This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
There are a plethora of earlier-than-normal starts Tuesday, reducing out main slate to just eight games as opposed to the usual 13 or so. Fortunately, all 16 teams have made their pitching plans known, so there shouldn't be any guesswork needed to build rosters. Weather looks pretty clean too, so we're all systems go!
Pitching
There aren't any big names taking the mound, so we may have to get a tad uncomfortable when paying up, as salaries are based on form and matchup rather than prolonged prior success. Even saying that, there's no way I can convince myself Logan Gilbert is a solid play at over $10K against an always dangerous Toronto lineup. Jameson Taillon at $9,200 figures to be very popular, and he certainly looks safe, but he's fanned only 7.3 per nine, has made it through six innings just once and Baltimore whiffs just 22.9 percent of the time, so I'm not seeing clear upside. Chad Kuhl at $8,800 in Coors Field? No thank you.
Nathan Eovaldi ($9,500) gets my stamp of approval simply because I think he'll be overlooked. It's not a plus matchup against Houston, but Eovaldi has been capable of limiting damage and should get some innings. He likely has a similar floor to Taillon, but with higher upside and a lower roster rate. Adrian Houser ($9,000) is someone to consider in GPPs. Atlanta may get Ronald Acuna back, but they look lost offensively and strike out a ton.
You could argue Jose Berrios ($7,200) is the biggest name on this slate. His form is horrible (11 runs over his last 10.0 innings) and his strikeouts are down (6.4 per nine), but Berrios averaged 32.5 FDP in his first four starts and a matchup with Seattle isn't exactly one to avoid. There's a path to 4x value at a reduced cost, and you may be forced to gamble on him if you want to find room for high-priced bats in plus spots.
Top Targets
With a lefty on the mound for Texas in Taylor Hearn, all eyes immediately turn to the Angels' lineup, and Mike Trout ($4,300) is coming in at a slightly reduced number. He carries a .529 wOBA, 263 wRC+ and .370 ISO against southpaws, giving him more upside than the surging Taylor Ward ($4,600), who is also a fine play. Stacking those two, and possibly Anthony Rendon ($3,000), can work budget-wise.
C.J. Cron ($4,000) looks like an obvious offensive anchor as well. He leads the Rockies with a .410 wOBA against righties, adding a 152 wRC+ and .258 ISO and is a decent 5-for-18 (.278) in his career against Alex Cobb, going deep three times.
Value Bats
It's almost always feast or famine with Hunter Renfroe ($3,300), but tonight, he feasts. Atlanta starter Tucker Davidson has good stuff but hasn't harnessed it yet. I expect a patient approach from Milwaukee, creating traffic atop the lineup for Renfroe to bring home. He boasts a .444 wOBA and .516 ISO against lefties to date. The only concern is how many plate appearances he gets before Davidson is removed. The Brewers' lineup doesn't have generally targetable splits against southpaws, but it's one I think will be successful Tuesday, and it offers some differentiation potential and cheaper salaries.
For the same price, we have an equally feast or famine Joc Pederson ($3,300) and his .295 ISO against righties. He also offers some exposure to the Giants in Coors Field, another team with less than sterling splits to target, but an offense we expect to produce Tuesday.
The shine is coming off Jonah Heim ($2,300) now that he's playing nearly every day, but he still has a .607 wOBA and meager 4.2 percent K rate against lefties. I'm a big fan of Angels' starter Reid Detmers, but he's making his first start after his 108-pitch no-hitter, having previously thrown more than 80 pitches just once all year. I'm passing on him as a pitching option as such, and don't mind some minor exposure to the Rangers lineup as well.
Stack to Consider
Yankees vs. Orioles (Spenser Watkins): Aaron Judge ($4,500), Giancarlo Stanton ($4,000), Josh Donaldson ($3,100)
I recognize fully you won't be able to go all in here and also use the likes of Trout and Cron, mentioned above. This slate has some really juicy matchups, and we're going to have to make choices and sacrifices. This Yankee stack figures to be awfully popular, and rightfully so. Watkins is allowing a .473 wOBA and 1.115 OPS to righties on the road, where he has a 6.59 ERA and 6.47 FIP. All three of these Yankees have a wOBA of at least .405, an ISO of at least .212 and a wRC+ of at least 176. Seems too good to be true, and not a lot of thinking outside the box, but that's not always required.
