This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
A eight-game main slate is featured Saturday at FanDuel, with a early 3:07 p.m. EDT first pitch. Unlike Friday where pitching wasn't top-heavy, Saturday is chalked full of aces. Five arms are priced in five-figures with three more in the $9,000 tier, so half of are pitchers are going to eat up a chunk of your budget.
Wind again is a factor, with double-digit outbound gusts in Baltimore, Boston and New York. Rain needs to be monitored in Pittsburgh, and the threat appears real enough I likely wouldn't consider starting arms there.
Pitching
Garrett Crochet, BOS vs. CWS ($11,200): If you're considering paying for a top arm, you absolutely can't afford to miss. As such, don't overthink it, just take the top option against the worst team. The White Sox have a meager 56 wRC+ and .096 ISO against lefties, striking out 24.7 percent of the time. Boston is a massive (-330) favorite, and Crochet hasn't failed to go five innings in any of his four starts to date, giving him an excellent chance at a win. There's also the revenge narrative with Crochet facing his former team.
MacKenzie Gore, WSH at COL ($9,200): I can essentially cut and paste from yesterday's column, where I loved Gore but knew snow would be a hindrance. Yes, he's in Coors Field, but it's going to be cold Saturday, which impacts offense. And the Rockies are bad against lefties, fanning 29.1 percent of the time with a 72 wRC+. Gore has the strikeout ceiling to compete with the arms priced above him.
Brandon Young, BAL vs. CIN ($6,500): The correct paydown is probably Cleveland's Ben Lively ($7,800) at Pittsburgh, but I noted above I'll avoid this game due to rain potential. So if we're looking to be a touch contrarian and not pay up for pitching, why not punt it entirely and have a robust budget for offense? Young has been a strikeout per inning guy throughout his minor league career, and the Reds aren't tearing the cover off the ball. Cincinnati brings a .299 wOBA, 84 wRC+ and 23.7 percent K rate off righties into Saturday.
Top Targets
Pete Alonso ($4,400) continues to hit well and not just be a boom or bust power play. I still don't love the high price point however, so Saturday I'm going to back Juan Soto ($3,900) as a top option. The power hasn't been elite, but he's got a .519 wOBA and 240 wRC+ in a small 16 plate appearance sample against lefties.
Rockies' starter Chase Dollander is allowing a .515 wOBA and 1.228 OPS to lefties, numbers that are slightly higher at home. Washington's James Wood ($4,100) makes a lot of sense as a result, as does Nathaniel Lowe ($3,500).
Bargain Bats
The price only rose $200 from Friday, so until it's back north of $3,500, Corey Seager ($3,100) has permanent space in this portion of the column, regardless of matchup. He's 12-for-22 over his last six games.
Bo Bichette ($2,800) profiles similarly, although without the same power ceiling. He's 10-for-31 over his last seven.
If you're not buying Young having some MLB debut success, targeting Reds bats on the cheap is a viable play. Austin Hays ($2,800) has hit safely in all four of his games this season and has the revenge narrative against the Orioles, while TJ Friedl ($2,800) gives another cheap option likely to hit atop the order.
Stacks to Consider
Red Sox vs. Shane Smith (White Sox): Jarren Duran ($3,600), Alex Bregman ($3,200), Trevor Story ($2,900)
This isn't going to be an original thought, and given how cheap the entire offense is priced, I could have featured players in each portion of this column from Boston's offense. I'll just throw them all here and let you figure out your preferences with the understanding they'll likely all be heavily rostered. They have an implied total of 6.9 runs, by far the highest on the slate. White Sox pitcher Shane Smith has actually been solid, allowing a .193 wOBA to lefties and .223 to righties, so perhaps just some secondary shares is the GPP path. But with such soft pricing, multiple pieces is easy to accomplish. Bregman, after a hitless Friday, is my favorite stand alone play, boasting a .399 wOBA and .273 ISO off righties.
Rays vs. Carlos Carrasco (Yankees): Junior Caminero ($3,200), Jonathan Aranda ($3,200), Kameron Misner ($3,100)
Carrasco has shown he's no longer a capable MLB pitcher, bringing a 5.94 ERA (6.15 FIP) into Saturday while carrying a massive 2.7 HR/9, and 20 percent HR/FB ratio paired with a 49.0 percent fly ball rate. That's not good. He's been far more vulnerable to righties, so perhaps the lefty combo of Aranda and Misner isn't the correct path, but they are hitting well against opposite-handed arms. Aranda boasts a .524 wOBA, 259 wRC+ and .362 ISO while Misner sits at .513/251/.316. Caminero has homered in four of his last seven and sits at .380/157/.286.
