This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
A full 30-team, 15-game slate awaits Tuesday evening, a rarity throughout the course of the season. As such, it should come as no surprise we have seven pitchers priced in five figures, with six more in the $9k tier. San Francisco and St. Louis don't have listed pitchers in FanDuel's contests as of Monday evening, giving us 28 arms to sort through. The size of this slate is daunting, and I want to offer the caveat that just because someone isn't mentioned here doesn't mean they are a bad play.
Only Dodgers at Rockies has a double-digit run total, so runs may not be super plentiful Tuesday. Rain is possible in Baltimore and Pittsburgh, but the Orioles were willing to play late into the evening Monday, so we should be relatively safe. Finally, winds look favorable for offense in Pittsburgh and Boston, and possibly Los Angeles and Oakland.
Pitching
Clayton Kershaw, LAD at COL ($10,600): It's been a mixed bag for Kershaw in Coors Field during his career, so there's certainly risk. He's made 26 starts there, posting an elevated 4.82 ERA, though a more palatable 3.25 xFIP, allowing just a .326 wOBA while fanning 8.4 per nine. If we bank on Colorado to continue their season-long struggles against lefties, we can get some upside in a spot many will ignore. Colorado ranks second to last off left-handed pitching with a .291 wOBA, a paltry 67 wRC+ and a 26.7 percent strikeout rate.
Yu Darvish, SD at PIT ($9,300): We're going to have to bank on Darvish finding his game, as he's been bad of late, allowing four or more runs in four of his last five starts. But his xERA is 1.23 lower than his 4.84 ERA, and his .301 BABIP is the highest it's been since 2014, so a rebound could be coming. The target here however is the Pirates, who have been awful in June. They've lost 12 of their last 13, scoring more than three runs just three times. It's led to a .281 wOBA and 73 wRC+, the second-lowest totals in baseball this month. There may not be a huge ceiling here as the Pirates don't strike out much, and Darvish isn't missing a ton of bats, but there seems to be stability that can be lower used than some others.
Ranger Suarez, PHI at CHC ($9,000): Suarez is in a great groove, posting five straight quality starts, allowing just five earned runs while striking out 29 across 32.2 innings. The Cubs have hit lefties well throughout the season, ranking sixth with a .337 wOBA, but have a high 25.0 percent strikeout rate. The wind looks to be blowing in Tuesday evening, which should further help Suarez limit damage. He's averaged 39.2 FDP across this current stretch, putting him in a spot for his performance to possibly exceed his price.
Top Targets
For as many differing opinions as we'll have on the mound Tuesday, we'll have ample lineups targeting Dodger bats. Rockies' starter Connor Seabold has been marginally better at home, but tougher on righties as opposed to allowing them to pound him on the road, so we could see some different usage amongst LA's top options however. Will Smith ($4,100) may come in underused, has homered in two straight and leads the Dodgers with a .390 wOBA off righties.
We noted the wind blowing in at Wrigley Field, which works fine for Bryce Harper ($3,600) as his power is seemingly affected by his elbow surgery recovery. But completely ignoring lefty bats against Jameson Taillon would be irresponsible. He's allowing a .476 wOBA and 1.142 OPS to them at Wrigey Field.
Jose Ramirez ($3,900) may be my favorite play on this slate. He's got a team-best .402 wOBA, 160 wRC+ and .221 ISO off righties overall, is hitting .330 in June with six homers, and is 7-for-16 (.438) with two homers and a 1.425 OPS off Royals' starter Brady Singer.
Bargain Bats
Manny Machado ($3,300) has 26 hits across 22 June games, and has a .418 wOBA and 169 wRC+ off lefties overall. He's also 4-for-9 with two homers off Pirates starter Rich Hill.
I don't want to invest too heavily in Boston bats just because the wind is blowing out, and we don't know when (or if) Sandy Alcantara will flash his dominance. But Alex Verdugo ($3,300) is expected back from the bereavement list tonight, and has a team-best .388 wOBA and 145 wRC+ off righties.
Staying in the same ballpark, Luis Arraez ($3,200) works well for stability as we know he's a hitting machine, collecting 20 during his current nine-game hitting streak.
If we trust batter splits, there are some shockingly interesting options in the Tigers' lineup. Jake Rogers ($2,500) has an unsustainable .444 wOBA, 191 wRC+ and .564 ISO off southpaws, while Andy Ibanez ($2,100) sits at .370/140/.368. Both took Rangers' starter Martin Perez deep earlier in the season, and both homered in Monday's win.
Stacks to Consider
Blue Jays vs. Giants (Ryan Walker/Alex Wood): Bo Bichette ($3,500), Vladimir Guerrero ($3,500), George Springer ($3,400)
There's some unanswered questions here. Walker will open, and the long relief option isn't confirmed. And if Walker does his job, the top of this order may only get two cracks against Wood to do damage. But there's a lot to like about the matchup. Wood is allowing a .376 wOBA to righties, and Bichette and Guerrero in particular fair well on southpaws. Bichette has a .417 wOBA and 172 wRC+ and is riding an 11-game hitting streak. Guerrero sits at .388/151, and looks to have rediscovered his power stroke, homering in two of his last three while collecting six hits and seven RBI. Springer is streaking, with hits in seven of eight, five times collecting multiple knocks.
Mariners vs. Nationals (Jake Irvin): Julio Rodriguez ($3,700), Jarred Kelenic ($3,000), J.P. Crawford ($2,800)
The Mariners don't have great splits off righties overall, so we're targeting the matchup almost exclusively. That starts with Irvin against lefties, as he's allowing a .381 wOBA to them on the road against just .236 to righties. Crawford, somewhat surprisingly, profiles the best and may be a nice value if you're not buying this lineup overall. He leads the team with a .362 wOBA and 138 wRC+ off righties, and has reached base in seven of his last eight with three homers. Kelenic is slumping, but gives us a second lefty in the upper portion of the lineup. Truthfully, I prefer Cal Raleigh ($2,700) over Kelenic given current form, but that sets up a non-traditional batting order stack. Finally, Rodriguez is coming on strong with eight hits in his last five and 13 in his last 10, scoring seven times and stealing six bases. Perhaps not ideal overall, but surely this offense won't be heavily targeted.
