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Squad Up Daily MLB Early Fantasy Dose: All rise for the honorable Judge

Brad Penner / USA TODAY Sports / Reuters

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Here is a look at the Squad Up daily MLB fantasy picture for the 10-game slate beginning at 1:05 p.m. ET on Saturday, May 27. Note that all statistics used exclude results from Friday, May 26.

Hitter Stacks

  • New York Yankees vs. Oakland Athletics (RHP Jharel Cotton): Cotton will return to the majors after spending the past two weeks in Triple-A. Through his first seven starts of the year, Cotton struggled to a 5.68 ERA and 3.79 BB/9. His last two major league starts also resulted in him giving up five homers. The Yankees rank in the top-10 of total runs scored and home runs.

3-player stack: OF Aaron Judge (59K), C Gary Sanchez (56K), 2B Starlin Castro (39K)

  • Philadelphia Phillies vs. Cincinnati Reds (RHP Bronson Arroyo): Despite a 6.75 ERA and 2.89 HR/9, Arroyo will still take to the mound for Cincinnati. With those numbers, even a dismal Philadelphia lineup should be able to do some damage. Go with Philly's home run hitters to maximize upside in this contrarian stack.

3-player stack: 1B Tommy Joseph (54K), 2B Cesar Hernandez (51K), OF Aaron Altherr (47K)

  • Arizona Diamondbacks at Milwaukee Brewers (RHP Chase Anderson): Anderson's past five starts have resulted in a 7.30 ERA. In his most recent start, the Cubs laid six earned runs and three homers on Anderson in just four innings. The D-backs have averaged just 3.6 runs through their first 20 road games, but this matchup is too good.

3-player stack: 1B Paul Goldschmidt (72K), SS Chris Owings (48K), OF Yasmany Tomas (58K)

Pitcher Breakdown

  • TARGET - RHP Zack Greinke (110K), Diamondbacks (at Brewers): Greinke has made his off-season doubters eat their words through his first 10 starts. The Arizona ace owns a 2.82 ERA, 10.48 K/9, and sixth-best 71.6 percent contact rate. Milwaukee sits second in strikeouts as a team.
  • FADE - RHP Danny Salazar (84K), Indians (vs. Royals): Admittedly, Salazar's strikeout upside is tempting. But through nine starts, Salazar is yet to stand out. If anything, his 4.40 BB/9, 2.11 HR/9, and 5.55 ERA should mean more to prospective buyers than his double-digit K-potential. The Royals are also a disciplined bunch at the plate.
  • CONTRARIAN - JC Ramirez (49K), Angels (at Marlins): Through eight starts, Ramirez has surrendered more than three earned runs just twice. Against a poor Miami offense that will be subdued by their own pitcher-friendly ballpark, Ramirez is primed to pick up his fifth quality start of the year. With little to no buzz around his reputation, Ramirez-owners will be a select few.

Bargain Plays

  • OF Michael Taylor (35K), Nationals (vs. Padres): Taylor's been effective in his replacement role for the Nats, hitting .266 with three homers and three steals in 36 games. Luckily, however, Taylor has hit .368 against LHP and .370 at home this season. San Diego LHP Clayton Richard will take to the hill for the Padres.
  • 2B Whit Merrifield (37K), Royals (at Indians): Merrifield is striking out 14.8 percent of the time this year, down from 21.7 the year before. Along with an 11-game hit streak, Merrifield has also hit all five of his homers against RHP this season. Salazar has served up six bombs in just his past two starts.

Top Fades

  • 1B Wil Myers (47K), Padres (at Nationals): Myers' 27.3 strikeout rate is mildly higher than his career 24.2 mark. Behind that metric also sits a jump in his overall swing percentage and swinging strike percentage. Though RHP Stephen Strasburg's 8.80 K/9 is below his 10.45 career mark, this matchup is still dangerous for any Padre swinging freely.

Contrarian Plays

  • OF Kevin Pillar (44K), Blue Jays (vs. Rangers): Texas SP Yu Darvish has struggled mightily through the first inning of his whole career, surprisingly. In his last start, leadoff hitter 2B Ian Kinsler took him deep to start the game. Pillar will also bat leadoff and has hit .303 with seven steals.
  • 1B Mike Napoli (48K), Rangers (at Blue Jays): Napoli is always a boom or bust option because of his approach at the plate. But the veteran slugger has been mashing of late, posting a 1.202 OPS with four homers over his past eight games. Toronto RHP Marco Estrada has given up five homers over his past four starts.
  • C Yan Gomes (39K), Indians (vs. Royals): Gomes' career numbers show a strong favoritism for LHP, as the Cleveland catcher has hit .283 with .798 OPS. That OPS rises to 1.071 for this season in particular. Kansas City LHP Jason Vargas hasn't been so dominant in his past two starts, giving up nine earned runs and three homers.

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

(Photos courtesy: Action Images)

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