All 30 teams are in action Saturday in the second-to-last weekend of the Major League Baseball regular season. Eight games are scheduled for the afternoon, leaving seven games on the main fantasy baseball slate on DraftKings. Check out my MLB Targets below to see who you should be adding to your lineup.
The main slate gets underway at 7:05 p.m. ET with an AL West matchup between the Mariners and Rangers, one of the three divisional contests on the slate. The Royals and Giants matchup was moved to earlier in the day for better weather, so those players will no longer accrue fantasy points in this contest.
With 14 teams remaining in the player pool, plenty of good options are available at each position and price point. As you assemble your Saturday night squad, check out my top studs and values for Saturday night’s slate.
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PITCHER
Stud
Ronel Blanco, Houston Astros vs. Los Angeles Angels ($9,500) – Blanco started the year with his memorable no-hitter back on April 1 and was one of the Astros’ best starters early in the season. He hit a rough patch in July but has since regained his form and should be a key part of their postseason run, most likely out of the bullpen.
He has allowed zero runs over 13 innings in his last three games and allowed two runs or fewer in six of his last seven appearances, going 2-1 with a 2.65 ERA and 40 strikeouts in 37 1/3 innings over that span. In his two most recent starts, he posted 17.1 fantasy points against the Royals and 23.9 fantasy points against these same Angels last Sunday.
Blanco will look to pick up where he left off in that outing and continue to shut down a young Angels lineup. Over the last 30 days, the Angels rank in the bottom 10 in the MLB in runs scored and have the third-lowest team wOBA. Blanco should be in a favorable spot to continue his tuneup for the playoffs.
Value
Walker Buehler, Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Colorado Rockies ($6,700) – The Dodgers’ former ace hasn’t been his dominant self this season since returning from his second Tommy John surgery, but there have been enough good signs to make him a solid value play at home against the Rockies on Saturday night. Buehler is only 1-5 on the season with an ugly 5.54 ERA and 5.89 FIP. He has 54 strikeouts in his 65 innings but has also issued 26 walks.
Buehler has been trending up, though, allowing three earned runs or fewer in five of his last six starts. He only allowed one earned run in six innings in his most recent start, earning 16.7 fantasy points in a no-decision in Atlanta. Buehler also gets a good matchup on Saturday against the Rockies. Over the last 30 days, the Rockies have the highest K% in the MLB and the fourth-lowest wRC+. They are only hitting .229 as a team over that span despite Coors Field’s impact on their offense. Buehler should be able to pick up enough strikeouts and limit enough damage to make him a strong play under $7,000 on Saturday.
Aaron Civale ($7,000) and Martin Perez ($7,600) are slightly safer value plays on the mound, but I love Buehler’s upside and price point enough to take the risk on the 30-year-old righty this Saturday.
INFIELD
Stud
Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Colorado Rockies ($7,300) – Ohtani’s ceiling is unreal at this point, and he’s worth considering despite his elevated salary. He reached the 50/50 club with one of the most memorable single-game performances in MLB history, which earned him a crazy 81 fantasy points. He followed that up with another home run, another stolen base and three hits on Friday for 29 more fantasy points.
Ohtani has an insane 52 home runs and 52 stolen bases through his 151 games this season while hitting .297 with a .420 wOBA. He has hit safely in five of his last six games, going 13-for-28 (.464) with four stolen bases, four doubles, five home runs and 18 RBI in just those six games. He is rewriting the history books and continues to distance himself as a generational talent, having the best single season in the history of the MLB.
Stud
Jose Altuve, Houston Astros vs. Los Angeles Angels ($5,100) – Altuve and the Astros face lefty Reid Detmers ($8,000) on Saturday, who was knocked around for seven runs by the lowly White Sox in his most recent outing. Altuve has been crushing lefties all season, hitting .365 in the split with a .412 wOBA and 175 wRC+. Altuve has been held hitless in his last two games but is still hitting .293 over his last 20 games and should be able to snap out of his mini-slump in this matchup. In his past meetings with Detmers, Altuve is 5-for-14 (.357) with two walks and two home runs.
