Last week’s articles went really well. MLB DFS can be volatile, but it always feels better when things are going in the right direction. Being involved in baseball every day makes the process so much simpler, and I’ve buried my head in baseball for months. We have a great read on how these pitchers will perform right now, and it sets the base for everything else we want to do from a DFS perspective. With that in mind, let’s look at the pitchers for this Saturday slate.
Starting Pitcher Rankings
Last week’s articles went really well. MLB DFS can be volatile, but it always feels better when things are going in the right direction. Being involved in baseball every day makes the process so much simpler, and I’ve buried my head in baseball for months. We have a great read on how these pitchers will perform right now, and it sets the base for everything else we want to do from a DFS perspective. With that in mind, let’s look at the pitchers for this Saturday slate.
Starting Pitcher Rankings
Starting Pitcher Strategy
This is an interesting slate from a pitching perspective. We don’t have any top-notch aces, but plenty of young guys are in great spots. With that said, our top recommendation is an arm who’s been annihilating opponents for most of his career, and we love the form he carries over into this matchup.
Cash Game Recommendations:
Shane Bieber (CLE) at ARI
It’s funny to say that Bieber is amid the worst year of his career because most pitchers would kill for a 3.29 ERA and 1.22 WHIP. We’re talking about a guy with a 2.81 ERA and 1.08 WHIP since 2020. Bieber is simply one of the best baseball players around, and we love that he has a 0.71 ERA and 0.79 WHIP across his last two starts despite facing two of the best offenses in the league. Arizona isn’t too bad of a matchup either, ranked 22nd in xwOBA.
Bryce Elder (ATL) vs. COL
The Braves needed this kid to step up with all the injuries in their rotation, and Elder has done just that. The right-hander has a 2.69 ERA and 1.18 WHIP this year, scoring at least 34 FanDuel points in eight of 13 starts. That makes him tough to fade against Colorado, who are dead-last in runs scored, OBP, OPS, and xwOBA on the road over the last two years. That’s why Elder enters this matchup as a -290 favorite!
GPP Recommendations:
Bobby Miller (LAD) vs. SF
The Dodgers always stumble into gems in their rotation every year, and this kid looks like one of those. This rookie has some of the nastiest stuff in the game, generating a 0.78 ERA and 0.83 WHIP. Having an ERA and WHIP below 1.00 is absurd, especially since Miller scored at least 33 FD points in all four starts. A home matchup against San Fran is far from scary, entering this matchup as a -150 favorite in a game with a 7.5-run total.
Braxton Garrett (MIA) at WAS
One lousy start has killed Garrett’s numbers, but this guy has been great outside of that. He’s allowed two runs or fewer in 11 of his other 13 starts, compiling a 2.73 ERA and 1.08 WHIP if you remove that nightmarish 11-run drubbing. It’s easy to omit that result because it happened against Atlanta, and Washington is not a worrisome matchup. The Nats rank 24th in runs scored and 23rd in xwOBA.
Top Lineup Stacks
This could be a long series for the Rockies. Colorado ranks bottom-three in ERA and WHIP because they have no good arms in their rotation. Connor Seabold is another one of those gas cans, collecting a 6.36 ERA and 1.63 WHIP across 75 career innings. That won’t sit well against this bludgeoning Braves lineup, with Atlanta ranked third in OBP and fourth in runs scored.
The Phillies have been a disappointment, but this team is starting to get hot. Bryce Harper is back, while Kyle Schwarber and Trea Turner are starting to get going. That threesome makes this one of the most dangerous lineups in the league, and they should have success against an A’s team that has the worst ERA and WHIP in the league. Kaprielian hasn’t helped those numbers, accruing a 6.89 ERA and 1.71 WHIP.
Stacking against a pitcher like Adam Wainwright feels wild, but this former All-Star doesn’t have it anymore. The soft-tossing righty has a 5.79 ERA and 1.71 WHIP in what’s become a nightmare season. The Mets have had quite a horrid year themselves, but there’s plenty of talent that can get to a pitcher like Waino. The struggles from NY have lowered these guys’ salaries, making them an even more enticing stack.
