Saturday slates are always spread out, and that’s what we have again today. We have seven games during the day and eight games happening on the main card. We’re going to focus on the main slate, beginning at 7ET. There are still plenty of great options to discuss, so let’s start with the pitchers!
Starting Pitcher Rankings
| PLAYER |
DK SALARY |
FD SALARY |
VALUE |
RISK |
| Corbin Burnes (MIL) vs. PIT |
$11,700 |
$10,800 |
Low |
Low |
| George Kirby (SEA) at LAA |
$10,000 |
$9,800 |
Medium |
Low |
| Kenta Maeda (MIN) vs. ARI |
$9,500 |
$10,000 |
Medium |
Medium |
| Steven Matz (STL) vs. COL |
$6,900 |
$9,000 |
High |
High |
Saturday slates are always spread out, and that’s what we have again today. We have seven games during the day and eight games happening on the main card. We’re going to focus on the main slate, beginning at 7ET. There are still plenty of great options to discuss, so let’s start with the pitchers!
Starting Pitcher Rankings
| PLAYER |
DK SALARY |
FD SALARY |
VALUE |
RISK |
| Corbin Burnes (MIL) vs. PIT |
$11,700 |
$10,800 |
Low |
Low |
| George Kirby (SEA) at LAA |
$10,000 |
$9,800 |
Medium |
Low |
| Kenta Maeda (MIN) vs. ARI |
$9,500 |
$10,000 |
Medium |
Medium |
| Steven Matz (STL) vs. COL |
$6,900 |
$9,000 |
High |
High |
Starting Pitcher Strategy
Much like yesterday, we have three guys we love and one who’s super risky. The first three players came to me immediately, but it was a battle to find a fourth recommendation. The most important factor when determining a pitcher is the matchup, and that’s why we chose the final guy. With that said, let’s talk about the simple cash game options and then dive into the GPP guys.
Cash Game Recommendations:
Corbin Burnes (MIL) vs. PIT
Burnes got off to a slow start this season, but he’s been the best pitcher in the NL for a month now. The right-hander has picked up six straight quality starts, generating a 1.85 ERA, 0.72 WHIP, and 10.8 K.9 rate in that span. One of those was against this pitiful Pittsburgh offense, with Burnes dropping 46 FanDuel points. That’s no surprise since the Pirates rank bottom three in runs scored and K rate since the opening month. Not to mention, CB enters this matchup as a -250 favorite.
George Kirby (SEA) at LAA
Kirby has had two rough outings over the last three weeks, but he’s still having a great season. Despite those two stinkers, the Seattle slinger still has a 3.33 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, and 9.7 K/9 rate across his last nine starts. That’s quite the run, and we’re not worried about an Angels team that’s missing Mike Trout. In four starts against LA last year, Kirby compiled a 3.04 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, and 11.0 K/0 rate, scoring at least 34 FanDuel points in all of those.
GPP Recommendations:
Kenta Maeda (MIN) vs. ARI
Maeda allowed 10 runs before landing on the IL earlier in the year, but he’s been outstanding outside of that. He’s allowed two runs or fewer in eight of his other 10 starts, tallying a 3.02 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, and 11.2 K/9 rate outside of that one 10-run dud. Arizona has not been the same offense we saw earlier in the year, ranked 24th in xwOBA.
Steven Matz (STL) vs. COL
We’ve been stacking against Matz for years, but we’ll ride him today! He’s actually having a bit of a renaissance in the second half of the season, accruing a 2.02 ERA and 0.97 WHIP since the beginning of June. What really makes him attractive is this matchup, with the Rockies ranked bottom three in runs scored, OBP, and xwOBA on the road this season. We also like that Matz is this cheap and enters this matchup as a -230 favorite!
Top Lineup Stacks
St. Louis Cardinals (vs. Ty Blach)
We talked about wanting to ride the Cardinals all weekend, so here we are again! They get a lovely matchup against the Rockies, who rank 29th in both ERA and WHIP. The injuries in their rotation have led to those nightmarish averages, and Blach is being thrown to the wolves. Blach has been blasted to the tune of a 7.28 ERA and 1.69 WHIP over the last four years.