Value
Eric Wagaman, Los Angeles Angels at Houston Astros ($2,800) – Even though I like Blanco in his matchup against the Angels, Wagaman is a great value to consider at 3B since the 27-year-old has made quite the splash after making his MLB debut on Sept. 10. In his 10 games, he is 11-for-39 (.282) with four doubles and two home runs for a .347 wOBA and 7.9 fantasy points per game. Wagaman has a 41.4% hard-hit rate, per Statcast, and he is showing the solid tools that helped him hit .320 with a .371 wOBA in 27 games at Triple-A before being called up.
Value
Jacob Wilson, Oakland Athletics vs. New York Yankees ($2,700) – Wilson’s long-term upside is excellent, and the 22-year-old top prospect is showing signs that he is a solid value play for DFS as well. In his 26 games at Triple-A, he hit a blistering .396 with four homers and a .462 wOBA. He hasn’t had that level of success at the MLB level, hitting .221 with a .261 wOBA, but he has had success against southpaws, going 4-for-15 with two triples and a double against lefties like Carlos Rodon ($9,300). Wilson has hit leadoff in some matchups against lefties and had 15 fantasy points when leading off last Monday.
OUTFIELD
Stud
Fernando Tatis Jr., San Diego Padres vs. Chicago White Sox ($5,100) – Tatis and the Padres have a great matchup against Chris Flexen ($5,600) and the White Sox on Saturday night. Flexen is 2-14 with a 5.09 ERA and 1.53 WHIP in his 31 games this season, and Tatis comes into this matchup riding an impressive nine-game hitting streak.
Since returning from the IL, Tatis has hit .290 (18-for-62) with five home runs, two stolen bases and a .379 wOBA. All five of those home runs and both stolen bases have come in his last nine contests, during which he has gone 13-for-38 (.342), averaging 14.2 fantasy points per game during that stretch.
Stud
Julio Rodriguez, Seattle Mariners at Texas Rangers ($4,100) – The Mariners are two games back from the Twins in the race for the final AL Wild Card spot, and Rodriguez is doing his part to push them across the finish line. It’s been a rough season for Julio overall, with his home runs dropping from 32 last year to only 18 this year and his wOBA dropping from .347 to .317. His drop-off was even worse until his last 21 games, though, as he has finally started to find his groove.
In his last 21 contests, Rodriguez has a .429 wOBA and .352 batting average. He has seven home runs over that stretch, including a pair of blasts on Friday that helped him open the series with 37 fantasy points against the Rangers. His salary is still reduced due to his struggles earlier this season, and getting him at just over $4,000 should be a great value on Saturday.
Value
Garrett Mitchell, Milwaukee Brewers vs. Arizona Diamondbacks ($3,200) – In a potential NL playoff preview, the Brewers host the D-backs this weekend. Mitchell has been an elite value against righties like Merrill Kelly ($7,400) and has averaged 10.5 fantasy points per game over his last 10 contests, going 9-for-33 (.273) with a stolen base, four home runs and a .454 wOBA. He has been batting cleanup in the Brewers’ strong lineup and he’s very underpriced at just over $3,000.
Value
Gustavo Campero, Los Angeles Angels at Houston Astros ($2,000) – Campero is a good punt play with upside available at the minimum salary. If you’re building around Ohtani, Tatis or some of the other high-priced stars, Campero is a good way to balance out your spending while still keeping a high ceiling.
Campero played most of the year in Double-A with the Rocket City Trash Pandas and also spent a few weeks in Triple-A. In his 107 games, he hit .279 with 14 home runs, a .402 wOBA and an impressive 33 stolen bases in 40 attempts. In his six games since joining the Angels last Sunday, Campero has gone 6-for-20 (.300) in his six games with a triple, three RBI and a stolen base for an average of 6.7 fantasy points per game. He has at least eight fantasy points in three of his last four games and brings a lot of upside for a player at the minimum salary.
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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.
