This article is part of our DraftKings MLB series.
The Saturday schedule has been inconsistent all season, but this one involves most of the games at night with the main slate consisting of nine matchups beginning at 7:05 p.m. EDT.
Pitchers
There are some big names on the mound Saturday night, though it's a very top-heavy pool. Freddy Peralta ($10,200) and Logan Webb ($10,400) square off against each other, with both boasting comparable skills. Matchup and win potential are the tiebreakers, and both lean in Peralta's favor.
The next choice based on salary is between Tyler Glasnow ($9,200) and George Kirby ($9,700). Glasnow lists the highest K rate by five percentage points, but the Padres are among the toughest teams to strike out. Kirby draws a more middling matchup against the A's, who can put up runs in bunches while also swinging and missing significantly more. I'd go for Kirby.
Andrew Abbott ($8,800) is the last of the high-value pitchers to consider. His overall results and ability to generate strikeouts have been inconsistent of late while the Diamondbacks represent a tough matchup. Abbott typically wouldn't be a pitcher I'd be looking to roster in this spot, yet the pitcher pool dries up very quickly after him.
The two most intriguing pitchers in the middle tier are Jeffrey Springs ($7,600) and Clay Holmes ($7,300). Both have recently stumbled and carry similar skills, so we'll once again turn to matchup. Springs holds the advantage there taking on the Mariners in Seattle.
There are bigger names, but Mick Abel ($6,000) and Davis Martin ($6,400) are both intriguing and are set to go up against each other. We have a limited sample for Abel and he could pop with a big performance, though Martin is the safer selection.
See which projected starters are going and when with RotoWire's Probable Pitchers page!
Top Hitters
There are a few favorable matchups to attack on Saturday evening, and Cal Quantrill in his Atlanta debut is one of them. He allowed 15 earned runs across his final 12 games before being DFA'd by the Marlins, and now has to face the Mets. Pick your favorite player from the top of the order, with Pete Alonso ($5,500) the cheapest of the stars.
We need savings on hitters given the pitching context, and the White Sox can offer that. Mick Abel offers significant potential, yet he's been hit hard at times during his first big-league season. Lenyn Sosa ($4,200) has hit the ball well of late and checks in at a reasonable salary.
Value Bats
Gavin Lux ($3,300) has batted second in each of the Reds' last three games against right-handed pitching. Nabil Crismatt is a wildcard in terms of matchup, but Lux offers nice value due to lineup context.
Jeffrey Springs is a decent pitching option, though has been prone to giving up homers. Mitch Garver ($3,100) has produced a solid .184 ISO against lefties this season and typically hits fifth in the Mariners' order versus a southpaw.
Stacks to Consider
Cubs at Angels (Victor Mederos): Michael Busch ($4,400), Kyle Tucker ($5,400), Pete Crow-Armstrong ($4,900)
The Cubs' lineup has recently been ice cold, which isn't a great place to start with a stack recommendation. This matchup is simply too good to pass up as Mederos has registered a 1.85 WHIP from his four MLB starts with a 0.0 K-BB%. He's also struggled to a 5.54 ERA, though it should arguably be even worse. This is a get right spot for the Cubs.
Dodgers at Padres (Nestor Cortes): Shohei Ohtani ($6,500), Will Smith ($4,800), Teoscar Hernandez ($4,700)
We can almost copy and paste the same analysis from the last paragraph as the Dodgers haven't delivered up to their lofty standards for the last six weeks or so. They'll be going up against Cortes, who's given up at least three homers during two of his five outings with only a 14:8 K:BB since returning from the injured list. Cortes has posted a 5.87 ERA, even with the benefit of a 91.2 percent strand rate. The LA bats should be able to take advantage of that.
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