This Saturday, Major League Baseball has plenty of fantasy baseball action throughout a busy afternoon which sets up a focused four-game slate this Saturday night on DraftKings. The biggest series of the weekend continues in the Bronx, where the Yankees host the Dodgers in a potential World Series preview. The other three games on the schedule also include some intriguing fantasy baseball options as the Guardians visit the Marlins, the Padres host the Diamondbacks, and the Astros take on the Angels in a divisional game to close out the evening.
The contests for Saturday night begin at 7:35 p.m. ET, so everyone has a little extra time to get their roster fine-tuned and in position. With eight teams in the player pools, let’s examine some of the top plays for Saturday night.
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PITCHER
Stud
Matt Waldron, San Diego Padres vs. Arizona Diamondbacks ($8,100) – There’s always extra risk going with a knuckleballer since the very nature of the pitch is volatile and erratic. Waldron has had the flutterball working effectively lately, and he brings a high ceiling in this matchup with Arizona, even though the Diamondbacks dominated him for eight runs on eight hits in just three innings earlier this year. That matchup was at Chase Field, which could have impacted the knuckleball, or it could have just been a bad day. Since then, though, Waldron has been locked in, giving up just six runs in 29 1⁄3 innings for an impressive 1.84 ERA and 1.91 FIP. In each of those five starts, Waldron had at least 15 DKFP and went off for over 30 DKFP in two outings. In his last home start, he had 32.2 DKFP against Miami, with eight strikeouts in seven shutout innings. In his last five outings since losing to Arizona, Waldron has totaled 35 strikeouts in under 30 innings. He brings enough upside to be worth hopping on board the wild ride and seeing how the ball knuckles this Saturday night.
Value
Hunter Brown, Houston Astros at Los Angeles Angels ($7,100) – Like Waldron, recent form is a key reason you should see what Brown can do for you this Saturday. The season got off to a disastrous start for the 25-year-old as he was pounded with a 9.78 ERA and an 0-4 record over his first six starts. He has righted the ship since then, though, with a 3.62 ERA and 3.38 xFIP over his last five outings. Brown’s strikeout rate has been good throughout the season, hovering at just about one strikeout per inning. He faced the Angels three starts ago and took a tough-luck loss despite allowing just two runs on two hits in six solid innings. While his splits on the season are still scary across the board, his last two road starts have been excellent. He posted 20.3 DKFP in Detroit and 26.5 DKFP in Seattle, and he’ll look to put another good number on the board in this stop in Anaheim. He’ll be in a good matchup against the Angels, who have been struggling badly at the plate. They haven’t scored more than four runs in any of their last 14 games and have an MLB-low .195 team batting average over the last two weeks. During that run, their team’s wOBA is an atrocious 56 (league average is 100), so Brown should be in a great spot to continue his turnaround at this very affordable salary of barely over $7,000.
INFIELD
Stud
Anthony Volpe, New York Yankees vs. Los Angeles Dodgers ($4,900) – Volpe has hit safely in 28 of his last 29 games for the Yankees, hitting .323 (41-for-127) with five doubles, five triples, three home runs and a .373 wOBA over that stretch. He has also scored 24 runs in those 29 games and is a strong option at under $5,000 as he leads off atop a power-packed lineup. The Yankees will take on righty Gavin Stone ($8,400) in the big game Saturday night. Both Stone and his opponent Nestor Cortes ($8,700) have been rolling lately, but there are still some strong offensive options to consider like Volpe.
Stud
Alex Bregman, Houston Astros at Los Angeles Angels ($4,200) – Bregman’s season numbers are still low, which is why the 30-year-old is so affordable. He has been red-hot lately, though, averaging 14.0 DKFP over his last nine games with five homers, a stolen base and a .368 batting average. He and the Astros will face lefty Tyler Anderson ($7,700) on Saturday in one of the best matchups on the board. Anderson’s strand rate this season indicates that he has been ridiculously lucky, and there could be some regression in store for him against Houston on Saturday night.
Value
Yainer Diaz, Houston Astros at Los Angeles Angels ($3,600) – Diaz homered for the fourth straight game on Friday night, going 3-for-5 on his way to a 24-DKFP performance. He has been good all year against lefties, hitting .291 with a .348 wOBA against southpaws. Diaz has proven he can get hot and go on a tear, and it looks like he’s doing just that after a slow start to the season. The 25-year-old will need to step up and help carry the offense while Kyle Tucker (shin) is on the IL, and he brings a lot of upside and power at a sometimes-tricky catcher position.
Value
Donovan Solano, San Diego Padres vs. Arizona Diamondbacks ($2,800) – The Padres are dealing with multiple injuries in the infield, including Manny Machado (hip) now dealing with a hip flexor issue. As a result, Solano has become a regular in the lineup and has been very productive since being called up a month ago. In his 21 games, Solano is hitting a robust .345 with a .385 wOBA. While he doesn’t typically provide much power, Solano makes plenty of contact and gets on base enough to be worth a look under $3,000, especially since he can fit at either 1B or 3B, depending on the rest of your roster construction.
OUTFIELD
Stud
Fernando Tatis Jr., San Diego Padres vs. Arizona Diamondbacks ($5,500) – Tatis produced his third straight multi-hit game on Friday and has hit safely in 12 straight contests. During that streak, he is hitting .449 (22-for-49) with three doubles, two homers and a .484 wOBA. Tatis has been especially strong against righties like Ryne Nelson ($6,000), hitting .306 with 10 homers and a .374 wOBA in the split this year. In his 67 games this season, he is averaging 8.6 DKFP, but over his last eight games, he’s picked that up to 13.3 DKFP per contest. He comes cheaper than the big bats from the Dodgers-Yankees game but is actually in a much better matchup.
Stud
Steven Kwan, Cleveland Guardians at Miami Marlins ($4,900) – Kwan has hit safely in each of his four games since returning from IL, going 7-for-15 (.467) with a double and six runs scored. On the year, the 26-year-old lefty is hitting .365 with a .404 wOBA. He was out of the lineup for the series opener on Friday, but he should be back atop the Guardians’ lineup against righty Roddery Munoz ($7,300), who is expected to be called up from Triple-A before game time. Munoz has given up a .503 wOBA to lefties in his limited work in the majors this year, so Kwan should be in a great spot to stay hot Saturday night.
Value
Jesus Sanchez, Miami Marlins vs. Cleveland Guardians ($3,100) – Sanchez has shown big-time potential for several stretches during his career, and the 26-year-old lefty is heating up after a slow start. Over his first 44 games, he hit only .220 with .257 wOBA, but over his 12 most recent contests, he hit .361 (13-for-36) with a .433 wOBA. He has still been coming off the bench against lefties but should be in the lineup against righty Ben Lively ($8,300) on Saturday. He even has moved into the cleanup spot in his last few starts. Sanchez had a season-high 32 DKFP against the Rangers last Friday and brings a great ceiling at this affordable salary.
Value
Mauricio Dubon, Houston Astros at Los Angeles Angels ($2,800) – Dubon has been solid in his utility role for the Astros this season, especially thriving against lefties like Anderson. In his 40 at-bats against lefties, Dubon is hitting .350 this year with one home run and a .368 wOBA. While that is a small sample size, Dubon has hit southpaws well throughout his career with a .299 batting average and .348 wOBA. He is a great source of value, especially if you stack him up with other Astros batters, expecting Anderson to struggle in the last game of the night.
Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB $100K 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.
