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This Saturday night, Major League Baseball has six games scheduled for DraftKings’ main fantasy baseball slate, which gets underway at 7:15 p.m. ET. All six of the weekend series on this slate have already started, and only one features divisional opponents. The Angels and Mariners go head-to-head in an AL West showdown while the rest of the matchups are against non-divisional opponents, including a big NL contest between the Dodgers and Braves at one end of the slate with another big East vs. West matchup as the Phillies visit the Padres.
With a dozen teams in action, there’s a solid pool of players to consider. You can keep tabs on all the latest availability news and player updates by installing the DK Live app and following DK Live on Twitter (@dklive). I’m also available on Twitter (@ZT_Sports).
Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB $200K Relay Throw [$50K to 1st]
For up-to-the-minute news, analysis and lineups, download the DK Live app. You also can follow DK Live on Twitter @dklive.
PITCHER
Stud
Logan Gilbert, Seattle Mariners at Los Angeles Angels ($9,900) – Gilbert will be making his second straight start against the Angels after posting 19.1 DKFP in a six-inning outing last Sunday. He allowed two runs on four hits in six innings while striking out six. Despite taking the loss, he extended his streak of quality starts to seven. In his 14 starts this season, he has an exceptional 2.40 ERA, a 3.02 FIP and 82 strikeouts in 83 innings. He has at least 19 DKFP in four of his five most recent outings and has been the most consistent option of the SP scheduled to take the hill this Saturday night.
Other Options – Max Fried ($8,600), Patrick Sandoval ($8,000)
Value
Logan Webb, San Francisco Giants vs. Cincinnati Reds ($7,800) – Webb is the strongest play of the SP under $8K, giving us a pair of pitchers at least one of the X-men would definitely approve of. Webb broke through with a great season last year but his strikeout numbers have dipped a little this year due to a slight drop in velocity. He has still been productive, though, going 6-2 with a 3.26 ERA and 3.15 FIP despite his K/9 rate dropping from 9.59 last year to 7.88 so far this season. Even with that drop, he has posted 15 DKFP or more in eight of his past 12 starts. he has been especially sharp in his two most recent starts, allowing just one run over 14 total innings while striking out 16 and posting 24.2 DKFP against the Braves and 33 DKFP against the Royals. Webb should be in a favorable spot at home against the Reds, who have averaged just 3.8 runs per game over their past 13 contests and had dropped seven straight before getting a win by the Bay on Friday.
Other Options – Zach Davies ($6,900), Antonio Senzatela ($6,600)
INFIELD
Stud
Trea Turner, Los Angeles Dodgers at Atlanta Braves ($6,000) – In his first full season with the Dodgers, Turner is well on his way to putting together another great season and has caught fire lately. He has hit safely in 41 of his past 43 games while hitting .356 with a .421 wOBA over that span. He has multiple hits in six of his past 16 contests after getting three hits on Friday and is 26-for-67 (.388) with five home runs, four stolen bases and a .448 wOBA in those 16 contests. Turner will face lefty Max Fried ($8,600) in Saturday’s contest, against whom he is 11-for-29 (.379) with a home run in their previous meetings.
Stud
Rhys Hoskins, Philadelphia Phillies at San Diego Padres ($4,700) – Hoskins is usually a solid play whenever the Phillies face a left-handed SP like Blake Snell ($9,100). On the season, Hoskins is hitting .249 with a .349 wOBA overall, but against southpaws, he is hitting .300 with a .442 wOBA and has hit five of his 13 home runs against them. In his 22 games this month, he is hitting .313 with five homers, a .275 ISO and a .433 wOBA. He has only faced Snell three times in the past, meaning all the usual small sample size caveats especially apply, but he did crush a solo home run and drew two walks.
Other Options – Will Smith ($5,600), Dansby Swanson ($5,600)
Value
Christian Walker, Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Detroit Tigers ($3,700) – Walker is still hitting only .210 on the season, mostly due to an extremely unlucky .190 BABIP. He has seen some positive regression since earlier in the season but should continue to see his numbers climb if he keeps hitting the ball hard (45.1% hard-hit rate). Walker has hit safely in four of his past five games with three home runs and a .539 wOBA. His power production from the cleanup spot is key for Arizona, and he should be in a favorable matchup against Alex Faedo ($6,000), highlighted in stacks below.
