Saturday night’s main DFS fantasy baseball slate features seven games under the lights, beginning at 7:10 p.m. ET. Two of those seven games are divisional contests and three are interleague matchups.
One of those interleague games serves as the late-night hammer from the West Coast, as the Dodgers host the Rays, and another could be a potential World Series preview between the Phillies and the Royals.
With 14 teams available in the player pool, options abound for building your roster this Saturday. Some studs should be worth their price based on their ceiling and matchup, but some values should also have a chance to shine.
Below, you can check out some of my favorite options from across the board this Saturday night.
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PITCHER
Stud
Tarik Skubal, Detroit Tigers at Chicago White Sox ($10,900) – Skubal is the most expensive probable pitcher available this Saturday, but he’s still worth a look based on his consistency and his upside in what should be an extremely favorable matchup. Skubal is the prohibitive favorite for the AL Cy Young Award at -16000 and has put together a marvelous season, going 14-4 in 25 starts with a 2.49 ERA, 2.66 FIP and 10.7 K/9. He is tied for the MLB lead in wins and leads the American League in ERA, FIP and strikeouts.
In his last start, Skubal “only” five strikeouts and 17.3 fantasy points against the Yankees, but before that, he had over 23 fantasy points in six of seven games, highlighted by a dominant performance in Cincinnati that earned him 42 fantasy points on a season-high 13 strikeouts. He has allowed more than two earned runs only once in his last eight starts with at least eight strikeouts in six of those contests as well.
The White Sox are about the softest matchup in the MLB for any starting pitcher. They rank last in the MLB in runs scored and have the second-worst batting average and lowest wOBA. Over the last 30 days, they have averaged just 3.1 runs per game with only a 73 wRC+ and 24.5% K%. Skubal hasn’t faced them since Opening Day when he had 27.7 fantasy points and got his first win of the season.
Value
Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Tampa Bay Rays ($7,800) – Kershaw is still ramping up after missing the first half of the season with offseason shoulder surgery, but the veteran lefty looked extremely sharp in his last three outings and has worked up to six innings. He worked six scoreless innings in St. Louis in his last start, earning 18.5 fantasy points and his second win of the season. He has only allowed two runs total in 16 1/3 innings over his last three starts, with 11 strikeouts.
On Saturday, Kershaw has a favorable matchup against the Rays, who have scored the fourth-fewest runs in the MLB over the last 30 days while only hitting .219 with a 25.5% K%. While the strikeout numbers and consistency may be down from peak Kershaw, he’s still a strong play under $8,000 in this spot Saturday.
INFIELD
Stud
Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Tampa Bay Rays ($6,900) – Ohtani bashed his way into the 40-40 club with an impressive walk-off grand slam late on Friday night in one of the most memorable moments of the season.
He had a stolen base earlier in the game and finished with 28 fantasy points. On the season, he has averaged an impressive 12.1 fantasy points per game and has stepped that up with 14.6 fantasy points per game over his last 11 contests. He almost always delivers fantasy goodness either at the plate, on the basepaths, or both like on Friday.
On Saturday, Ohtani and the Dodgers will take on Taj Bradley ($7,500), but at this point, Ohtani is matchup-proof and a strong payup option in almost every contest. He can either fit at 1B or in the OF and is an elite play in either position.
Stud
Francisco Lindor, New York Mets at San Diego Padres ($5,500) – SS is stacked with great options on Saturday, but Lindor looks like the best option even though he only has the fifth-highest salary. Lindor has hit safely in 16 of his last 17 games.
Since the All-Star break, he has a .308 batting average, eight home runs, seven stolen bases and a .392 wOBA. He has been hot enough and offers a high enough ceiling to be a good option to build around even in a tough matchup with Michael King ($9,800) in San Diego.
Value
Keibert Ruiz, Washington Nationals at Atlanta Braves ($3,300) – Ruiz has hit safely in each of his last eight starts with five of his 10 hits during that span going for extra bases. Over his 18 games in August, the 26-year-old switch-hitter is hitting .288 (19-for-66) with four long balls and a .362 wOBA.
Ruiz has recently been hitting cleanup, and he’s one of the best options at catcher, which can sometimes be a tricky spot to find reliable offensive production. Ruiz and the Nats face Charlie Morton ($8,100) on Saturday, who has been inconsistent this season and sometimes a great matchup.
Value
Junior Caminero, Tampa Bay Rays at Los Angeles Dodgers, $3,100 – Somewhat lost in the Rays’ overall offensive slump has been the solid start to the career of Junior Caminero, who joined the Rays as a top prospect ten games ago. The 21-year-old Caminero hit .276 with 13 homers and a .361 wOBA in 53 games at Triple-A and has gone 9-for-34 (.265) with a home run, two stolen bases and a double to produce 7.1 fantasy points per start.
He hit in the third spot in the batting order Friday and hit his first homer in the majors before Shohei stole the spotlight. The rookie should continue to be in a premium run production spot for the rest of the season as the Rays decide whether he’s ready for an everyday role next season.
OUTFIELD
Stud
Marcell Ozuna, Atlanta Braves vs. Washington Nationals ($5,700) – Ozuna has 37 homers on the season and has helped keep the Braves alive in the playoff hunt despite their many injuries. Ozuna has a .308 batting average and .410 wOBA on the season. Eleven of his 37 blasts have come since the All-Star break, and he has a .417 wOBA since the break.
He’ll face Jake Irvin ($6,700) on Saturday night, who has struggled in August, allowing seven home runs, 23 hits and 11 runs over his last three starts. The Braves have a 2 1/2 game lead on the Mets for the final Wild Card spot, and they’ll look to get a second straight win at home against Washington on Saturday.
Stud
Jurickson Profar, San Diego Padres vs. New York Mets ($4,800) – Profar is a strong mid-tier play in his matchup with lefty David Peterson ($7,000). Profer is batting .328 against southpaws with eight homers and a .411 wOBA. He produced double-digit fantasy points in three of his last five games and seems to be shaking off his mid-season slump.
Over his last 18 games, he has 16 hits with half of those going for extra bases. He usually hits second in the order, giving him a good chance to produce runs, especially against lefties.
Value
Matt Vierling, Detroit Tigers at Chicago White Sox, $3,800 – Vierling usually leads off for the Tigers against lefties, and the Detroit lineup should be in a good spot on Saturday against Ky Bush ($5,200) and the White Sox. Bush has given up six runs in 14 2/3 innings while handing out 15 walks in his three MLB starts.
Vierling has gone 15-for-49 (.306) over his last 12 games with three doubles, two stolen bases and a home run. Over that stretch, he averaged 8.2 fantasy points per game. If he’s hitting leadoff at the top of a productive order on Saturday, he’ll be a solid play under $4,000.
Value
Victor Scott II, St. Louis Cardinals at Minnesota Twins, $2,000 – Scott has an intriguing skill set for fantasy baseball and can be a good value. He stole 44 bases in 66 games in Double-A last season and has 29 stolen bases in 74 games in Triple-A this season. Despite his stolen base potential, he has struggled to get on base enough to be a consistent fantasy option. In his 35 games in the MLB, Scott is batting only .144 with a .181 wOBA.
Despite his struggles, Scott flashed upside in his last two starts with three hits and 18 fantasy points on Thursday followed by 11 fantasy points on Friday. Scott is high-risk but also a punt play with upside at the minimum salary. His speed makes him a threat to post a big number if he can get on base against Pablo Lopez ($8,600) and the Twins.
Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB $150K Relay Throw [$50K to 1st]
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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.
