Baseball is back, baby! The first weekend of the new season is a busy one across the fantasy baseball landscape, providing plenty of DFS fantasy baseball options on DraftKings. There is a solid seven-game afternoon slate followed by the six-game slate under the lights that is the focus of this post.
The MLB on FOX is back and should give us great Saturday slates in primetime like this one. This week’s slate locks at 7:05 p.m. ET and includes all five teams from the National League West, including the Dodgers and Diamondbacks, who have both come roaring out of the gate.
Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB $175K Relay Throw [$50K to 1st]
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PITCHER
Stud
Logan Gilbert, Seattle Mariners vs. Boston Red Sox ($9,500) – After his teammate George Kirby set a high bar Friday, Gilbert will try to keep the Red Sox quiet for a second straight game on Saturday night. With Rafael Devers (shoulder) day-to-day, the Red Sox lineup loses some of its punch, and last night Kirby held them to just two hits while striking out eight in 6 2⁄3 innings. Gilbert has the potential for a similar performance on Saturday.
Last season, Gilbert made exactly 32 starts for the second straight season and finished with exactly 13 wins. He posted a solid 3.73 ERA and 3.85 FIP with an 8.92 K/9 rate. While his overall numbers from Spring Training were rough, he was much better in his final two starts, giving up just two earned runs in 9 2/3 innings against the Diamondbacks and Cubs and picking up seven strikeouts in each game. He finished with 24 strikeouts in 16 innings in the Cactus League and offers solid punchout potential on Saturday against the Sox.
Value
Hunter Brown, Houston Astros vs. New York Yankees ($8,200) – If we’re going against the Red Sox, we might as well jump in against the Yankees as well. In his rookie season last year, Brown went 11-13 with a 5.09 ERA and 4.37 FIP. While he had his ups and downs, he did post an impressive 10.29 K/9 rate, and an even sharper 10.53 K/9 at home. He faced the Yankees twice, allowing five earned runs with nine strikeouts in 10 innings.
In the first two games of the season, the Yankees had 19 strikeouts including six in six shutout innings spun by last night’s starter Cristian Javier. In Spring Training, Brown showed extra life on his slider and picked up a solid 12 strikeouts in 12 2⁄3 innings. Like Gilbert, he’ll look to build on the success of last night’s starter and keep an AL East opponent in check on the road for a second straight night. Brown may not be fully stretched out yet, but he has enough strikeout potential to be a good play at barely over $8,000.
INFIELD
Stud
Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers vs. St. Louis Cardinals ($6,200) – The Dodgers lineup looks well on their way to becoming the superteam they were built to be this past offseason. Ohtani and co. have smashed an MLB-high seven home runs while scoring 29 runs in four games. They get a great matchup against their former teammate Lance Lynn ($8,600), who returned to St. Louis as a free agent this offseason. The veteran went 13-11 between the White Sox and Dodgers last season with a 5.73 ERA and 5.53 FIP. In his 32 starts, he surrendered 44 homers, 24 of which came against lefties, who posted a .384 wOBA against him. This Spring Training his struggles continued, and he gave up 12 runs in 13 2/3 innings. All that to say, the Dodgers are a great stack to consider if you can afford them, especially their powerful left-handed bats like Shohei. Ohtani went 5-for-19 with a double and a stolen base in his first four games with the Dodgers. Since he is 10-for-23 with three home runs in his previous matchups against Lynn, this should be a great spot for Ohtani to deliver his first Dodger dinger.
Stud
Ketel Marte, Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Colorado Rockies ($5,200) – You could definitely consider Mookie Betts ($6,300) in this spot too, but if you need to go with a cheaper middle infield option, Marte is a good play against lefty Austin Gomber and the Rockies. Marte hit .313 against lefties last year with a .377 wOBA, so he’s on the strong side of his splits in addition to swinging a scorching-hot stick. In Spring Training, Marte went 20-for-54 (.370) with eight extra-base hits including a home run. He has gone 3-for-5 in each of his first two games of the regular season, scoring four runs and stealing a base in the Snakes’ two comfortable wins. In this form, he’s a great play out of the leadoff spot against a lefty.
Value
Blaze Alexander, Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Colorado Rockies ($2,400) – Marte’s rookie teammate Blaze Alexander should be in the lineup against the lefty as well. The 24-year-old prospect opened plenty of eyes with an impressive Spring Training while playing multiple positions and hitting .400 with two homers and five stolen bases. The Diamondbacks have a lot of young, athletic prospects, but Alexander is one of the best right-handed options they have. He went 2-for-5 as the team’s DH on Opening Day and will be a great bargain with upside if he gets another start Saturday.
OUTFIELD
Stud
Julio Rodriguez, Seattle Mariners vs. Boston Red Sox ($5,900) – Seattle’s superstar outfielder always brings a high ceiling since he brings an elite blend of power and speed. He hit .394 in Spring Training with a pair of home runs and looks ready to avoid any kind of slow start. He doubled on Opening Day and went 1-for-4 with a stolen base on Friday night. The Red Sox are starting Kutter Crawford ($7,900) on Saturday night, and it should be a good chance for Julio to light it up again in front of the home crowd.
Stud
Lourdes Gurriel, Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Colorado Rockies ($4,300) – Gurriel followed up his massive Opening Day performance with his second home run in as many games on Friday night. He smashed a career-high 24 home runs last year while posting a .324 wOBA with Arizona, but he looks well on his way to shattering that personal best this season. He had a solid spring, hitting .326 with a home run and eight extra-base hits, but he has started off the regular season going 4-for-10 (.400) with two homers, four runs scored and six RBI. This cushy matchup with Gomber also puts him on the strong side of his splits. Last year, he hit .301 against southpaws with a .352 wOBA.
Value
Wyatt Langford, Texas Rangers vs. Chicago Cubs ($2,600) – Langford was the talk of the league this Spring Training, as he forced his way into a starting role for the defending champion Rangers less than a year after being the No. 4 overall pick in the MLB Draft. After being drafted, he dominated multiple levels of the minors, hitting .360 with 10 homers, 12 stolen bases and an impressive 1.157 OPS in 44 games. He crushed six homers and put up a .365 batting average across 21 games in the Cactus League to secure his starting spot this spring. On Thursday, he got his first MLB hit and RBI while batting fifth and playing DH. His salary is still way too low given his upside, so play him with confidence against Kyle Hendricks ($7,400) on Saturday night.
Value
Victor Scott II, St. Louis Cardinals at Los Angeles Dodgers ($2,000) – Scott is 0-for-7 in his first two MLB games, but he did get to flash his elite speed with a stolen base after reaching on an error on Thursday. Scott went 0-for-4 on Friday against a dominant Bobby Miller and the Dodgers, but he should have an easier time against his fellow rookie Yoshinobu Yamamoto ($9,700), who was knocked around in his MLB debut last week in Seoul. Scott hit .303 last year in the minors while stealing 94 bases in 132 games. He’s filling in for Dylan Carlson (shoulder) as a short-term replacement and may need more time to develop in the big picture. For DFS though, at the minimum salary, his speed potential alone is enough to take a flier on him on Saturday since he can help the rest of your roster fit together with plenty of salary available.
Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB $175K Relay Throw [$50K to 1st]
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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and customer (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.
