This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Baseball series.
It's always nice to end the weekend on a high note. The best way to do that? Some DFS success, of course. There are 14 games included in the MLB DFS slate, with the first one starting at 1:35 p.m. EDT. You only are missing out on the late-morning start between the Yankees and Tigers. Here are some recommendations to help get the ball rolling for you.
Pitching
Zac Gallen, ARI at PIT ($49): Gallen has helped earn his 4-0 record with his 2.32 ERA through nine starts. In fact, only once has he allowed more than two runs when he's taken the mound. The Pirates aren't a good bet to rough him up. They are in the bottom five in runs scored.
Framber Valdez, HOU at KC ($47): Valdez is coming off a complete-game win where he only allowed one run. It wasn't his first good start, as he has a 2.02 ERA over his last seven outings. As for the Royals, they are in the bottom five in runs score.
Eric Lauer, MIL vs. SD ($45): Lauer is the latest Brewers pitcher to turn into a stellar starter. He has a 2.49 ERA and has struck out 10.84 hitters per nine innings. Plus, he has a 0.90 ERA at home. The Padres are middling in runs scored, but they are showing a lack of power, ranking in the bottom 10 in slugging percentage.
Top Targets
You want power? You want Yordan Alvarez ($21). He has a career .580 slugging percentage and has 15 homers after he had 33 last season. Jonathan Heasley has a career 6.29 FIP and has allowed 1.59 home runs per nine innings as well.
Let's stick with some Cuban baseball influence, as I'm in on Luis Robert ($18) as well. The last two seasons he's slashed .322/.360/.522, and this year he has six homers and seven stolen bases. Lefty Ryan Yarbrough has allowed righties to hit .268 against him since 2020, and he has a 4.00 ERA after he had a 5.11 ERA last season.
Bargain Bats
If you want a healthy right-handed hitter from the Giants, you kind of need Wilmer Flores ($17). Fortunately, he brings some skill with the bat. Since joining the Giants in 2020 he has a .790 OPS and has hit 36 homers in 242 games. Braxton Garrett is expected to make his first MLB start of the season, and the lefty has a career 5.18 ERA.
Although Andres Gimenez ($17) absolutely, positively, does not walk, he still has value as a hitter. After all, this year he's hit .308, slugged .526, and picked up six homers and four stolen bases. It's expected that Dean Kremer will make his first start of the year as well, and he has a career 6.84 ERA.
Stacks to Consider
Diamondbacks at Pirates (Zach Thompson): Daulton Varsho ($16), David Peralta ($16), Pavin Smith ($12)
This year is the 28-year-old Thompson's first as a full-time starter, and it isn't going well. He has a 5.18 ERA and has allowed 1.58 home runs per nine innings. I'm stacking three lefties against the righty, as even if this game isn't in Arizona's hitter-friendly ballpark, this matchup is still in its favor.
You need a catcher for your lineup, and Varsho is a strong choice. He doesn't really hit for average, but he has a .784 OPS against righties in his career and this year he has eight homers and three stolen bases. Peralta has hit eight homers as well and slugged .460. His OPS against righties since 2020 is .778. Smith came into this season hitting .267 in his career, so it's surprising that his average is down. However, he does have seven homers, and the southpaw has a .765 OPS against right-handed pitchers in his career.
Orioles vs. Guardians (Zach Plesac): Ryan Mountcastle ($16), Cedric Mullins ($15), Anthony Santander ($15)
Plesac scuffled last year to the tune of a 4.67 ERA. This year has been even worse, as he has a 4.93 ERA. It doesn't have that he's allowed a home run in each of his last six starts. Home runs? This Orioles trio can make it happen.
Mountcastle hit 33 home runs last year, and in his career he's slugged .473. Also, since 2020 he has a .862 OPS at home. Mullins had 30 home runs and 30 stolen bases last season. While he's only hit five homers this year, he has stolen 11 bases. Santander has a .463 slugging percentage over the last four seasons, and since 2020 he's slugged .527 at home.
Reds vs. Nationals (Patrick Corbin): Kyle Farmer ($23), Brandon Drury ($20), Tommy Pham ($20)
You would have thought that Corbin's 5.82 ERA in 2021 would have been his nadir. And yet, here in 2022, he has a 6.96 ERA. In his last four starts he's posted an 8.31 ERA and allowed six home runs. On top of that, he has allowed righties to hit .306 against him since 2020, so I have three righties.
Farmer hit 16 home runs last year and has six homers and three stolen bases in 2022. Since 2020, he has a .900 OPS against left-handed pitchers as well. Drury has a .906 OPS at home in his first season as a Red, and he's posted an OPS over .850 against lefties in each of the last two seasons. Pham has three seasons with at least 20 homers and 15 stolen bases, and he has six homers and three swiped bags this year. He too has been better against lefties and at home in his first season as a Red.
