This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
A relatively large eight-game main slate awaits Saturday evening, going off at 7:05 p.m. EDT. Runs are expected to be a little more available than usual here with four games having expected run totals of nine or more, led by Kansas City-Oakland, which shot out for 20 runs Friday night. Houston does not currently have a starting pitcher listed in FanDuel, so we're down one option right out of the gates. Also, we've got a rather high seven left-handed starters Saturday, which should give us favorable matchups to exploit.
Pitching
Spencer Strider, ATL vs. BAL ($11,400): The price is massive, as Strider is $1,100 more than any arm and one of just two priced in five figures. He's three times allowed three or more runs in six starts; and he's still had a floor of 33 FanDuel points (FDP) on the year. That's the immense strikeout run he's on. We're paying for that floor as much as the elite ceiling, even if it's just a 2.9x return. Baltimore is no easy matchup, ranking ninth with a .328 wOBA off righties, striking out 22.0 percent of the time. But look for Strider to bounce back from a shaky last outing and flirt with 40+ fantasy points Saturday.
Alex Cobb, SF vs. MIL ($8,300): Cobb looks to be another nice option for a safe floor, albeit at a much lower price to Strider. He's got a 2.43 ERA and 2.98 xFIP, a reasonable 8.9 K/9 ratio, doesn't walk many or give up homers. Milwaukee is similar offensively to Baltimore above, ranking 12th with a .326 wOBA while having a 22.8 percent K rate. That doesn't do us any favors, but it isn't too scary either. I like Cobb to limit damage once again and keep the Giants in this game.
Colin Rea, MIL at SF ($7,300): I'm going to stay in the same game for the low-priced option with the potential for some upside. San Francsico ranks fourth against righties with a .349 wOBA, so there's ample risk. But they also strike out 26.2 percent of the time, giving Rea the potential for upside far north of this price. He's averaged 34 FDP in two starts and earned just 15 total FDP in his other two, showing the volatility that's cooked into this price. Brady Singer makes sense in that profile, but we targeted a Royals starter last night and it failed miserably, so I'm not going back to that well.
Top Targets
The Rangers offense is surging, but I still had hope we'd get some discounts on their lesser-named (paid) players. That's not the case, however, but I still have some interest in Josh Jung ($3,800) and/or Jonah Heim ($3,600). They're crushing lefties to the tune of a .544 wOBA, 257 wRC+ and .500 ISO, and .512/236/.316, respectively. The thought of paying this price for Heim isn't easy to swallow, which surely leads to low usage.
Never in my wildest dreams did I invision this section including the names above, to be followed by an Oakland Athletic, yet here we are. Brent Rooker ($3,900) continues to mash, coming into the day with a .482 wOBA, 220 wRC+ and .368 ISO off righties. Royal starter Brady Singer is allowing a .432 wOBA and 1.037 OPS to righties, making this a clearly favorable start.
If looking for a more traditional name to build around, Yordan Alvarez ($4,300) fits the bill. He sits with a .413 wOBA, 168 wRC+ and .273 ISO off lefties, and is 7-for-16 (.438) with two homers, eight RBI and a 1.351 OPS off of Mariners' starter Marco Gonzales.
Masataka Yoshida ($3,700) looks like another great anchor. His .386 wOBA and 143 wRC+ off lefties is a nice start, and he's riding a 15-game hitting streak that's seen him hit five homers.
Bargain Bats
As the intro notes, we probably want shares of both the Royals and A's lineups. Kansas City is a struggle to get into Saturday however. A's starter Ken Waldichuk is getting pelted by righties, allowing a .425 wOBA, a full 100 points higher than to righties. Kansas City is more left-hand bat centric, so we need to see how they'll line up before feeling positive. Bobby Witt ($3,500) is the obvious choice, but we can likely sneak some value through in Edward Olivares ($2,800), Matt Duffy ($2,500) or Hunter Dozier ($2,400).
If you're not into paying up on the A's lineup, the top splits come from lefties, which Singer hasn't struggled agaisnt. JJ Bleday ($2,500) is off to a nice start since his recall, and the price hasn't caught up to that early production. Ryan Noda ($3,000) has a solid .378 wOBA off righties and is a big time boom or bust option.
Washington looks like another sneaky spot to squeeze out some value to afford an arm like Strider. If you trust their splits off lefties, any of Victor Robles ($2,700), Lane Thomas ($2,900) or Alex Call ($2,800) have wOBAs of at least .394. Diamondbacks' starter Tommy Henry has actually struggled more against same-handed bats, allowing a .447 wOBA and 1.053 OPS to lefties. If you trust that more, Luis Garcia ($2,600) enters the discussion. A stack for GPP purposes is certainly possible, but not for the faint of heart.
Stacks to Consider
Phillies vs. Corey Kluber: Bryce Harper ($3,700), Trea Turner ($3,300), J.T. Realmuto ($2,700)
Kluber has has a 6.44 ERA and 6.49 FIP, and his splits are nearly even against either hand bat, so he's aggressively targetable throughout the Phillies' lineup. Philly's season-long struggles have left us with ample value here. Turner is undoubtedly scuffling, but the upside at this price is elite. Harper has four hits in his first three games back, and Realmuto boasts a decent .370 wOBA and 131 wRC+ off righties and has at least 12.2 FDP in four of his last five outings. Truthfully, the entire Phillies lineup is in play Saturday, so feel free to pick and choose based on your needs positionally.
Angels vs. Nathan Eovaldi: Mike Trout ($4,400), Shohei Ohtani ($4,000), Anthony Rendon ($3,000)
Eovaldi has been terrific, and his 3.94 ERA is considerably higher than his 2.07 FIP. With a plethora of other options Saturday, paired with Eovaldi's succes to date, I'd expect many to overlook the Angels, making them a nice GPP option. My appeal to Eovaldi is he's coming off of a complete-game, 113 pitch outing. I'm banking on some minor fatigue and a less than sharp outing. We don't need stats to support Trout or Ohtani, but to no surprise, they are the Angels stat leaders off righties. Trout sits with a .437 wOBA, 181 wRC+ and .326 ISO, while Ohtani is at .393/151/.230. Rendon gives a third top of the order option, and while his power has seemingly evaporated, he has hit safely in four straight and eight of his last 10, while also helping balance our budget some.
