Below are stacks to consider for Saturday’s MLB DFS action
The Chalk
New York Yankees
The Yankees easily have the highest projected run total of the day with a projected total over six against left-hander Daniel Norris and the Tigers. Norris is making his first appearance since April 29 after a groin injury sidelined him for over four months. He’s walking into a buzz saw in his first game back.
The Yanks have seven hitters who have been above average against left-handed pitching this season. They’re led by Giancarlo Stanton with his 189 wRC+ vs. LHP and Gleyber Torres who has a 147 wRC+. Newly acquired Andrew McCutchen has been safely above average against lefties this season as have Aaron Hicks and Miguel Andujar . You’ll definitely want exposure to some of those guys in cash.
Minnesota Twins
Minnesota is one of two teams other than the Yanks who has a projected run total over five runs tonight against the Rangers with right-hander Yovani Gallardo on the mound. Gallardo is struggling of late with a 5.61 ERA in the last 30 days, and his K/9 is an identical 5.61, which is never a good thing. Gallardo has the second-worst K-BB% against left-handed hitters among tonight’s starting pitchers and the worst K-BB% against right-handers, so he’s a good guy to stack against.
The Twins have three hitters who have been more than 25 percent better than right-handed pitching this season, Jorge Polanco , Eddie Rosario and Mitch Garver , and Jake Cave has also been a bit better than average against righties. Hopefully those guys will be somewhat near each other in the lineup for the sake of stacking. Tyler Austin is also worth considering because he’s Minny’s hottest hitter with four home runs in the last seven days.
Not the Chalk
Colorado Rockies
Normally the Rox appear in the article in the section above when they’re playing at home, and they don’t usually show up here when playing in a pitcher’s park like they are in San Diego last night. That said, they could have a nice night tonight against left-hander Robbie Erlin . The Rockies are far better against left-handed pitching than right, and Erlin has slight splits which favor right-handers. Erlin is also struggling with contact management lately. His 44.8 percent hard contact rate allowed over the last 30 days is the second-highest among tonight’s probable starters. In addition to giving up a lot of hard contact, he’s simply giving up a low of contact period with only a 16.7 percent strikeout rate.
The Rox have four right-handed hitters who have been safely above average against lefties this season, and they’re led by Nolan Arenado and his 217 wRC+ vs. LHP. Keep in mind that wRC+ is a park-adjusted stat, so Arenado has been more than twice as good as league average even when you factor in Coors Field. Trevor Story , Ian Desmond and DJ LeMahieu are the other three right-handers who have been easily above average against lefties this season per wRC+. Lefty Charlie Blackmon could also be considered given that he’s just about average without the platoon advantage.
Player News
Clayton Kershaw (toe, knee) may make his next start in the majors after Sunday’s rehab start for Triple-A Oklahoma City.
Kershaw was brilliant in his last rehab start, and while that came against short-season hitters in Arizona, the 37-year-old has reportedly looked the part while rehabbing to rejoin the Los Angeles rotation. This is no longer one of the very best pitchers in baseball, but with that lineup behind him he’s going to get plenty of win chances, and he’s shown that he still can keep hitters off-balance over the last two seasons.
Reds recalled INF Rece Hinds from Triple-A Louisville.
You might remember Hinds for pulling a Kyren Paris in his first stint of MLB action, only to pull a Kyren Paris a few weeks later and plummet back to earth. The 24-year-old plays in a friendly park and offers quality power, but he’s far from a guarantee to put up fantasy fireworks in 2025.
Reds placed INF Noelvi Marte on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to May 5, with a left oblique strain.
Marte will miss a week-plus — at minimum — while recovering from the strain. The former top prospect should be back by the end of May if there are no setbacks at the latest, but oblique strains can have a wide variety of timelines depending on the severity. Rece Hinds is heading up from Louisville to take Marte’s roster spot.
Nolan Arenado was scratched from Wednesday’s lineup due to back spasms.
Arenado was scratched mere moments before the first pitch of Wednesday’s game. The 34-year-old will likely miss a game or two at least, but his status for the weekend will be determined over the coming days. Nolan Gorman will likely get the starts at third as long as Arenado can’t play.
Marlins optioned RHP George Soriano to Triple-A Jacksonville.
Soriano has been atrocious with Miami this year while allowing 17 runs in 18 1/3 innings. He’ll try and get right in the minors with Cade Gibson now occupying his roster spot.
Marlins recalled LHP Cade Gibson from Triple-A Jacksonville.
Gibson gives the Marlins a fresh bullpen arm. The 27-year-old threw 2 1/3 scoreless innings in his only appearance with Miami back in April.