This Saturday, the MLB schedule is extremely busy throughout the afternoon including a pair of doubleheaders. So much afternoon action leaves just three games for Saturday night’s featured slate on DraftKings, which gets underway at 8:10 p.m. ET. The three games are all from the West. The Diamondbacks host the Cardinals, the Dodgers face the Padres in a divisional matchup, and the Mariners host the Cubs in the nightcap.
Let’s take a look at the best DFS plays from the six teams in Saturday night’s player pool.
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PITCHER
Stud
Shota Imanaga, Chicago Cubs vs. Seattle Mariners ($10,000) – Imanaga would be a good play to consider regardless of matchup and slate size, but with this matchup in such a limited pool, he stands out as a true stud option. The 30-year-old Japanese import nicknamed “The Throwing Philosopher” has been excellent since signing a four-year deal to join the Cubs this offseason after starring for the DeNA Baystars in Nippon Professional Baseball. He has impressed in his first two starts, allowing just four hits with 12 strikeouts in 10 innings while holding the Rockies and Dodgers scoreless. He cruised through four scoreless against the potent Dodgers lineup before a rain delay cut short his outing last Sunday. He gets a much more favorable matchup this time out as he faces the Mariners, who rank in the bottom five in the MLB in batting average, wOBA and ISO while leading the Majors with a 29.4% K%. His form and matchup make him almost a must-own on this limited slate.
Value
Kyle Gibson, St. Louis Cardinals at Arizona Diamondbacks ($7,100) – Once you get past Imanaga, the rest of the starting pitching slate gets pretty scary on Saturday. Of the other five options, Gibson has the fewest red flags, showing how rough the alternatives are. Gibson allowed seven runs in his last start and comes in with an ugly 6.23 ERA, but some of the underlying numbers aren’t quite so bad for the veteran in his first season in St. Louis. Gibson actually looked strong in his first start of the season, earning 20.2 DKFP in a road win over the Padres. In his last start, he gave up seven runs in six innings, but six of those were scored in the first inning. After that, he was able to settle down and hold Miami to just two hits and one run in his other five innings of work. He has been victimized by the long ball, allowing four homers in his two starts, so Arizona bats are still solid plays. Even though he is far from a low-risk and normally wouldn’t be an option I target, I think he’ll do enough to be the best SP2 play available this Saturday.
INFIELD
Stud
Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers vs. San Diego Padres ($6,000) – Ohtani had three hits including his fourth home run of the season on Friday night and now has nine extra-base hits in his last five games. He comes into Saturday’s matchup with knuckleballer Matt Waldron ($7,700) riding an eight-game hitting streak and has raised his average to .353 on the season with an impressive .353 ISO and .464 wOBA. Ohtani is almost always a good pay-up play to consider since he brings such a high ceiling in one of baseball’s best lineups. In his current form, he can be a good fit in either the outfield or at 1B.
Stud
Nolan Gorman, St. Louis Cardinals at Arizona Diamondbacks ($4,200) – The Cardinals join the Dodgers as my top two lineups to lean into on Saturday. They’ll face Ryne Nelson ($5,600), who is 0-2 in his two starts this season with an 8.22 ERA, a 5.86 FIP and two home runs allowed. Last season, he gave up 24 homers in 29 games on his way to a 5.31 ERA and 5.07 FIP. Gorman is one of the Cardinals’ top options and has been hitting in the heart of the order this season, especially against righties like Nelson. He has double-digit DKFP in three of his last six games, highlighted by a two-homer game with 30 DKFP. He has a .349 wOBA and .256 ISO against righties this season and all three of his home runs are on that side of his splits.
Value
Michael Busch, Chicago Cubs at Seattle Mariners ($3,100) – Busch has seized his opportunity to play every day after being traded to the Cubs this offseason, and the rookie is hitting .293 with three home runs and a .411 wOBA through his first 13 games of the season. He homered in each of the last two games for Chicago and has hit safely in eight of his last nine games with an at-bat with a .463 wOBA over that stretch. Busch is a great value at 1B at just over $3,000, and if you still want to play Ohtani, you can slot him into the outfield alongside Busch.
Value
Masyn Winn, St. Louis Cardinals at Arizona Diamondbacks ($2,400) – Winn arrived in the MLB last season at just 21 but struggled at the plate, hitting just .172 with a .211 wOBA. This year, he has been much better at the plate while still offering great defense. He is hitting .333 over his first 13 games with a .347 wOBA and one stolen base. Winn is a great way to save salary and still get a piece of the Cardinals lineup, which is expected to be one of the most productive on this limited slate.
OUTFIELD
Stud
Fernando Tatis Jr., San Diego Padres at Los Angeles Dodgers ($5,500) – Tatis came up clutch for the Padres on Friday, smashing his fifth home run of the season to tie the game in the seventh inning against the Dodgers, and the Padres later went on to win, 7-6. Tatis is hitting .290 with a .393 wOBA in his first 16 games this season. He and the Padres will face Gavin Stone ($8,300) in the second game of their series, and Stone is a favorable matchup after giving up eight runs in eight innings in his first two games of the season. He has given up eight home runs in his 39 MLB innings, so the Padres could be a solid source of power production on Saturday.
Stud
Seiya Suzuki, Chicago Cubs at Seattle Mariners ($4,700) – Suzuki and the Cubs are also in a pretty favorable offensive matchup as they face Emerson Hancock ($7,500). Hancock jumped from Double-A to the majors last season and has allowed 17 runs in 20 2⁄3 innings since being called up. Hancock has let righties hit .462 with a .693 wOBA this season, so Suzuki makes a lot of sense and can even be paired with Ian Happ ($4,600) at the top of the Cubs lineup to provide a nice 1-2 punch. Suzuki has been excellent this season, hitting .294 with two homers and a .366 wOBA. He has three doubles and two homers and offers a little more power potential than Happ, which is why I prefer Suzuki if you’re going to go with just one Cubs outfielder on this slate.
Value
Jackson Merrill, San Diego Padres at Los Angeles Dodgers ($2,900) – Padres 20-year-old phenom Jackson Merill forced his way onto the MLB roster with a big Spring Training, hitting .333 with two home runs and two stolen bases in 15 games. He has hit well in the regular season as well, and his batting average is up to .304 after picking up two hits in Friday’s win. Merrill has a 44.4% hard-hit rate, per Statcast, so there isn’t anything fluky about his production. He is still hitting eighth in the lineup which limits his upside a little bit, but he brings both power and speed potential from under $3,000.
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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.
