This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
Usually for the Saturday slate, I just cover the night games, but considering there are only four night games, we'll cover a near full-slate for Saturday's article. There are three games starting before 4 p.m. EST that we'll ignore, but we will focus on the other 12. Since this is the largest slate I have covered, I'm going to go deep to find players with nice values. The games with weather questions are ATL-PIT, CIN-NYM and CLE-BAL; so either avoid these games or monitor weather reports prior to submitting lineups.
Pitchers
Michael Wacha $8,600
Wacha is one of my favorite pitchers and is scattered across all my yearly fantasy leagues. I haven't gotten to write about him yet, but there seems to be no better opportunity than now. The Cardinals ace has been electric this season, posting a 9-3 record with a 2.85 ERA and 1.09 WHIP. Wacha is not only criminally ranked as the sixth-best pitcher on the board for Saturday, he has a great matchup against the Cubs. With a price of just $8,600, Wacha should have no problem exceeding his value against the second-most strikeout prone team in the league. The Cubs have struck out nearly 700 times this season in 72 games, and they've been below-par against right-handers as well. Not only will we be looking at a low total in the seven range, the Cardinals should be a substantial favorite at home against unknown righty, Donn Roach.
Charlie Morton $7,600
While Morton is not quite as cheap as I had hoped, he should be in for a good start against the Braves. The Atlanta offense is fueled by Freddie Freeman, who is on the disabled list. Without him, the Braves might sport the worst lineup in the league. If Morton can just dance around the likes of Nick Markakis, A.J. Pierzynski and Joey Terdoslavich, he should be fine. Yes, those really are the projected 3-4-5 hitters for the Braves. Morton has also owned righties throughout his career to the tune of a .234/.299/.337 batting line against since 2011. The Vegas line tells you that we'll be looking at a low-scoring game as well, with a total of only seven. A matchup against Julio Teheran isn't the best bet, but with a price of only $7,600, we don't necessarily need a win. That said, I anticipate the Pirates being favored and Morton should be in line for a quality start here, if not more.
Catcher
Victor Martinez $3,400
The Tigers face John Danks, who has allowed a .350 OBP and an .850 OPS against Detroit in well over 200 at-bats. I want to stack as many cheap righty Detroit bats as possible and we'll start that with V-Mart. The injury issues with Martinez are well known, but that hasn't affected his hitting against southpaws this season. To put it simply, Martinez had surgery on his left knee and is simply not able to push off when batting against right-handers as a lefty. As you know, Martinez is a switch-hitter and will be batting right-handed Saturday. The number this season against lefties are absurd: he is batting .452 with an OPS of 1.159. At such a weak position like catcher, it's great to be able to use such a reliable player like Martinez, who simply doesn't even play catcher anymore. He'll be right in the heart of the Tiger's lineup and should be in line for runs and RBI opportunities all game.
First base
David Ortiz $2,900
Big Papi has not had a great season by any means, but he seems to be turning it around as of late. Since June 11, Ortiz has five homers and 12 RBI. He has also had success against righties this season, while mightily struggling against lefties. While Ortiz simply can't hit lefties, he has raked against righties to the tune of a .388 OBP and .915 OPS this year. The struggles against southpaws is why Ortiz's price is so low, and we'll take advantage of that here. The Red Sox face the lowest valued pitcher for Saturday in Matt Andriese. I anticipate the Sox putting up a crooked number against the young righty, and Ortiz should be the primary source of RBI at the cleanup spot.
Second base
Kolten Wong $3,200
I was initially going to use Ian Kinsler, but once Tsuyoshi Wada was scratched, I had to go with Wong against rookie Donn Roach. No rookie should be saddled with a matchup against the Cardinals in their debut, but that'll be the case here with Roach. With Wong being the leadoff hitter, we'll bank on him getting on base and scoring for the Cards. A $3,200 price tag is simply not enough for someone with the potential of Wong. Not only can he steal some bases, he also has incredible pop for a player of his stature. The rookie Roach is running into a buzz saw here and we'll bank on Wong being the table-setter for a potent Cardinals lineup.
Third base
Evan Longoria $2,900
Longoria is no longer an MVP candidate, but he has a fantastic matchup against southpaw Wade Miley. What I really love about this play is that Longoria costs only $2,900. There are well over 10 third basemen who rank higher then Longoria based on salary and none of them have the upside of Longo. With the Green Monster in left field, Longoria is a great candidate to clank the monster for a double or potentially clear it for a homer. With how much Miley has struggled this season, the Rays could post a big score. Longo has been killing lefties this season also, with a .328 average and an .886 OPS. At just $2,900, Longoria is a must use at a position with multiple players well over $4,000.
Shortstop
Erick Aybar $2,400
Aybar is yet another switch-hitter who has a good matchup against a lefty, and we'll use him at a near minimum price tag. Using a guy like Aybar at shortstop is beneficial because he can provide in nearly every way possible. He has some pop, speed, and will be in a good spot of the lineup for RBI chances. His numbers against southpaws is another reason I like him. So far this season, he is batting .323 against lefties with an OPS of .715. The OPS is nothing special, but it's very solid for a shortstop and the average is simply elite. I expect the Angels to have some success against J.A. Happ with all the solid righty bats they have, and Aybar is a great candidate to contribute to that success at a fantastic price.
Outfielders
Michael Brantley $3,200
I wrote about Brantley last week, and it didn't go over too well, as Erasmo Ramirez shut down the Indians. We're going back to Brantley here with an even better matchup against Chris Tillman. I think this Indians stack may be the best of the day, as Tillman has just been dreadful this season. He not only has a 6.22 ERA, but a 1.60 WHIP as well. I like all the lefty Indian bats like Carlos Santana, Brandon Moss, and especially Michael Brantley. With a price of only $3,200, Brantley is one of the cheapest prices he's been all season. A trend of this article is multi-dimensional players and Brantley is just that. He can steal, he can homer, and he's in the best spot of the lineup in the three-hole. We'll bet on the Indians best hitter posting up a nice line against Tillman. With a platoon advantage and a cheap price, Brantley is a great bet to exceed his value.
Rajai Davis $2,900
We'll keep our Tigers stack going with leadoff man Rajai Davis. Against southpaws, Davis is the prime leadoff guy, simply because he destroys lefties. Davis has the ability to go yard, which he did on Friday, as well as swipe a few bags. I anticipate him scoring at least one run in this game being at the top of the potent Detroit lineup. With a season OPS of .937 against lefties and his six steals in just 58 at-bats, it's clear Davis is a great option. Most people would bet against a base-stealer against southpaws, but Davis has proven that's not an issue for him with his elite speed. The best part is that he's only $2,900 and outside the top-30 outfielders. With all the ability that Davis provides, he's one of my favorite bets to exceed his price tag.
Chris Parmelee $2,600
Parmelee has been a journeyman in baseball throughout his career, but this season, he has been absolutely raking. Since being called up two weeks ago, Parmelee has gone 12-for-36, with four doubles and three home runs. He has also regularly been seeing time at the three-hole for the Orioles and will likely do so again against righty Cody Anderson. I don't know a whole lot about this Anderson guy besides that he had some decent numbers at Triple-A. The reason I don't trust him is that he is a last resort option with guys like Shaun Marcum, T.J. House, and Zach McAllister not getting the call for this start. I like a lot of the Orioles bats against Anderson, because of how good their scouting is and the potent lineup. We'll bank on Parmelee continuing his fantastic season at a great price against a rookie pitcher.
Alternative Picks:
Ian Kinsler $3,400
Brandon Moss $2,900
Chris Young $2,800
