This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
Eight games make up a somewhat confusing Saturday main slate. As of submission time, both FanDuel and DraftKings still listed Chris Stratton and Walker Buehler starting for the Giants and Dodgers, while most major sites list Johnny Cueto and Alex Wood. As such, I'm going to avoid that ambiguity as best I can. The remaining games also offer some odd lines, with Baltimore vs. Detroit checking in with a total of 9, but two starting pitchers with sub 4.00 ERAs facing bad offenses. Conversely, Colorado and Miami come with a total of only 8.5, while the pitching matchup sports a combined 11.96 ERA.
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PITCHER
Joey Lucchesi, SDP vs. NYM ($8,400): This feels like a very steep price to pay for a rookie who hasn't lasted more than six innings in his brief career. But Lucchesi has fanned seven or more in three of his five appearances, twice going for an impressive 52 points. The Mets bring a woeful .277 wOBA, 75 wRC+ and exploitable 27.4 strikeout percentage. Name recognition works in favor of low ownership here, making Lucchesi a nice GPP gamble.
GPP Fade: Masahiro Tanaka, NYY at LAA: ($9,100): Tanaka is the highest priced arm presently (see intro), and his inconsistency simply makes him not worth the risk. Normally, at this price, you expect a stable floor, which Tanaka doesn't provide. You can make the argument he'll be a trendy fade, or that his tag is low enough to pay for a 40-plus point outing of which Tanaka is capable, but this slate simply sets up to take your 25 to 35 points on the mound elsewhere while enjoying additional savings.
Cheap GPP Consideration: Jason Vargas, NYM at SDP ($6,100): Detroit's Francisco Liriano ($6,900) makes for a safer gamble here, but Vargas appears to be worth a look against the lowly Padres offense. San Diego has a 27.1 strikeout rate against lefties, while posting only a .291 wOBA, 78 wRC+ and .127 ISO. Vargas isn't likely to work deep into this contest in his first appearance of the season, but he's going to come with very low ownership and what seems like minimal risk.
CATCHER/FIRST BASE
Jose Abreu, CWS at KAN ($3,900): I intend to pick on Royals' starter Eric Skoglund later in this column, so for now, this play is primarily about Abreu's prowess against lefties. Over the past year-plus, Abreu sports a .423 wOBA, 169 wRC+, 1.016 OPS and .273 ISO against lefties. He's been feast or famine this year, which may make him a better GPP play, but at a sub-$4,000 price, he's appealing in all formats in this spot.
SECOND BASE
DJ LeMahieu, COL at MIA ($3,600): Stacking Rockies on the road seems a bit risky, but this feels like a game I want to target much more than avoid, and any Colorado exposure feels like good exposure. LeMahieu seems immune to the home/road splits, and simply loves to hit against lefties. Since the start of 2017, he owns a .437 wOBA, 173 wRC+, and .301 ISO on the road against southpaws. LeMahieu left Friday's game due to apparent hamstring tightness, should he sit Saturday, pivoting to his counterpart in Starlin Castro ($3,100) offers a safe floor for cash leagues at worst.
THIRD BASE
Yolmer Sanchez, CWS at KAN ($3,100): Buying into Sanchez would require you thinking the 25 year old is blossoming, as his .330 wOBA is offset by the fact he posted a .280 wOBA a year ago and generally shows a better approach as a left-handed hitter. But Royals' starter Eric Skoglund has allowed a .429 wOBA to righties in his brief career, and Sanchez's spot in the top-third of the order gives him run scoring/producing chance as the 10th priced option at the hot corner.
SHORTSTOP
Trevor Story, COL at MIA ($3,800): Story brings a modest six-game hitting streak into Saturday, where he's gone deep twice, scored five times and driven in 10 runs. That he boasts a .385 wOBA, 138 wRC+ and .272 ISO against lefties on the road since the start of last year certainly adds to the appeal.
OUTFIELD
Shohei Ohtani, LAA vs. NYY ($3,800): Truth be told, I'm paying for Mike Trout in this spot, especially in cash games. But if we're talking "value," Ohtani has the specs in a very limited sample size. He owns a .420 wOBA, 170 wRC+ and .287 ISO against righties, while lifting the ball 26.7 percent of the time. Yankees' starter Masahiro Tanaka has struggled this year against righties, but a year ago allowed a 28.6 percent homer-to-flyball rate to left-handed bats. You're gambling on a long ball, something Ohtani hasn't launched since April 6.
Marcell Ozuna, STL vs. PIT ($3,400): Ozuna is quietly coming alive, going 6-for-15 in his last three games with five RBI. He posted a .400 wOBA, 150 wRC+ and .268 ISO during his breakout 2017 against righties, and faces the Pirates Trevor Williams, who appears destined for some regression while owning a 2.15 ERA after posting a 4.07 ERA in 2017.
Trey Mancini, BAL vs. DET ($3,100): Mancini has settled in atop the O's lineup and boasts a career 347 wOBA and 116 wRC+ against lefties. If you're buying into the game's total rather than the pitching matchup's current form I touched on in the column's intro, Mancini brings a low risk option to a potentially high-scoring game
UTILITY
Mike Moustakas, KAN vs. CWS ($4,200): As this column came together, this matchup became one of my more favorite stacks, largely due to the ambiguity over starting pitching. It looks like the White Sox will throw Carson Fulmer, and once that's confirmed, it should be all systems go on Moustakas. He's hit safely in all but one game since April 8, and sports a .477 wOBA, 203 wRC+ and .404 ISO against righties to date.
