There are eight MLB games on the early slate for Saturday, with the first starting at 1:05 p.m. EST. Here are three value picks for the slate. This article is written before the actual lineups come out, so keep track of updates throughout the day.
Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB $150K Relay Throw [$50K to 1st] (Early)
SP Kumar Rocker, Texas Rangers at Pittsburgh Pirates, $6,000
There are reasons why Rocker is priced at $6k, the third-lowest amongst pitchers. He’s sporting a 7.31 ERA while allowing a 91.6 mph average exit velocity and 48.5% hard hit rate. In seven starts, he’s pitched at least five innings only twice and has yet to get into the sixth inning. Rocker has put up fewer than 10 FPTS five times, with two of those in negative territory.
Now for the good.
He averages 96.1 mph on the fastball and has an 11.6% swinging strike rate. The strikeout rate isn’t great, but isn’t terrible at 20.1%. For a young pitcher, the 6% walk rate is very nice. Kumar has been very unlucky this season. The FIP is 4.05 while the BABIP is .387 with a strand rate of only 58.6%. In the two starts where he went over 10 FPTS, Rocker went way over: 26.8 and 24.3 FPTS.
The last piece of the puzzle is the matchup. The Pirates strike out at the ninth-highest rate while being 30th in ISO and 29th in wOBA. This game is in Pittsburgh and PNC Park is rated 19th for park factor.
SP Brayan Bello, Boston Red Sox at San Francisco Giants, $6,400
Through 11 starts and 59.1 innings, Bello has been mundane. The strikeout rate is only 17.3% while the walk rate is 10.8%. He’s done an excellent job of keeping the ball in the yard, though, allowing only five home runs on the season. The ERA is 3.49 while the FIP is at 4.26. The swinging strike rate is only 8% while the chase rate is 23.8%, but the hard hit rate is 38.8% and the barrel rate is 7.7%.
Bello has allowed at least three earned runs only four times this season. Three of those were right at three earned runs and the fourth was at seven earned runs. In his most recent start, he stymied the Yankees to only three hits without allowing an earned run in seven inning.
Now he travels to one of the most pitcher-friendly parks in MLB. Against right-handed pitching, the Giants are 12th in strikeout rate, 21st in ISO and 20th in wOBA. Most of those numbers are without new acquisition, Rafael Devers, though.
Bello has put up double-digit FPTS in six starts. That game against the Yankees was good for 32.2 FPTS.
OF Andrew Benintendi, Chicago White Sox at Toronto Blue Jays, $2,900
The matchup isn’t particularly great, as Jose Berrios has been decent against left-handed batters. The strikeout and home run rates are far superior than against righties. That said, he does have some control issues, as the walk rate is 12.7% and…it’s still Jose Berrios.
Benintendi is currently sporting a .199 ISO through 192 plate appearances, a career high. He’s racked up two hits in each of the last two games, with one home run, resulting in 13 and 23 FPTS.
The White Sox offense isn’t great, but Benintendi is batting either second or third in the lineup.
