After a full afternoon of day baseball from the MLB, there are six games on Saturday night’s main DFS fantasy baseball slate on DraftKings. The contests lock at 6:40 p.m. ET so that it can include the matchup between the Orioles and Reds which is full of exciting young stars. The other five games include the second game of this weekend’s marquee matchup between the Dodgers and the Braves along with an NL West matchup between the Padres and Diamondbacks in Arizona. There are lots of interesting storylines and angles to consider in what should be an awesome Saturday night on the diamonds.
Let’s dive right into some of the top plays from the 12-team player pool this Saturday night.
Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB $125K Relay Throw [$25K to 1st]
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PITCHER
Stud
Tyler Glasnow, Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Atlanta Braves ($10,400) – The Dodgers took the first game of this series 4-3 on Friday, so they have to feel great about giving the ball to their ace on Saturday night. Glasnow has been excellent in his seven starts for the Dodgers, going 5-1 with a 2.72 ERA, 2.72 FIP and 53 strikeouts in 43 innings. He has allowed zero or one run in four of his last six starts including each of his last two. His high strikeout totals have boosted him to over 30 DKFP in three of his last four starts, including a masterful 46-DKFP start in Minnesota against the now-scorching Twins. Glasnow had 14 strikeouts in seven innings in that outing, and he had nine strikeouts in six innings in Toronto for 30.5 DKFP in his most recent start. Glasnow has a high enough ceiling due to his strikeout potential that even with this tough matchup against the Braves, he’s the strongest stud starting pitcher to build around. He has a sky-high ceiling and has averaged a very solid 24.7 DKFP per start this season.
Value
Framber Valdez, Houston Astros vs. Seattle Mariners ($7,800) – After a trip to the IL with left elbow inflammation, it’s once again Framber time! Valdez looked sharp in his return last Sunday, allowing just two runs on five hits while striking out six to get the win and pick up 20.3 DKFP. That start is even more impressive since it was at Coors Field. Valdez earned 20 DKFP for the second straight start with a gap of 26 days between them. He’ll have a tougher matchup this time around as he takes on the Mariners, but Seattle still leads the MLB in K% at 28.7%, so even if he does give up a few runs, his strikeouts should be able to balance them out and still allow him a good shot to return value. Valdez has appeared in 12 games in his career against Seattle, going 5-1 with a 3.00 ERA and 71 strikeouts in 66 innings. Without Valdez, the Astros struggled early in the season and are still just 12-20 despite winning five of their last six. Framber will look to help them stay hot on Saturday and should be a strong SP2 under $8,000.
INFIELD
Stud
Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Atlanta Braves ($6,000) – Ohtani and Mookie Betts have formed a lethal tandem at the top of the Dodgers’ lineup, just as the team envisioned when they inked Ohtani this last offseason. Over his last 13 games, Ohtani has gone 19-for-57 (.333) with four doubles, three homers and four stolen bases for an average of 13.1 DKFP per game. He stole two bases against the Braves on Friday and brings an even higher ceiling if he keeps getting the green light on the basepaths. He has been excellent everywhere, but especially strong at home (hitting .344 with a .429 wOBA) and against righties (hitting .373 with a .517 wOBA). When you add that Bryce Elder ($7,000) has allowed a .331 wOBA to left-handed hitters, Ohtani looks to be teed up for another big game on Saturday night.
Stud
Bobby Witt Jr., Kansas City Royals vs. Texas Rangers ($5,900) – Witt has been tearing it up both at the plate and on the bases lately. He has six stolen bases in his last 10 games while going 14-for-38 (.378) and adding two doubles, a triple and a home run. The 23-year-old has established himself as one of the top DFS fantasy options with his production of 10.8 DKFP per contest on the season and 12.5 DKFP per game over those last 10 contests. He has at least 12 DKFP in four straight and six of his last seven coming into this matchup with Dane Dunning ($7,600) on Saturday night.
Value
Santiago Espinal, Cincinnati Reds vs. Baltimore Orioles ($2,900) – Espinal will likely be in the lineup on Saturday for the Reds when they take on Orioles’ lefty John Means ($7,400) in his season debut. Espinal is only hitting .183 on the season but a much better .273 against southpaws with a .309 wOBA. He went 2-for-2 with a double and an RBI against Means when he faced him while with the Blue Jays and will look to have more success on Saturday. He’s a great way to get a piece of the Reds’ productive lineup at under $3,000 and can slide to 2B or 3B depending on where he fits better on your roster.
Value
Michael Massey, Kansas City Royals vs. Texas Rangers ($2,800) – Massey started the season late due to a back issue, but the 26-year-old lefty has looked solid since joining his double-play partner Witt in the lineup. On the year, he’s hitting .250 with a below-average .194 BABIP which indicates he is due for some positive regression in his batting average. He has been locked in at the plate over his current six-game hitting streak, going 7-for-21 (.333) with two homers, seven RBI and an average of 10.2 DKFP per game. Since Witt is pricey, pairing him with Massey is a nice way to balance out his salary and get a nice mini-stack in the middle infield.
OUTFIELD
Stud
Fernando Tatis Jr., San Diego Padres at Arizona Diamondbacks ($5,100) – Tatis went 3-for-5 in the series opener against the Dbacks and smashed his seventh homer of the season as part of his 26-DKFP performance. On the season, he is averaging 8.8 DKFP per contest while adding four stolen bases to his solid power numbers. He offers a little bit of a salary break from the big names at the very top of the salary structure but still brings a very high ceiling as he and the Padres face Brandon Pfaadt ($7,700), who has given up five homers and 19 runs over his first six starts, posting a 4.63 ERA and 3.51 FIP.
Stud
Richie Palacios, Tampa Bay Rays vs. New York Mets ($4,600) – After getting Friday out of the lineup against lefty Jose Quintana, Palacios will likely be back in the heart of the order on Saturday night against righty Christian Scott ($7,500), who will be making his MLB debut. Palacios has shown good consistency and a nice ceiling in his first season with Tampa Bay, hitting .310 with three home runs, four stolen bases and an impressive .396 wOBA. He has a .410 wOBA against righties and has produced 10.9 DKFP per game in his last nine games with multiple at-bats.
Value
Andy Pages, Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Atlanta Braves ($3,500) – Pages was the hero for the Dodgers on Friday, going 4-for-5 with four singles and the game-winning RBI in the 11th inning. The 23-year-old rookie raised his average to .333 in his first 15 games in the majors and has produced an impressive 9.5 DKFP per game since being called up in mid-April In his 15 games, he has 20 hits including five doubles and three home runs. He’s a great way to get an affordable piece of the Dodgers lineup and still get great upside since he has settled in at the MLB level so quickly.
Value
Joey Loperfido, Houston Astros at Seattle Mariners ($2,800) – All season long, there has been a string of call-ups that have brought great value at bargain prices in the outfield. Loperfido is the latest bargain to arrive. He has hit safely in each of his three games since being called up, going 4-for-11 (.364) with two RBI. He showed great upside at Triple-A with 13 homers and a .444 wOBA over his 101 at-bats with the Sugar Land Space Cowboys. He also had five stolen bases in those 25 games, so even though he hasn’t had a homer or stolen base in the MLB yet, he has a high ceiling at this extremely affordable salary of under $3,000.
Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB $125K Relay Throw [$25K 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.
