Saturday cards can be some of the trickiest of the week, and that’s certainly the case here. We don’t have more than five games at any given time, with all 30 teams spread evenly throughout the day. There’s even a doubleheader, so, prepare for craziness. We’re going to just focus on the night games, though, because that’s where we expect most of the bigger prize pools to be. This is the final day to make some dough before NFL Sunday so let’s dive into this Saturday slate!

Starting Pitcher Rankings

Starting Pitcher Strategy

These rotations are trying to piece things together for the postseason, and it’ll be interesting to see how things play out. Many pitchers have their pitch counts limited, among other strange occurrences, and this can be the most challenging weekend of the season to navigate. That means you need to be careful, but we’re lucky to have so many elite options. Like yesterday, we have some aces who didn’t even make the cut. Christian Javier, Shane McClanahan, and, Kyle Wright all missed out, but we have four guys in much better spots.

Cash Game Recommendations:

Max Scherzer (NYM) at ATL

The Braves look like a terrible matchup on the surface, but only one team strikes out more than this swing-happy offense. That’s a tough sell against Max Scherzer, who’s providing a 2.13 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, and 10.9 K/9 rate on the year. That strikeout stuff makes him an elite option on every DFS slate, projected to strike out 8.5 batters in this matchup. He’s done more than that in their three matchups this year, totaling a 2.21 ERA, 0.64 WHIP, and 12.4 K/9 rate against Atlanta.

Dylan Cease (CWS) at SD

Cease has seized his opportunity and has developed into one of the best pitchers in baseball. The right-hander has allowed one run or fewer in 16 of his last 20 outings, tallying a 1.29 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, and 10.3 K/9 rate in that stretch. That makes him enticing against anyone, and San Diego has really been struggling since all of their blockbuster trades.

GPP Recommendations:

Jordan Montgomery (STL) vs. PIT

It’s hard to understand why the Yankees traded this southpaw, but St. Louis is reaping the benefits of that horrific mistake. Despite allowing six runs to the Dodgers in his most recent outing, Montgomery maintained a 2.35 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, and 8.9 K/9 rate across his previous nine starts. That form should carry over in this fantastic matchup, with Pittsburgh ranked bottom-three in runs scored, OBP, OPS, xwOBA, and K rate. That has Montgomery entering this matchup as a -240 favorite!

Michael Grove (LAD) vs. COL

This is a risky play but using any Dodgers starter against the Rockies sounds profitable. Colorado scored the fewest road runs in baseball last season and will finish in the same spot this year. That’s why they’re only projected to score three runs here, making Grove one of the best values out there. He’s also a -250 favorite, which is impossible to find from such a cheap pitcher. Grove has shown flashes for LA, allowing three runs or fewer in all four of his starts.

Top Lineup Stacks

Los Angeles Dodgers (vs. Kyle Freeland)

• Home (Dodger Stadium)
• Value: Medium
• Risk: Low
• Game Type: Both
• Game Total/Moneyline: 8.5 Runs/LAD -250

We could put the Dodgers in here every day. This is not only the most talented lineup but the one that sits at the top of every offensive statistic. That won’t go over well against anyone, particularly Kyle Freeland and his 4.63 ERA and 1.40 WHIP. He’s actually surrendered at least three runs in each of their last five matchups, and that sort of guarantee is impossible to overlook.

Philadelphia Phillies (vs. Anibal Sanchez)

• Road (Nationals Park)
• Value: Low
• Risk: Low
• Game Type: Both
• Game Total/Moneyline: 9 Runs/PHI -180

It’s tough to tell who’s going to pitch for Washington, but it really doesn’t matter at this point. This team is bottom-three in ERA and WHIP, sending out a washed-up Anibal Sanchez here. That’s unfortunate against a lineup that’s rolling, ranked sixth in runs scored since the opening two months of the season.

