This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Baseball series.
Saturday in the (ball)park, I think it was the Fourth of July. Nope, I'm mistaken. It's the 16th. With an opener that sweaty, I probably need an All-Star break as much as anybody. This Saturday, the main slate of DFS contests on Yahoo consists of 10 games starting at 4:05 p.m. EDT or later. Here are my recommendations. Let's make this a successful weekend!
Pitching
Max Fried, ATL at WAS ($50): Among pitcher who aren't heavy on the strikeouts, Fried is as strong as you can get. He doesn't allow many home runs – 0.80 per nine innings over his career – and this season has posted a 2.56 ERA. Juan Soto has heated up of late, but that hasn't stopped the Nationals from falling into the bottom-five in runs scored.
Cal Quantrill, CLE vs. DET ($36): Quantrill's 3.99 ERA is a shrug. It's not good, and it's also not terrible. The same goes for his 5-5 record. Detroit's offense, though, is very bad as they're bottom in MLB in runs scored and second-to-last in team OPS. Middling pitching beats terrible offense any day of the week.
Sean Manaea, SD vs. ARI ($36): Manaea has produced a 3.98 FIP in his first season as a Padre. He's actually been worse at home, but that may be sample size. It's only been 39.2 innings of action at Petco, typically one of the best two or three pitcher parks in MLB. The Diamondbacks rank bottom-10 in runs scored and also field a lot of left-handed batters. Manaea is a southpaw, so that's in his favor.
Top Targets
I said Petco is a pitcher's park – and the numbers do bear that out – but Manny Machado ($20) does not fear that designation. Over the last three seasons, he's excelled with a .951 home OPS and an .882 against lefties. Tyler Gilbert is a southpaw with a 5.33 ERA.
Over the last three weeks, Matt Olson ($20) has posted a .550 slugging percentage and that's lifted his home-run total to 16. He hit 39 while playing home games in Oakland last year, so we know he boasts power. Since 2020, Paolo Espino has allowed lefties to hit .274 against. And his 3.42 ERA is largely owed to his success as a reliever. As a starter this year, that mark is 4.85.
Bargain Bats
You need a catcher in your lineup on Yahoo, and J.T. Realmuto ($14) is among the best backstops in baseball having notched seven homers and 12 stolen bases this year. Max Meyer is an intriguing pitching prospect, but he's making his first MLB start Saturday. That's cool and exciting, but a 3.72 ERA in Triple-A doesn't exactly wow me.
On the other side of this matchup, we have Garrett Cooper ($14) and his .291/.357/.447 slash line. While he's struggled against lefties this year, he's produced an .888 OPS versus southpaws since 2020. Ranger Suarez is returning from the IL and has let righties hit .275 against him this season.
Stacks to Consider
Astros vs. Athletics (Jared Koenig): Kyle Tucker ($21), Alex Bregman ($21), Jeremy Pena ($14)
Koenig has made four starts during his MLB career to go with a 6.38 ERA. His only good start ever came at home against the Royals. On the road, that number balloons to 9.24. Guess who's on the road Saturday? I only wish Jose Altuve wasn't banged up, but he missed Friday and I don't want to risk it.
Tucker is a lefty, but he doesn't have bad splits with an .843 OPS against fellow southpaws the last two seasons. He's also recorded 17 homers and 15 stolen bases this year. Bregman has a .362 OBP, and he's really preferred being at home with a .905 OPS in games in Houston. As a rookie, Pena has produced 12 home runs and six stolen bases with an .885 OPS against lefties.
Mariners at Rangers (Spencer Howard): Julio Rodriguez ($23), Eugenio Suarez ($20), Ty France ($14)
Howard has posted an 8.04 ERA this season, lifting his career mark to 7.13. He's also allowed 2.01 home runs per nine innings in his career and has let righties hit .319 against, so I have three righties in this stack.
Rodriguez is a great pick for AL Rookie of the Year and already a fantasy darling. In addition to hitting .275, he's hit 16 home runs and stolen 21 bases. Suarez has gone deep 16 times during his first season as a Mariner and had 31 last season as a Red. He's also heated up with a .915 OPS over the last 21 days. France is back from the IL and has registered a .302/.372/.456 slash line. The power isn't as lofty as some other hitters, but I will happily take someone who's hit .296 with a .370 OBP over the last three seasons at this salary.
Dodgers at Angels (Jose Suarez): Mookie Betts ($20), Trea Turner ($20), Justin Turner ($17)
Suarez has spent his four seasons in the majors with the Angels, moving back and forth from the rotation to the bullpen. All in all, he's managed a career 5.53 ERA and 5.11 FIP. Suarez has also given up 1.65 home runs per nine innings. Since he's a lefty, I decided to stack three righties from the Dodgers in the Battle of Los Angeles.
Betts isn't running as much as he used to, but he still has 20 home runs to go with his six steals. He's also recorded a .929 OPS against lefties this year. Turner has done exactly what's expected from him. That is to say, he's hit .304 - in line with his career .303 - and has 12 home runs along with 17 stolen bases. The other Turner started slow, but he's done well over the last three weeks with a .989 OPS. He also listed a career .287/.364/.465 slash line, so picking up his play was to be expected.
