We crushed it last weekend and are ready to keep rolling here. As per usual, we have every team in action on this Saturday slate. The games are spread throughout the day, though, and we’ll zone in on the players from the two main slates. That means we will avoid the Tigers-White Sox matchup and the doubleheader between the Rays and Rex Sox. We’re going barefoot for this Saturday card, so let’s get into it!
Starting Pitcher Rankings
We crushed it last weekend and are ready to keep rolling here. As per usual, we have every team in action on this Saturday slate. The games are spread throughout the day, though, and we’ll zone in on the players from the two main slates. That means we will avoid the Tigers-White Sox matchup and the doubleheader between the Rays and Rex Sox. We’re going barefoot for this Saturday card, so let’s get into it!
Starting Pitcher Rankings
Starting Pitcher Strategy
This is a captivating slate from a pitching perspective. We have two top-notch aces and two unknown pitchers for our four recommendations. All of these guys get some of the best matchups in baseball, and it should be easy to mix and match one stud with one cheaper guy to build an optimal lineup. It’s up to you to choose which guys you want to pair with, but we hope these write-ups will make that easier!
Cash Game Recommendations:
Spencer Strider (ATL) at ARI
Strider has been the best pitcher in baseball since the start of last year. The NL Cy Young runner-up has a 2.76 ERA and 0.99 WHIP since the start of last season. His biggest asset is his strikeout stuff, picking up 308 scalps across 195 innings. That’s one of the best K rates of all time, making him an easy play against Arizona. The Diamondbacks rank 22nd in xwOBA and are only projected to score 3.5 runs in this spot.
Sonny Gray (MIN) vs. CLE
Gray is one of the frontrunners for AL Cy Young, recapturing the form that made him an ace in Oakland. The right-hander is 4-0 this season, thanks to his 1.94 ERA and 1.19 WHIP. He’s also got an 11.1 K/9 rate since the opener and should crush a struggling Cleveland lineup. The Guardians rank 27th in OBP, 28th in runs scored, and last in wOBA.
GPP Recommendations:
Eury Perez (MIA) vs. OAK
This rookie has some of the nastiest stuff in baseball, and he will annihilate a team like the A’s. Oakland is dead-last in runs scored, OBP, wOBA, and xwOBA since the start of last year. We love that with the way Perez has pitched, posting a 2.84 ERA and 1.21 WHIP. The strikeouts are right around the corner, too, providing a K rate north of 30 percent in the minors. The oddsmakers agree, making Perez a -200 favorite in a game with a 7.5-run total.
Jordan Montgomery (STL) at PIT
There’s no doubt that Montgomery has struggled this season, but we love him in this spot. This guy has been a consummate professional throughout his career, and he should roll right through the Pirates. Pittsburgh is the lowest-scoring team since the start of May, and the Cards are entering this game as a -150 favorite. Montgomery has faced Pittsburgh twice over the last two years and has a quality start in each of those.
Top Lineup Stacks
We initially had the Rangers in here against Marco Gonzales, but the lefty just landed on the IL. That means they’ll face Bryan Woo, making his first career start. We don’t know much about this kid, but a rookie making his debut against the highest-scoring offense is a recipe for disaster. He’s also never pitched above Double-A and could be in for a rude awakening.
The Braves have the best offense in the NL, and they’re a great pick against an inexperienced pitcher like Nelson. The Arizona righty only has 75 MLB innings under his belt, providing a 5.37 ERA and 1.44 WHIP this year. That’s why Atlanta is projected to score five runs here, ranked fifth in scoring.
It’s rare to recommend an offense against a Dodgers pitcher, but this is not the same pitching staff we’ve seen in the past. Injuries have dismantled this rotation, leaving Grove to get throttled every five days. The youngster has an 8.44 ERA and 1.75 WHIP this year and is likely one bad start away from losing this job. That seems likely to happen here, with the Yankees scoring at least 10 runs in three of their last four games.
