This article is part of our DraftKings MLB series.
We have an afternoon full of baseball on Saturday with the main slate starting at 4:05 p.m. EDT. There are nine games currently scheduled, but it'll be worth monitoring the weather as the East Coast is set to be pummeled by rain. We'll operate as if all the matchups will take place, though that seems unlikely.
Pitchers
There are two pitchers with five-digit valuations in Tarik Skubal ($11,300) and Jesus Luzardo ($10,000). Skubal clearly stands out above every pitcher on the slate and the league with an absurd 35 K percent and 32.3 K-BB rate. And a matchup against the Royals is nothing to be concerned about. Luzardo isn't quite on Skubal's level and the Brewers strike at roughly a league-average rate. It may not be the day for a ceiling performance, yet he's a cheaper alternative.
In the tier just below, Robbie Ray ($9,000) and Kodai Senga ($8,900) both get favorable opponents. Ray has been the superior pitcher based on skills while the Marlins aren't imposing. However, Senga draws the dream matchup of the Rockies away from Coors Field, so he's at least worth noting.
As is clear so far, the pitcher pool is very top heavy with nothing much in the middle group. Given that, we'll significantly drop down. Edward Cabrera ($7,100) is the wild card as he delivered 33 DK points in his last start, though that was the first time he's topped 15.7 this season. He also matches up against Ray, so don't roster both. Zack Littell ($7,000) is on the opposite side producing between 13.1 and 21.9 DK points from his last five starts. The Astros aren't a great opponent, but also aren't as tough as they've been during past seasons.
Dean Kremer ($6,300) represents the punt play. He's endured an inconsistent year, yet draws the White Sox on Saturday.
Find out which projected starters are going and when with RotoWire's Probable Pitchers page!
Top Hitters
Patrick Corbin has made things work in terms of run prevention, but he's allowed multiple homers in two of his last three starts and at least one in four of five. Ivan Herrera ($5,400) has had ridiculous success in a very small sample against lefties this season, though his career .189 ISO and .368 wOBA are also strong.
Jose Altuve ($4,400) is starting to return to form and will get to face Zack Littell, who's allowed 1.92 HR/9 this season and his problems have come equally at home and on the road. I'm not that interested in a stack due to Littell's low walk rate, but one-off plays are interesting.
Value Bats
The White Sox aren't an imposing matchup overall, yet they have individual pieces worth rostering. Miguel Vargas ($3,400) has been among the league's most productive hitters the last couple weeks while Andrew Benintendi ($3,300) has registered four extra-base hits in his last 10 games.
Stacks to Consider
Mets vs. Rockies (Antonio Senzatela): Francisco Lindor ($5,600), Juan Soto ($5,300), Pete Alonso ($5,000)
This is a matchup to monitor due to the weather, but otherwise the Mets are in a great spot as Senzatela enters with a catastrophic 1.94 WHIP paired with an 11.2 percent strikeout rate and 1.50 HR/9. The top of their lineup is expensive, though it offers plenty of potential to be explosive with plenty of cheap pitching to balance out.
Guardians vs. Angels (Kyle Hendricks): Steven Kwan ($4,700), Jose Ramirez ($6,000), Kyle Manzardo ($4,200)
The Guardians aren't typically a team to stack as they lack power and are otherwise mostly unimpressive. However, Hendricks carries the highest SIERA of starting pitchers on the slate. Cleveland should still go under-rostered, making them a risky option that's also strategically sound.
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