As is usual on Saturdays, there are games sprinkled throughout the day with the bulk coming at night. That gives us eight matchups for DraftKings' main slate, which kicks off at 7:05 pm EDT. It sets up to be solid for offenses as the pitching is weak overall at a few favorable hitting parks. We'll break it all down below.
Pitchers
It's not a strong night for pitching. Jesus Luzardo ($8,800) comfortably offers the best skills of the available options, but he'll be in Colorado. His salary is significantly discounted and is probably still worthy of being rostered, though there's more risk than normal.
Most of the arms are valued in what is typically the mid-tier range. Michael Soroka ($8,100) lists the second-highest strikeout rate among the 16 starters dating back to 2025. His primary downside is a matchup against Atlanta, yet he's strong overall. Shota Imanaga ($8,400) represents another intriguing selection in the same salary range. He's likely safer than Soroka due going up against the Guardians, but his upside is limited by a modest 21.1 percent strikeout rate since the start of last season.
It's justifiable to entirely leave out the true middle class of Saturday night pitching, which brings us to three toward the bottom of the pool. Ryan Weathers ($6,700) only managed to throw 4.1 innings during his initial start, though struck out seven and only gave up one run. And a matchup against the Marlins isn't intimidating. Emerson Hancock ($6,600) was the talk of fantasy managers after delivering a dominant outing on Sunday Night Baseball. His encore will be against the Angels, a club that's likely to strike out a lot. Rhett Lowder ($6,800) doesn't look to have quite the same upside as the aforementioned duo, but he turned in five strong frames in his first appearance and will be working at pitcher-friendly Globe Life Park against a top-heavy Rangers lineup.
See which projected starters are going and when with RotoWire's Probable Pitchers page!
Top Hitters
The top of the Cubs' order has performed as expected so far and should have a good chance to keep things rolling Saturday against Slade Cecconi as he allowed six earned runs from his first start with a 1.65 HR/9 since the beginning of 2025. Pete Crow-Armstrong ($5,400), Michael Busch ($5,100) and Ian Happ ($4,200) should all be in play.
Ben Rice ($4,700) is living up to his preseason hype, yet oddly hasn't seen his salary rise that much. That will likely change in the next week or so, meaning now is the time to roster him at a discount.
Value Bats
The Guardians have yet to face a lefty this season, so selecting Angel Martinez ($3,000) requires some projection. Per RotoWire's expected lineup, he's set to hit second when Cleveland takes on Shota Imanaga. That alone makes Martinez a decent value while a solid .159 ISO and .342 wOBA against left-handed pitching last year only furthers his case.
Tampa's notorious for shuffling their roster, though Jake Fraley ($2,500) has held a prominent role by batting third or fourth in four of five games against righties. Meanwhile, Mick Abel has struggled - albeit in a small sample - against left-handed hitters early on (.400 wOBA, 2.86 HR/9, 1.77 WHIP) to make Fraley a nice salary-saving selection.
Stacks to Consider
Mariners at Angels (Jack Kochanowicz): Cal Raleigh ($5,600), Julio Rodriguez ($5,100), Josh Naylor ($4,100)
Kochanowicz's skillset is perfect to target in DFS. Over the last 24 starts, he's posted an 11.8 percent walk rate, 14.0 percent strikeout rate and a 1.64 HR/9. In other words, he allows a lot of traffic on the basepaths, serves up a lot of long balls and struggles to generate Ks. The heart of the Mariners' lineup is fairly expensive, though they won't be hard to fit in Saturday night due to the number of potential pitching values.
Phillies at Rockies (Chase Dollander): Trea Turner ($5,600), Bryce Harper ($5,300), Kyle Schwarber ($6,500)
This is a pretty easy call, but it still can't be ignored. Dollander began the season in the bullpen, yet will now shift to the rotation due to a hamstring injury that sent Jose Quintana to the injured list. Regardless of the role, Dollander remains vulnerable. Only Kochanowicz has a worse K-BB% since the start of 2025 among the starters on this slate and his 1.85 HR/9 is also second-worst among the pool. Add in the context of this game being at Coors Field and a matchup against a strong Phillies' roster primed to rack up some runs.
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