This article is part of our DraftKings MLB series.
All teams return to action Tuesday, though the main slate is limited to 10 games with a few early first pitches. We get two of the most dominant pitchers of the season on the mound, though the middle and lower end of the pitcher pool is fairly thin. That means the most common build is likely to be slanted toward paying up at pitcher and finding value bats. In cash games, lean into that build. In tournaments, it will make sense to take some chances on cheaper pitching and pay up for premium stacks that are likely to go under-rostered.
Pitchers
Both Spencer Strider ($12,300) and Gerrit Cole ($11,200) are on the mound, giving a fairly obvious two top pitchers to work with Tuesday. Neither is an ideal matchup, as Strider draws the Dodgers and Cole the Orioles, with both starts coming at home. Overall, I'd side with Strider due to his personal strikeout upside (41.2 K%) and the tendencies of the lineups, as the Dodgers strike out more as a team as compared to the Orioles.
The middle class of pitchers on Tuesday is thin, but Eduardo Rodriguez ($8,300) is a pretty clear exception. He had a relatively poor start his last time out against Pittsburgh, but prior to that, he had topped 25 DK points in four of five starts. Against a Royals' lineup that strikes out at the seventh-highest rate, in the league Rodriguez is a pretty obvious play and is likely to be rostered accordingly.
Though not quite in punt territory, both Drew Smyly ($7,300) and Eury Perez ($7,100) are cheap options to consider. Smyly draws a tough matchup against the Mets, though he's shown some upside relative to his price this season (25.1, 18.5, 18.2 DK points in three of his last four starts). Meanwhile, Perez has delivered early on in his MLB career. He has the second-highest strikeout rate (33.3%) of the available arms, though we do need to add in the small sample caveat. He draws a start at Coors Field, which is likely the only thing holding him back from a higher price tag and higher roster rate.
Top Hitters
J.P. France came back to earth his last time out against the Cubs, and his 15.2 K% and 2.4 HR/9 certainly suggest things will get worse for him rather than better. Milwaukee is a team to target Tuesday, and fairly obvious choice in the lineup is still Christian Yelich ($4,500).
Yordan Alvarez ($6,200) is the fourth-most expensive hitting option and is quite pricey. He's in a good spot to produce Tuesday, however, as he draws a matchup against Colin Rea who has only a 19.2 K% and has served up 1.7 HR/9.
Value Bats
Jose Caballero ($2,500) has made quite a splash with his bat across the last two days by homering in consecutive games. He's in an excellent matchup Tuesday against Luis Medina of the Athletics, who has allowed at least one home run in all three of his big-league starts and multiple homers on two occasions.
Xavier Edwards ($2,800) has benefitted from injuries to become a near everyday player for the Marlins. He hits low in the order, but for his price in a matchup at Coors Field against Austin Gomber, that can be overlooked.
Stacks to Consider
Miami Marlins vs. Colorado Rockies (Austin Gomber): Garrett Cooper ($5,000), Luis Arraez ($5,500), Jorge Soler ($5,400)
The Marlins let us down Monday night, but I'm willing to turn right back to them thanks to a matchup against Gomber, who has the lowest strikeout and highest SIERA of any pitcher on the main slate Tuesday. He also has a 9.2% percent walk rate and a 1.8 HR/9. There's not much on paper to push us away from the Marlins. The primary issue is that the lineup is priced all the way up and doesn't have much upside. There's some nice correlation between rostering Perez and this stack in a tournament contest.
Houston Astros vs. Milwaukee Brewers (Colin Rea): Jose Altuve ($5,300), Alex Bregman ($4,900), Yordan Alvarez ($6,200)
Rea is another fairly easy pitcher to target, as he has our favorite combination of low strikeout rate (19.2%), high walk rate (10%) and high homer rate (1.7 HR/9). The top of the Astros' order is fully back thanks to the return of Jose Altuve, and the lineup should put up runs in bunches. They'll be in a good spot to do so Tuesday. The downside of this stack is that it is also priced up, so it forces rosters into a specific type of build.
Cheap options: For those looking for cheaper hitter stacks, consider Milwaukee vs. J.P. France and Detroit vs. Daniel Lynch
