We’ve got a seven-game slate for Saturday’s MLB action.
Let’s find some studs and values for your MLB DFS lineups on DraftKings. This article was written before lineups were announced.
Make your DraftKings MLB DFS picks here: MLB $125K Relay Throw [$25K to 1st]
PITCHER
Stud
MacKenzie Gore, Texas Rangers vs. Athletics, $8,600 — Gore has elite bat-missing ability, posting a 32.4% strikeout rate on the season. Unfortunately, he has too much Ricky Vaughn in him as well, with an 11.1% walk rate. He’s already allowed five home runs in 26 innings and posted a 4.46 FIP. The range of outcomes is extremely wide, as he struck out nine Mariners in five innings without allowing an earned run three starts ago, but got blasted for five earned runs in five innings with five strikeouts last outing against the same Mariners team. Shrug. Gore faced the Athletics two starts ago and allowed two earned runs in 4.2 innings while walking six and striking out five. Against left-handed pitching this season, the Athletics are sixth in strikeouts, 24th in wOBA and wRC+. I’m expecting the good Gore in this one.
Value
Jack Flaherty, Detroit Tigers at Cincinnati Reds, $7,800 — Flaherty has been bad to start this season. Through 23.1 innings, the FIP is 4.1. He’s only allowed one home run and has a strikeout rate of 22.2%, but the control has been atrocious with an 18.5% walk rate. He has a career 8.8% walk rate and has been above 10% only three times in his career, so I’m not expecting this to be a thing all season. I wish the price was lower, but it is what it is. The ownership should be low and there is upside, as Cincinnati is seventh in strikeouts, 27th in wOBA and dead-last in wRC+.
INFIELD
Stud
Ben Rice, New York Yankees at Houston Astros, $5,500 — Rice has been en fuego to start the season with a .311/.453/.716 slash and .405 ISO! The average is fueled by a .385 BABIP but the power is 2 Legit 2 Quit, as the average exit velocity is 94.9 mph, his barrel rate is 21.3% and the hard hit is 63.8%. Against right-handed pitching, Rice has a 220 wRC+ and .412 ISO. Against left-handed batters, Mike Burrows has a 7.23 FIP and 4.6% K-BB%. Four of the five home runs allowed have come off the bat of lefties.
Max Muncy, Athletics at Texas Rangers, $3,700 — Muncy has a lot of swing-and-miss to his game, as the strikeout rate is 34% while the chase rate is 37.1%. But the swing speed is 74.7 mph, the average exit velocity is 92.5 mph, barrel rate is 12.7% and the hard hit rate is 56.4%. Muncy has two home runs and two stolen bases through 97 plate appearances and the ISO is .174. Against left-handed pitching, Muncy has a 152 wRC+ and .346 ISO. MacKenzie Gore can get his strikeout on, but he’s also prone to the long ball, having allowed five on the season, four of those to righties.
OUTFIELD
Stud
Ian Happ, Chicago Cubs at Los Angeles Dodgers, $3,900 — Happ has seven home runs through 108 plate appearances with an ISO of .272. He’s batting in the heart of the Cubs order and will get to face Roki Sasaki, who has struggled this season with a 6.38 FIP and 14.1% walk rate. Against left-handed batters, the K-BB% is only 1.6% while the FIP is 6.7. Three of the four home runs have come off the bat of lefties.
Trent Grisham, New York Yankees at Houston Astros, $3,700 — Grisham either walks or hits a home run. There is no in-between. I kid, but also not really. The slash is .167/.310/.333, his walk rate is 17.2%, the strikeout rate is 19.5% and the ISO is .167. He has three home runs in 87 plate appearances. The BABIP is only .173, so he’s been unlucky. The ISO is .170 and wRC+ is 91 against right-handed pitching this season, but in his career, those numbers are .186 and 102 respectively. The matchup is a good one since Burrows has struggled against lefties.
