This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
Pitching
Aaron Nola, PHI vs. WSN ($10,000): With only four games on the main slate it comes down to either Nola or James Paxton for cash games. Paxton's past few seasons have been injury-riddled and that he's on the wrong side of 34 makes me lean towards Nola for cash games. Both are heavy favorites (-250) but the over/under in the Philadelphia game is only nine while it's 10.5 for Boston. Washington just got no-hit last night and outside of CJ Abrams, Lane Thomas and maybe Joey Meneses, there isn't a lot to fear in their lineup. Washington has a .302 wOBA against right-handed pitching, the fifth-lowest in baseball.
Patrick Corbin, WSN at PHI ($7,800): I'm only advocating to use Corbin in tournament lineups given the downside of him starting against the Phillies. He hasn't faced the Phillies yet this season which should be to his advantage and while he's allowed at least three earned runs in each of his last four starts, there is a silver lining. Corbin has been somewhat steady this season, scoring at least 22 fantasy points in 13 of his 23 starts and five of those have been 31 or more fantasy points. Philadelphia has only a league-average .323 against left-handed pitching and but their 25.7 percent strikeout rate is the fourth-worst in baseball. Corbin will be an unpopular, contrarian play which makes him perfect for GPPs tonight.
Top Targets
Mookie Betts, LAD vs. COL ($4,400): Teammate Freddie Freeman ($4,500) could easily be here and it'll probably surprise some that he's up to 16 stolen bases on the season. However, Betts has a ridiculous .568 wOBA at home against left-handed pitching this season which is why he gets the nod here. Despite dealing with an ankle issue, Betts has 1.145 OPS over the last two weeks and has homered twice in his last four games.
Wander Franco, TB vs. STL ($3,600): There's a few reasons to like Franco tonight and the first is he addresses positional scarcity by filling in the shortstop spot in your lineup. He's on pace for a 20-30 season so he doesn't need to hit a home run to be a productive DFS player, he just needs to get on base. Franco comes into this game red-hot going 10-for-16 over his last four games and has five home runs in his last 10 games. He has a .895 OPS against left-handed pitching this season and Matthew Liberatore has allowed a .408 wOBA to right-handed hitters this season.
Bargain Bats
Weston Wilson, PHI vs. WSN ($2,000): Wilson may not be in the lineup tonight given he was just giving Kyle Schwarber a breather last night but after homering and stealing a base he could get the nod against tonight. He finished last night's debut with 37.1 fantasy points and had 25 home runs and 23 stolen bases at Triple-A Lehigh before his call-up. Wilson is worth a flier in season-long leagues as well if he somehow works his way into semi-regular playing time.
Curtis Mead, TB vs. STL ($2,100): Mead is considered one of the top prospects not only for the Rays but in all of baseball. He should be in the lineup tonight with Tampa facing a lefty and Liberatore's struggles against right-handed hitting have already been noted. Mead had a respectable .832 OPS at Triple-A Durham and a 31:27 K:BB indicates a good batting. Provided they're in their respective lineups tonight, both players in this section allow for a lot of salary cap relief to use for an elite pitchers along with 3-4 elite bats.
Stacks To Consider
Dodgers vs. Rockies (Blach): Freeman, Betts, Will Smith ($3,500), Amed Rosario ($2,800)
There doesn't need to be a lot of explanation for Freeman and Betts but Rosario might be a head scratcher at first glance. However, he might find himself in the cleanup spot again tonight against a lefty and he has two home runs and eight RBI in his last six starts for the Dodgers. Smith has a .959 OPS against left-handed pitching this season and might be under the radar considering the other bats in the Los Angeles lineup. If you want to go really contrarian, consider Kike Hernandez ($2,400) who has a .995 OPS over the last week including a home run.
Rays vs. Cardinals (Liberatore): Franco, Yandy Diaz ($3,500), Randy Arozarena ($3,400), Jose Siri ($3,000)
Siri might have the most upside of anyone here and has three home runs in his last four starts. Diaz has a .966 OPS against southpaws and Arozarena has a .905 OPS against the handedness since the 2021 season (.835 this season). While it's a limited sample (35.2 innings), Liberatore has allowed 37 runs on the road over the last two seasons good for a 9.34 ERA. Look for the Rays to score early and often tonight.
