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Saturday is another beautifully busy day of Major League Baseball, with a busy afternoon helping everyone prepare for an awesome five-game slate Saturday night. The featured DFS fantasy baseball slate on DraftKings begins at 7:15 p.m. ET. The five night games are mostly from the West Coast, with the exception of an AL Central clash in Minneapolis. There are several big-name starting pitchers scheduled to take the hill, but there also should be some good spots for offensive production as well.
As always, make sure to keep a close eye on pregame lineups and the latest player news by installing the DK Live app and following DK Live on Twitter (@dklive). I’m also on Twitter (@ZT_Sports), where you can keep up with all my picks as the season continues.
Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB $125K Relay Throw [$25K to 1st]
For up-to-the-minute news, analysis, and lineups, download the DK Live app. You also can follow DK Live on Twitter @dklive.
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PITCHER
Stud
Spencer Strider, Atlanta Braves at Arizona Diamondbacks ($12,400) – Strider leads the Majors by a comfortable margin with a 14.98 K/9 rate and has an MLB-high 106 strikeouts in his 63 2⁄3 innings pitched. He has only issued 22 walks on the season, so he also leads the MLB in K-BB% by almost six percentage points. His control and dominance have made him a Cy Young frontrunner and helped him to a 2.97 ERA and 2.35 FIP over his 11 starts with a 5-2 record.
He is averaging over 26 DKFP per start and has reached that number in three of his past four outings. He has allowed a few more runs lately but his strikeout totals have remained high, with at least nine strikeouts in four of his past five games. Those strikeout numbers give him such a high ceiling and plenty of room for even mediocre starts to result in big fantasy days. Strider will be facing Arizona for the first time this season, and even though it isn’t an ideal matchup, he’s worth spending up on if you have the cap space to make it work. He has been one of the best pitchers in the Majors this season and brings exactly the kind of strikeout production you want from a top SP for DFS lineups.
Other Options – Gerrit Cole ($11,000), Sonny Gray ($9,500)
Value
Logan Allen, Cleveland Guardians at Minnesota Twins ($7,300) – The Guardians are hopefully getting some of their starting pitchers back from injury soon, but they will likely need to keep a spot for Allen after the 24-year-old rookie has been impressive since being called up late in April. In his seven starts, he has gone 2-2 with a 2.72 ERA and 2.93 FIP. He has 43 strikeouts in 39 2⁄3 innings and has posted at least 16 DKFP in four of those seven appearances.
Allen is coming off his best start of the season, which was last Monday against Baltimore. He struck out 10 in seven shutout innings against a strong Orioles offense and finished with a season-high 36.8 DKFP. He’ll look to carry that momentum into this start against the AL Central-leading Twins, who have taken the first two games of this series. Allen has actually been much better on the road than at home, so look for him to put together another strong showing in his first career start at Target Field.
Other Options – Kyle Bradish ($6,300), Michael Grove ($5,600)
INFIELD
Stud
Mookie Betts, Los Angeles Dodgers vs. New York Yankees ($6,000) – Betts can either fit at 2B or in the OF, depending on how you build your roster, but on this slate, I think he offers more value in the infield where there aren’t as many other strong plays. Betts is coming off back-to-back games with two home runs. He started this series by going 4-for-4 on Friday night with two home runs and a gigantic 43 DKFP. He also wrapped up May with a two-homer game on Wednesday. Betts has 15 homers on the year and six of those have come in his 12 most recent contests. During that span, he is 16-for-51 (.314) with a .457 wOBA. Some people may avoid him due to a matchup with Gerrit Cole ($11,000), but Betts is actually 6-for-11 in his past meetings with Cole and still has enough upside to be a pay-up play when he’s this locked in.
Stud
Dansby Swanson, Chicago Cubs at San Diego Padres ($4,700) – Swanson homered and had three hits on Friday to help the Cubs win their series opener in San Diego. He has three homers in his past 12 games while going 14-for-44 (.318) with a .411 wOBA and 55.9% hard-hit rate, per Statcast. Swanson has a reputation as a streaky hitter and seems to be heating up after a slow start to the season from a power perspective. He has improved his approach in his first season in Chicago, and his better plate discipline has him on track for career highs in BB% and wOBA.