Los Angeles Angels (vs. Cole Ragans)

• Home (Angel Stadium)
• Value: High
• Risk: Medium
• Game Type: Both
• Game Total/Moneyline: 8 Runs/LAA -150

It’s been rough for the second half of the Rangers rotation, with Ragans filling in for many of those starts. The left-hander has a 5.40 ERA and 1.54 WHIP this year, allowing seven hits to this Angels team just last week. Some of the offensive stats for LA aren’t pretty, but they’ve been much better since Mike Trout got healthy. This is an unpopular stack, but it’s one of the best values on the board!

Core Studs

• If we love the Dodgers against Freeland, we have to adore their leadoff hitter. That’s the MVP candidate Betts, ranked Top-10 year after year. The perennial All-Star is amid one of his tears right now, tallying a .898 OPS across his last 52 games. His splits are superb, too, sporting a .379 OBP and .996 OPS against left-handers this year.
• Let’s keep the LA stack rolling with Turner. The third baseman got off to a treacherous start but has been torrid as of late, totaling a .347 AVG, .421 OBP, .544 SLG, and .965 OPS over his last 66 games. He also gets the platoon advantage against Freeland, accruing a .396 OBP and .838 OPS in 53 at-bats against him.
• Trout is on another one of his patented streaks right now, registering a .296 AVG, .753 SLG, and 1.109 OPS across his last 19 games. Runs like that are common for this superstar, and we obviously have to use him if we want to stack against a guy like Ragans. In 128 at-bats against southpaws this year, Trout has a .422 OBP and 1.070 OPS.
• Harper and Trout are very similar players at this point. They’re both on-base machines who will flirt with 40 homers. Both guys have their injury issues, but Harper is simply one of the best hitters around. He’s particularly good against right-handers, accumulating a .414 OBP and 1.035 OPS against them since 2020.
• Harper and Schwarber make for one of the best two-man stacks on the board. Kyle doesn’t get on base quite as easily as Harper, but he leads the NL with 42 bombs. That sort of potential makes him tough to fade atop a lineup that’s projected to score five runs!

Value Plays/Punts

• Let’s cap off our Phillies stack with the best value on the team. That’s Castellanos, who has been in and out of the lineup due to injury. That volatility has lowered his salary way too much, though, with Castellanos compiling a .290 AVG, .490 SLG, and .828 OPS since the start of last season. Good luck finding that from another player in this price range!
• Ward is the best value in an Angels stack. The outfielder has quietly had a breakout year for the Halos, generating a career-best .838 OPS. That’s amazing since he bats from the right side against Ragans, amassing a .397 AVG, .449 OBP, .679 SLG, and 1.129 OPS across his last 22 games.
• It’s tough to find cheap Dodgers, but Thompson has been a true gem throughout the year. Despite limited playing time. Trayce has a .358 OBP, .555 ,SLG and .913 OPS across his last 49 games. He always bats fifth or sixth in these circumstances as well, and that only adds to his already immense value.
• Jung has gotten off to a slow start at this level, but this prospect will be a stud. He showed glimpses of that with two homers on Tuesday, totaling a .311 AVG, .381 OBP, and .919 OPS throughout his minor league career. Getting to face a lefty is his most impactful variable, generating a 1.059 OPS against them so far this season.
• Dickerson is always one of my favorite values when St. Louis squares off with a righty. He typically bats fifth or sixth in these circumstances, getting protection from Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado. That’s massive since he has a .821 career OPS against righties while hitting over .300 since the All-Star break. We’re not worried about him facing a guy making his fourth career start, either.

Hitter Strategy

It looks like we’re all in on LA here. The Angels and Dodgers both look like brilliant stacks, but both can be done. They do possess high-priced studs like Betts, Freeman, Ohtani, and Trout, but there are plenty of cheap options as well. Mixing and matching those two clubs will be my first approach, adding players from the Phillies, Rangers, and Cardinals to round things out.

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Joel Bartilotta is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Joel, check out his archive and follow him @Bartilottajoel.