Value
Evan Longoria, San Francisco Giants vs. Cincinnati Reds ($2,800) – Longoria isn’t as young as he used to be (funny how it works that way), but he still can be a nice value play for fantasy baseball. The veteran is only hitting .238 in his 36 games this season but does have six home runs. He has continued to hit lefties well, producing a .273 average and .329 wOBA in his 44 at-bats against southpaws. The Giants should be able to put up runs against lefty Mike Minor ($6,200), who has allowed at least three runs and at least one home run in each of his four starts this season.
Other Options – Donovan Solano ($2,600), C.J. Abrams ($2,000)
OUTFIELD
Stud
Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels vs. Seattle Mariners ($5,900) – Trout has been scorching hot and has nine home runs over his past 13 games while hitting .340 with a .660 ISO and a .575 wOBA. One of those home runs came against Gilbert last week in Seattle, and Trout has already smashed six home runs against the Mariners in six games this season while going 8-for-23 (.348) with an impressive .652 wOBA. He had a triple, a home run and 28 DKFP while carrying the Halos to a win on Friday in the series opener.
Stud
Julio Rodríguez, Seattle Mariners at Los Angeles Angels ($5,700) – Rodríguez has been locked in as a regular in my lineups all season and his salary has climbed as he’s settled in and become very productive in the middle of the Mariners’ order. He connected on his 10th homer of the season on Friday night and is up to a .270 batting average with a .338 wOBA and 19 stolen bases in his 71 games. The 21-year-old has multiple ways to contribute to your lineup and will have to help carry Seattle’s offense now that Ty France (elbow) is on the injured list along with Mitch Haniger (ankle) and Kyle Lewis (concussion). He has hit .286 on the season against lefties with a .347 wOBA, so he should be in a good spot against Patrick Sandoval ($8,000).
Other Options – Ronald Acuña Jr. ($5,800), Jurickson Profar ($4,700)
Value
Austin Slater, San Francisco Giants vs. Cincinnati Reds ($2,900) – Slater usually moves into the leadoff spot for the Giants against lefties which should put him in a good value matchup against Minor. He has hit safely in each of the past four games in which he has an at-bat and has hit three home runs while going 6-for-20 (.300) over his past 10 contests to average 7.2 DKFP per game. If he’s hitting leadoff and you think the Giants will get to Minor, he brings nice upside under $3K.
Value
Alek Thomas, Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Detroit Tigers ($2,900) – Thomas is considered one of the top batting prospects in all of baseball and has shown why in his first 42 games in the Majors. He’s hitting .267 with six homers, four steals and a .336 wOBA and has locked down the second spot in Arizona’s batting order. The lefty has struggled at times against southpaws but is hitting .280 with a .366 wOBA against righties. His opposition, Alex Faedo, has allowed lefties to post a .362 wOBA against him and surrendered four homers in 97 lefty at-bats.
Other Options – Nick Senzel ($3,100), Trayce Thompson ($2,000)
TEAMS TO STACK
San Diego Padres vs. Philadelphia Phillies – The Padres are still waiting on the return of Manny Machado ($6,200; ankle), who has been sidelined for five straight games but still hopes to avoid the injured list. They have won four of their five games without Machado, but only scored three runs in their first two contests against the Phillies. They should increase that output Saturday in a good matchup against Zach Eflin ($7,400). Eflin is 2-5 on the year with a 4.43 ERA and 3.85 FIP. He’s had a rough stretch lately, allowing seven homers in his past six starts while only posting two quality outings. Half of his home runs allowed have come to left-handed hitters, who have a .351 wOBA against him. Lefties like Jake Cronenworth ($5,500), Trent Grisham ($3,300) and Eric Hosmer ($3,000) are in a good spot against Eflin, and switch-hitting Jurickson Profar ($4,700) also makes sense. There are also some value options in C.J. Abrams ($2,000) and Nomar Mazara ($2,000) if you want to match a minimum-salary play with some of the big bats in the lineup around them.
Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Detroit Tigers – As a value stack, the Diamondbacks make a lot of sense as they take on Faedo. The 26-year-old SP is 1-4 with a 4.67 ERA and has given up six homers and 24 runs in nine starts. Most of that damage has been done by lefties, so Alek Thomas (highlighted above), Daulton Varsho ($4,400), Ketel Marte ($4,000), Josh Rojas ($3,900) and David Peralta ($3,400) will all be on the favorable side of the splits. Christian Walker (highlighted above) and Jake Hager ($2,000) can also be included in the stack in what should be a productive spot at hitter-friendly Chase Field.
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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is z.thompson) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.
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