Other Options – Matt Olson ($5,800), Austin Riley ($5,200), Anthony Rizzo ($4,800)
Value
Lamonte Wade Jr., San Francisco Giants vs. Baltimore Orioles ($3,100) – Normally 1B is viewed as a power-heavy position, but Wade offers a little different approach as a leadoff option at the position. The 29-year-old lefty did hit his eighth homer of the season on Friday, so there is some power potential there, but he also brings a good average and run production skillset to his typical leadoff spot. He is hitting a career-best .271 this season and comes into Saturday night’s matchup with a 10-game hitting streak. During that run, he’s hitting .326 (14-for-43) with two doubles, a homer and a .349 wOBA. His top spot in the order gets him plenty of chances to produce and at just over $3K, he makes a lot of sense Saturday night.
Value
Josh Donaldson, New York Yankees at Los Angeles Dodgers ($2,900) – Donaldson returned from a two-month absence with a pair of home runs and 30 DKFP against the Dodgers on Friday night. He is expected to be an everyday part of the Yankees lineup, according to manager Aaron Boone, and he typically offers power potential even though his batting average has been lower over the past few seasons. He has been limited to just six games this year after he injured his right hamstring and later aggravated the injury on a rehab assignment. Getting him for under $3K won’t last long if he continues to produce power, so take advantage of the discount while you can.
Other Options – Royce Lewis ($3,200), Donovan Solano ($2,000)
OUTFIELD
Stud
Ronald Acuña Jr., Atlanta Braves at Arizona Diamondbacks ($6,500) – Acuña is just so good. He has been arguably the best player in baseball this season and has 23 stolen bases to go with 11 home runs, a .323 batting average and a .407 wOBA. He and the Braves have one of the best matchups of the night as they face Ryne Stanek ($6,000), who has allowed four runs or more in five of his past eight outings and has a 5.37 ERA and 1.44 WHIP in his 11 starts this year. In any matchup, Acuña is capable of going off with a monster game either at the plate or on the basepaths. He is worth considering as a pay-up play since he has such a high ceiling on Saturday.
J.D. Martinez, Los Angeles Dodgers vs. New York Yankees ($4,900) – Martinez is locked in at the plate right now and is having a strong bounce-back season after signing with the Dodgers this past offseason. He has a 16-game hitting streak coming into Saturday’s matchup and has gone 23-for-67 (.343) during that span with eight home runs and an impressive .464 wOBA. Like Betts, Martinez has a tough matchup against Gerrit Cole, but he has homered twice off Cole in the past and still brings enough upside to make him a consideration, especially with a salary under $5K.
Other Options – Fernando Tatis Jr. ($6,200), Corbin Carroll ($5,300)
Value
Mitch Haniger, San Francisco Giants vs. Baltimore Orioles ($2,700) – Haniger has picked things up over the past couple of weeks, going 18-for-61 (.295) over his past 16 games with four doubles, two home runs, a stolen base and a .341 wOBA. He has averaged 8.2 DKFP per contest over that stretch, which is enough to make him worth a look at under $3K. In this salary range, he brings solid extra-base and run production potential to his matchup with Kyle Bradish ($6,300).
Value
Mike Tauchman, Chicago Cubs at San Diego Padres ($2,500) – Tauchman has brought the Cubs a solid left-handed bat since being called up in mid-May. He spent last year in the KBO and has gone 11-for-33 (.333) with a double, nine walks and a .383 wOBA in his 13 games. He does bring some power potential and had three homers and a .399 wOBA in Triple-A before getting called up. This season, Yu Darvish ($8,600) has struggled a bit with lefties, allowing them to post a .341 wOBA. His strong form and solid matchup are enough to make Tauchman worth a look at this low salary as a bargain OF Saturday.
Other Options – Mike Yastrzemski ($3,600), Aaron Hicks ($2,400), Will Brennan ($2,300)
Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB $125K Relay Throw [$25K 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.