This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Baseball series.
Saturday's MLB Main slate begins at 7:10 PM Eastern time and features eight 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
There's a nice balance of pitching and hitting, with a few top hurlers going in addition to some exploitable arms. For owners willing to spend big on pitchers, Jake Odorizzi ($50) is the obvious choice. He brings a minuscule 0.76 ERA over his past eight starts into a home matchup against a Royals team that's hot on the Orioles' heels for the worst record in baseball.
Sticking in the top price tier of pitchers, Oakland's Frankie Montas ($47) sports a 2.84 ERA and 3.05 FIP to go with a 24.8 percent strikeout rate heading into this home matchup with a Mariners team that strikes out a league-high 9.85 times per game. Montas promises a high ceiling in the strikeout department and a high floor thanks to Oakland Coliseum's pitcher-friendly conditions - the venue's .778 park park factor ranks third-lowest in the league.
Among cheaper options, Michael Wacha ($30) could be a sneaky-good value play against the Mets at pitcher-friendly Citi Field. He was relegated to the bullpen after a slow start but threw six shutout innings in his lone start since rejoining the rotation. This is a nice buy-low opportunity, as his price has nowhere to go but up from $30.
Value Plays/Chalk
Three commonly-stacked lineups in the Rockies, Yankees and Dodgers present some strong hitting candidates tonight, but there are quality options to be found among the other teams as well.
Left-handed hitters have thrived against Nationals righty Tanner Roark this season with a .397 wOBA. Rangers outfielder and leadoff man Shin-Soo Choo ($18) has excelled with a wOBA over .400 against righties, so he should add to Roark's struggles here.
Switch-hitting Twins shortstop Jorge Polanco ($20) has been tremendous from the left side with a .433 wOBA, and gets a great chance to add to that success against Royals righty Glenn Sparkman. Sparkman's allowing a .358 wOBA to left-handed hitters that jumps to .462 on the road.
Eric Hosmer's ($18) road wOBA against righties sits just under .400, so the Padres' first baseman should do well against Rockies righty German Marquez. Marquez owns a 5.06 ERA at Coors Field, which has by far the highest park factor in the league this season at 1.45.
Stacks
Rockies vs. Eric Lauer (Padres)
Nolan Arenado (3B - $26), Ian Desmond (OF - $20), Trevor Story (SS - $23)
Lauer has yet to master pitching at the league's most hitter-friendly venue, posting a 21.00 ERA over his two career starts at Coors Field. The lefty has struggled on the road in general, with a 6.84 road ERA this season compared to a 2.70 mark at Petco Park. Arenado's about as good as it gets against lefties, with a .470 wOBA that jumps above .500 at home, and Desmond has produced a wOBA over .400 against them this season. Meanwhile, Story boasts one of the sharpest home/road splits in the league, with his .419 Coors Field mark falling by more than 100 points elsewhere.
Yankees vs. Reynaldo Lopez (White Sox)
Gary Sanchez (C - $23), Gleyber Torres (SS - $21), Didi Gregorius (SS -$17)
Lopez has been one of the league's least effective starting pitchers. He enters with a 6.21 ERA and 5.86 FIP, with the righty having been hit hard from both sides with a .385 wOBA allowed to batters from the left side and a .377 wOBA allowed to right-handed hitters. Sanchez has enjoyed a wOBA over .400 in righty-on-righty matchups this season, having launched 17 of his 20 home runs in that split. Torres has also done his best work in this scenario with a .369 wOBA, and his road wOBA is over .400 for the season. Gregorius has hit the ground running since recently returning from Tommy John surgery, hits in the heart of the order and owns the platoon advantage as a left-handed hitter.
Dodgers vs. Yu Darvish (Cubs)
Cody Bellinger (OF - $20), Joc Pederson (OF - $18), Max Muncy (1B - $24)
Darvish will be fighting an uphill battle against his former team, as left-handed batters have produced a .354 wOBA and 1.89 HR/9 against the right-hander this season. Three sluggers that stand out from Los Angeles' lefty-laden lineup are Bellinger, Pederson and Muncy. Bellinger has dominated with a .470 wOBA against righties that climbs to over .500 at home, Pederson leads off against righties thanks to a wOBA over .400 in that split, and Muncy has shown strong balance with a wOBA over .370 against both right and left-handed pitching this season.
