This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
It's a Saturday during baseball season, which means we have 15 games and half of them are starting in the afternoon. As such, you better be prepared to get your lineup early. Also, with the temperatures still chilly, and the April showers working on bringing May flowers, be sure to keep an eye on the weather. Here are my recommendations.
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PITCHER
Corey Kluber, CLE vs. TOR ($11,400): Kluber may not be 1.57 ERA good, but he showed last season that he is 2.25 ERA good. The Blue Jays offense has been good to start the year, but they ranked 26th in runs scored last season and had a .240 batting average. I'll trust a full season of stats over a mere 14 games. I will also trust Kluber to get the job done.
GPP Fade: Chris Archer, TAM vs. PHI ($8,800): Like the Blue Jays, the Phillies have seen their offense increase to start this season. However, Philadelphia has going for it some young, promising players who could be in line for improvement (and also Carlos Santana). Archer may be a strikeout machine, but he also has an ERA over 4.00 his last two seasons and is at 5.94 through three starts this year.
Cheap GPP Consideration: Garrett Richards, ANA at KAN ($8,300): Richards' issue in recent years has been staying healthy, as he made 12 starts total over his previous two seasons. He's healthy now, though, and he has the league's best offense (at the moment) behind him. The Royals, meanwhile, have scored the fewest runs in the majors. Yes, it's early, but they ranked 24th last season and lost pieces this offseason.
CATCHER/FIRST BASE
Edwin Encarnacion, CLE vs. TOR ($3,700): Encarnacion may be off to a slow start, but heading into Friday he had a .115 BABIP. That's going to improve considerably. He's also hit at least 34 homers in his last six seasons, and there are few more reliable sources of power. Jaime Garcia's 3.18 ERA hides a 4.70 FIP that's in line with his performance the last two years.
SECOND BASE
Ian Kinsler, ANA at KAN ($3,200): Over his last three seasons Kinsler has averaged a slash line of .275/.334/.437. He's also hit more than 20 homers in his last two seasons and has never failed to nab double-digit stolen bases in a campaign. Jakob Junis may have a 0.00 ERA, but he has a 3.20 FIP. His .116 BABIP will rise, and his 5.79 K/9 rate does not impress. Plus, last season as a rookie he had a 4.30 ERA and allowed 1.37 homers per nine innings.
THIRD BASE
Kris Bryant, CHC vs. ATL ($4,900): In his three-year career, Bryant has averaged 31 homers and 91 RBI with a slash line of .288/.388/.525. Needless to say, he's a great hitter, and he's gotten off to a fine start to this season. Though he hits both lefties and righties well, he's done a little better against southpaws like Atlanta's Sean Newcomb. Though Newcomb was considered a solid prospect coming up, he had a 4.32 ERA as a rookie last year.
SHORTSTOP
Jean Segura, SEA vs. OAK ($3,600): There are bad starts, and then there is Kendall Graveman posting a 9.45 ERA through three outings with the A's. If you want to dismiss that sample size, he has a career ERA of 4.28 and FIP of 4.50. He's also been considerably worse on the road. In his first year with the Mariners, Segura hit .300/.349/.427 and stole 22 bases in 125 games.
OUTFIELD
Aaron Judge, NYY at DET ($4,800): Judge has avoided the hand wringing his counterpart Giancarlo Stanton has received by following up his 52-homer campaign by mashing once more. However, even replicating last season's .284 batting average and .422 OBP would more than suffice. Detroit starter Francisco Liriano used to be good, but the 34-year-old's best days are behind him. He had ERAs of 4.69 and 5.66 in his last two campaigns and ended up pitching out of the bullpen at times last season.
Starling Marte, PIT at MIA ($3,700): Marte's batting average is being held back by his BABIP so far, but he seemed primed to bounce back from a disappointing 2017 campaign where he was held to 77 games due to an 80-game suspension. In particular, his power seems to be back in a limited sample size. Speaking of limited sample sizes, Miami's starter Trevor Richards is a 24-year-old rookie who only has two starts to his name. However, in 8.3 innings he's posted a 8.64 ERA and 2.16 WHIP.
Ryan Braun, MIL at NYM ($2,800): Braun has never struggled to provide power, as he has a career slugging percentage of .539. Even though he's dipped a bit on that front recently, over the last three seasons he's averaged a slugging percentage of .508, which is still top notch. Matt Harvey has pitched better early this year after a disastrous 2017, but his 4.00 FIP isn't stellar, and his strikeouts and fastball speed are both at a career low at the moment.
