This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
I typically don't write Saturday articles, but I'll be filling in today. What's fascinating about Saturday slates is that every team typically plays, but the games are spread all throughout the day. That's what we have again here, with five teams playing at 4ET, and another six playing at 7ET. There are also a few morning games, but we will focus on the day games beginning at 4ET.
Pitching
Sandy Alcantara, MIA vs. WAS ($9,100)
It was sad to see Sandy miss last season because he is one of the best pitchers in baseball. The Marlins righty has been fantastic through his first two starts, generating a 3.15 ERA and 1.08 WHIP since 2021. That's over 600 innings of dominance, and it's less surprising since Marlins Park is one of the best pitcher's parks in the sport. We saw Alcantara score at least 46 FanDuel points in his last three home starts against the Nats, posting a 0.72 ERA and 0.56 WHIP in those outings. We love that since Washington was one of the worst offenses in baseball last year, sitting 24th or 25th in runs scored, OPS and xwOBA.
Richard Fitts, BOS at CWS ($7,700)
I'd be lying if I said I know much about Fitts, but we'd use my grandma against the White Sox. Let's start there because Chicago was last in runs scored, OBP, OPS, wOBA and xwOBA last season. They simply have the worst lineup in the league, and Fitts has been solid so far this season. The Red Sox righty has a quality start in both of his appearances, scoring 25 FanDuel points in each of those. He also had a 1.74 ERA and 1.26 WHIP in four starts last year, making him a great punt play against the worst offense in the league.
Top Targets
Juan Soto, NYM ($4,000) vs. J.T. Ginn
Soto has yet to find his power stroke with the Mets, but it's just a matter of time before he gets going. Facing this atrocious A's pitching staff in Sactown could be a good way to get him going because the Mets are one of the highest-projected lineups in that hitter-friendly park. Soto should be able to add to that, sporting a .421 career OBP and .952 OPS. That OPS is close to 1.000 against righties throughout his career, and comes into this matchup scoring at least 12 FanDuel points in six of his last eight outings.
Brent Rooker, ATH ($3,400) vs. David Peterson
This A's team doesn't get much attention, but Rooker is one of the best hitters in baseball. The Sacramento slugger has gotten off to a slow start, but he's homered in three of his last eight outings. That's the power we saw throughout last season, with Rooker registering a .365 OBP and .927 OPS behind his 39 dingers. He has been even better with the platoon advantage in his favor, generating a .961 OPS against lefties since the start of last year. That should bode well against a pitcher whose career WHIP is sitting near 1.40.
Bargain Bats
Xavier Edwards, MIA ($3,200) vs. Trevor Williams
We're actually going to recommend the Marlins as a shock stack, but Edwards is one of our favorite plays, whether you want to stack that team or not. He's the table setter for this lineup, providing a .322 AVG., 393 OBP and .805 OPS since the start of last season. X also has 34 steals in those 82 games, making him a major threat against a pitcher who can't strike anyone out. We didn't even mention that Edwards has a .474 OBP and .925 OPS against righties this year, and we'll dive into those Williams numbers later on!
Rob Refsnyder BOS ($2,500) vs. Martin Perez
There are some bizarre splits across MLB, but not many players are as dominant against lefties as this guy. That ability to slaughter southpaws always forced Refsnyder into the heart of the BoSox lineup, with the righty providing a .405 OBP and .874 OPS against them since 2022. That's nearly 300 at-bats of ownership, and we're not worried about a matchup with Perez. Despite a hot start, Perez has a 4.51 ERA and 1.45 WHIP since 2017. Alex Bregman has also seen Perez well throughout their careers, compiling a .370 OBP in 48 plate appearances against him.
Stacks to Consider
Mets at Athletics (J.T. Ginn): Soto ($4,000), Pete Alonso ($3,900) Francisco Lindor ($3,500) and Jesse Winker ($2,700)
We foreshadowed this Mets stack earlier on, and it's nearly impossible to fade any team facing the A's right now. Not only has Sacramento surrendered the most runs to opposing bats, but the A's sit 29th in ERA and 30th in WHIP. That's horrifying since they send out the backend of their rotation here, with Ginn totaling a 5.50 ERA and 1.48 WHIP at the minors over the last three years.
We had to kickstart our stack with NY's big signing, but don't forget about Alonso. Big Pete is one of the hottest hitters in baseball right now, averaging over 21 FanDuel points per game across his last 10 outings. Lindor has yet to get hot, but this is a perennial 30-30 threat in the heart of this highly projected lineup. Winker is the punt play of the bunch, amassing a .366 OBP and .788 OPS against righties last season.
Marlins vs. Nationals (Trevor Williams): Xavier Edwards ($3,200), Otto Lopez ($2,900), Matt Mervis ($2,600)
The surface numbers always look better for Williams than what's really behind the curtain. This righty has been one of the least effective pitchers throughout his career, collecting a 5.40 ERA and 1.70 WHIP so far this year. That's what we expect to see because Williams has a 4.59 career xFIP and a 7.4 K/9 rate.
Those ugly peripheral numbers should allow Edwards to feast in the leadoff spot, but we can stack everyone else behind him for cheap. Lopez would be the first option, scoring at least 12 FanDuel points in five of his first seven outings. He's also got the platoon advantage against the righty, which is the same for Mervis. The projected cleanup hitter has a .276 AVG and .899 OPS in what's turning into a breakout season. If you stack these Marlins, you can do whatever you want with all the salary you'd be saving!
