FanDuel picks and lineup for Saturday, March 31

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Saturday brings baseball fans a very oddly split day but we’ll do our best to get you ready for your DFS needs on Saturday, March 31.

One of the first things FanDuel players are going to notice about the Saturday slate is the site decided to split the slates in what’s frankly a poor way. There are four games that start around 4 o’clock EST. The only way to get any access to those games is to play the all day slate. While it’s fine to do it that way, it seemingly would have made a lot more sense to tack those ones onto the early slate. As it stands, the early slate is only three games. That obviously limits our options.

We want the readers to have as many opportunities to play as they like so we’ll have picks for Early, All Day and the Main Slate. Yesterdays results should have had a good effect on your bankroll. The early only two game slate I posted on Twitter put up a 151.1 and that was without a massive game from Gregory Polanco.

The Main Slate for Friday scored a respectable 139.1, no thanks to a zero from Giancarlo Stanton. Yesterdays slate was an important reminder to follow me on Twitter. Javier Baez was one of my favorite plays versus a poor lefty but manager Joe Maddon put him eighth in the lineup. That necessitated a pivot because you can’t pay $3,400 for a hitter that low in the lineup. Let’s get into the massive Saturday slate!

NEW YORK, NY – SEPTEMBER 10: Jacob deGrom #48 of the New York Mets in action against the Cincinnati Reds at Citi Field on September 10, 2017 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. The Reds defeated the Mets 10-5. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) /

Starting Pitcher, High-End Spend

Early Slate

Jacob DeGrom, $9,300

.258(17 for 56), 26.8 strikeout percentage

The Cardinals may have put up four earned runs on Noah Syndergaard on Thursday, but it took a Yadier Molina homer off the foul pole to do it. They also struck out 10 times. DeGrom doesn’t have the same raw stuff that Thor has, but he’s definitely the best high end option on the early slate pitching at home. Normally, Stephen Strasburg( ) would be the choice but pitching at Great American Ballpark is always a bit dicey.

All Day Special and Main Slate

Yu Darvish,

.071(1 for 14), Strikeout percentage of 41.2

There’s a number of factors that line up for the Cubs newest ace pitcher. First, even though he’s on the road, he gets the luxury of pitching in one of the best parks in baseball for pitchers. Secondly, he’s facing a very weak lineup. He may not have the largest track record versus the current Marlins lineup. Just remember, Christian Yelich, Marcell Ozuna and Giancarlo Stanton are long gone. The 2017 numbers aren’t the most representative but Miami scuffled against sliders last year and were barely above average versus the four seam fastball. There’s too many reasons that Darvish should be good today to ignore.

Mid-Range

Early Slate

Michael Wacha, $7,800

.194(18 for 93), Strikeout percentage of 27.2

When a sample size starts to approach 100 at-bats, it can be taken a little more seriously. The Cardinals will throw Michael Wacha against Jacob DeGrom and Wacha isn’t a slam dunk for a win in this matchup. However, he does have an excellent track record against the Mets batters and comes at a very reasonable price. It’s a little odd that Wacha has a good track record as the Mets did very well against four-seam fastballs and curveballs. Sometimes the advanced stats don’t always line up.

All Day Specials

James Paxton, $8,400 and Lance McCullers, $7,900(GPP Options)

Main Slate

There’s legitimately no mid-range options on the main slate. It appears to be Yu Darvish in cash games and then it’s anyones guess for a tournament option. All the mid-range pitchers have serious question marks. I’m either paying for Darvish or just punting on a cheap pitcher.

Value

Early Slate

The early slate is actually fairly heavy with high-end options on the mound today. About the only player who really fits the price profile is Pittsburgh starter Trevor Williams($5,800) but he’s not a recommended play.

Main Slate

Lucas Giolito, $7,400

.160(4 for 25), Strikeout percentage of 14.8

The youngster as been much talked about prospect for a couple years now but hadn’t seen a ton of success with Washington or Chicago until his last six starts of 2017. Something appeared to start clicking for him as he threw over six innings in five of those starts and didn’t give up more than three earned runs in any of those starts. The strikeout rate wasn’t very high which could cap his ceiling but that’s also why he’s not very expensive.

All Day Pitchers to target against – Trevor Williams (at Detroit), Matt Moore (vs. Houston)

Main Slate Pitchers to target against – Kyle Gibson (at Baltimore), German Marquez (at Arizona), Luis Perdomo (vs. Milwaukee)