Squad Up Daily MLB Early Fantasy Dose: Going Longoria

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Here is a look at the Squad Up daily MLB fantasy picture for the six-game early slate beginning at 1:10 p.m. EST on Saturday, April 22:

Hitter Stacks

• Tampa Bay Rays vs. Houston Astros (RHP Charlie Morton): The Rays are just 9-9 on the year, despite sitting fourth in runs with a 8-3 home record. Tampa's lineup lacks star power, but its mishmash of respectable hitters continues to offer value in fantasy. Steven Souza Jr., Kevin Kiermaier, and Corey Dickerson are all listed at OF.

3-player stack: Souza Jr (37K), 3B Evan Longoria (45K), SS Brad Miller (43K)

• Chicago Cubs at Cincinnati Reds (LHP Cody Reed): The Cubs come with pedigree and one of the afternoon's easiest matchups. Though LHP Cody Reed hasn't given up a run in four relief appearances this season, last year's 7.36 ERA over 47.2 innings isn't so comforting. This will be Reed's first start of the year. Expect the Cubs to tag him if he is allowed to work through the lineup multiple times.

2-player stack: 1B Anthony Rizzo (60K), SS Addison Russell (47K)

Pitcher Breakdown

• TARGET- LHP Gio Gonzalez (67K), Nationals (at Mets): It sounds likely that Gonzalez will draw a Mets lineup missing the services of OF Yoenis Cespedes (hamstring). That's a significant loss for a New York offense sitting 24th in runs scored over the past seven days. Gonzalez has quality starts in all three of his outings, and his career 3.13 ERA in April demonstrates a tendency to start the season on a high-note.

• FADE - RHP Jharel Cotton (98K), Athletics (vs. Mariners): Cotton has been roughed up in two of his three outings. Unfortunately, those two duds both came within the pitcher-friendly confines of O.co Coliseum. With a veteran Seattle lineup ahead of him, Cotton could be in for another poor outing. At this price too, the reward doesn't outweigh the risk.

Bargain Plays

• 2B Starlin Castro (37K), Yankees (at Pirates): Castro is 9-for-19 over his past five games and owns a .371 average through April. His walk rate and K-rate are also trending in the right direction to start the year. Though Castro struggled outside of Yankee Stadium last year, his career numbers show only a minor difference between home and away splits.

• 3B David Freese (36K), Pirates (vs. Yankees): Freese has five hits over his past three games, raising his average to .340 on the season. He doesn't have much power, but Freese has his OBP up to .456 this year. Yankees SP Michael Pineda is as erratic as they come. His recent hot streak could come to a crashing halt at any point.

Top Fades

• 3B Alex Bregman (53K), Astros (at Rays): Bregman is priced above much more established veteran hitters. It's those bats that you should be targeting, not Bregman's. Despite the talent around him in Houston's lineup, the 23-year-old has zero home runs and only four RBIs. Pay for production, not pedigree.

• OF Max Kepler (47K), Twins (vs. Tigers): Kepler has had a stronger start relative to Bregman, but he should still be avoided on Saturday. His projected matchup against LHP Matt Boyd will work against him, as Kepler owns a .200 average against southpaws through 150 career PAs. Boyd has given up just eight hits over his past two starts.

Contrarian Plays

• 3B Evan Longoria (45K), Rays (vs. Astros): With a .235 average and three homers to open the year, Longoria hasn't been anything special thus far. But with RHP Charlie Morton sporting a 1.44 WHIP through his first three starts, there's reason to be bullish on Longoria. The veteran 3B slashed .280/.323/.543 against righties last season.

• C Josh Phegley (37K), Athletics (vs. Mariners): Phegley will likely draw into the lineup with LHP Ariel Miranda on the hill. Phegley has hit .260 with a .736 OPS against southpaws for his career. With the catcher position being such a sinkhole, getting creative with your selection can pay dividends.

For up-to-the-minute starting lineups, check out Baseball Press.

(Photos courtesy: Action Images)