This article is part of our DFS MLB series.
We have baseball throughout Saturday evenly distributed between first pitches set for 4:05 and 7:05 p.m. EDT. DraftKings is treating the latter as the main slate, so we'll cover that in this article. There are seven games after the Royals-Giants moved up their first pitch to 4:10 p.m., so be sure to not roster any players from those teams.
Pitchers
This is a questionable evening for pitching, so I'd generally be inclined to pay down and target the best bats possible with a significant portion of my budget. For those who disagree with that approach, Carlos Rodon ($9,300) would be my preference over Ronel Blanco ($9,500). The $200 savings is a bonus, but the real reason is simply that Rodon holds a better K%, K-BB%, and SIERA. Rodon does have the more difficult matchup by drawing the A's as opposed to the Angels, though there should be win potential for both arms.
We can stick in the same salary range and highlight Matthew Boyd ($8,800). He's been remarkably consistent having reached 20 DK points in five of seven starts this season. The Cardinals have interesting pieces in the lineup, but they've only produced a .289 wOBA against lefties this year.
The middle tier can basically be ignored for two cheaper options. The first is Aaron Civale ($7,000). He face a tough battle against Arizona and has been inconsistent since being dealt to Milwaukee (and all season), but the state of the pitcher market dictates he's worthy of consideration.
We have baseball throughout Saturday evenly distributed between first pitches set for 4:05 and 7:05 p.m. EDT. DraftKings is treating the latter as the main slate, so we'll cover that in this article. There are seven games after the Royals-Giants moved up their first pitch to 4:10 p.m., so be sure to not roster any players from those teams.
Pitchers
This is a questionable evening for pitching, so I'd generally be inclined to pay down and target the best bats possible with a significant portion of my budget. For those who disagree with that approach, Carlos Rodon ($9,300) would be my preference over Ronel Blanco ($9,500). The $200 savings is a bonus, but the real reason is simply that Rodon holds a better K%, K-BB%, and SIERA. Rodon does have the more difficult matchup by drawing the A's as opposed to the Angels, though there should be win potential for both arms.
We can stick in the same salary range and highlight Matthew Boyd ($8,800). He's been remarkably consistent having reached 20 DK points in five of seven starts this season. The Cardinals have interesting pieces in the lineup, but they've only produced a .289 wOBA against lefties this year.
The middle tier can basically be ignored for two cheaper options. The first is Aaron Civale ($7,000). He face a tough battle against Arizona and has been inconsistent since being dealt to Milwaukee (and all season), but the state of the pitcher market dictates he's worthy of consideration.
The true punt play is Walker Buehler ($6,700). He's shown some signs of life by posting starts of 15.1 and 16.7 DK points in two of his last three outings. Buehler's 15:8 K:BB over that span still leaves plenty to desire, yet he's valued right and draws a matchup against the Rockies away from Coors Field.
Top Hitters
Wyatt Langford ($4,200) has managed an inconsistent rookie season, which shouldn't necessarily come as a big surprise. He's popped for performances of 16, 20 and 34 DK points from the last 10 games and should have the chance to add another sufficient score against Emerson Hancock. Hancock can limit runs decently overall, but gives up a lot of contact and has been homer-prone during his early big-league sample.
The Guardians don't have a standout matchup against Miles Mikolas, yet he also isn't an imposing arm due to his relative lack of strikeouts. Jose Ramirez ($6,400) makes for a decent one-off or skinny stack target.
Value Bats
Reid Detmers offers a wide range of outcomes, so there are cases to both target him and play him in his matchup against the Astros. For those looking to do the former, Jake Meyers ($3,200) is a cheap way to invest in the Houston lineup. He hasn't been spectacular against southpaws this season, though does list a .321 wOBA and .150 ISO.
We've already highlighted some of the warts in Walker Buehler's profile while his overall line on 2024 isn't great. He's likely to be projected well and rostered fairly significantly as a result, so getting some leverage in any builds without him is a sound strategy play. Hunter Goodman ($3,400) is cheap, offers positional flexibility and is capable of providing points in bunches thanks to his power.
Stacks to Consider
Dodgers vs. Rockies (Cal Quantrill): Mookie Betts ($6,200), Freddie Freeman ($5,200), Teoscar Hernandez ($4,700)
Sometimes the obvious answer is the right one. Quantrill has slightly better results on the road than at home this season, but that's still been a 4.99 ERA and 1.38 WHIP. That won't play well against the Dodgers, who've recorded a .349 wOBA the last 30 days – good for fourth in the league. The downside is that this stack will be pretty easy to get due to the relatively poor pitching, meaning LA will likely be heavily rostered.
Padres vs. White Sox (Chris Flexen): Fernando Tatis ($5,100), Manny Machado ($4,800), Jackson Merrill ($4,400)
This also isn't the most creative selection, though there's a lot to like the Padres on Saturday. They've also been well above-average the last month (.328 wOBA) and face a very favorable matchup as Flexen comes in with the worst K% and SIERA of any of the pitchers on the slate.
