We've got another moderate seven-game slate ahead for FanDuel's main contests Tuesday, with first pitch at 7:05 p.m. EDT. Despite it's somewhat smaller than normal volume, it's a huge slate on the bump with four arms coming in at five figures and a plethora of solid names priced in the middle tier. Safe to say how you navigate your pitching selection will go a long ways towards determining your level of success.
Weather looks dry across the slate, cold in the north/east, and potentially windy in New York and Minnesota. Coors Field is present, giving us the expected elevated run total of 10.5, but offense looks to be hard to come by elsewhere. Minnesota-Detroit sits at a low 6.5 runs, and three other games sit at 7.0 or 7.5. The Yankees (-230) are the slate's biggest favorites, followed by Houston (-174) and Detroit (-172).
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Pitching
Cam Schlittler, NYY vs. ATH ($9,900): The young righty's shown to be incredibly capable of posting massive fantasy numbers. Schlittler has allowed just three hits, zero runs and struck out 15 across his first 11.2 innings this season. He now gets an Athletics lineup that's fanning at a massive 29.6 percent clip. They come with a low 2.9 run expectancy, New York is heavily favored, and the wind should aid him. Perhaps this is too obvious and Schlittler is due for some regression, but nothing suggests that's on the horizon.
Reynaldo Lopez, ATL at LAA ($8,600): Are we likely to target Angels' bats? No, so as a result, perhaps Lopez is a viable option that I believe will be completely ignored with bigger names and higher ceilings available. He's not striking out enough batters to give him a high ceiling, just six in 11.0 innings, but he's also allowed just two runs, both on solo homers. The Angels are striking out 28.6 percent of the time, so if Lopez can bump his Ks to around five, there's a path to a 4x return while freeing up additional offensive spending.
Taj Bradley, MIN vs. DET ($8,000): Bradley is a tough evaluation Tuesday. There's so many elite options available on the mound that I think you have to pay up, and I certainly don't see a scenario in which you can roster the options below Bradley and keep pace. He's shown elite strikeout potential in his first start, but a lack of efficiency. He shifted course in his second outing, but both have yielded exactly 37.0 FDP, a cool 4.6x return at this salary. He's pitching in another cold environment that should work against the bats, and Detroit is fanning at a 24.5 percent clip. Bradley's form suggests he can limit the Tigers and keep Minnesota in the game, even against Tarik Skubal.
Top Targets
Yordan Alvarez at $4,600 is the obvious choice in Coors Field, so perhaps Tuesday is a day to target Shohei Ohtani ($4,400), who could come with lower roster rates. He's got two hits in four straight while homering three times but is just 2-for-12 in his career off Kevin Gausman.
Nathan Eovaldi has been smashed in his first two starts, allowing 16 hits, three homers and 11 runs across 8.2 innings. Julio Rodriguez ($3,200) is off to a quiet start, and that gives us a nice buying opportunity. He's 8-for-17 with a homer off the Rangers' starter.
Bargain Bats
Jazz Chisholm ($2,900) is priced favorably and gives a high-upside piece of the Yankees' attack. He's 3-for-5 with two homers off Aaron Civale.
Cam Smith ($3,100) doesn't have a massive Coors Field price increase. He's amassed 10 hits, including three homers, over his last seven. He's a really affordable entry to the popular Astros lineup.
Don't ignore the other side of the Astros-Rockies matchup. Mike Burrows is allowing a .458 wOBA to lefties and .384 wOBA to righties through two starts, and no Colorado bat is priced above $3,300. The entire lineup is honestly in play, but Troy Johnston ($2,900) stands out as the likely leadoff hitter.
Stack to Consider
Atlanta vs. Yusei Kikuchi (Angels): Matt Olson ($3,500), Ronald Acuna ($3,200), Ozzie Albies ($2,900)
If you've read my columns over the past years, you know I'm aa Atlanta homer, and also always, always target against Kikuchi. So it comes full circle here. My boys are scuffling a bit of late in the midst of a long road trip and 13 games in as many days, and it's certainly possible that continues. These salaries are so soft though, so how can I not bet on this lineup Tuesday? Albies is always an option against a lefty, and he'll likely be bumped up to the three-hole here. Him and Acuna are both 3-for-6 with a homer off the Angels lefty. Olson is 7-for-26 (.269) with two homers, and given the LvL matchup, I'd anticipate he won't feature heavily in most lineups. He's hit safely in nine of 11 and has seven extra-base hits.
