It feels like every elite pitcher was toeing the rubber on Saturday, so we were due for a letdown here. We still have plenty of guys to pick from, mainly because we have so many games to discuss. We have all but four teams on the main card, playing between 1ET and 4ET. That’s all we can hope for from a DFS perspective, giving us plenty of options to discuss. With that in mind, let’s look at the pitchers!
Starting Pitcher Rankings
It feels like every elite pitcher was toeing the rubber on Saturday, so we were due for a letdown here. We still have plenty of guys to pick from, mainly because we have so many games to discuss. We have all but four teams on the main card, playing between 1ET and 4ET. That’s all we can hope for from a DFS perspective, giving us plenty of options to discuss. With that in mind, let’s look at the pitchers!
Starting Pitcher Rankings
Starting Pitcher Strategy
After a stacked slate yesterday, we have fewer pitchers to pick from on this slate. I was surprised that the four picks came so quickly because it was really the only four pitchers I considered. That’s a good sign from a lineup construction standpoint because filling things out with these four should be easy. Many of them are breakouts this season, but our first guy is a veteran ace. Let’s start there!
Cash Game Recommendations:
Aaron Nola (PHI) at CLE
We had Wheeler in here yesterday, and we’re obviously going to use Nola in the same matchup. We discussed how the Guardians rank 26th in both runs scored and xwOBA, possessing very little outside of Jose Ramirez. That’s great news for a guy who’s scored at least 34 FanDuel points in nine starts this year while cracking 65 fantasy points twice! That’s an incredible ceiling, and he’s got a 3.07 ERA and 0.85 WHIP across his last three starts.
Jesus Luzardo (MIA) vs. COL
Stacking against the Rockies on the road has been a tasty recipe for years. This team was dead-last in runs scored, OBP, and xWOBA on the road in each of the last two years and is nearly there again this season. That should bode well for a breakout like Luzardo, collecting a 1.51 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, and 10.6 K/9 rate across his last six starts.
GPP Recommendations:
Bailey Ober (MIN) vs. CWS
Why aren’t more people talking about Ober? This has been one of the most consistent pitchers in Minnesota, maintaining a 2.74 ERA and 0.98 WHIP. He’s also got a quality start in seven of his last eight starts, scoring at least 25 FanDuel points in all but one start this year. That run should be easy to continue against the White Sox, with Chicago sitting 22nd in runs scored and 27th in wOBA. In his last four starts against the ChiSox, Ober has only allowed three total runs!
Hunter Brown (HOU) at OAK
Brown is on pace to set a record for the best K rate ever posted by a rookie. That’s an impressive mark, generating a 10.7 K/9 rate. He’s had some duds recently, but this kid has scored at least 38 FanDuel points eight times this year! One of those should be in line against this atrocious A’s offense, ranked last in runs scored, OBP, OPS, and xwOBA since the start of last year. In their two matchups this season, Brown is averaging 51 FD points per game! That’s why he’s a -250 favorite!
Top Lineup Stacks
The Braves were our top stack yesterday, and they’re likely to be in this section every day from here on out. This team ranks first or second in every offensive category, possessing the most dangerous lineup in the game. That’s scary against a journeyman like Julio Teheran, who has a 6.03 ERA since 2020. The regression monster has been hitting him hard recently, registering a 9.37 ERA and 1.59 WHIP across his last three starts.
Miami Marlins (vs. Ty Blach)
We could stack any team against the Rockies right now. This team ranks 29th in ERA and WHIP but is having a bullpen game here. That’s disastrous because this is one of baseball’s worst pens, and it looks like Ty Blach will take the bulk of the innings. The Colorado lefty has a 6.75 ERA and 1.95 WHIP this year.
The Yankees have been one of the worst offenses in baseball since Aaron Judge went down, but that doesn’t matter against Jordan Lyles. The Royals righty has a 1-11 record, no thanks to his 6.05 ERA. That ERA is no fluke either, with Lyles lamenting a 5.17 career ERA and 1.42 WHIP. It’s hard to understand how this guy has been around for a decade with averages like those, but we definitely want to stack the Bronx Bombers against him in a hitter’s haven like Yankee Stadium.