Core Studs
| POS |
PLAYER |
DK SALARY |
FD SALARY |
| OF |
Ronald Acuna (ATL) |
$6,600 |
$4,600 |
| 1B/OF |
Bryce Harper (PHI) |
$6,300 |
$3,700 |
| DH |
Shohei Ohtani (LAA) |
$6,500 |
$4,500 |
| SS/3B |
Elly De La Cruz (CIN) |
$5,100 |
$4,000 |
| 3B |
Rafael Devers (BOS) |
$5,500 |
$3,900 |
- Acuna is absurd. This guy was the best player in fantasy before he tore his ACL, and he’s recaptured that crown with his league-leading 12.3 DraftKings points per game. He’s got one of the best power-speed combos in the history of the game and is hitting atop the best lineup in the NL. If we want to stack the Braves, Acuna needs to be the first player in our lineup!
- Harper has gotten off to a slow start by his standards, but a .393 OBP and .818 OPS are ridiculous from a guy who never went through spring training. We love that since he faces a weak right, totaling a .424 OBP and 1.028 OPS against them since 2020.
- Ohtani is the best all-around player in baseball, but his hitting is on another level right now. The two-way stud has a hit in 16 of his last 17 games, generating a .519 OBP, 1.016 SLG, and 1.535 OPS in that span. He’s also got three steals in that stretch and can’t be faded with the way he’s swinging the lumber.
- De La Cruz is a superstar in the making. This kid is breaking every Statcast number out there, and it’s showing in his fantasy production. The young slugger set records at Triple-A and is third in the league with 11 DK points per game. He’s only going to get better, and we love that he’s facing a pitcher with a 1.59 WHIP.
- Don’t look now, but Devers is starting to get hot. This perennial All-Star got off to a nightmarish start, but he’s got a 1.099 OPS across his last seven outings. This guy can do that for months at a time, and we certainly don’t mind that he has the platoon advantage against a guy with a 4.70 ERA and 1.40 WHIP.
Value Plays/Punts
| POS |
PLAYER |
DK SALARY |
FD SALARY |
| OF |
Kyle Schwarber (PHI) |
$5,500 |
$3,500 |
| OF |
Michael Harris (ATL) |
$3,700 |
$2,700 |
| OF |
Tommy Pham (NYM) |
$2,900 |
$2,700 |
| 1B |
Jake Bauers (NYY) |
$2,600 |
$2,600 |
| 2B/SS |
Andres Gimenez (CLE) |
$3,400 |
$2,600 |
- Schwarber is well below .200 this season, but he’s starting to get going. The slugger has a .393 OBP, .705 SLG, and 1.097 OPS across his last 12 outings. He’s also destroyed right-handers throughout his career, compiling a .907 OPS against them over the last three seasons.
- Harris is another guy who started slowly but is finding his stride over recent weeks. This young outfielder was one of the league leaders in fantasy points last season and comes into this matchup with a .421 AVG and 1.163 OPS across his last 10 games. He’s also a great piece to stack with Acuna because these guys bat next to each other in the lineup, despite Harris hitting ninth in the order.
- Pham has struggled this season, but he’s way too cheap in the heart of this Mets lineup. We expect him to be there because he’s mashed Wainwright throughout his career. In 18 at-bats against the veteran, Pham has provided a .500 OBP and 1.250 OPS.
- It’s wild that Bauers remains so cheap. This guy has done a fantastic job of filling in as the first baseman in New York, playing his best ball against right-handers. In nearly 100 at-bats against righties, Bauers has an OPS north of .800. That’s absurd from such an affordable player, and it’s not like we’re scared of Brayan Bello.
- Gimenez has always been a sneaky fantasy option in the heart of this Cleveland lineup, and he’s starting to get hot. The utility man has a .356 OBP and .837 OPS across his last 16 games. He’s also got a .887 OPS against left-handers this year and gets to square off with one sporting a 4.86 ERA and 1.38 WHIP.
Hitter Strategy
There are some offenses we adore on this slate. Some of the teams we love include the Braves, Mets, Phillies, Tigers, Marlins, Twins, A’s, Guardians, Angels, and Yankees. There are too many teams to pick from, but that makes things much easier on us from a lineup construction standpoint. Having more teams to choose from makes it easier to pick pitchers because it allows us to do whatever we want from a salary standpoint. The first thing we want to do is stack Atlanta and Philly because we feel like either of those teams could be in line for double-digit runs.
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Joel Bartilotta is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Joel, check out his archive and follow him @Bartilottajoel.
