This article is part of our DraftKings MLB series.
We get another 11-game slate featured on DraftKings for Saturday. It will be the first daytime baseball of the season with the Brewers set to take on the Cubs at 1:05 EST. The Red Sox, Twins, Astros and Dodgers were able to showcase some potent offense on Friday night and look to be in favorable spots again today. However, you'll have to get creative with your pitching selections if you want to get some of them into your lineups.
Pitchers
Yu Darvish, CHC vs MIL ($10,500): When considering the pitching at the top, it really feels like a coin flip between Darvish and Zack Wheeler ($10,100). Both enjoyed tremendous success last season versus the teams they are facing, with Darvish averaging 24.6 fantasy points in two starts and Wheeler 29.1 over three starts against the Marlins. The main difference now iOS Wheeler is with the Phillies and playing in a more hitter-friendly ballpark. The Marlins also got slightly better at the top adding none other than two former Brewers in Jonathan Villar and Jesus Aguilar. They also added Corey Dickerson who has historically crushed right handed pitching with a .313 career batting average and 0.942 OPS%. The Brewers ran out a very watered down lineup last night, despite still having one of the best hitters in the league in Christian Yelich as they could only muster three hits - and all from one player.
Martin Perez, BOS vs BAL ($5,500): Perez could make for a nice value play against the Orioles, who were easily handled by Nathan Eovaldi on Friday night by only allowing one run in six innings. Perez gets the benefit of having the powerful Red Sox bats to back him up, which gives him a great opportunity for the win. Last season, Baltimore was middle of the road averaging 8.86 strikeouts per game and bottom of the league in team batting average at .246.
Top Targets
J.D. Martinez, BOS vs BAL ($4,900): Martinez will probably be featured here plenty throughout the season, but especially today versus Alex Cobb. Martinez is 9-for-16 lifetime against Cobb with a .563 batting average and a 1.651 OPS%. He racked up 25 fantasy points in the teams season opener and should be relied on heavily to carry the load with Mookie Betts leaving for Los Angeles in the offseason.
Nelson Cruz, MIN at CWS ($4,900): Cruz takes on Dallas Keuchel and the White Sox on Saturday. Cruz is 14-for-45 in his career vs Keuchel, including five home runs and six extra base hits. He went 2-for-4 in their season opener and remains in the heart of the Twins' powerful lineup which should give him plenty of opportunities to score some points.
Best Values
Kyle Lewis, SEA at HOU ($3,600): Lewis was red hot during the team's intrasquad games, belting two homers in the final tune up before the season opener. He kept that going and took Justin Verlander deep in the second inning with a solo shot in an eventual loss to the Astros on Friday night. He faces Lance McCullers today, who is returning to action after missing the entire 2019 season due to Tommy John elbow surgery. While McCullers has been a solid pitcher in the past, he should have some expected rust to shake off and that could allow Lewis to continue his early-season success.
Andrew Benintendi, BOS vs BAL ($3,900): Benintendi feels too cheap for a player that leads off for one of the most potent offenses in the league. He went 1-for-4 in the team's opener and benefits greatly from batting ahead of the aforementioned J.D. Martinez. If Benintendi can get on base, he should have plenty of scoring opportunities and gets a platoon advantage facing Alex Cobb, who he has gone 5-for-21 against in his career.
Stacks to consider
Red Sox vs. Alex Cobb: J.D. Martinez ($4,900) Andrew Benintendi ($3,900) Rafael Devers ($5,600)
With a pretty obvious theme here, the Red Sox were the chalk on Friday night and I expect them to be again, but for good reason. They face Alex Cobb, who sports an unimpressive 5.36 ERA and a below-average 1.44 WHIP in two seasons with the Orioles.
Martinez was featured as a top target and Benintendi as a value bat, with Rafael Devers rounding out the stack and earning a platoon advantage versus Cobb. He has enjoyed marginal success when facing Cobb by going 2-for-11, but I like his chances to have a big game here after struggling out of the gate in the team's season opener.
Astros vs. Taijuan Walker: George Springer ($5,800) Jose Altuve ($5,000) Alex Bregman ($5,400)
We haven't seen Walker in action for a while due to various injuries over the last two seasons. When healthy, he was a decent pitcher averaging a 3.95 ERA and a 1.255 WHIP over seven seasons. In his first start, Walker will face the formidable Astros with the three mentioned above going a combined 19-for-49 - including a pair of solo shots from Springer and Altuve. They don't get the preferred platoon advantage, but they enter the game as heavy favorites and should also see plenty of the shaky Mariners' bullpen with Walker most likely on a pitch count.
