This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
Saturday features a lot of baseball, but FanDuel is really threading the needle. The main slate of contests consists of 10 games starting between 4:05 p.m. ET and 7:15 p.m. ET. By the end of the night, you'll know what kind of DFS success you've had. With that in mind, here are my lineup recommendations.
Pitching
Zack Wheeler, PHI vs. ARI ($10,500): Wheeler has been stellar after a slow start to the season, posting an 1.61 ERA over his last seven starts. Not only that, he has an 1.73 ERA at home this year. Arizona has a hitter-friendly ballpark, but it is on the road, and it ranks 24th in runs scored.
Eric Lauer, MIL at WAS ($10,400): Lauer is the latest breakout pitcher in the Brewers rotation. He's posted a 2.38 ERA and struck out 10.32 batters per nine innings. The Nationals have a strong team batting average, but with a lack of power they rank 19th in runs scored.
Zach Plesac, CLE vs. OAK ($8,100): Plesac is a good chance to save some salary. It's all about the matchup. Technically, the Athletics rank 28th in runs scored, but they have played four more games than the Pirates. On a per-game basis, they are decidedly in 29th. They are definitely 29th in team OPS, somehow only managing a .598 on that front.
Top Targets
Trea Turner ($4,200) is an elite base stealer, and he has 13 swiped bags already. However, he's also hit .301 and has seven home runs. The Giants are starting Jarlin Garcia, but he has never started a game before, so I am expecting him to serve as an opener and go two innings at most. Turner is a righty, though, and he hits both lefties and righties well, so I don't fear how the pitching lineup rolls out for the Giants.
With one half of a doubleheader you never know, but let's assume for the sake of this article Manny Machado ($3,900) will be in the lineup for the Padres. He has 10 home runs and seven stolen bases, and since 2020 he has a .963 OPS at home. Not only is this game in San Diego, but Ryan Feltner also has a 5.85 ERA.
Bargain Bats
Although Jeremy Pena ($2,800) is no longer outperforming Carlos Correa, he's still slotted nicely into the Astros' lineup. The rookie has slashed .276/.328/.459 with eight homers and four stolen bases. He'll get to face Braxton Garrett, who has a career 5.60 ERA.
You don't need a catcher on FanDuel, but there is a reason MJ Melendez ($2,700) is often slotted in at DH. The rookie has an .844 OPS with six home runs in 33 games. In his first season as a starter, Tyler Wells has a 4.45 FIP and has only struck out 5.48 hitters per nine innings. Melendez is going to make contact.
Stacks to Consider
Blue Jays at Tigers (Beau Brieske): Bo Bichette ($3,900), Alejandro Kirk ($3,000), Teoscar Hernandez ($2,700)
Due to injuries at pitcher, the Tigers are kind of stuck with Brieske in their rotation. That's not ideal, given that he's got a 6.54 FIP and has allowed 2.57 home runs per nine innings. The Blue Jays have a righty-heavy lineup, but that's a good thing here. Brieske has let righties hit .295 against him.
Bichette is up to 10 homers and four stolen bases after having 29 of the former and 25 of the latter last season. He's gotten there by getting red hot, as he has a 1.026 OPS over the last three weeks. Kirk is another ostensible catcher who DHs, and he's slashed .327/.407/.484 with five home runs. Hernandez hit 32 home runs and stole 12 bases last year, and while he got off to a slow start to the season he's turned things around. Over the last two weeks he has a .998 OPS.
Braves vs. Pirates (Zach Thompson): Ronald Acuna ($4,300), Matt Olson ($3,600), Dansby Swanson ($3,400)
Thompson is only in his second season, but already on his second team. It's easy to see why, as he has a 4.80 FIP. Not only that, he has a 6.11 ERA on the road. A trip to Atlanta? Yeah, that likely won't bode well for Thompson.
Acuna has returned from injury and has immediately reminded us that he is one of the, let's say, five best players in baseball. He's slashed .319/.412/.522 with five homers and 11 stolen bases in 30 games. Olson has excellent on-base skills, and this year he has a.359 OBP. The lefty also has an .851 OPS against right-handed pitchers in 2022. Swanson has been the breakout hitter for the Braves in 2022. The one-time first-overall pick has slashed .286/.354/.446 with seven home runs and nine stolen bases.
Yankees vs. Cubs (Matt Swarmer): Anthony Rizzo ($3,700), Giancarlo Stanton ($3,400), Joey Gallo ($2,400)
Swarmer has only made two MLB starts. He has a 1.50 ERA, but a 5.31 ERA. Why? Because He's allowed 2.25 home runs per nine innings, and in his first start he allowed three unearned runs. This will also be his first time on the road. Given the circumstances, I've brought a stack with power.
Rizzo has 14 home runs, and while he has slowed down from a hot start, he still has a .959 OPS at home. Over the last two seasons Stanton has slashed .273/.350/.516. Last year he hit 35 home runs, and this year he's added 12 through 46 games. Gallo hasn't hit above the Mendoza line since 2019, but that hasn't stopped him from hitting home runs. He had 38 last year, after all. This year he has eight, and also a .768 OPS against righties.
