Sundays are usually the days that I cover MLB, but I’ll be taking care of Saturdays for the next couple of weeks. Like Sundays, Saturday slates tend to have games spread throughout the day. The good news is that most are at night, with five coming between 4-7 ET. We’ll focus on the 10 games that begin at 7 ET, though, and it should make for a fun slate. There’s a lot to discuss, though, so let’s get into it!
Check out today’s MLB Grand Slam contest at FanDuel 
Sunday's Starting Pitcher Strategy
Walker Buehler (LAD) at NYM
There might not be a more reliable pitcher in baseball right now. Buehler has actually gone at least six innings in all but one start this year, scoring at least 28 FanDuel points in each of those. That's a truly absurd floor, and it's led to his ridiculous 2.13 ERA and 0.93 WHIP. All of that is fantastic news against the Mets, with New York ranked 29th in scoring. Not to mention, Citi Field is one of the most pitcher-friendly ballparks as well.
Sundays are usually the days that I cover MLB, but I’ll be taking care of Saturdays for the next couple of weeks. Like Sundays, Saturday slates tend to have games spread throughout the day. The good news is that most are at night, with five coming between 4-7 ET. We’ll focus on the 10 games that begin at 7 ET, though, and it should make for a fun slate. There’s a lot to discuss, though, so let’s get into it!
Check out today’s MLB Grand Slam contest at FanDuel
Sunday's Starting Pitcher Strategy
Walker Buehler (LAD) at NYM
There might not be a more reliable pitcher in baseball right now. Buehler has actually gone at least six innings in all but one start this year, scoring at least 28 FanDuel points in each of those. That's a truly absurd floor, and it's led to his ridiculous 2.13 ERA and 0.93 WHIP. All of that is fantastic news against the Mets, with New York ranked 29th in scoring. Not to mention, Citi Field is one of the most pitcher-friendly ballparks as well.
Luis Garcia (HOU) at LAA
The Astros do a brilliant job of churning out starters, and they found another gem with this guy. This 24-year-old has earned himself a 3.29 ERA and 1.09 WHIP, scoring at least 26 FD points in 15 of his last 18 starts. We definitely believe he can reach that against LA, with the Angels missing Mike Trout and Anthony Rendon in the heart of their order.
Joe Musgrove (SD) at ARI
The Diamondbacks might be the worst team in baseball, and they're getting pummeled by opposing pitchers right now. In fact, Arizona ranks bottom-10 in runs scored, OBP, and xwOBA. That was on full display when Musgrove picked them apart in their one meeting, throwing six scoreless innings while whiffing eight batters.
Kenta Maeda (MIN) vs. TB
Many people may not realize it, but Tampa has quietly been a solid lineup to target for opposing pitchers. Their swing-and-miss hitters make them a good team to exploit, with the Rays ranked 29th in K rate this season. That's a truly horrific mark, and it's terrifying with Maeda owning a 3.43 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, and 11.4 K.9 rate over his last seven starts.
James Kaprielian (OAK) at TEX
It feels like Oakland literally has Kaprielian to face the Rangers exclusively. Amazingly, Kap has pitched against them four times over his last seven starts, allowing three runs or fewer in all of them. That's no surprise when you see that Texas sits 28th in scoring and dead-last in OBP. We love all of that behind JK's 3.22 ERA and 1.14 WHIP.
Cash Game Recommendations:
Buehler, Garcia and Musgrove
GPP Recommendations:
Maeda and Kaprielian
Top Lineup Stacks
St. Louis Cardinals (vs. Brad Keller)
We actually had this same matchup in last Sunday's article, and we're going right back to the well. Keller allowed 12 baserunners across five innings in that horrendous start, which is right on par with what he's been doing all year. The KC righty has a 5.79 ERA and 1.71 WHIP for the season, making him one of the easiest pitchers to stack against for DFS purposes.
It's clear that Pittsburgh is in full-on rebuild mode, and they're honestly just using Wilson to swallow up innings. The former Braves starter has a 5.24 ERA and 1.52 WHIP for the season, failing to strike out any Milwaukee hitters in their last meeting. He actually did alright in that start, but he's going to have a much tougher time with the Brewers scoring 27 combined runs over their last two games.
Lyles has been a gas can ever since his days with the Rockies, pitching to a 5.46 ERA and 1.48 WHIP this season. That damage was added to Lyles's last start, allowing 14 baserunners and six runs to these A's last week. That's really rough news, with Oakland averaging nine runs a game over their last five fixtures.
View the best player prop bets for today's slate with our MLB Prop Bet Cheat Sheet
- Seeing as how we love Oakland, we have to adore their best hitter. That happens to be Olson, generating a .376 OBP, .566 SLG, and .942 OPS. He's always been much better against righties too and should have no issues with a lackluster Lyles toeing the rubber for Texas.
- Escobar has quietly had an amazing season for Arizona and Milwaukee, hitting 24 dingers. That has put him in the heart of this order, and he's one of the few guys in this lineup who has the platoon advantage against Wilson.
- Perez is leading all catchers with 29 homers, and he's absolutely slaughtered southpaws this year. The 31-year-old has a 1.110 OPS against them since 2019 and should have no problem against Jon Lester's 5.57 ERA and 1.62 WHIP.
- Alvarez continues to be underpriced on these sites. He's flirting with a .950 OPS for his career and mashes every night he's in this lineup.
- Merrifield is leading the Majors in steals, and he'd be a key piece to a Kansas City stack. We just mentioned how bad Lester has been, and that too gives Merrfieild the platoon advantage on the right side. Not to mention, Lester has allowed more steals than almost any active pitcher, making Whit's speed an underrated variable to his value.
- Tellez typically bats in the heart of Milwaukee's order when facing a righty, and it's easy to understand why. The former Toronto bat had a .570 SLG and .910 OPS against right-handers last year and should continue to see as much work as possible against them.
- We've yet to mention any Cards bats we like, but O'Neill is a heck of a value. The jacked outfielder is one of the league leaders in hard-hit rate and exit velocity, providing a .510 SLG and .851 OPS. That makes him an excellent value no matter the matchup, but Keller makes O'Neill one of the plays of the day.
- Moreland is yet another gem of a find from Billy Beane, and he's going to bat in the heart of this order regularly against righties. He did just that on Thursday, knocking out two more dingers.
- It's weird that the Giants are doing so well with such a lack of talent, but guys like Ruf are a major reason why they've been so successful. The former KBO star has a .385 OBP, .593 SLG, and .978 OPS against lefties since 2019. We don't expect Kyle Freeland's 4.65 ERA and 1.45 WHIP to slow that down.
- Pham has quietly had a resurgent second half, and he continues to be an excellent value atop this lineup. Over his last 71 games played, Pham is providing a .368 OBP and .844 OPS while swiping 10 bases. All of that doesn't even consider that he gets to bat from the right side against an unknown lefty.
Saturday's Hitter Strategy
This slate is pretty simple. There aren't a whole lot of studs that we like, but there's some great value out there. We already discussed how much we like the Cardinals, Athletics, and Brewers, but we also love the Royals, Padres, Giants, and Twins. These clubs have 10-run potential, and we truly believe the optimal lineup will feature these seven teams heavily.
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Joel Bartilotta is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Joel, check out his archive and follow him @Bartilottajoel.
