This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
FanDuel's main slate Saturday is an evening affair, featuring nine games that start between 7:05 and 9:38 p.m. EDT. All 18 pitchers appear confirmed, with only one being priced in five-figures, though seven more come in the $9,000 tier. The Giants and Rockies are playing a double header, which usually means they aren't included, but FanDuel has bucked that trend here. As a result, we don't immediately have a run line there, as pitching could shuffle. Keep an eye out there. Without a total, two games come in with run lines at 9.0 or greater while our low point is Mariners-White Sox at 7.5.
Weather can play a role Saturday evening. We'll need to monitor rain in St. Louis, while winds look favorable and robust in San Francisco, and to a lesser degree in Anaheim. Conversely, winds appear to be heading in in Chicago.
Pitching
Brandon Pfaadt, ARI vs. PIT ($9,300): You can go a number of different ways atop this pitching slate. Seth Lugo is seemingly worth the pay up, Bryan Woo has a soft matchup but innings questions, and Erick Fedde appears rock solid, but I just can't recommend him at the price. As a result, I land on Pfaadt by process of elimination. Pittsburgh has been better offensively of late, but still come with a .288 wOBA and 83 wRC+ off righties, striking out 23.9 percent of the time. Further, they seem likely to remain without star Bryan Reynolds, who is away on bereavement. Pfaadt is also in solid form, earning quality starts in five of his last seven while allowing just two runs over his last four starts, striking out 25 over 23.1 innings.
Blake Snell, SF vs. COL ($8,100): Snell is coming off consecutive quality starts and somewhat quietly has earned at least 24 fantasy points in five straight outings. That form repeating would provide a 3x return, as the price hasn't elevated to the Cy Young potential he could be rounding back into. We successfully targeted Colorado with lefty Kyle Harrison last night, and it's advisable to go back to that well. The Rockies strike out at a 25.9 percent clip off lefties, posting just a .309 wOBA and 84 wRC+.
Marcus Stroman, NYY at BOS ($7,800): I want to be clear, I don't really like Stroman on Saturday and he's very unlikely to be in my lineup(s). But we're highly, highly unlikely to consider anyone below him, so he's the remaining paydown option. He doesn't have nearly the upside Snell does and is only $300 cheaper, so I don't see the value in rostering him. But, in a head-to-head front, Stroman has had success against the Red Sox. Boston's current roster is just 10-for-61 (.164) with a .430 OPS. That also comes with a low upside 19.1 percent K rate. Stroman has just one quality start in his last eight, and did allow seven hits and four runs to the Red Sox in an earlier meeting.
Top Targets
Astros' bats are going to be the popular target here against the slate's cheapest pitcher in Justin Wrobleski. But the form on the big names isn't there right now, so I'm not sure stacking is the right call. Give me Yordan Alvarez ($4,000) and move on. Alvarez comes with a team-leading .421 wOBA, 178 wRC+ and .234 ISO off lefties.
Ketel Marte ($3,900) is the play Saturday evening, sitting with a robust .454 wOBA, 198 wRC+ and .336 ISO off lefties. I had initially set out to stack Diamondbacks, and that's still in play, but the rest of their lineup has faded off southpaws, resulting in this preferred stand alone target. Marte has homered in four at bats off Marco Gonzales.
Truthfully, I don't feel terrific about the remaining pay up options on this slate, largely due to BvP numbers, which isn't a tell all. You can always chase power with Aaron Judge ($4,500), and while he's just 3-for-16 off of Kutter Crawford, two of those knocks have left the yard. Brent Rooker ($3,900) profiles similarly. He's homered in two straight, three of four and four of seven, but is 1-for-9 off of Angels' starter Tyler Anderson, with that hit clearing the fences.
Bargain Bats
Tyler Fitzgerald ($2,900) may be too hot to fade at this price. He's better off lefties, but is riding an eight-game hitting streak where he's collected 13 hits, seven homers, 12 RBI and 12 runs scored. If you prefer to target a left-handed bat off Ryan Feltner, Patrick Bailey ($2,600) profiles as the safest for a few fantasy points with minimal upside.
This will be the fourth time the Angels have faced Mitch Spence this season, knocking him around for 19 hits and nine runs across 16.0 innings previously. But it's the Angels so there's minimal upside. Logan O'Hoppe ($3,000) is the safest choice, going 4-for-8 off Spence and having five hits over his last three games. But Zach Neto ($2,900) and/or Nolan Schanuel ($2,800) can also be considered as one-offs to round out your build.
I successfully bucked the trend yesterday in considering/stacking the Mariners low-priced lineup, and while the matchup here is far more difficult, the pricing isn't. Victor Robles ($2,600) is getting on base and stealing bases, giving him multiple paths to fantasy scoring. With wind possibly blowing in, we want contact/on base more than power potential.
Stack to Consider
Cardinals vs. Jake Irvin (Nationals): Alec Burleson ($3,000), Masyn Winn ($2,700), Nolan Arenado ($2,700)
GPP only here, but we have to force ourselves to be different when considering a stack. Jake Irvin has had a terrific season, but he's allowed 14 runs across his last three starts, spanning 17.0 innings. St. Louis has the third-highest implied run total on this slate at 5.0, behind just Boston and Arizona, and the pricing here is favorable. Arenado is surging with two homers in his last three and hits in eight of his last 10. Burleson has been the Cardinals' best option for most of the year, and Winn gives us a cheap third piece likely hitting atop the order. It's a small sample, but the current Cardinals' roster is 6-for-13 with a 1.346 OPS off Irvin. Pair that with the cheap prices throughout the lineup, and you can pick and choose your stack based on how they lineup and your roster needs.
