FanDuel MLB: Tuesday Targets

FanDuel MLB: Tuesday Targets

This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.

A 10-game slate gets going at 7:05 p.m. ET, and looks to have about as good pitching depth as we've found yet this season. Weather could be a factor however as Hurricane Isaias may alter plans in Washington D.C. and Baltimore.

Pitchers

Patrick Corbin ($10,800) appears slated to start Tuesday instead of Max Scherzer. The Mets have a plethora of left-handed bats, and have already faced left-handed arms for 151 plate appearances, striking out 25.2 percent of the time while posting .331 wOBA and .183 ISO. Corbin figures to be a cash game staple.

Lucas Giolito ($9,400) follows, and makes for a reasonable GPP pivot given the savings. He's been feast or famine in two outings, but the matchup is enticing against a Brewers lineup that is fanning 27.8 percent of the time (fifth highest), while putting up only a .279 wOBA and 75 wRC+ against righties.

Lance Lynn ($9,300) has been brilliant in two starts, and faces an A's lineup that has just a .260 wOBA and 70 wRC+ while fanning 24.7 percent of the time against righties. It's fair to question how Atlanta will respond Tuesday against Toronto following the crushing loss of Mike Soroka on Monday. Max Fried ($8,500) was dominant in his last outing though, and he figures to have a relatively long leash with the team's bullpen being used frequently four days in a row. He also faces a Blue Jays lineup that is fanning 31.1 percent of the time while posting a meager .223 wOBA, .018 ISO and 44 wRC+ against lefties to date.

This looks like a slate where you're going to have to pay at least something for arms, so we may find more value from players with low rostering rates than from straight price. Enter Matt Shoemaker ($7,500). Atlanta's lineup is certainly capable of going off in any situation, but they are still striking out at an alarming 27.7 percent rate against righties. Jesus Luzardo ($6,100) gets a Rangers team that's fanning 29.7 percent of the time against lefties and has a positive ballpark factor, and while it's fair to question how deep he'll be allowed to work, a handful of Ks could return 4x value. With far less upside, John Means ($5,800) can certainly be considered if you want to go bat heavy. It's simply anyone's guess what the Marlins put on the field, if they play, and Means is certainly capable of putting 3x value on the table.

Top Targets

Trevor Story ($4,200) has swung well thus far, and figures to be a lineup mainstay Tuesday. Charlie Blackmon ($4,200) entered Monday with multiple hits in five straight. Using both is likely cost prohibitive, so we can pick one as an offensive anchor once we know the Giants pitching plans, which weren't clear as of Monday evening, the intent being to go with the opposite-handed matchup.

Finding strong hitting options isn't easy on a slate where there aren't Yankees to choose from, the Dodgers face a challenging matchup in Dinelson Lamet ($8,400), and Houston -- while in a plus ballpark -- faces a reasonably challenging matchup against Madison Bumgarner ($7,700). The latter looks like the right target if we're forcing uncomfortable matchups for top offenses, and Alex Bregman ($3,900) is the clear top choice with his favorable RvL splits, posting a.473 wOBA, 205 wRC+ and .393 ISO a year ago. Jose Altuve ($3,600) wasn't far behind with a .429 wOBA, 176 wRC+ and .346 ISO.

Juan Soto ($3,900) has clearly expressed his frustrations at being unable to play. He's no guarantee to suit up Tuesday, but it's at least possible he does. The LvL matchup isn't ideal either, but there's upside at a favorable cost in a possible contrary play.

Best Values

You obviously can't play both sides, but if you're not interested in Shoemaker, loading up on Atlanta's bats make too much sense. Freddie Freeman ($3,700) and Ronald Acuna ($3,700) are underpriced based on name alone, and the latter is warming up with five hits and 10 total bases in his last three games. Ozzie Albies ($3,100) and Dansby Swanson ($3,100) are priced favorably as well, though the former doesn't look quite right while dealing with a wrist issue.

Arizona is severely struggling offensively, so that means we either load up on Houston starter Cristian Javier ($7,200), who impressed in his first start, or we find value in the Diamondbacks in hopes the rookie starter comes back to earth. Christian Walker ($2,700) is a decent starting point, while Ketel Marte ($3,200) is swinging the bat well but not providing peripheral numbers due to the lineup struggles around him.

I don't want to waste too much space on a game that may not happen, and even if it does, the bats could (should) be behind the arms given the time off, but there's huge value in a game stack between Miami and Baltimore. The arms -- Means and Pablo Lopez ($7,000) -- aren't good, and there isn't a bat priced above a hot Rio Ruiz ($3,000). Teammate Renato Nunez ($2,700) is in play, as are Marlins' options like Jesus Aguilar ($2,800) and Brian Anderson ($2,900). Rostering any of them will require flexibility and possibly late pivots, but the reward could be handsome. 

Stacks to Consider

Angels vs. Justin Dunn: Mike Trout ($4,400), Anthony Rendon ($3,900), David Fletcher ($2,900)

Fletcher's price allows us to grab the 1-2-3 hitters while still being somewhat flexible elsewhere. Trout could find his way onto fewer rosters than usual if there are questions about his availability as he rejoins the team following the birth of his son, while Rendon has been producing extra-base hits in the few instances he's been connecting. You can still average 4k per player with Trout centering an enticing stack by mixing in a few cheap bats and a middle-tier pitcher.

Giants vs. German Marquez: Mike Yastrzemski ($3,800), Brandon Belt ($3,500), Alex Dickerson ($3,100)

I'm not sure what's rarer; stacking the Giants offense in general, or an offense playing in Coors Field with three affordable bats. That clearly speaks to the volatility here. Outside of Yastrzemski, this stack is solely about Marquez at home against opposite-handed bats. He allowed a .372 wOBA, 1.93 HR/9 and 22.6 HR/FB rate in this spot last year.

The author(s) of this article may play in daily fantasy contests including – but not limited to – games that they have provided recommendations or advice on in this article. In the course of playing in these games using their personal accounts, it's possible that they will use players in their lineups or other strategies that differ from the recommendations they have provided above. The recommendations in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of RotoWire. Chris Bennett plays in daily fantasy contests using the following accounts: FanDuel: k30kittles, DraftKings: k30kittles.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Chris Bennett
Bennett covers baseball, college football and college basketball for RotoWire. Before turning to fantasy writing, he worked in scouting/player development for the Atlanta Braves and Montreal Expos. He's also a fan of the ACC.
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