We have another Saturday full of baseball with three slates of at least three games. The largest of those is the late afternoon contests starting at 4:05 p.m. EDT covering eight games, which will be the focus of our preview.
Pitchers
Tarik Skubal ($10,000) is set to complete his remarkable recovery from cleanup surgery on his elbow, but there's hardly any discount on his salary. He also draws a Cleveland lineup that doesn't strike out that much. Based on both factors, I'm not overly interested in using Skubal, yet it's at least worth noting he'll be starting and that will be a major MLB story.
Jacob deGrom ($10,400) is the top pitcher to build through with a slight edge over Yoshinobu Yamamoto ($10,400) carrying a higher strikeout rate by five percentage points while facing a favorable matchup against the Red Sox.
The only downside to selecting deGrom is that Ranger Suarez ($8,800) also represents a decent option. After a slow start, he's posted a 27.0 percent strikeout rate the last month paired with a 3.37 SIERA. Rostering one of Suarez and deGrom is a clear path.
Things get tricky from there. Cade Cavalli ($8,200) has spiked some big performances and has found the strike zone more of late while limiting walks. His results are still inconsistent, though he's worth considering as a boom-or-bust option versus the Mariners. Luis Castillo ($7,200) is on the other side of that matchup with very little upside, but projectable for around 15 DK points. At currently salary, that's not a terrible return.
Bubba Chandler ($6,200) represent Saturday's punt play. His valuation has fallen enough to look past the significant flaws in his skillset. He has still managed to top 20 DK points during two of his last five outings while exceeding 18 four times this year. The Marlins aren't a particularly imposing lineup, so Chandler is worth the risk for rosters looking for savings.
Find out which projected starters are going and when with RotoWire's Probable Pitchers page!
Top Hitters
Gleyber Torres ($4,300) has swung the bat well since returning from the injured list as he's accounted for double-digit DK points in six of eight games. He's also been in the top-third of the Tigers' order throughout that span and gets a matchup Saturday against Joey Cantillo, who's allowed 1.48 HR/9 with a 4.69 SIERA overall.
A solid start has quickly faded for Randy Vasquez since he's given up at least nine baserunners and three earned runs from three of his last four appearances. That puts the Orioles on the radar, with Pete Alonso ($5,300) one of their key power bats.
Value Bats
Michael Soroka has pitched well this season, yet Great American Ballpark stands out as Saturday's best hitter's park. We'll have more on Arizona soon, but Noelvi Marte ($2,200) is a solid value having started five of seven since being recalled while registering double-digit DK points during his last three.
Martin Perez has managed decent results, though lists one of the slate's lower K rates. It makes sense to add some of the cheaper Mets' bats, with one of Jacob Young ($2,700) or Mark Vientos ($2,800) slotting in at cleanup.
Stacks to Consider
Padres at Orioles (Trey Gibson): Fernando Tatis ($5,100), Jackson Merrill ($3,900), Gavin Sheets ($3,100)
The Padres are a tough offense to stack as they rank nearly last in most recent metrics. Even with that context, Saturday's matchup against Trey Gibson is too good to pass up. He's a well-regarded prospect, but played at a small college and is projected to take some time to reach his peak in the bigs. That's happened so far with a -4.1 K-BB across his first four starts. That hasn't led to a disastrous result yet, though that will come if his skills stay steady.
Diamondbacks at Reds (Rhett Lowder): Ketel Marte ($5,500), Corbin Carroll ($5,900), Gabriel Moreno ($3,800)
Arizona is another club that's slumped of late, yet they hold quality at the top of the lineup. Lowder just returned from a month-long absence and was inefficient. Dating back to before going on the IL, he's walked at least four through three straight starts. The Diamondbacks should also be helped by Great American Ballpark, so it's a good opportunity for their offense to get back on track.
Use our DraftKings MLB Lineup Optimizer to discover more expert recommendations, customize the player pool, set exposure percentage and mass-enter DFS lineups.
