This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
We've had some serious hits throughout this season, but I feel like I've been in a bit of a funk with this column and its selections of late. Last night, Frankie Montas let me down big time. Lets see if we can snap out of it with Saturday night's nine-game main slate. Triston McKenzie ($10,500) curiously leads five pitchers priced in five-figures, which seemingly has to make other bargains.
Pitching
I really can't justify the price tag on McKenzie, so that's going to result in very low usage at least. Shohei Ohtani ($10,400) makes far more sense if you're paying up, as he's usually at his best against the best. He'll face the Astros for the fifth time this season, and has allowed three runs and 15 hits across 24.2 innings, striking out 38. There's also a lot to like about Kevin Gausman's ($10,300) matchup against Texas. The Rangers haven't faired well against righties all year, striking out 23.8 percent of the time while ranking 27th with a .297 wOBA and 93 wRC+.
For a little savings, Jose Urquidy ($9,500) seems to make sense. The Angels strike out at a 26.8 percent clip against righties while posting just a 92 wRC+. It will be his fourth start against Los Angeles, with him having previously allowed two runs on two solo homers, and four hits across 18.0 innings, striking out 18.
Matt Manning ($8,500) is in poor form, but has a plus matchup with Kansas City. Jack Flaherty ($8,200) likely doesn't have the innings potential for a huge game but is also in a positive spot against Pittsburgh. And that's truthfully it, as the bottom of this pitching slate is pretty bad and not worth the risk. Perhaps Adrian Houser ($6,500) can give us a 3.5x return against Cincinnati if you're desperate.
Top Targets
Game stacking Colorado-Arizona in Coors Field was the winning ticket Friday, and Saturday could be much of the same with Madison Bumgarner and Jose Urena on the mound. I'm a tad more bullish on the D'Backs against Urena, so more on that below, but pieces of the Rockies is likely a must Saturday, too. C.J. Cron's ($3,800) last three hits have all left the yard, making him a tad volatile. But Bumgarner is allowing a .388 wOBA to righties on the road, and Cron is 4-for-10 off of him lifetime.
Rangers' starter Kohei Arihara has a 9.00 home ERA (6.33 FIP), allowing a .484 wOBA and 1.125 OPS to righties. There's no reason to think Bo Bichette ($4,000) cools off as a result. He's posted 17 hits in the Blue Jays' last eight games, with six homers and 17 RBI.
Finally, this looks like a decent spot to deploy Jose Ramirez ($4,000). I think he'll be overlooked amongst a slew of other top bats, has a team-best .381 wOBA against righties, and we know the Guardians will scratch against Chris Archer, who Ramirez is 6-for-14 (.429) against.
Bargain Bats
Mookie Betts and Trea Turner are usually the Dodger targets when facing a lefty, but they are a combined 9-for-42 (.214) off of Blake Snell. But with Snell always capable of combusting, perhaps Will Smith ($3,000) provides a return. He has a decent .373 wOBA and 173 wRC+ against lefties, and is 4-for-10 off Snell.
The Tigers are ignored offensively most nights, but they put up 10 runs Friday and face Jonathan Heasley's 4.98 ERA and 5.91 FIP, so maybe there's some overlooked bats here. Heasley is a tad more vulnerable to lefties, so grabbing one of Riley Greene ($3,200), Victor Reyes ($2,600) or Harold Castro ($2,200) could return at these low prices. Just don't go overboard.
Stacks to Consider
Diamondbacks vs. Rockies (Jose Urena): Daulton Varsho ($3,600), Jake McCarthy ($3,500), Corbin Carroll ($3,400)
Urena is a whipping boy more nights than not, carrying a 7.32 era and 5.72 FIP at home into Saturday. He's getting pelted by lefties, allowing a .421 wOBA and .974 OPS, and the Diamondbacks are chalked full of bats we can pick from. Varsho should absolutely anchor, as he's white hot, homering in five of his last six games (six total HRs), and his .353 wOBA is the best in this spot across the entire season. McCarthy is quite as hot with just two homers during his six-game hitting streak, but he's collected nine hits, seven RBI, five runs and four stolen bases in that stretch, giving him multiple paths to points. Carroll gives us some upside and has been terrific against righties in limited exposure, posting a .506 wOBA, 228 wRC+ and .348 ISO.
Brewers vs. Reds (Chase Anderson): Christian Yelich ($3,300), Willy Adames ($2,800), Rowdy Tellez ($2,300)
We're going cheap here and chasing power, which makes this only a GPP stack. But we certainly want some pieces from an unreliable Brewers offense Saturday. Chase Anderson has only thrown five innings this season, but has a 12.60 ERA and 9.51 FIP, having given up two homers already. We can't fall back on his splits given the very short nature of them, but we can trust that he won't last long, be it ineffectiveness or not being stretched out, giving us ample innings against the Reds' bullpen, which ranks fourth in homers allowed while having the highest ERA in the league. Yelich is our stability, with a modest .347 wOBA, while Tellez and Adames are our thump, and both overdue a long ball.
