The first Saturday of the 2022 MLB regular season features a full slate of games for the first time this season. Pending weather on Saturday, you should have a lot of options for your DFS lineups. While you are hunting for advantageous matchups, you also want to make cost-effective choices for your limited roster. We’ll take a look at the best fantasy options for the day’s games, along with the top DFS value plays.
Top Pitchers
Joe Musgrove, San Diego Padres vs. Arizona Diamondbacks ($9400) — Musgrove is coming off of a season in which he threw a no-hitter. Through the first two games of this divisional series, the Padres starting pitchers haven’t given up a single hit in 13 innings of work. Musgrove is going to look to continue that trend against one of the weakest lineups in the majors at this point in the early season.
Carlos Rodon, San Francisco Giants vs. Miami Marlins ($9300) — Rodon is making his team debut with the Giants and he gets a plus matchup against the Miami Marlins. Rodon signed a two-year deal worth $44 million and is coming off a season where he went 12-6 with a 2.51 ERA and had a 34.6% strikeout rate. Oracle Park tends to be hitter-friendly so Rodon should have a good shot at returning value at his cost.
Top Hitters
Juan Soto, Washington Nationals vs. New York Mets ($6000) — Soto has already shown this season that he is going to again be the shining star of this Nationals squad. He has gone 1-6 to start the season, but his lone hit in Game 1 was a solo shot. He doesn’t have a lot of early support in the lineup, but he is by far the most talented player the Nats have. Look for Soto to bounce back by taking on new-Met Chris Bassitt.
Nick Castellanos, Philadelphia Phillies vs. Oakland Athletics ($5800) — The Phillies played their first game of the season on Friday and came away with a 9-5 victory over the Athletics. Castellanos picked up his first hit as a Phil with an RBI double in the seventh inning. Castellanos was a power bat for the Cincinnati Reds last season and has a favorable matchup against lefty Cole Irvin.
Value Pitcher
Matt Manning, Detroit Tigers vs. Chicago White Sox ($4600) — There were two options for a sub-$5000 value pitcher for Saturday’s slate between Manning and Joan Adon who has to throw against the New York Mets lineup. Between the two, I feel more comfortable going with Manning. He has the stuff to be good and frequently has outings where he doesn’t issue a single walk. His test against the White Sox could be a little rough, but Detroit is riding the momentum of their unique walk-off victory on Friday so Manning will look to capitalize on that.
Value Hitter
Tommy Pham, Cincinnati Reds vs. Atlanta Braves ($3500) — Pham is still awaiting his first hit with his new ball club. Despite the Reds scoring 12 runs over their first two games of the season, Pham has remained hitless out of the No. 3 hole. Expect a lineup change heading into game three where the Reds will take on Kyle Wright. Pham signed a one-year, $7.5 million deal with the Reds to prove that he has some juice left in the tank. Wright is a young pitching prospect for the Braves and Pham should be able to capitalize on a few mistake pitches.