There are two featured DFS slates today on DraftKings. One is an afternoon slate, and one is in the evening. We’re going to review the afternoon slate, which begins at 2:20 p.m. ET. FanDuel has the same six-game slate as an option.
Saturday’s Top MLB DFS Picks & Player Props
Saturday’s Starting Pitcher Rankings (9/13)
| PLAYER | DraftKings Salary | FanDuel Salary |
| Max Fried | $10,200 | $9,500 |
| Brandon Sproat | $7,500 | $8,100 |
| Andrew Alvarez | $5,500 | $6,900 |
- It’s not a great matchup against the Boston Red Sox, but Max Fried is clearly the top option on this slate. He is also priced as the top option on both sites. Boston is a mid-pack offense against left-handed pitchers with a 103 wRC+. Fried has already faced the Red Sox twice this season with great success. On June 15th, he had 24.95 points on DraftKings and 46 on FanDuel. Just a few weeks ago, on August 22nd, he earned a 23.30 on DraftKings and a 43 on FanDuel against the Red Sox.
- Brandon Sproat made his Major League debut earlier this week against the Cincinnati Reds. He did not give up a hit in that game until the sixth inning, although he had some struggles with walks. In total, he finished with three earned runs over six innings with seven strikeouts. A swinging strike rate of only 6.7% in that game is low, but he did supplement that with a 19% called strike rate. While Texas has played a bit better recently, they are still bottom-10 in the league against right-handed pitchers for the season in wRC+.
- Andrew Alvarez is the cheapest option on the slate. He has made two starts since being called up. The first one went well against the Marlins, and then he struggled against the Cubs in his second start. Today, he has a matchup against the Pirates. In the second half, only St. Louis and Cleveland have a lower team OPS.
Suggested Lineup Stacks
New York Mets Projected Lineup (9/13)
| POS | PLAYER | DraftKings Salary | FanDuel Salary |
| SS | Francisco Lindor | $5,800 | $3,600 |
| OF | Juan Soto | $6,100 | $4,200 |
| 1B | Pete Alonso | $5,200 | $3,400 |
| OF | Brandon Nimmo | $4,400 | $3,000 |
| 3B | Mark Vientos | $4,200 | $2,900 |
| C | Francisco Alvarez | $3,100 | $2,500 |
| 2B/OF | Jeff McNeil | $3,700 | $2,700 |
| OF | Starling Marte | $3,600 | $2,500 |
| OF | Jose Siri | $2,000 | $2,200 |
- The Mets are taking on the Texas Rangers in desperate need of a win. The projected starting pitcher for the Rangers is lefty Patrick Corbin. While Corbin has been a bit better this season, this is a pitcher whom many of the Mets’ hitters have an impressive track record against from his time with the Nationals.
- Let’s start our Mets stack with Pete Alonso. He has been surprisingly poor against left-handed pitchers this season, but poor for him still means a .731 OPS. He has 17 hits in 49 at-bats against Corbin in his career (.347 batting average). Eight of those have been extra-base hits, including five home runs.
- While not quite as impressive as Alonso, Francisco Lindor also has had success against Corbin. Lindor has gone 13-for-44 against him with two doubles and three home runs.
- Some cheaper options in the Mets’ lineup who have had success against Corbin are Brandon Nimmo and Starling Marte. Even though Nimmo is a left-handed batter, he has gone 12-for-43 against Corbin with a pair of home runs. Marte is 13-for-42 with a pair of doubles and a home run.
Detroit Tigers Projected Lineup (9/13)
| POS | PLAYER | DraftKings Salary | FanDuel Salary |
| 3B/1B/2B (FD) | Colt Keith | $4,000 | $2,800 |
| 2B | Gleyber Torres | $4,600 | $3,200 |
| OF | Kerry Carpenter | $4,600 | $3,000 |
| OF | Riley Greene | $5,200 | $3,600 |
| 1B | Spencer Torkelson | $4,500 | $3,300 |
| OF | Wenceel Perez | $4,100 | $2,900 |
| 3B/SS/2B/OF (FD) | Zach McKinstry | $4,300 | $3,000 |
| C | Dillon Dingler | $3,500 | $2,900 |
| OF | Parker Meadows | $3,100 | $2,600 |
- Janson Junk is starting for the Miami Marlins against the Detroit Tigers. There was a stretch before the All-Star break where Junk was pitching admirably. That has largely stopped. Over his last eight starts, he has allowed 31 earned runs in 42 innings (6.64 ERA). He has a 5.08 FIP since the start of August.
