MLB

FanDuel Daily Fantasy Baseball Helper: Saturday 5/29/21

The beauty of daily fantasy baseball is that the top targets are different each and every day. Whether it's the right-handed catcher who destroys left-handed pitching or the mid-range hurler facing a depleted lineup, you're not going to find yourself using the same assets time after time.

While this breaks up the monotony, it can make it hard to decide which players are primed to succeed on a given day. We can help bridge that gap.

In addition to our custom optimal lineups, you can check out our batting and pitching heat maps, which show the pieces in the best spot to succeed on that slate. Put on the finishing touches with our games and lineups page to see who's hitting where and what the weather looks like, and you'll have yourself a snazzy-looking team to put up some big point totals.

If you need help getting started on that trek, here are some of the top options on the board today. We'll be focusing exclusively on the main slate, which starts at 7:15 p.m. EST.

Pitching Breakdown

Julio Urias ($11,500 on FanDuel) and Ian Anderson ($9,000) stand out as the top two plays. Urias gets a home date with the San Francisco Giants while Anderson is on the road facing the New York Mets. Without factoring in salary, Urias has the edge -- but it's somewhat close. So when you account for the $2,500 gap, Anderson's appeal goes up.

Urias has pitched to a 2.93 SIERA, 29.4% strikeout rate, 13.8% swinging-strike rate and 2.9% walk rate. It's hard to complain about anything in his profile as he's been excellent in 2021. The lone worry with him is that the Giants have been a solid offense this season, but Urias torched them for 52.0 FanDuel points in his last outing and has scored at least 46.0 points in three straight.

Anderson owns a 3.82 SIERA, 25.2% strikeout rate, 11.8% swinging-strike rate and 10.0% walk rate. Those are good numbers, but the walks make him a riskier play. And he doesn't have the same strikeout upside Urias does. What he does have, however, is a better matchup as the Mets sit 26th in wOBA against righties (.287).

I don't like to take chances at pitcher, so I'll have more Urias than Anderson even with the difference in salary. Without many top-shelf bats on this slate, you can make Urias' salary work. If you want to load up on Anderson, you're not going to get a ton of pushback from me. But these two should be your go-to arms.

After Anderson and Urias, it's not pretty. You can make a case for Adam Wainwright ($9,000), but I much prefer Anderson's ceiling at the same salary. So if I was fading this slate's top two hurlers -- which I won't be -- I may drop all the way to Justin Dunn ($6,700), although you can just as easily stack against Dunn (and I'll make that case shortly).

Dunn's 21.8% strikeout rate is something, and he's taking on a Texas Rangers offense that carries the third-highest strikeout rate against righties (26.5%). But with a 5.26 SIERA and 14.7% walk rate, Dunn's floor is scary low.

Stacks to Target

St. Louis Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals will see Seth Frankoff, and they look like the night's top stack. Frankoff -- who is 32 -- has thrown just 13 1/3 MLB innings and played in the KBO in 2018 and 2019. There really isn't much in his profile to suggest he'll shut down the Red Birds. The righty gave up five earned runs in four innings versus the Colorado Rockies in his last start.

Nolan Arenado ($3,600) is the lone St. Louis bat above $3,100, so they're pretty easy to jam in alongside Urias.

The Cards' first two hitters -- both of whom are switch-hitters -- are mouth-watering values.Tommy Edman ($2,700) is easy to get behind at his friendly salary as a leadoff stick with stolen-base upside. Former top prospect Dylan Carlson ($2,200) has a clearance-rack salary and has been respectable (.332 wOBA) in his first full season in the bigs.

Tyler O'Neill ($3,000) has donged in back-to-back games since coming off the injured list. For the year, he's racked up 10 homers and four steals in just 116 plate appearances as he's quietly breaking out. Paul Goldschmidt ($3,100) has a .362 wOBA, 40.3% hard-hit rate and 41.7% fly-ball rate in May and is playing in an Arizona park in which he thrived for a long time.

I'd consider taking a minimum-salary plunge on Matt Carpenter ($2,000) if he gets in the lineup

Seattle Mariners

The Seattle Mariners are hosting Mike Foltynewicz, a guy we've stacked against for a while now. Folty doesn't get many punchouts (17.6% rate) and gives up juicy contact (37.1% hard-hit rate and 40.8% fly-ball rate). That's what we want to stack against.

Lefties have bombarded Foltynewicz for a .435 wOBA and 45.8% fly-ball rate while striking out just 13.7% of the time. They should be the core of Seattle stacks, and that makes Jarred Kelenic ($2,400) and Kyle Seager ($2,800) superb point-per-dollar plays. They'll likely hit first and third, respectively. J.P. Crawford ($2,300) will also have the platoon advantage while we can be into Kyle Lewis ($2,500) and Mitch Haniger ($3,700) even though they're right-handed.

These salaries pair nicely with Urias.

Texas Rangers

Remember when I said you can stack against Dunn? I'd rather do that than use him as a cover-your-eyes dart-throw pick on the mound. The 5.26 SIERA and 14.7% walk rate are pretty hideous, and lefties have mauled hm for a .344 wOBA, 43.8% hard-hit rate and 41.7% fly-ball rate.

Texas' offense has plenty of warts, but they also have some lefties who can mash in Joey Gallo ($3,200), Willie Calhoun ($3,000) and Nate Lowe ($2,900). Each should be in a good spot in the lineup, and Gallo and Lowe offer huge power upside at modest salaries. Calhoun has put up a .348 wOBA and 44.3% hard-hit rate against right-handers this season.

As for Rangers righties, Adolis Garcia ($4,300), Nick Solak ($2,800) and Isiah Kiner-Falefa ($2,600) are worth a look. Lefty Brock Holt ($2,500) is a decent value target, particularly if he hits higher in the order.