This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
Saturday's 10-game main slate is incredibly light on value pitchers, meaning prospective owners may need to take a few more liberties than usual when looking for that second arm. On the offensive side, we can find plenty of hitters to stack against fringe major league hurlers.
Pitching Overview
Charlie Morton ($11,000) is exactly what we want in a high-cost asset, as he has kept an elite K/BB ratio to go along with a 49 percent groundball rate in 24 starts. The Mariners have shown some power against right-handed pitching this year, but it should be noted that Morton has allowed just 11 homers in 143 innings.
Noah Syndergaard ($10,700) began heating up in July and has yet to cool off, as evidenced by the 11 runs he has allowed in 40.1 frames since the first of that month. The Nationals rate as a top-five offense against right-handed pitching this season, which should depress Thor's ownership for DFS players who wish to ride the wave.
Patrick Corbin ($9,800) is similarly positioned Saturday when he will take a 28 percent strikeout rate and a 46 percent groundball rate into a matchup with the Mets. The Mets have turned in a strong run over the past two weeks and now find themselves as a top-10 team in the league against left-handed pitching according to wOBA.
Sonny Gray ($9,600) has had a blistering second half to this point, notching a 2.30 ERA and 34 strikeouts in 34.1 innings. He will face a tough matchup against the Cubs, but it will be hard to overlook Gray completely due to the run he has been on of late.
Kyle Hendricks ($8,600) has shown off his pinpoint control and ability to keep the ball in the park all season but his ERA blows up by nearly three runs (4.32) when on the road, which may make some a bit squeamish, even against a Reds offense that holds a bottom-10 wOBA against right-handed pitching.
Chris Paddack ($8,400) has failed to put up at least 20 FanDuel points in two of his last three starts but he still holds a sparkling 2.28 ERA with 56 strikeouts in 47 innings at home. The Rockies have logged a .284 wOBA on the road this year, which is good for the second-lowest mark in the league.
I am certainly not here to tell you that Aaron Sanchez ($8,200) has fixed all of his problems, but there is a real dearth of quality lower-cost pitchers Saturday, which means we need to have Sanchez in our player pools after he allowed just five runs and notched 22 strikeouts over his last 16.2 innings (three starts). He will face the Orioles, who have logged a bottom-five wOBA against right-handed pitching this season.
Key Values
Marcell Ozuna ($3,800) has hit for power against both sides of the platoon but has shown a much better overall game against same-handed pitchers, as evidenced by the .366 wOBA he has logged against them in 264 at-bats. Joe Musgrove has thrown the ball a bit better on the road in 2019 but still holds a 4.50 xFIP against righty batters.
Keston Hiura ($3,700) has exploded onto the scene in his first season with the Brewers, tallying a .306/.376/.592 slash line in 196 at-bats. Newcomer Pedro Payano has the capacity for big strikeout games but showed mediocre run prevention in the minor leagues, and has allowed a .500 slugging percentage in seven innings against righty hitters.
A.J. Pollock ($3,600) hasn't hit for big power as a member of the Dodgers but he has been excellent against left-handers overall, notching a .425 wOBA in 50 at-bats. Alex Young has thrown the ball extremely well in his short big-league career, but there may be trouble on the horizon based on the fact that his xFIP is more than two full points higher than his 2.60 ERA.
Reynaldo Lopez has shown the ability to produce a good game here or there, but ultimately needs to be considered a target due to the incredible 6.27 xFIP he has logged against left-handed hitters. This makes Matt Olson ($3,400) an inviting play due to the .235 ISO he has tallied against right-handed pitching.
Hunter Renfroe ($2,900) hasn't done much against right-handed pitching aside from hit for power, but that's just what we need against Chi Chi Gonzalez, who has walked an astounding 12 batters while allowing five homers in 19.2 innings with the big club.
Stacks
Padres against Chi Chi Gonzalez (Rockies)
Hunter Renfroe (OF - $2,900) Eric Hosmer (1B - $3,300) Luis Urias (2B - $2,200)
Gonzalez has not only struggled at the major league level but was pummeled to the tune of a 6.10 ERA in 87 innings at Triple-A before being called up. I've included Urias as major salary relief due to the fact that he showed a big bat in the minors and has started August by logging a .401 wOBA in 19 at-bats.
A's against Reynaldo Lopez (White Sox)
Matt Olson (1B - $3,400) Matt Chapman (3B- $3,600) Dustin Garneau (C - $2,200)
It's unfortunate that the A's don't have more lefties for us to take advantage of Lopez' struggles, but there should still be enough meat on the bone here, as he has allowed a .472 slugging percentage to righty hitters.
