This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
We're entering the final week of the regular season, with FanDuel featuring 10 games on their Tuesday evening main slate, starting at 7.05 p.m. EDT. We likely need to pay slightly more attention to what teams are playing for at this juncture, but can also find value in offenses where their opposing starters could go through the motions. We've got just two pitchers priced in five figures Tuesday, but five more in the $9,000 range.
We've got Coors' Field on the docket, obviously giving us our highest run total at 10.5, but no other game checks in north of 8.5 runs. Astros-Mariners is our low point at 7.0 runs, unsurprising given two top starters there. Rain is likely in Chicago but will be more of a nuisance than a concern. Winds look to be inbound there and in New York, while outbound in Oakland and Los Angeles.
Pitching
Spencer Schwellenbach, ATL vs. NYM ($9,100): What I think I know about the top of this pitching slate is that the easy answer is Bailey Ober at $10,300 against the Marlins, and the option no one will target is Michael King at $9,500 against the Dodgers. Take that as you will. If you aren't going the obvious route, you'll need upside at a lower price to combat it, and Schwellenbach appears to offer that. He's posted consecutive quality starts, striking out 11 across his last 12 innings. He earned wins in both of those, giving him 40 fantasy point potential, but we don't need that bonus for a fair return at this salary. Schwellenbach faced the Mets back in July and struck out 11 in seven shutout innings. It's a huge game for both sides' playoff chances, so I'll back the rookie to rise to the moment. I have interest in Luis Severino ($8,900) as his adversary as well, with a seemingly safer floor but less upside.
Logan Webb, SF at ARI ($8,500): This is another game where I have interest in both sides of the pitching matchup. I'll back Webb here for the very slight price reduction on Brandon Pfaadt, as both have a history of success against their opponent. Webb hasn't been great of late, allowing at least three runs in five straight starts, but he counters that by allowing just a .246 batting average (41-for-167) against this lineup with a .604 OPS. The strikeouts haven't been there at just 19.1 percent, so Webb will need to rediscover his high-end form from earlier in the year in order to reduce damage and work six-plus innings.
Jack Kochanowicz, LAA at CWS ($7,000): It's always easy to find the White Sox and highlight the opposing pitcher, but there are elements to like about Kochanowicz outside of the friendly matchup. He's been a lock for innings volume, going six or more in six of his last seven with the outlier resulting in 5.2 frames. It's resulted in six quality starts, and that kind of volume and potential is rarely available at this price. Now pair that with the matchup, which Kochanowicz just had in his last start, and we get some upside. He allowed one run over seven innings in his last start against the White Sox, resulting in 37 fantasy points. Just check the weather and make sure this starts cleanly.
Top Targets
The pricing on Shohei Ohtani ($5,200) and Aaron Judge ($4,900) remain absurdly productive and absurdly expensive, but it's hard to fade both given their forms. Judge is 4-for-13 (.308) with three homers off Orioles' starter Dean Kremer. Ohtani is 5-for-12 (.417) with three homers off King. Perhaps it's even feasible to roster both if you like one of the lower-tier pitchers.
Fernando Tatis ($3,700) remains as hot as any hitter not named Judge or Ohtani, but he isn't priced as such. He's hitting .320 with six homers, 11 RBI and a 1.163 OPS over his last 11 games.
Rockies' starter Ryan Feltner is allowing a .383 wOBA and .896 OPS to lefties at Coors Field. Any of Alec Burleson ($3,500), Brendan Donovan ($3,500) or Lars Nootbaar ($3,300) give us reasonably affordable shares of the action at altitude.
Bargain Bats
Luisangel Acuna ($2,300) will remain a fixture in this section so long as he's in the lineup. He's got nine hits, six for extra bases, over his last six games.
Nolan Schanuel ($2,800) has a 13-game hitting streak. He's only managed three extra-base hits, nine RBI and five runs scored in that stretch, so there's minimal upside but he's a seemingly stable option to round out lineups.
The Yankees have the slate's highest non-Coors Field run expectancy, so if we're not paying for Judge, secondary pieces are advisable. Jasson Dominguez ($2,900) offers a nice power ceiling, and Gleyber Torres ($2,900) is hitting .324 over his last seven, collecting 11 hits and seven runs.
Stacks to Consider
Twins vs. Ryan Weathers (Marlins): Carlos Correa ($3,300), Royce Lewis ($3,100), Carlos Santana ($2,900)
Weathers hasn't been bad as a starter, and doesn't have targetable splits, but the Twins do against lefties and are too cheap to not consider loading up on. Weathers also allowed five runs and eight hits in his last start and is likely still working towards a groove after returning from IL. Correa sits with a robust .407 wOBA, 171 wRC+ and .282 ISO off lefties. Santana goes .393/161/.305 and Lewis .347/128/.200. It's likely a 2-3-4, heart of the order traditional stack at a very affordable cost, even if none of the three are in good form. It's a very winnable game for a team that remains in the playoff chase.
Blue Jays vs. Brayan Bello (Red Sox): Vladimir Guerrero ($3,700), George Springer ($3,000), Nathan Lukes ($2,900)
I unsuccessfully stacked the Blue Jays too many times throughout the season and swore them off, but I'll dip back in one last time. Bello has been okay of late, allowing just two runs over his last 11.0 innings and worked eight shutout innings against Toronto in late August, so this is GPP only for certain. Guerrero and Springer are the only two Jays to face Bello more than nine times, and are a collective 17-for-45 (.378) with three homers off of him. Springer hasn't gone deep since August 26, so I wouldn't blame you for fading him. Bello is allowing a .360 wOBA to lefties on the road, by far his most targetable split. Enter Lukes, who could hit second between these two. If moving off Springer, Spencer Horwitz ($2,800) offers a second lefty to target that split while still likely hitting near the top of the order.
