Yahoo DFS Baseball: Saturday Picks

Yahoo DFS Baseball: Saturday Picks

This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Baseball series.

The Saturday MLB schedule can sometimes be a little tricky for DFS purposes, but not today with nine games starting at 7:10 p.m. EDT or later. Sounds simple enough. When you're constructing your lineups, consider these recommendations.

Pitching

Joe Musgrove, SD vs. MIN ($46): Though the Twins have been decent offensively this season and are above average in terms of runs scored, Musgrove has been formidable with a 2.63 ERA and has been even better at pitcher-friendly Petco with a 2.20.

Johnny Cueto, CWS vs. OAK ($37): I didn't expect Cueto to look so solid, and to be fair his 3.98 FIP is certainly less impressive than his 2.89 ERA. Having said that, this matchup is so enticing I'm all for having Cueto in my lineup even if his ERA may be flattering as the Athletics rank 29th in offense and last in team OPS.

Ranger Suarez, PHI at PIT ($36): Suarez has posted a 3.89 ERA, but hasn't allowed an earned run in either of his last two starts. He's also maintained a 3.23 mark on the road this year. The Pirates sit 28th in runs scored, so I'd be willing to take a shot on Suarez in this matchup away from home.

Top Targets

The numbers that Nolan Arenado ($22) has put up this year would not be out of place at Coors Field, his former home. He's slashed .293/.358/.523 and has produced a .906 road OPS. Arenado should tee off on Erick Fedde, who has never had a FIP lower than 4.65 in a season, and he's been pitching in MLB since 2017.

At home this season, Shohei Ohtani ($20) has been hitting like an MVP again with a .928 OPS and a .911 against righties. The Rangers are trotting out righty Glenn Otto, who comes in with a career 6.38 ERA.

Bargain Bats

Christian Walker ($14) embraces the modern all-or-nothing approach at the plate by barely hitting over .200 while slugging .444 and crushing 23 home runs. He's also been better on the road with an .824 OPS. Ian Anderson has yielded a lot of handwringing from Braves fans with a 5.31 ERA this year while letting righties hit .322 against.

Few players enjoy their home ballpark as much as Gavin Sheets ($10) enjoys…whatever the White Sox's ballpark is called now. Over his career, Sheets has excelled with a .976 OPS when not on the road and a .775 versus righties. Since 2020, Paul Blackburn has allowed lefties to hit .289 against, so I wanted a southpaw. I know Blackburn has recorded an 8.31 ERA at home and an 1.88 on the road, but last season he had an 8.44 in away appearances. He's also allowed a mere 0.3 home runs per nine innings in away games, which isn't sustainable.

Stacks to Consider

Dodgers at Rockies (Kyle Freeland): Trea Turner ($25), Mookie Betts ($24), Will Smith ($21)

This is the third day in a row I'm stacking Dodgers, and why not? It's also the third straight day they'll play at Coors Field. This time, they're facing Freeland and his 5.04 home ERA since 2020. As this is the first left-handed starter in the mix for the Rockies thus far, I've gone with three righties. If you love Dodgers lefties, don't be too scared as they've hit .297 against Freeland the last three seasons.

Turner picked up where he left off after being dealt to the Dodgers last season going .311 with 15 homers and 18 stolen bases. He also has an 1.085 OPS versus southpaws since 2020. Betts isn't a great base runner anymore – he has seven stolen bases and seems likely to top out around 10 – but when you slash .270/.347/.534, that's a minor quibble. Mookie also has an 1.005 OPS versus lefties this year. Slot Smith in as your catcher and take advantage of the fact he's posted a .950 OPS against lefties and a .947 OPS on the road.

Rangers at Angels (Chase Silseth): Corey Seager ($23), Nathaniel Lowe ($16), Kole Calhoun ($10)

After Silseth's stint with the Angels ended, the team sent him down to Double-A. Not Triple-A, but Double-A. That wasn't unreasonable given he's only 22 and posted a 5.84 ERA in six starts, even though two of those were against the Athletics. While the sample size was small, lefties hit .357 against him during that stretch, so I went with three lefties.

With 23 home runs, Seager is going to end up beating his previous career high of 26. He's been hot recently putting up an 1.175 OPS the last three weeks. Seager is dealing with a leg contusion, but hopefully that won't keep him out of the lineup. Lowe isn't walking, but he's hit .276 with 15 homers and a .926 OPS on the road. Calhoun is having a tough season, but has produced a .744 OPS against righties and a .741 on the road the last two years, so he's worth a shot against Silseth.

Phillies at Pirates (Mitch Keller): J.T. Realmuto ($20), Kyle Schwarber ($16), Darick Hall ($12)

Keller has posted a 4.55 ERA this year, which admittedly is better than his career 5.49 mark. And since 2020, lefties have hit .303 against him, so I sought out a couple southpaws for this stack.

Realmuto has racked up nine home runs and 13 stolen bases. The catcher has also been hot with an 1.047 OPS the last 21 days. Schwarber has displayef elite power even with limited contact considering he's already hit 32 homers. And since 2020, he's managed an .894 OPS versus righties. The Phillies don't let Hall face lefties and he doesn't walk, but he can hit righties for power having slugged .530.

The author(s) of this article may play in daily fantasy contests including – but not limited to – games that they have provided recommendations or advice on in this article. In the course of playing in these games using their personal accounts, it's possible that they will use players in their lineups or other strategies that differ from the recommendations they have provided above. The recommendations in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of RotoWire. Chris Morgan plays in daily fantasy contests using the following accounts: FanDuel: cmorgan3, DraftKings: cmorgan3.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Chris Morgan
Chris Morgan is a writer of sports, pop culture, and humor articles, a book author, a podcaster, and a fan of all Detroit sports teams.
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