This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Baseball series.
Saturday's MLB main slate begins at 7:15 PM Eastern time and features seven games. Below, you'll find which individual pitchers and hitters are primed to provide the best value, as well as the top lineup stacking options in this slate.
Pitching Overview
Stephen Strasburg ($50) and Jose Berrios ($48) are the two most expensive pitchers in this slate and should feature in plenty of lineups against the Cubs and in Seattle, respectively. The most popular pitcher will likely be Strasburg's opponent Jon Lester ($43), who has allowed just one earned run in 26.2 innings over his past five starts while posting a 29:3 K:BB.
Two enticing youngsters stand out among the options available in lower price tiers. Electric Angels rookie Griffin Canning ($37) has displayed tremendous K ability with a 30.7-percent strikeout rate through three starts. He's a high-risk, high-reward option at home against a Royals team sporting a bottom-three record.
Corbin Martin ($36) needed just 80 pitches to strike out nine Rangers over 5.1 innings in his major-league debut last time out. The Astros rookie has already proven he can dominate a dangerous offense, making him an intriguing play against the visiting Red Sox.
Value Plays/Chalk
While the Brewers, Astros and Pirates are all primed to exploit vulnerable pitchers, some individual batters from other teams also stand out.
Outfielder Mike Trout ($23) is a good candidate to give Canning some support against Royals starter Jakob Junis, who has had problems keeping the ball in the park with eight home runs allowed in 48.1 innings.
With catcher Mitch Garver out due to a high-ankle sprain, switch-hitting shortstop Jorge Polanco ($20) has assumed leadoff duties against lefties for the Twins. He'll face one here in Seattle's Wade LeBlanc.
Nationals second baseman Brian Dozier ($7) could be a nice against-the-grain option for owners willing to pick against Lester. Dozier comes in with a .362 career wOBA against lefties and hasn't been much worse in that split this season despite struggling against righties.
Stacks
Brewers vs. Kevin Gausman (Braves)
Christian Yelich (OF - $27), Mike Moustakas (3B - $20), Yasmani Grandal (C - $13)
Back from a five-game suspension for throwing behind Miami's Jose Urena, Gausman is a good option to stack against considering the righty posted has posted a 6.04 ERA over his past five starts. Yelich and Moustakas both own the platoon advantage against Gausman as left-handed sluggers. The former has a wOBA over .500 when facing righties, while the latter usually cleans up against them. Grandal always has the platoon advantage as a switch-hitter and has posted a wOBA over .400 on the road.
Astros vs. Hector Velazquez (Red Sox)
Michael Brantley (OF - $23), Josh Reddick (OF - $16), Carlos Correa (SS - $20)
Velazquez appears primed to make another spot start for Boston, which should be music to Houston's ears given the right-hander's 5.02 xFIP. The two left-handed hitting outfielders in Houston's lineup are both strong choices at their respective valuations, as both hit in the heart of the batting order. Brantley and Reddick usually sandwich the cleanup hitter Correa, who enters with a wOBA well over .400 in righty-on-righty situations at Minute Maid Park.
Pirates vs. Nick Margevicius (Padres)
Josh Bell, (1B - $26), Kevin Newman (SS - $9), Jake Elmore (3B - $7)
Margevicius doesn't boast overpowering stuff, so the rookie southpaw gets hit hard when he's unable to keep batters off balance. That's been the case over his past two starts, where he's surrendered eight earned runs in 10.2 innings. The switch-hitting Bell already has two games with at least four RBI this week, so he's primed to add to Margevicius's struggles. Make sure Newman's in the lineup before turning to the affordable infielder. He led off Friday against Joey Lucchesi and will likely do so again here. Like Newman, Elmore could be a nice source of affordable production here. The third baseman was slashing .380/.444/.546 at the Triple-A level prior to his recent call-up.
