The weekend is here, which means plenty of MLB DFS for us to play. We are now two weeks into the MLB season, and even though we don’t have quite enough in-season data at our disposal, we have a general idea of how this season should play out.
For example, the SF Giants did not skip a beat last year, even with Buster Posey’s retirement. Also, Baltimore and Miami are still bad. Neither team can hit, and we plan to attack both of their inept offenses.
As I did last weekend, let’s break down all three Saturday slates.
Pitcher
Very Early/Morning: Tarik Skubal
Good thing the Colorado-Detroit game rained out yesterday. That gives us a chance on Saturday morning to select Skubal, who should have a great outing against the Rockies. Of course, Colorado is off to a good start, but 10 of their 12 games have been at home. All of us know full well that Colorado has the most divergent home/away splits. Plus, Skubal is a solid pitcher who should rack up a lot of Ks against a team that just left Coors Field. Remember what I said about the reverse Coors effect? The Rockies usually struggle on the first game of a long road trip.
Early/Afternoon: Frankie Montas
Montas is a solid pitcher who is pitching at home and against a heavy strikeout team. Except for a bad game against Philadelphia, Montas’ two other games have been superb. Today should be a third straight superb start.
Main/Evening: Ian Anderson
Interestingly, I liked Anderson for the main slate last Saturday. I like him again today. He earned the W against a strong Padres team last weekend, and now he gets the Marlins, who were stymied last night by Kyle Wright. Ian Anderson is a World Series-winning pitcher who should have no problem repeating Wright’s recent success.
Stacks
Very Early/Morning: San Francisco Giants
There has to be something in the water in the Bay Area. Or at least since 2021. This Giants team knows how to hit, and maybe GM Farhan Zaidi or the coaching staff has something to do with it. Seriously, a case study should be done on the Giants since, on paper, they should not be going gangbusters with the bats, but they are. Austin Slater, a righty, went yard against lefty Patrick Corbin. The Nationals will most likely trot out a righty, meaning that the Giants will feature a lefty-heavy lineup. A stack of Yastrzemski, Belt, Pederson, and Crawford (all lefties who love to pound right-handed pitching) sounds very nice!
Early/Afternoon: Tampa Bay Rays and Minnesota Twins
These two stacks are easy. Just attack the weakest pitchers on each slate. Vince Velasquez and Garrett Whitlock are two of the cheapest options for the middle slate today so get those bats against them. You can easily stack the top of the lineups from both the Rays and Twins while starting Montas.
Main/Evening: Los Angeles Angels and Seattle Mariners
Same reason as the middle slate. Kris Bubic and Spenser Watkins are both subpar pitchers, and we can easily stack the 1-3-4-5 hitters on the opposing offenses while starting Ian Anderson at pitcher. The Rays’ and Angels’ bats sometimes fall flat,t but sometimes they pop off. It’s a gamble but isn’t that what daily fantasy is all about?!
Like last weekend, pay up for pitching and find some balance with the bats. Have fun with your roster construction, and enjoy the Saturday baseball!
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