Yahoo DFS Baseball: Saturday Picks

Yahoo DFS Baseball: Saturday Picks

This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Baseball series.

There's a mess of scattered storms across the country, but there's no telling how that will play out. I tried to stay away from places with expected rain and focus on a squad of players for both day and night slates.

PITCHER

Trevor Bauer, CLE vs. DET ($47): On a big slate, Bauer qualifies as a steal after coming in above $50 in his last three outings. He's an easy play against the Tigers, coming in with at least 33 fantasy points in four of his last five starts due to a 11.53 K/9. He has at least 26 fantasy points in all three starts against the Tigers and that should continue with Detroit falling off in the past month with a .123 ISO and .283 wOBA against righties.

Lance McCullers, HOU vs. KC ($43): McCullers may not have the same upside as Bauer, but he's fairly consistent with 20 fantasy points in three of his last four outings, one of those against the Royals in which he tossed nine strikeouts. If he can surpass that 20-point threshold, it'll be enough combined with Bauer. The Royals sit last in MLB over the last month with a .117 ISO and .272 wOBA against righties.

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CATCHER

A.J. Ellis, SD at SF ($12): For cheap, Ellis gets on base with a .393 BABIP against southpaws, which is a bit better than his career .323 wOBA. He's also in a good spot against Andrew Suarez, who owns a 4.70 ERA. In his rookie season, Suarez is having trouble against righties with a .358 wOBA allowed to 181 batters faced.

FIRST BASE

Albert Pujols, LAA vs. TOR ($13): Pujols is always worth using for a bargain price against a struggling pitcher. Ten of his 12 homers have come against righties and his power numbers have increased with five deep shots this month. Marcus Stroman was brutal to start the season with a 7.71 ERA in seven outings, but hasn't pitched since May 8 due to shoulder fatigue. There's still little reason to trust him after last year's .329 wOBA allowed to righties.

SECOND BASE

Yoan Moncada, CWS vs. OAK ($11): Moncada is one of the few White Sox players I'd consider backing with a .361 BABIP this year against righties to go with a career .202 ISO. Those numbers should work against Daniel Mengden, who has lost control in his last three outings with 16 earned runs and 10 walks. Mengden hasn't been good against either side of the plate and sports a 4.62 xFIP against lefty bats.

THIRD BASE

Luis Valbuena, LAA vs. TOR ($7): Valbuena continues to be a cheap bat in place of Zack Cozart, who finds himself on the DL. Valbuena doesn't possess great numbers, but managed a two-homer outing a couple days ago and seven of his eight home runs have come off righty arms. There's a decent chance Stroman struggles in his first start off the DL and his early .367 BABIP allowed to lefty bats doesn't help.

SHORTSTOP

Trevor Story, COL vs. MIA ($23): Power has to come from somewhere and Story provides that, especially at Coors Field. He strikes out more against righties, but he has 14 extra-base hits – including seven HR – in 83 at-bats against them with a career .274 ISO at home. Trevor Richards is going to have a problem against the Rockies after giving up nine hits and six runs to the Orioles last outing. Richards has been worse against righty bats in his rookie season with a .343 BABIP allowed.

OUTFIELD

Justin Upton, LAA vs. TOR ($17): Instead of using all of the money on Mike Trout ($28), I decided to go small on the Angels with Upton being the most expensive option. He's crushed 14 homers against righties this year, which is par for the course after last year's .234 ISO. Stroman hasn't pitched since May, yet has given up at least four runs in six of his seven starts.

Joey Gallo, TEX at MIN ($15): If there was a pitcher to give up a home run to Gallo, Jake Odorizzi might be it with 14 already allowed this season and a 2.08 HR/9 against lefty bats. This over/under is close to 10 runs because Odorizzi hasn't had a quality outing since May 14. As for Gallo, he's belted 13 homers against righties and is close to his career .303 ISO against them.

Lewis Brinson, MIA at COL ($14): Brinson doesn't own many favorable numbers, but has a career .204 ISO in 102 plate appearances against southpaws. That should come in handy against Tyler Anderson, who still hasn't figured out how to pitch at Coors with eight homers and a .390 wOBA allowed. And in his three years with the team, he has allowed a .335 wOBA to righties.

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. Adam Zdroik plays in daily fantasy contests using the following accounts: FanDuel: zdroik, DraftKings: rotozdroik, Yahoo: StreakMaster.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Adam Zdroik
Adam, a 2019, 2018 and 2017 Finalist for FSWA's Soccer Writer of the Year, is RotoWire's soccer editor. He also runs RotoWire's Bracketology, as well as writes on other various college basketball content. He has previously worked at ESPN and Sporting Kansas City, and he is a former Streak for the Cash winner and Michigan State graduate.
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