- When you see a right-handed pitcher opposing the Detroit Tigers, it’s a green light to start Riley Greene and Kerry Carpenter. Greene has a .904 OPS against right-handed pitchers. Carpenter has an .831 OPS against them.
- Dillon Dingler has been quietly excellent in the second half, batting .312 with an .856 OPS. In the last 28 days, he has been even slightly better with a .338 batting average and an .895 OPS.
- Wenceel Perez has been slightly better against left-handed pitchers this season, but his recent performance allows you to put him in your stack. Over the last 28 days, he has nine extra-base hits, including three home runs. That’s an .823 OPS in that time. He is very affordably priced on FanDuel.
Core Studs
| POS | PLAYER | DraftKings Salary | FanDuel Salary |
| SS/2B (FD) | Jackson Holliday | $4,500 | $3,000 |
| OF | Trent Grisham | $4,400 | $3,400 |
| OF | Daulton Varsho | $4,900 | $3,400 |
- Jackson Holliday is someone we look to play against right-handed pitchers. He has a matchup against right-handed pitcher Max Scherzer later today. Of his 40 extra-base hits, 31 have come against right-handed pitchers. He’s also been hot recently with a 1.135 OPS over the past two weeks.
- One of the season’s most unexpected breakouts was Trent Grisham. He has pounded right-handed pitchers to an .882 OPS this season. Surprisingly, he has also been better on the road (.925 OPS) than at Yankee Stadium (.698 OPS). Today’s game is against right-handed pitcher Brayan Bello at Fenway Park.
- Daulton Varsho has far and away the highest OPS of his career at .862. He has 18 home runs in 57 games. It’s not been a fluke either, as he has elevated his average exit velocity, hard-hit rate and barrel rate to career bests.
Value Plays/Punts
| POS | PLAYER | DraftKings Salary | FanDuel Salary |
| OF | Colton Cowser | $3,500 | $ |
| OF | Daylen Lile | $3,400 | $ |
| 1B | Jake Burger | $3,300 | $ |
- While it’s not a long track record, Colton Cowser has had success against Blue Jays starting pitcher Max Scherzer. He has two hits in only four at-bats, with both hits being home runs.
- Daylen Lile‘s price has not caught up to the production he has offered over the last six weeks. Since the start of August, Lile has a triple slash line of .342/.383/.558. That comes with 14 extra-base hits.
- I try to avoid recommending batters who are opposing pitchers I recommend above. In a slightly smaller slate like this one, that becomes a challenge. Plus, Jake Burger has been delivering in the power categories since he finished his most recent stint on the injured list (IL). He has four home runs in September.
Saturday’s Top 3 Underdog Player Props
Taijuan Walker (SP – PHI): Under 3.5 Strikeouts — Lower
Taijuan Walker hasn’t cleared 3.5 strikeouts in five of his last six starts. He has missed the mark in his last three starts. Today, Walker takes on the Kansas City Royals. They are the second-toughest team to strike out this season, with only an 18.4% strikeout rate.
Pete Crow-Armstrong (OF – CHC): 1.5 Hits + Runs + RBI — Lower
Pete Crow-Armstrong is set for a matchup against left-handed pitcher Drew Rasmussen. Even when he was playing at an MVP-level earlier in the season, Crow-Armstrong was still struggling against left-handed pitchers.
For the season, the Cubs outfielder is batting only .183 against left-handed pitchers with a measly.216 on-base percentage (OBP). He’s also been in a slump since the start of August, with only a .171 batting average and a .234 OBP.
Bryson Stott (2B, SS – PHI): 0.5 Total Bases — Higher
Bryson Stott has had at least one total base in 12 of his last 13 games. Today, he has a matchup against Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Ryan Bergert. Some ERA regression began in his last start when he gave up eight earned runs in only 3.1 innings. His ERA jumped to 3.48 as a result, but he still has a way to catch up to his 4.07 FIP.
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