Core Studs
| POS |
PLAYER |
DK SALARY |
FD SALARY |
| OF |
Ronald Acuna (ATL) |
$6,500 |
$4,500 |
| OF |
Aaron Judge (NYY) |
$6,300 |
$4,600 |
| SS |
Marcus Semien (TEX) |
$6,100 |
$4,000 |
| 2B/3B |
Nolan Gorman (STL) |
$5,000 |
$3,600 |
| C |
Salvador Perez (KC) |
$5,200 |
$3,600 |
- It’s hard to fade Acuna right now. This guy is the highest-scoring player in fantasy and has the most dynamic repertoire of any player. He leads off for one of the best offenses in MLB and could finish with 30 homers and 50 steals. We expect him to add to those totals here, having a pitcher with a 5.37 ERA.
- The Yanks were hammered on Friday night, but we expect them to bounce back here and destroy Grove. We already talked about how that right-hander is flirting with a 9.00 ERA, and there’s no chance he slows down Judge. The reigning AL MVP has a .506 OBP and 1.522 OPS across his last 17 games.
- We were excited to recommend Semien against Gonzales, but we’re happy to get him in there against an unknown rookie. The Rangers second baseman has been raking all season, registering a .294 AVG and .845 OPS. That doesn’t even consider his speed, leading all second basemen with 10.3 DK points per game.
- Gorman has to be the frontrunner for NL Rookie of the Year. He’s batting between Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado in this stingy St. Louis lineup, posting a .360 OBP, .555 SLG, and .915 OPS. Gorman also has the platoon advantage from the right side, facing a pitcher with a nightmarish 1.69 WHIP.
- You could use an opposing team’s best batter against the Rockies all season and be successful. They’re throwing out Austin Gomber here, generating a 7.00 ERA and 1.56 WHIP. That’s awesome since Salvy gets the platoon advantage from the right side, providing a .330 AVG, .643 SLG, and 1.009 OPS across his last 30 fixtures.
Value Plays/Punts
| POS |
PLAYER |
DK SALARY |
FD SALARY |
| OF |
Marcell Ozuna (ATL) |
$3,100 |
$2,900 |
| 1B |
Rowdy Tellez (MIL) |
$4,300 |
$3,000 |
| SS |
Matt McLain (CIN) |
$4,500 |
$3,400 |
| 1B |
Brandon Belt (TOR) |
$2,500 |
$2,500 |
| OF |
Bryan De La Cruz (MIA) |
$4,200 |
$3,200 |
- Many people forget this, but Ozuna was the highest-scoring player in fantasy in the 2020 season. It’s been an uphill battle since then, but this former star is smashing right now. Ozuna has just one hit over his last five games but still has a .360 OBP, .626 SLG, and .986 OPS across his last 24 outings in total.
- Tellez is always one of our favorite plays when the Brewers face a weak righty. That has Rowdy batting cleanup, tallying a .529 SLG and .858 OPS against right-handers this year. This is far from a scary righty, with Graham Ashcraft amassing an 11.28 ERA over his last four starts.
- McLain is among the numerous talented prospects the Reds possess, and he’s already looking like a star. The young shortstop is hitting .354 this season en route to a .940 OPS. He was even better in the minors, accruing a 1.184 OPS at that level this year. Facing Colin Rea only adds to his value, with the Milwaukee pitcher providing a 4.89 ERA.
- Belt was horrid through the opening month of the season, but he’s found his stroke recently. Over his last 21 games, Belt has a .344 AVG, .487 OBP, and .979 OPS. That has him batting cleanup whenever Toronto tussles with a righty, and they get to face one here with a 4.67 ERA and 1.59 WHIP.
- This Miami team is full of talented youngsters, but De La Cruz looks like the guy to build around. This guy breaks Statcast with some of his advanced rates, but he’s also got a .306 AVG, .473 SLG, and .833 OPS since the opening week of the year. His OPS is creeping close to 1.000 over the last month, and he shouldn’t have any issues against an A’s pitcher with a 6.83 ERA.
Hitter Strategy
This should be a fun slate from a lineup construction standpoint. The first thing I will do is put in Strider and pair him with Belt and Ozuna. Those hitters are way too cheap, and it’s a great pairing with an overpriced pitcher like Strider. From there, we can choose whatever stacks we want. The teams we want to use include the Rangers, Braves, Yankees, Royals, Rockies, Yankees, Nationals, Marlins, Reds, Brewers, Cardinals, and Blue Jays. That’s a large group of teams to build with, and it should make things easy on us!
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Joel Bartilotta is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Joel, check out his archive and follow him @Bartilottajoel.
