If you’re looking to receive fantasy baseball advice for a loaded Saturday slate, here’s everything you need to know. Here’s a lineup to stack and an individual hitter to target, as well as a pitcher to target and another one to fade.
Why You Should Stack the Padres Lineup Against Yusei Kikuchi on Saturday
Yusei Kikuchi has had some interesting moments on the mound this season, but overall, the veteran Japanese hurler has been hit hard, and that is not likely to change in a tough matchup against the San Diego Padres. It’s not only that Kikuchi owns a 7.50 ERA, 1.89 WHIP, and a 19:10 K:BB so far through 18 innings. The 34-year-old has also allowed at least 4 runs in each of his last 3 outings.
As if that wasn’t enough, several Padres hitters have had excellent results against Kikuchi in the past. There’s Fernando Tatis, who has gone yard twice in 11 at-bats against Kikuchi while posting a 1.152 OPS. Manny Machado has a 1.500 OPS with 2 homers and 4 hits in 10 at-bats. Xander Bogaerts also has an OPS north of 1.000 with a .273 average and .818 slugging percentage with 2 homers in 11 at-bats. Stack the Padres’ lineup with confidence if you have enough budget to do so in DFS formats.
Why Andrew Benintendi Is an Excellent DFS Target
If you’re not looking to stack a lineup and only want to address one hitter to boost your lineup, either in season-long formats or DFS contests, Benintendi might be one of the best options you could target across the board. The veteran outfielder is currently playing for the Chicago White Sox, and he has an excellent matchup against Luis Severino on Saturday.
Benintendi has hit .333 with a .667 slugging percentage and 1.067 OPS across 36 at-bats against Severino, and 7 of his hits have gone for extra bases while going yard twice. With 2 homers, 10 RBI, and a 6:4 K:BB in those 40 plate appearances, Benintendi looks like one of the best low-budget options to target across all DFS formats.
Why Taj Bradley Is an Excellent Pitching Streamer on Saturday
Jose Soriano aside, there’s a strong argument to say that Bradley has been one of the most surprising pitchers in the majors over the first three-plus weeks of the season. The Twins hurler owns a 1.25 ERA, a 3-0 record, and 29 strikeouts in 21.2 innings.
He has a favorable matchup against the Cincinnati Reds at home, and Cincinnati’s lineup has been far from threatening on the road to believe it might pose a significant threat to Bradley: they own a collective .589 OPS, which ranks as the fifth-worst mark in the majors entering Saturday’s slate. Given that Bradley has struck out at least 7 in 3 of his 4 starts this season, and that he’s in a groove on the mound, he should be a popular streaming option in a slate that has several aces starting.
Why You Should Fade Freddy Peralta on Saturday
Surprisingly, there are several pitchers you could fade in Saturday’s fantasy baseball slate, with the list including hurlers such as Yusei Kikuchi (Los Angeles Angels) and Jameson Taillon (Chicago Cubs), as well as Max Scherzer (Toronto Blue Jays). However, one of the biggest names who could be attractive to stream in DFS formats, but you should stay away from, is Freddy Peralta.
The Mets hurler has plenty of experience pitching against the Cubs at Wrigley Field, and while his results against current Cubs hitters have been pretty good, Peralta hasn’t been at his best this season, and neither have the Mets overall. Plus, the Cubs are in a groove offensively and have scored 47 runs over the last five games, the second-best mark in the majors in that span. Peralta owns a quality 3.86 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, and a 25:8 K:BB through 21 frames this season, but those numbers aren’t enough to believe he’ll be able to dominate the Cubs’ red-hot lineup.
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