This article is part of our DraftKings MLB series.
We have a more evenly spread schedule throughout the day Saturday, though the majority of games fall into a slate that begins at 4:05 pm EDT. We have eight matchups to work with, and it stands out as a light day for pitching. On the other hand, there are plenty of positive hitting environments, including Fenway Park, Great American Ballpark, Minute Maid Park and American Family Field.
Pitchers
The top tier of pitchers by salary face tough matchups. I'd be wiling to pass them up as a result, though Grayson Rodriguez ($9,700) would be the exception. He has among the better strikeout rates of the pitchers available along with the lowest SIERA. Facing the Yankees is tough at first glance, yet they've only produced a .309 wOBA the last 30 days with a 21.2 percent K rate.
Next up is Kutter Crawford ($9,300). He doesn't offer quite the same upside, but he's registered over 20 DK points from four of his last five starts with over 25 in three of those. He'll go up against the Royals, who don't strike out much but also carry an abysmal .294 wOBA the last month.
Andrew Abbott ($8,500) has overperformed his skills by a significant margin throughout the first half of the season, though he draws a dream matchup against the Marlins and their .264 wOBA against lefties this year.
Things get tricky at any salary point below Abbott, yet there's a nice floor and ceiling option in the lower tiers. Mitchell Parker ($7,500) should offer a decent floor. He's a mediocre 19.9 percent strikeout this season, though he limits damage with a 5.1 percent walk rate and 1.09 WHIP. And the Brewers are a league-average matchup versus lefties.
In contrast to Parker, Edward Cabrera ($6,900) represents a boom-or-bust option. The Reds can be a dangerous offense, though they've also struck out at a 24.5 percent rate in the last 30 days.
Top Hitters
The Nationals would be a great stacking option Saturday against Dallas Keuchel, but they struggle as a team against southpaws. The exception is Lane Thomas ($5,700), who's maintained a .426 wOBA and .213 ISO with the handedness advantage in 2024.
Mitch Spence has given up multiple homers in two of his last four starts and now heads into Citizens Bank Park to take on a Phillies' lineup back to full strength. Any of their top hitters are worth considering, including Trea Turner ($5,900) who's been red-hot.
Value Bats
Rece Hinds ($3,400) will almost certainly have significant holes in his swing exposed at some point, but for now he's hitting just about every pitch he sees. He's significantly undervalued, and his salary isn't rising fast enough.
JJ Bleday ($3,700) has gone cold of late, yet he's still Oakland's primary leadoff hitter. We don't know exactly what we'll get from Tyler Phillips as he's only logged one career big-league start, but it's worth rostering some Athletics – especially cheaper ones.
Stacks to Consider
Guardians at Rays (Zack Littell): Steven Kwan ($5,800), Angel Martinez ($3,400), Jose Ramirez ($6,500)
Littell started the season well, yet he's allowed at least six earned runs in two of his last five starts and hasn't gone more than five innings in any of them. Even if he pitches effectively, he's going to put a lot of strain on the Rays' bullpen and give Cleveland a strong chance to post some runs. The lineup has consistently been above-average this year and there's a nice combination of star power and value options.
Rangers at Astros (Spencer Arrighetti): Marcus Semien ($5,000), Corey Seager ($5,200), Josh Smith ($4,200)
The Rangers keep running into favorable matchups, but have only delivered sporadically to make this a significant risk. At the same time, Arrighetti has posted a pair of starts where he conceded at least six earned runs across his last five outings and three over 4.1 frames in another. This is a riskier stack than the Guardians, though there's still plenty of upside.
