Major League Baseball has a jam-packed Saturday of action all day long, with six games under the lights on DraftKings’ featured fantasy baseball slate. The contests that we’ll focus on in this post begin at 6:40 p.m. ET, when the Nationals and Reds get underway in Cincinnati. The games continue throughout the evening, with the last game starting at 9:38 p.m. ET in Anaheim, where the Angels welcome in the Tigers. With 16 teams in the player pool, there are plenty of stars, studs and values to take a look at, so let’s examine some of my favorite MLB DFS picks for your lineup.
As we get closer to game time, check the latest weather forecasts since there could be some rain issues in Cincinnati, Atlanta and Baltimore. It’s an interesting mix of starting pitchers on the mound, with a few big names and some high-risk sleepers. Up against some of the shakier starting pitchers, there are also some good spots to find favorable offensive matchups.
Let’s break it all down in my MLB DFS picks.
Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB $100K Relay Throw [$25K to 1st]
PITCHER
Stud
Jack Flaherty, Detroit Tigers at Los Angeles Angels, $9,000: The Tigers re-signed Flaherty this last offseason after trading him to the Dodgers midseason last year. He has been solid in his return to the Motor City and posted over 24 fantasy points in three of his last five starts. He did stumble against the Astros in his last start, giving up a pair of two-run homers and taking the loss.
He has a solid 3.34 ERA, 3.83 FIP, 1.11 WHIP and 38 strikeouts in 32 1/3 innings across his six starts. His 10.6 K/9 rate has made him a strong fantasy option even though he has dropped three straight outings. His strikeout potential gives him a very high ceiling against the Angels.
Not only are the Halos without Mike Trout (knee), but they have led the majors with a 29.2% K% over the last two weeks while scoring only 2.5 runs per game, the lowest total in the majors. Over their 12 games in the last two weeks, the Angels are hitting just .188 with an ugly 60 wRC+ as a team. They set up as a great matchup for Flaherty in the last game of the slate.
Value
Luis Castillo, Seattle Mariners at Texas Rangers, $7,900: Getting the right cheap starting pitcher can make all the difference in your MLB DFS picks and vault your team to victory. Yesterday, I highlighted rookie Gunnar Hoglund, who delivered 25.9 fantasy points at the minimum salary. However, there are no bargain options on Saturday’s slate with nearly that much upside. Getting a cheap starting pitcher wrong can sink your lineup, so given the options, I would avoid going lower than Castillo.
Castillo brings good potential at this salary under $8,000, which is $700 lower than his salary was for his start last Saturday. In that outing, he spun six shutout innings against the Marlins, earning 25.7 fantasy points. He has at least 11 fantasy points in five of his six starts this season and is averaging 14.5 fantasy points per contest.
Despite a drop in fastball velocity to an average of 94.9 MPH, Castillo has at least five strikeouts in four of his last five starts. He is in a tougher matchup than last week against the Rangers, but he’s in a favorable spot going against Patrick Corbin ($7,000), so he should get enough run support to be able to earn a win with another strong outing.
INFIELD
Stud
Elly De La Cruz, Cincinnati Reds vs. Washington Nationals, $6,100: De La Cruz is averaging 10.2 fantasy points per game and exactly the same number over his last 10 games. He has five home runs and 13 stolen bases on the season, with six of those 13 stolen bases coming in his last 10 games.
He has a good matchup against Trevor Williams at home at Great American Ball Park. Williams is 1-3 with a 5.70 ERA and 1.53 WHIP, and the switch-hitting De La Cruz has been better against righties like Williams this season, and he also has strong splits at home.
Stud
Freddie Freeman, Los Angeles Dodgers at Atlanta Braves, $5,900: Freeman extended his hitting streak to seven games by going 1-for-3 with a walk in the first game of this series in Atlanta, where he began his MLB career. Freeman is 11-for-24 (.458) over his last seven games with three doubles, a home run, a 30% hard-hit rate and an average of 11.7 fantasy points per contest.
Freeman and the Dodgers face Spencer Schwellenbach ($9,700) on Saturday night, who has let lefties hit .250 against him with a .316 wOBA. After starting the season on a roll, Schwellenbach has given up 13 runs in 17 2/3 innings over his last three starts.
Value
Jace Jung, Detroit Tigers at Los Angeles Angels, $2,100: Jung was recalled a couple of weeks ago and is getting time at 3B against right-handed starting pitchers. Jung was the team’s No. 4 prospect last season, according to MLB Pipeline, but he struggled at the plate and didn’t win the starting job in spring training. The Tigers saw enough in his 19 games at Triple-A to bring him up a couple of weeks ago after he hit .239 with three homers and a stolen base.
In his 10 games since joining the Tigers, Jung is just 3-for-25 (.120) but did have seven fantasy points in Friday’s win over the Angels. He has shown a good approach at the plate with seven walks and a .236 wOBA along with a decent 43.8% hard-hit rate. At barely more than the minimum salary, he can be a good cost-saving option in a favorable matchup against Kyle Hendricks ($5,100) and the Angels.
OUTFIELD
Stud
Julio Rodriguez, Seattle Mariners at Texas Rangers, $5,000: Rodriguez went 2-for-4 with a home run and 21 fantasy points in Friday’s 13-1 rout of the Rangers. Rodriguez has hit safely in five straight games, going 7-for-22 (.318) with at least eight fantasy points in each contest and an average of 12.2 fantasy points per game over that short stretch.
He’s averaging 8.8 fantasy points per game on the season and 9.6 fantasy points per game over his last 10 contests. He’ll be in that good matchup against Corbin and has hit two of his five homers this season against lefties, who he historically hits well against over the course of his career. He’s 1-for-6 in his past meetings with Corbin, but that one hit was a home run.
Stud
Christian Yelich, Milwaukee Brewers vs. Chicago Cubs, $4,500: Although he’s off to a slow start to the season, Yelich has shown some signs of breaking out. He had six hits in a four-game span coming into the week before going 0-for-12 in his last three games. He does have sneaky potential to turn things around since he is 10-for-30 (.333) with a pair of home runs against Cubs starting pitcher Jameson Taillon ($7,500). Taillon is 1-1 on the year with a 4.01 ERA, but he has struggled in his road starts, giving up 10 runs in 15 2/3 road innings with a 5.61 FIP. The Brewers went down hard in Game 1 of this NL Central series, but they’ll look to bounce back Saturday night.
Value
Kerry Carpenter, Detroit Tigers at Los Angeles Angels, $3,500: Carpenter is a great value option in the outfield since he has been hitting leadoff against right-handed pitching lately. On the season, Kerry Bonds is hitting .282 with seven long balls and a .357 wOBA. He has been even better over his last 17 games, picking up seven multi-hit performances and going 21-for-62 (.339) with a .389 wOBA.
On Friday, he had three hits out of the leadoff spot against the Angels after smashing a pair of homers in the first stop on this Tigers’ trip in Houston. Carpenter is on the strong side of the splits against Hendricks, who has let lefties post a .360 wOBA this season. Building around Carpenter, Jung and Flaherty gives you plenty value and potential production late on the slate, and that ambush of Tigers is where I’d start my MLB DFS picks for Saturday.
