This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
Tuesday's main slate at FanDuel has a pretty full 12 games, and gets underway at 7:10 p.m. EDT. Of the 24 listed pitchers, only two come with five-digit price tags and only four more are priced at $9,000 or greater. But scoring remains down across the league, a season-long trend, and we've only got two games with run totals of nine or greater, lead by Yankees-Royals at 9.5. As such, we should be able to find serviceable pitching in the middle tier.
Overall, weather does not appear to be a major factor here. We're largely dry, and while wind is expected to be blowing out in multiple ballparks, it seems to be in the single-digit mph range, with the possible exception being in Kansas City. Perhaps that high run total could be aided by gusts carrying balls out.
Pitching
Tylor Megill, NYM vs. MIA ($9,200): Seattle's Bryan Woo is the clear and obvious option for all formats, and the only reason to fade him would be high roster percentages. Paul Skenes stands out at the top of the pitching ranks as well. But if we're looking to be different for GPPs, Megill merits attention. He's striking out a career-high 10.3 per nine and his 3.00 ERA comes with a 2.91 FIP. Miami is targetable for pitching nightly, and enters Tuesday with a .292 wOBA and 88 wRC+ off righties. The Marlins lineup has had some success against Megill (.267 BA, .905 OPS) but have fanned at a 29.4 percent mark when facing him. He'll come with incredibly low usage, and has a chance to return 4x in this matchup.
Triston McKenzie, CLE at CIN ($8,400): McKenzie has allowed 12 runs in his last 15.1 innings, and with this game coming in Great American Ball Park, it has combustibility written all over it. But despite the damage allowed, McKenzie has shown a 21 fantasy point floor in that stretch, and has just two games in 12 starts with less than that number. He's averaging just 8.8 Ks per nine, but has 21 over this three-game stretch, which elevates his floor. Cincinnati comes with a massive 26.5 percent strikeout rate off righties while posting just a .298 wOBA, 87 wRC+ and .154 ISO. McKenzie can allow some damage and still provide a return, and there's a path against a weak offense that offers a ceiling, even if we haven't seen it recently.
Miles Mikolas, STL vs. PIT ($7,800): Mikolas is usually an arm I like to target bats against, but he's quietly earned three-straight quality starts, with four in his last five and five in his last seven. Current Pirates are hitting .286 (34-for-119) with just a .740 OPS and equally minor 18.0 percent strikeout rate, but for this price, we're not expecting a huge ceiling. Further, the head-to-head statistics are skewed by Rowdy Tellez having success here, which we aren't expecting Tuesday. Mikolas has a serviceable 3.98 xFIP and looks to be in a spot for a solid 3-4x return showing.
Top Targets
Given the high run expectations and possible winds, building around Aaron Judge ($5,000), Juan Soto ($4,400) or even Bobby Witt ($4,500) makes sense, but they are the three highest-priced bats.
Perhaps that allows us to pivot to the Dodgers for lower usage and cost. Texas' Dane Dunning is allowing a .370 wOBA to lefties on the road, putting Shohei Ohtani ($4,300) and a surging Freddie Freeman ($3,700) at the forefront.
Buried amongst all the obvious candidates is Jose Ramirez ($4,200). He seems like he drives in a run nightly, will hit in a favorable ballpark and should get at least one at-bat against lefty opener Brent Suter
Bargain Bats
For as obvious as Woo seems to be on the mound, stacking Diamondbacks' bats against Jose Suarez seems similarly obvious, as they rake against lefties. But Suarez isn't stretched out, so I'd prefer grabbing a share or two and not overloading. Ketel Marte ($3,600) has 12 hits in his last seven and Christian Walker ($3,000) has hit safely in eight of his last 10. Use one or both to go with roster trends.
I like Philadelphia bats a good deal here. Boston starter Kutter Crawford has allowed 15 runs across his last 16.1 innings, has shown more vulnerable at home and to right-handed bats. Alec Bohm ($3,300) and/or J.T. Realmuto ($3,000) profile favorably as a result.
Toronto-Milwaukee makes for an interesting game stack. I don't trust either offense, but I trust both starting pitchers less. Toronto's Yusei Kikuchi is allowing a .380 wOBA to righties on the road, so perhaps Willy Adames ($3,300) or Rhys Hoskins ($3,100) are worth consideration despite poor form. On the other side, Milwaukee will debut Carlos Rodriguez, who had a 5.17 ERA and 5.13 xFIP in Triple-A. Bo Bichette ($2,900) and George Springer ($2,700) offer cheap entry points to the Blue Jays lineup.
Stacks to Consider
Angels vs. Jordan Montgomery (Diamondbacks): Luis Rengifo ($3,100), Kevin Pillar ($2,900), Logan O'Hoppe ($2,900)
Montgomery is laboring, especially at his new home park, where he has an 8.46 ERA (6.24 FIP), allowing 2.0 HR/9, and a .461 wOBA and 1.074 OPS to righties. The Angels come with five healthy options with a wOBA of .373 or greater against lefties, and they are all priced down, so this looks like a great spot to take a chance on a stack for GPPs. Rengifo has stand alone appeal; he comes with three-position eligibility and a .467 wOBA, 206 wRC+ and .200 ISO off lefties. Pillar continues to mash southpaws with a .587 wOBA, 280 wRC+ and .400 ISO. We know these two will be locked into the top/heart of the order. The third piece will depend on the Angels' lineup construction. Taylor Ward ($2,800) is in terrible form, but he's a lineup mainstay with the better splits. O'Hoppe should hit in a favorable position as well with less appealing splits, but better form. Simply put, take the first two, and see what third piece makes sense on your build based on who hits one through five.
Padres vs. JP Sears (Athletics): Fernando Tatis ($4,000), Jurickson Profar ($3,500), Manny Machado ($3,100)
Perhaps I've buried the lead here, as Tatis is amongst the hottest hitters in baseball and has stand alone appeal. He's riding a 16-game hitting streak, collecting 26 total hits and five homers in that span, with three of those long balls coming in the last four games. Profar continues to have an excellent season and boasts a .436 wOBA and 192 wRC+ off lefties. Machado doesn't have elite splits but still carries an above average 105 wRC+ off lefties into Tuesday, helps balance the budget in this stack and gives a third middle/top of the order piece. Sears has been a serviceable pitcher overall, but has a 4.43 road ERA (4.60 xFIP) while allowing 1.5 HR/9 to righties away from Oakland. If we can get one long ball from this trio with one or two others on base, we're cooking.
