I was surprised to see FanDuel's selection for this main slate. We have a handful of games during the day, but they opted to go with the three-game slate at night. That leaves the options thin, but we love the way it plays out. There are three pitchers in good spots and three offenses that should go nuts. Weeding those options down and finding a way to differentiate your roster is the biggest variable. With that in mind, let's get started with our top two pitchers on this short slate!
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Pitching
Will Warren, NYY at CWS ($9,600)
Losing Gerrit Cole early on appeared to be a disaster for the Yankees, but Warren has helped cushion that blow. The right-hander struggled in his last start against Boston but totaled a 1.93 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 8.4 K/9 rate across his previous five starts. Warren also scored at least 25 FanDuel points in all of those, with his only true stinkers happening against the Blue Jays, Dodgers and Red Sox in the middle of the season. Those four duds are the outliers because Warren has a 3.37 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 10.0 K/9 rate across his other 23 starts. That's bad news for a woeful White Sox lineup that ranks in the bottom five in every main offensive category since last season.
Clay Holmes, NYM vs. MIA ($8.600)
Holmes hasn't been the same in the second half, but it's difficult to complain about a guy who's allowed two runs or fewer in five of his last six starts. That's the sort of consistency we saw early in the year, with Holmes totaling a 2.87 ERA and 1.17 WHIP through his first 13 starts. Two of those were against Miami, and he scored 29 and 40 FanDuel points in those two favorable matchups. Miami ranks 17th in wOBA and 20th in runs scored, and Holmes enters this matchup as a -280 favorite.
Top Targets
Kyle Schwarber, PHI (vs. Cal Quantrill) $4,400
Schwarber should be the most expensive player on the board. Not only is the perennial All-Star scorching hot, but he also has the best matchup on this slate. We'll talk about Quantrill in the Stacks To Consider section, but Schwarbs has a .372 OBP, .564 SLG and .936 OPS against righties this year. That's on par with his absurd career averages, as he's accrued a .349 OBP, .878 OPS and .295 ISO with the platoon advantage. His recent form is the icing on the cake, as he's provided a .983 OPS across his last 51 fixtures.
Bargain Bats
Trent Grisham, NYY (vs. Davis Martin) $3,100
What if I told you that you could use the leadoff hitter for one of the league's best offenses at just over $3K? That's just what we have with Grisham because he's been rocking right-handers all season. Grisham has a .375 OBP, .524 SLG and .899 OPS with the platoon advantage this year. That's amazing when seeing his current hot stretch, as he sports a .426 OBP and 1.041 OPS over his last 10 games. We certainly don't want to fade him against Martin, and we'll dive into that below.
Mark Vientos, NYM (vs. Adam Mazur) $3,000
Mets fans have been waiting for Vientos to come around all season, and they're finally seeing it. The third baseman has become an everyday player, amassing a .382 AVG, .941 SLG, and 1.377 OPS across his last nine outings. That's more in line with the stud who broke out with an .838 OPS last season, making him an easy option here. We're not sure if Mazer will actually start or get used in bulk relief, but his 6.35 ERA and 1.59 WHIP won't push us away. We don't mind a full-on Mets stack, with Juan Soto ($4,100), Pete Alonso ($3,700) and Brandon Nimmo ($3,100) looking like the best pairings with Vientos.
Stacks to Consider
New York Yankees at Chicago White Sox (Martin): Aaron Judge ($4,700), Jazz Chisholm ($3,700), Giancarlo Stanton ($3,600), Cody Bellinger ($3,400), Grisham ($3,100)
The Yankees have been a top-five offense all season, and they shouldn't have any issues against a guy like Martin. The White Sox righty has a 4.27 career ERA and 1.32 WHIP. Those aren't disastrous averages, but his 5.36 xERA is. That xERA is scarier since Martin pitches in one of the worst offensive divisions in baseball, and facing the Bronx Bombers is a major step up from the Royals or gutted Twins.
We have to start our NY stack with Judge. The perennial MVP candidate has a .437 OBP and 1.100 OPS in another sensational season. Jazz is also doing his thing, tallying a .375 OBP and 1.061 OPS across his last 14 outings. Stanton might be the hottest player of the bunch, posting a .404 OBP and 1.199 OPS across his last 39 games. Bellinger has the platoon advantage like Jazz, and he's generated a .820 OPS in a bounce-back campaign.
Philadelphia Phillies vs. Atlanta (Quantrill): Schwarber ($4,400), Trea Turner ($3,800) and Bryce Harper ($3,700), Bryson Stott ($3,000)
As someone who watched Quantrill get clobbered in Coors Field last season, it's difficult to understand why he's in a big-league rotation. Atlanta is simply that shorthanded, so the team has turned to Quantrill despite a 5.51 ERA and 1.42 WHIP this season. That's on par with what we've seen over recent years, as he's collected a 5.22 ERA and 1.47 WHIP since 2023. Two of those starts have been against Philly this year, leading to a 12.27 ERA and 2.05 WHIP across 7.1 nightmarish innings.
We have to kickstart our stack with Schwarber, but Turner is a 1B option. The superstar shortstop has a .439 AVG and 1.116 OPS across his last 12 outings while posting a .455 AVG and 1.633 OPS in 11 at-bats against Quantrill. Harper has been one of the best bats over the last decade, posting a .398 OBP and .940 OPS against right-handers during his career. Stott is the final piece of the Philly stack, generating a .423 OBP and 1.119 OPS across his last seven outings.
