Yahoo DFS Baseball: Saturday Picks

Yahoo DFS Baseball: Saturday Picks

This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Baseball series.

Saturday's MLB Main slate features 10 games and begins at 7:05 PM Eastern time. Below, you'll find which individual pitchers and hitters are primed to provide the best value, as well as the top lineup stacking options in this slate.

Pitching Overview

This slate is mostly lacking in bonafide top-flight pitchers outside of Tampa Bay's Charlie Morton ($54) in Seattle, so expect to see some bargain-hunting on the mound.

Aaron Sanchez ($29) became the latest pitcher to show improvement after joining the Astros, and it didn't take long. The former Blue Jays' starter tossed six no-hit innings in his Houston debut after coming over at the trade deadline, and he gets a great opportunity to build on that success against an Orioles club with the second-worst record in the league.

Another enticing affordable option looks to be Cardinals veteran Adam Wainwright ($34). He's posted some of the league's most polarized home/road splits, with a 2.26 ERA in 59.2 home innings and a 6.96 mark over 54.1 frames on the road. He'll be at home for this clash with a Pirates team that sports the second-worst record in the National League.

Those with a bit more spending power should lend consideration to Noah Syndergaard ($42) of the surging Mets at home against Washington. Thor has been surging himself, with a 1.78 ERA, 1.78 FIP and 39:8 K:BB over 35.1 innings over his last five starts.

Value Plays/Chalk

The Astros, Brewers and Diamondbacks are primed for success in their respective favorable matchups, but there also some strong value plays to be found outside of those three stackable lineups.

The White Sox don't exactly scare many pitchers, but third baseman Ryan Goins ($11) has been a pleasant surprise for the team with a .292/.393/.472 line in 22 games. Chicago's two-hole hitter should keep rolling against A's righty Tanner Roark, who has surrendered a .397 wOBA to batters from the left side this season.

Padres' first baseman and cleanup hitter Eric Hosmer ($13) is another affordable left-handed slugger primed to find success against a pitcher who struggles to retire hitters from that side. The 45 left-handed batters to face Colorado's Chi Chi Gonzalez have produced a whopping .464 wOBA.

With a wOBA just under .400 against righties, Twins' second baseman Luis Arraez ($11) is criminally underpriced heading into a home matchup with Cleveland's Adam Plutko and his 4.55 ERA and 5.85 FIP.

Stacks 

Astros vs. Aaron Brooks (Orioles)

Michael Brantley (OF - $22), Yordan Alvarez (OF - $26), Carlos Correa (SS - $23)

Sanchez should get plenty of support from Houston's offense against Brooks, who enters with a 5.45 ERA and 5.58 FIP. Brantley and Alvarez both represent left-handed hitters who have pounded righties - the former has almost managed a .400 wOBA in that split, while the latter is near .450. Correa has recorded a .370 wOBA in righty-on-right matchups, and that number has been climbing now that he's at full health after battling a rib injury earlier in the season.

Brewers vs. Pedro Payano (Rangers)

Trent Grisham (OF - $13), Mike Moustakas (3B - $13), Yasmani Grandal (C - $11)

Payano has looked incredibly wild, recording seven walks in 9.2 innings as a starter and nine walks in 15.2 innings overall en route to a 4.92 FIP. Even with MVP candidate Christian Yelich battling a back injury, the Brewers boast the weapons to punish Payano's lack of control. Grisham was recently called up and has immediately been plopped into the leadoff spot against righties, acquitting himself well thus far. Moustakas also owns the platoon advantage and a .370 home wOBA against righties, while the switch-hitting Grandal makes for a nice choice to fill the catcher position and is walking at a robust 15.0 percent rate.

Diamondbacks vs. Kenta Maeda (Dodgers)

David Peralta (OF - $15), Ketel Marte (OF - $22), Christian Walker (1B - $16)

Maeda is in danger of losing his starting job, having posted a 5.63 ERA and 4.76 FIP over his past 11 appearances - 10 of those starts - while failing to notch a win during that stretch. Left-handed hitters have punished Maeda with an overall .347 wOBA against this year, and Arizona doesn't lack dangerous options from that side. Peralta has a .370 wOBA against righties, and the switch-hitting Marte has a .390 mark from the left side. Walker doesn't enjoy the platoon advantage, but that hasn't stopped the red-hot first baseman from posting a .366 road wOBA against righties - and an OPS over .900 since the beginning of July.

The author(s) of this article may play in daily fantasy contests including – but not limited to – games that they have provided recommendations or advice on in this article. In the course of playing in these games using their personal accounts, it's possible that they will use players in their lineups or other strategies that differ from the recommendations they have provided above. The recommendations in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of RotoWire. Sasha Yodashkin plays in daily fantasy contests using the following accounts: FanDuel: Youngsash, DraftKings: Yashdogg,Yahoo: Sasha, Fanball: Yashdogg.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sasha Yodashkin
Sasha has been contributing NFL, NHL, NBA, MLB and Tennis content to RotoWire since 2015, with an emphasis on DFS. He is a huge New York sports fan who has been playing fantasy sports since middle school.
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