This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Baseball series.
It's a weird slate on Saturday with the top few pitchers not having great matchups and the rest being a mix of mediocre and bad options. I parsed through the matchups and found a couple cheaper arms in decent spots that should rack up strikeouts at a minimum. And with cheaper pitchers come expensive bats.
PITCHER
Tyler Mahle, CIN vs. MIA ($34): Mahle has had some bad outings, but he's also hit 29 fantasy points in three of his six starts. More impressive is that he's carved through decent lineups in his last two starts with 18 strikeouts against the Twins and Braves. The Marlins are still at the bottom of most lists against righties with a .092 ISO and .267 wOBA to go with a 24.8 K%.
Trevor Cahill, OAK vs. BAL ($37): Conveniently, I'm going against the second-worst lineup in the league against righties in the Orioles, who have a higher 25.1 K% and equally bad .280 wOBA. Cahill has done well to hold fantasy value against good lineups and has reached 15 fantasy points in all three of his starts. The last time he faced a below-average lineup was when he went through the White Sox for eight strikeouts in seven innings.
CATCHER
Omar Narvaez, CWS vs. MIN ($7): You need at least one lefty in your lineup against Lance Lynn, and Narvaez is my pick as long as Welington Castillo continues to miss time with stomach pain. Narvaez doesn't cost a thing and had a decent .324 wOBA against right-handers last season. Lynn hasn't done many things right this season with 17 runs allowed in his last three starts and a negative-11.1 K-BB% against lefty bats. In a bigger sample, Lynn was still bad in 2017 against lefties with a 5.93 xFIP.
[Join a Yahoo Daily Fantasy Baseball contest or league today]
FIRST BASE
Cody Bellinger, LAD at SD ($20): Bellinger is a good spot to spend against a pitcher who has given up at least three runs in his last four starts to go with a negative-6.4 K-BB%. Bryan Mitchell doesn't have a ton of experience in the majors, but his .341 wOBA allowed to 237 lefties faced isn't good. Bellinger should take advantage of that with a career .300 ISO against righties.
SECOND BASE
Brian Dozier, MIN at CWS ($16): I had Yoan Moncada here until he left with a hamstring injury Friday night. Dozier can at least provide the same power against a pitcher who is starting out of necessity. Hector Santiago couldn't make it five innings in his only start this season and all eight of his appearances have come in White Sox losses. As a starter last year, Santiago managed a 5.71 xFIP against right-handed batters. That'll do for Dozier, who rocked southpaws for a .303 ISO and .437 wOBA last season.
THIRD BASE
Jeimer Candelario, DET at KC ($18): Candelario is a switch hitter with better numbers against righty arms. He already has 13 extra-base hits against right-handers this season and sports a solid .355 wOBA against them in his career. Jason Hammel was blown up for eight runs in his previous start and while he went nine against the Tigers a couple weeks ago, Candelario was one of the few with a hit. Hammel also had a poor 5.15 xFIP against lefty bats last season.
SHORTSTOP
Jurickson Profar, TEX vs. BOS ($11): Profar has shown a bit more pop this season and most of that has come against southpaws. He doesn't cost much and faces Eduardo Rodriguez, who struggled against the Royals last time out. The lefty hurler has three wins, but that's mostly due to the bats behind him. His career 4.41 xFIP against righties is subpar and should help Profar.
OUTFIELD
Christian Yelich, MIL vs. PIT ($19): Since Jameson Taillon fell apart three starts ago, I've been using at least one bat against him. Yelich gets the call in this one after last season's .359 wOBA against righties. Taillon has given up 15 runs in his last three starts and has a career .331 wOBA allowed against lefty bats.
J.D. Martinez, BOS at TEX ($24): If you have the money, Mookie Betts is always the play if you want someone from the Red Sox, but for a few bucks cheaper, Martinez could be just as good in this game. He's been roping with 17 hits (three homers) in his last 10 games and, more important, destroyed southpaws for a .516 ISO and .531 wOBA last season. Cole Hamels isn't having a bad season, but he's already given up eight home runs to right-handers and had a 5.01 xFIP against them last year.
Alex Verdugo, LAD at SD ($12): Verdugo is the place to go for a cheap outfielder in a great spot. At the least, Verdugo has supplied four doubles in eight hits this season and faces a struggling Mitchell that has a career 4.97 xFIP against lefty bats. Mitchell has also walked more batters than he's struck out this season.
