This article is part of our DraftKings MLB series.
We have a 10-game main slate to work with Tuesday. Several matchups have a scheduled first pitch before 7:05 pm ET. The top of the pitching market will be fascinating to navigate, with a mix of classic ace names and dominant pitchers that have popped up early this season. From a hitting environment perspective, the Rockies and Reds will square off at Coors Field, while the White Sox-Cubs and Braves-Red Sox matchups are also intriguing.
Pitching
There are a lot of choices at the top of the pitching market, so I'll primarily rely upon strikeout upside and matchup to make my choices. Shota Imanaga ($10,600) ran into his first poor start in the majors his last time out, but he should be in a good spot to bounce back against the White Sox, who have just a 71 wRC+ and .116 ISO paired with a 23.5 percent strikeout rate against lefties this season.
Max Fried ($9,000) has only a 20.6 percent strikeout for the season, but he has at least five strikeouts in four of his last five starts thanks to his ability to pitch deep into games. He also gets a Boston lineup that has struck out at a league-high 28.4 percent clip against lefties.
If we dip into the middle tiers, Dane Dunning ($7,900) is a solid option. He's had significant variance in his results, making him a better option for tournaments; however, he has the third-highest strikeout of available starters (27.7 percent) and faces a Tigers lineup that strikes out at the eighth-highest clip against righties. George Kirby ($8,800) is a comparable option I'd like to use in cash games.
Spencer Arrighetti ($6,700) remains underpriced. He has a walk issue, but in six starts since the beginning of May, he has piled up 36 strikeouts across 33 innings with a reasonable 4.36 ERA. St. Louis has picked things up with its bats, but Arrighetti is still available at a good value.
Top Hitters
Bailey Ober has strong skills, but his shortcoming has been serving up long balls at a prolific clip. Heading into Yankee Stadium isn't likely to help that issue, so I'll target both/either Aaron Judge ($6,400) and Giancarlo Stanton ($5,000).
Jordan Westburg ($5,000) has a .513 slugging percentage across his last 10 games and draws a likely matchup against Bowden Francis (forearm). There's a limited sample on Francis in the majors this season, but he has struggled and I expect the Orioles' offense to get off to a hot start in this matchup.
Value Batters
We'll get to some more picks at Coors Field in the stacks section, but this is unsurprisingly a game to target. Brendan Rodgers ($3,500) quietly has six extra-base hits in his last 10 games. Frankie Montas also isn't an imposing matchup.
The Padres are expected to start well-regarded prospect Adam Mazur in his big-league debut. His numbers in the minors are skewed by pitching in the Pacific Coast League (PCL). Even so, I want some exposure against him in his first MLB start. The Angels aren't the easiest lineup to pick productive bats from, but Jo Adell ($3,500) has a .255 ISO and has the highest potential of the group.
Stacks to Consider
Houston Astros vs. St. Louis Cardinals (Andre Pallante): Jose Altuve ($5,500), Alex Bregman ($4,100), Yordan Alvarez ($5,100)
Pallante has an elite groundball rate, which helps him avoid barrels and home runs. However, he has just a 14.1 percent strikeout rate and a 2.8 percent K-BB ratio (primarily as a reliever) this season. With that amount of contact and traffic on the basepaths, the Astros should do some damage. Keep an eye on their lineup. This stack projects Kyle Tucker (leg) to miss the game, but that is not yet official. If he is out, Bregman should emerge as a nice value overall, including in a Houston stack.
Cincinnati Reds vs. Colorado Rockies (Ty Blach): Stuart Fairchild ($3,500), Jeimer Candelario ($4,800), Spencer Steer ($6,000)
Stacking at Coors is something of a free square but both offenses should be in a good spot to succeed Tuesday. My focus is on the Reds because there's some good value there. Fairchild should lead off against a southpaw and is very cheap given the context of the offensive environment. Candelario has been hot even before heading to Colorado, so there are decently cheap ways to fit the Reds into your lineup. It also offers an opportunity to stack a second team with Cincinnati to differentiate lineups from what could otherwise be a popular build.
