This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
14 games are offered on FanDuel's main slate Tuesday, with only Miami vs. Philadelphia starting early. It's trade deadline day, so we need to be somewhat mindful of rumored players being pulled from lineups, but overall, there's ample choices.
Only San Diego is currently without a listed pitcher. A whopping six arms come in with salaries at $10,000 or higher, with five more in the $9,000 tier, representing about 41 percent of our options.
Weather across the slate looks very clear, with the only real potential for rain coming in Colorado, though a postponement would be surprising. Wind could be helpful there, as well as San Francisco and Kansas City. The ball has been jumping in Atlanta, but winds are expected to be blowing in. Run totals are under eight in San Francisco and Seattle, and we have no double-digit totals currently listed, though that's almost a guarantee in Colorado, and probable in Los Angeles.
Lance Lynn ($9,400) is far and away the obvious play on the mound. He's been shelled for 17 runs across his last 16.2 innings, but he's in such a favorable spot against Oakland and has a new team that should give him plenty of run support. The cap hit isn't awful, but the focus of this column will be to differentiate from him. In cash games, he's going to come with huge usage rates.
Pitchers
Framber Valdez, HOU vs. CLE ($10,000): Valdez's form is as bad as Lynn's, and he's allowed 15 runs across his last 15.0 innings. Cleveland also doesn't strike out much (18.0 percent), so there doesn't appear to be much upside at this salary. The Guardians are also 28th in the league with a .297 wOBA and 87 wRC+, though. I expect many to pass here, but a bounce-back effort is almost overdue. Valdez is lined up for a quality start, even if the Ks aren't plentiful.
Josiah Gray, WSH vs. MIL ($8,900): Now we're on to an arm that's in great form. Gray has three 40+ FDP outings in his last six, four times allowing one run or none. He's only topped six strikeouts once in that span, but that could play up against a Milwaukee side that whiffs at a 23.8 percent clip against righties, and damage should be limited given their 88 wRC+.
Johan Oviedo, PIT vs. DET ($8,800): Between the names above and Jose Quintana ($8,200), we have five arms that all seem to be in plus spots, putting them on the radar as my preferred choices to build around. Oviedo lands here as a GPP upside pivot. Detroit has the statistically worst offense against righties, bringing a .288 wOBA, 82 wRC+, .132 ISO and 24.3 percent K rate into the day. Oviedo has three 40+ FDP games in his last six and a 10.3 K/9, speaking to his potential. He's also made three total fantasy points in two of those last six, speaking to the risk.
Top Targets
It feels like it's been a while since we can lock and load Ozzie Albies ($3,900) against a lefty starter, but we've got that Tuesday. Albies has a .448 wOBA, 183 wRC+ and meager 11.0 percent soft contact rate and 12.8 percent K rate against southpaws. We know he'll have traffic in front of him, and run producers behind him, even with Patrick Sandoval having allowing only four runs across his last 17.1 innings.
Perhaps we get lower usage than we should from Freddie Freeman ($4,400). A's starter Ken Waldichuk is allowing a .435 wOBA and 1.051 OPS to lefties on the road, and Freeman comes with a .438 wOBA and 180 wRC+ agianst same-handed arms. With the rest of the Dodgers top bats uncertain to play, Freeman is a set it and forget it player.
Bargain Bats
Ryan Mountcastle ($3,000) hasn't been an everyday player since returning from vertigo, but he looks to be getting his rhythm back with hits in 10 of his last 13. He has a team-best .417 wOBA, 171 wRC+ and .341 ISO against lefties.
Bobby Witt ($3,400) isn't priced as a huge bargain, but he isn't too expensive either. If you're not sold on Quintana's okay first two starts, Witt is the Royal to target with a .377 wOBA against lefties. He's feast or famine, but he has nine hits, two homers and nine RBI in his last three games.
Carlos Rodon was better in his last outing, but he's still allowed 13 earned runs across 20.1 innings and isn't striking many out. Tampa offers us some positive splits against lefties for cheap. Yandy Diaz ($3,100) has a .408 wOBA, 170 wRC+ and .227 ISO, while Harold Ramirez ($2,800) sits at .419/177/.234.
Stacks to Consider
Padres vs. Peter Lambert: Juan Soto ($4,100), Ha-Seong Kim ($3,600), Trent Grisham ($3,200)
Lambert has an 8.10 ERA at Coors Field, though just a 4.86 xFIP, but that's against a 2.13 road ERA. He's been equally bad against hitters on both sides of the plate, allowing a .501 wOBA and 1.190 OPS to lefties, and a .468/1.175 to righties, so we can target essentially anyone from San Diego. I tried to get creative and build outside of Soto, but he's just too obvious a play here, with a team-leading .427 wOBA and 175 wRC+. Kim is hot and hits atop the order, collecting knocks in seven straight and nine of 10. Grisham could allow us some differentiation. His splits aren't great, but he's put up at least nine fantasy points in two straight, three of four, and five of nine. Likely hitting ninth, he'll give us a 9-1-3 lineup stack, allowing for some synergy after the first time through the order.
Rangers vs. Jesse Scholtens/bullpen: Marcus Semien ($3,700), Adolis Garcia ($3,600), Nathaniel Lowe ($3,300)
The White Sox will attempt to piece together eight or nine innings here, and I think they will be rather unsuccessful. Given that uncertainty on the mound, we can't freely target splits. As such, we'll simply grab the top of the Rangers lineup and let them go to work. Lowe has the best splits against righties, sitting with a .377 wOBA and 143 wRC+, and we'll assume he'll get a few looks at them regardless of who comes out of the White Sox depleted bullpen. Garcia is priced down thanks to some inconsistent outings, but he's an RBI machine capable of producing big games, making him great for tournaments. Semien sits with just a .339 wOBA, but he gives us a third top of the order bat and has had multiple hits in three of his last six games.