Core Studs
| POS |
PLAYER |
DK SALARY |
FD SALARY |
| 3B |
Ronald Acuna (ATL) |
$6,600 |
$4,700 |
| 2B |
Luis Arraez (MIA) |
$4,800 |
$3,000 |
| 2B/OF |
Mookie Betts (LAD) |
$6,300 |
$4,300 |
| 1B |
Christian Walker (ARI) |
$5,300 |
$3,600 |
| OF |
Austin Slater (SF) |
$3,500 |
$2,600 |
- We had Acuna as our top recommendation yesterday, and we’re going back to him for all the same reasons. This is the best player in fantasy, leading the league with over 12 DraftKings points per game. Hitting atop the best lineups will do that, and if we feel Atlanta is going off again, Acuna will be the table-setter against Teheran.
- Arraez isn’t going to hit .400, but he’s still unbelievable. He’s got a .376 AVG and .425 OBP. The Rockies have one of the worst staffs in baseball right now, and there’s no chance they hold Arraez hitless.
- Mookie is feeling it right now. The perennial All-Star has an OPS north of 1.000 over the last two months, nearly leading the NL in home runs in that span. That looks even better since he gets the platoon advantage against a weak lefty, amassing a .400 OBP, .720 SLG, and 1.120 OPS against southpaws this season.
- We had Walker in here yesterday, and we’re going right back to the well. The mashing first baseman has a .989 OPS across his last 33 games. We wanted to use him against a lefty yesterday, but he faces one of the worst righties in the league here. That’s Luke Weaver, who’s got a 7.22 ERA and 1.63 WHIP.
- The Giants have a lineup full of sneaky bats, and Slater is one of their best sluggers. He’s always in the heart of their order against left-handers, sporting a .419 OBP, .545 SLG, and .965 OPS against them this year. This is not a southpaw we were scared of either, facing MacKenzie Gore‘s 4.59 ERA and 1.45 WHIP.
Value Plays/Punts
| POS |
PLAYER |
DK SALARY |
FD SALARY |
| OF |
Marcell Ozuna (ATL) |
$4,000 |
$2,900 |
| OF |
Giancarlo Stanton (NYY) |
$4,800 |
$3,000 |
| 3B |
Eugenio Suarez (SEA) |
$3,200 |
$2,900 |
| OF |
Chas McCormick (HOU) |
$4,100 |
$3,600 |
| 2B |
Nolan Gorman (STL) |
$4,600 |
$3,400 |
- It’s hard to understand why Ozuna remains so cheap. This guy has been going off at the bottom of this Atlanta lineup since the opening month, maintaining a .345 OBP, .522 SLG, and .868 OPS across his last 61 games. He’s also among the only affordable Atlanta bats, making him an intriguing piece to a Braves stack. He also has some of the best BvP numbers, totaling a .347 AVG, .571 SLG, and .944 OPS in 51 at-bats against Teheran.
- It’s been a nightmare season for Stanton, but a matchup with Lyles could get him back on track. The elite slugger has five homers over his last eight games and can lead the league in dingers over the final months of the year. We also love that Giancarlo has a .333 AVG, .571 SLG, and .919 OPS against Lyles.
- Eugenio is second in baseball in home runs over the last six seasons. That’s an impressive mark, and it makes Suarez a sexy option since he’s on a home run binge. The third baseman has three homers over his last four games, accruing a 1.643 OPS in that span. Alek Manoah has kept many hitters hot all year, posting a 6.18 ERA and 1.84 WHIP.
- McCormick is not a name many people know about, but he’s scorching right now. The Stros outfielder has a .408 AVG, .491 OBP, .796 SLG, and 1.287 OPS across his last 14 games. Not many people have played that well for two weeks, and a matchup with Oakland should keep him rolling.
- Gorman has been horrific over the last two months, but he’s always enticing against a weak righty. That’s certainly what he faces today, squaring off with Jameson Taillon‘s 6.05 ERA and 1.40 WHIP. Gormans splits speak for themselves, tallying a .357 OBP, .514 SLG, and .871 OPS against right-handers this year.
Hitter Strategy
There’s a lot to get excited about on this slate! The value plays stuck out like a sore thumb, and many of these guys are way too cheap. That’s awesome since we also have some value at pitcher, allowing you to build lineups however you please. The Yankees and Marlins featured in our stacking section tell you everything you need to know because those are two of the cheapest offenses out there. We can’t ask for any more from a lineup construction standpoint, so have fun!
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Joel Bartilotta is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Joel, check out his archive and follow him @Bartilottajoel.
