This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Baseball series.
Sure, it's "Week 0" of college football, but are you really going to spend your time watching Northwestern and Nebraska? The MLB docket is much more enticing! We have 11 games to look at in the main slate of DFS contests. That's a lot of lineup options, but here are some recommendations to make your decisions a little easier. Good luck!
Pitching
Yu Darvish, SD at KC ($51): Darvish is expected back from paternity leave to take the mound for the Padres on Saturday. He comes in with a 3.35 FIP and a better home record, but I still like him on the road here. Why? Because the Royals are 24th in runs scored and dealt at the deadline.
Merrill Kelly, ARI at CWS ($46): Kelly has tamped down the home runs, and as such has a 2.87 ERA through 25 starts. He also boasts a 2.49 road mark. The White Sox offer one of the better team batting averages, but are still in the bottom-half of the league in offense. And who knows what wacky nonsense Tony La Russa will get up to?
Kohei Arihara, TEX vs. DET ($31): Arihara wasn't good as a rookie in 2021. However, in two MLB starts this year, he's posted a 2.31 ERA - including the last outing where he blanked the Twins over six innings. The Tigers sit last in runs scored and team OPS. I don't know if Arihara has completely remade himself, but I think he can handle MLB's worst offense.
Top Targets
Amidst the Juan Soto trade and Fernando Tatis suspension, Manny Machado ($21) is out there producing a .941 OPS over the last three weeks. I get the sense the Royals may be going with a bullpen game Saturday, so Machado is a smart bet for that type of situation. And since 2020, he's managed an .889 OPS against righties and an .844 against lefties.
In addition to his 21 homers and 12 stolen bases, Jose Altuve ($19) has registered a .283 batting average. That's below his career number of .306, but that's still impressive by modern standards. Dean Kremer has dropped his ERA to 3.45, but he's still getting crushed by righties as they've hit .305 against in 2022.
Bargain Bats
It's been a tough year for Jesse Winker ($16), but he does have an .878 OPS the last three weeks. And the last couple of years, he's recorded a .901 OPS versus righties. Zach Plesac enters with a 4.43 ERA, and a big reason for that is the fact lefties like Winker have gone .290 against.
Catcher Keibert Ruiz ($11) has racked up six homers and six stolen bases, and even his .246 average is solid for his position. Luis Cessa is in line to start for the Reds and comes in with a 5.67 ERA. He's also unlikely to go more than a couple innings. As a switch-hitting catcher, Ruiz can deal with any combination of relievers.
Stacks to Consider
Mets vs. Rockies (Kyle Freeland): Starling Marte ($20), Pete Alonso ($19), Mark Canha ($16)
Freeland does have inflated statistics from his home starts at Coors, but he still has a 3.82 ERA on the road since 2020. He's also posted a 5.96 over his last nine starts. I'd love it if the Mets got Freeland in Colorado, but I still like this stack at home.
Maybe Marte is less likely to steal a base with a lefty on the mound, but he's crushed 14 home runs and has hit .292 along with an .844 OPS versus southpaws. Alonso certainly doesn't mind his home park with a .918 OPS there. He also maintains a career .537 slugging percentage and has never hit fewer than 30 homers in a full season. Canha has batted .277, posted a .377 OBP and has been on fire the last three weeks with a 1.031 OPS.
Yankees at Athletics (Adam Oller): Giancarlo Stanton ($21), DJ LeMahieu ($19), Josh Donaldson ($15)
During his rookie campaign, Oller has struggled to a 6.41 ERA while allowing 1.94 home runs per nine innings. Don't think his home park is saving him at all either with a 7.71 ERA. While Oller's a righty, he's also let right-handed hitters go .304 against. Anthony Rizzo has been better at home and - weirdly - against lefties, so I've included three righties in this stack.
Stanton and his career .540 slugging percentage are back in the lineup. He's hit 24 home runs in 82 games and has slugged .518 against righties across the last three seasons. LeMahieu has been doing his job as a leadoff hitter with a .277 average and .372 OBP while racking up 72 runs. Donaldson may regret joining the Yankees as he's really struggled at home, but he's got an .839 OPS on the road.
Diamondbacks at White Sox (Davis Martin): Josh Rojas ($18), Daulton Varsho ($15), Alek Thomas ($9)
Martin will be making his first MLB start since Aug. 9. He's posted a 4.25 ERA in the majors this year, including a 7.27 at home. Down in Triple-A, Martin also produced a 5.18 ERA. The Diamondbacks are lefty heavy, but that's not a problem in this matchup.
Rojas has been on a stolen-base kick with 17 overall to go with seven home runs, a .284 average and .358 OBP. Varsho has accumulated 18 homers and eight steals. The southpaw catcher-turned-outfielder struggles with lefties, but has recorded all of those long balls and swiped bags versus righties. The lefty rookie Thomas has unsurprisingly been better against righties with a .734 OPS against. He's also struggled at home, but has registered an .801 road OPS.