Anderson had a shocking season for the Dodgers last year, but things haven’t been the same since switching LA teams. The Angels lefty has a 4.98 ERA and 1.53 WHIP in what’s turning into a terrible season. That’s scary since most of the potent bats hit from the right side in Seattle, with Anderson allowing four runs across just two innings in his last start at Safeco.
The Giants have quietly been one of the best teams in baseball over the last two months, and they continue to produce offensively despite having a lackluster lineup. We love this sneaky lineup against Oakland, with the A’s ranked dead-last in both ERA and WHIP. Paul Blackburn hasn’t helped those atrocious averages, with PB providing a 4.83 ERA and 1.57 WHIP.
Core Studs
- The Rockies getting rid of Arenado was one of the biggest mistakes in their franchise history, and it will haunt them for years to come. This stud is a perennial 30-homer, 100-RBI guy. We expect him to add to those numbers here, accumulating a .271 AVG, .582 SLG, and .912 OPS against left-handers since moving teams. He’s also bludgeoned Blach, posting a 1.563 OPS in 18 at-bats against him.
- Soto got off to a slow start this season, but he’s cruising right now. The former All-Star has a .446 OBP, .746 SLG, and 1.192 OPS across his last 19 outings. That’s the stud we’ve become accustomed to, and it doesn’t really matter which backend Dodgers starter he faces here because they’ve all been terrible.
- J-Ram has the same trajectory as Soto, slamming the ball over recent weeks. Ramirez has a .394 OBP, .584 SLG, and .978 OPS across his last 42 outings. We also love that he hits on his more favorable left side here, squaring off with Michael Kopech‘s 4.49 ERA and 1.44 WHIP.
- Picking a top-end Brewers bat can be challenging, but Contreras is the best catcher option on this slate. He always bats in the heart of this Milwaukee lineup and should go off against whatever TBD the Pirates decide to send out here. Any Triple-A pitcher will struggle with Contreras, collecting a .349 AVG, .541 SLG, and .915 OPS across his last 26 outings.
Value Plays/Punts
- The Cardinals have been a massive disappointment, so look for Carlson to get more at-bats in the closing months. He’ll definitely be out there whenever they face a left-hander, generating a .383 OBP, .481 SLG, and .864 OPS against southpaws since 2020. That’s a large sample size of dominance, and we’re clearly not worried about a pitcher like Blach.
- Teo was one of the focal points of trade discussions, but Seattle decided to hold on to him. There’s no doubt that Hernandez has had a horrible season, but he shouldn’t be this cheap. He’s compiled 57 homers and 18 steals in the two years prior, and it’s not like his 16 homers and five steals this year is a disaster. What we really like are his splits, sporting a .327 AVG, .667 SLG, and 1.027 OPS against lefties since 2021.
- Wade has been crushing it all season, and it’s hard to understand why he remains so affordable. Late Night LaMonte has an incredible .396 OBP this season, homering in two of his last three outings! He also gets the platoon advantage against this terrible Oakland pitching staff, and Blackburn’s 1.57 WHIP will have difficulty keeping Wade off the base paths.
- Kepler has always destroyed righties throughout his career, and that’s what we’ve seen since he came off the IL. The Twins outfielder has a .309 AVG, .582 SLG, and .932 OPS across his last 16 games. Almost all of that has come against righties, and it’s why he’s been batting cleanup against them. Not to mention, he faces Ryne Nelson and his 4.84 ERA and 1.39 WHIP.
Hitter Strategy
Since we’re only covering the night games, we kept it to four hitters in each section. There weren’t that many options we were excited about, but the eight games we mentioned are all in beautiful spots. The team we really want to exploit is the Cardinals. The matchup against the Rockies is wonderful, and there are plenty of cheap options on this underperforming offense. Some of the teams we can pair up with the Cards include the Mariners, Giants, Twins, Brewers, Guardians, Padres, and Orioles. That’s plenty of options to pick from despite the shorter slate, and we want to get in Corbin Burnes as one of our pitchers!
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Joel Bartilotta is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Joel, check out his archive and follow him @Bartilottajoel.
