed things. There are now seven games on the DFS docket as opposed to 10 due to three unexpected doubleheaders. I lost a desired Rays play against the Angels, but my selections otherwise remain the same. First pitches are at 7:10 p.m. EDT. Here are my lineup recommendations.
Pitching
Tanner Bibee, CLE vs. DET ($45): The weather played nice, so we've got Bibee starting against a Tigers team that played a road doubleheader Friday. He's been quite good as a rookie, especially at home where he's posted a 1.70 ERA. Back to the Tigers, who are basically locked into finishing 29th in runs scored.
Sonny Gray, MIN vs. PIT ($39): After a couple tough starts that pushed his ERA over 3.00, Gray's gotten on a good run that has him back down to a 3.04 through 24 starts. And he's managed a 2.61 from his last five outings while going at least six innings every time. The Pirates are definitely going to finish in the bottom-10 in offense again as they currently sit 24th.
Cole Irvin, BAL at OAK ($31): This is a play for matchup and to save some salary. Irvin, a former Athletic, will have a chance to get a win over his old team in their ballpark. Oakland is last in runs scored and team OPS. It will be last in both when the season ends. There's no better matchup, so why not take a shot on Irvin?
Top Targets
Since 2021, Luis Robert ($24) has produced a 1.018 OPS. Not only does he get to face Kyle Freeland on Saturday - who's a lefty - but this game is taking place a mile high up in Denver. Freeland, for his part has allowed righties to hit .308 against.
Being at home is to the benefit of Ryan McMahon ($19) with his .855 OPS at Coors Field. But what is just as key is his .893 against righties. Jesse Scholtens, a righty, has a 4.36 FIP to start his MLB career and at Triple-A recorded a 4.59 across nine starts.
Bargain Bat
I'd call Brandon Nimmo ($16) an elevated leadoff hitter in that his .366 OBP is bolstered by 18 homers. Drilling down a bit, he's produced an .834 OPS against righties and an .825 on the road. Miles Mikolas as a pitcher plays into what Nimmo can do. The righty doesn't allow many homers or walks, but also only strikes out 16.4 percent of the hitters he faces. Mikolas enters with a 4.27 ERA and a 4.86 at home as he gives up plenty of contact that turns into hits.
Stacks to Consider
Orioles at Athletics (Ken Waldichuk): Ryan Mountcastle ($23), Anthony Santander ($15), Jordan Westburg ($15)
In a seven-start effort in 2022, Waldichuk posted a 4.93 ERA. This year, that number is up to 6.07 while allowing 5.07 walks per nine innings. The A's starter is a lefty and righties have gone .287 against during his career, which pointed my stack suggestion in this direction.
Mountcastle is the must-roster player in this matchup because he's absolutely crushed lefties in 2023 with a 1.061 OIPS versus them and a 1.116 the last three weeks. The Orioles are lefty heavy, and Adley Rutschman has been subpar on the road throughout his career, so I landed on Santander as my switch-hitter. Since 2021, he's registered a .798 OPS versus lefties largely based on a lack of walks. And while Santander's home OPS has been higher the last two seasons, he's crushed more homers on the road both times. After a .939 OPS in Triple-A, the 24-year-old Westburg earned a call-up. While he's been merely decent in MLB, he lists a .740 OPS against lefties, a .728 on the road, and is a righty, so I'd stack him at this salary.
Giants at Atlanta (Yonny Chirinos): Wilmer Flores ($19), Michael Conforto ($18), Thairo Estrada ($17)
Atlanta boasts baseball's best lineup and a couple top pitchers. However, no team is perfect, and they doesn't have a five-man rotation free of question marks. Case in point, trying to squeeze blood out of the stone that is Chirinos. In four starts with Atlanta, the righty has a 9.33 ERA with both lefties and righties hitting .268 against. The Giants have a taped-together lineup in some ways and use as many hitters as anybody, but it's a team with a litany of B-minus talent that can perform at an A-minus level in the right situation.
Flores has quietly posted a .299/.357/.535 slash line. He's better against lefties, but his .854 OPS against righties more than suffices to go with a .983 on the road. Conforto has produced a .900 OPS the last three weeks with an overall .807 versus righties and .794 in away games. Estrada has missed a lot of time with injury, yet is at .271 with 10 homers and 18 stolen bases in 82 games. He racked up 14 and 21 of each last year, so we know he can provide counting stats from second base.
Twins vs. Pirates (Mitch Keller): Edouard Julien ($17), Max Kepler ($17), Jorge Polanco ($16)
Keller is a rollercoaster of a pitcher, but in the end the car pulls into the station and you see the Pirates righty with a 5.00 road ERA while allowing lefties to bat .266 against. In fact, southpaws have gone .289 versus Keller the last couple seasond. That's why I'm stacking three hitters who can bat from the left side.
Julien has enjoyed a strong rookie campaign having slashed .290/.385/.482 with 10 homers through 72 games. That's with him struggling against his fellow lefties and relying heavily on his .955 OPS against right-handers. Kepler is an all-or-nothing hitter, though he's slugged .470 with 20 home runs. The southpaw is also hot with a .998 OPS across the last three weeks. Polanco is a switch-hitter, but since 2021 has an .822 OPS versus righties and an .848 at home.
