We’re inching closer to the end of the MLB season, but we still have time to keep playing MLB DFS.
DraftKings’ main slate today begins at 7:07 p.m. ET and includes 10 games. FanDuel’s main slate includes the same 10 games.
Tuesday’s Top MLB DFS Picks & Player Props
Tuesday’s Starting Pitcher Rankings (9/15)
- There is one clear ace to choose from on this slate: Logan Gilbert. He has allowed three earned runs or fewer in nine of his last 10 starts. His strikeout rate can be a bit erratic from start to start, but his 27.3% strikeout rate ranks 12th among qualified starters. Gilbert struck out double-digit batters in both of his first two September starts.
- Andre Pallante is a safe floor option with all the groundballs he gets. If you drop the qualification to 140 innings, only Cristopher Sanchez and Framber Valdez have a higher groundball rate than Pallante’s 54.5%. His matchup today is against a Giants offense that has really been hampered by injuries. Their projected lineup has two batters with an OPS over .720.
- Ryan Johnson has a 2.11 ERA over his last seven starts. That comes with a 5.43 FIP, so don’t believe that this is suddenly an emerging pitcher. He has a 98% strand rate during that stretch of games. His matchup today is against the Seattle Mariners. He is only an option on DraftKings at his salary.
Suggested Lineup Stacks
San Diego Padres Projected Lineup (9/15)
We’re inching closer to the end of the MLB season, but we still have time to keep playing MLB DFS.
DraftKings’ main slate today begins at 7:07 p.m. ET and includes 10 games. FanDuel’s main slate includes the same 10 games.
Tuesday’s Top MLB DFS Picks & Player Props
Tuesday’s Starting Pitcher Rankings (9/15)
- There is one clear ace to choose from on this slate: Logan Gilbert. He has allowed three earned runs or fewer in nine of his last 10 starts. His strikeout rate can be a bit erratic from start to start, but his 27.3% strikeout rate ranks 12th among qualified starters. Gilbert struck out double-digit batters in both of his first two September starts.
- Andre Pallante is a safe floor option with all the groundballs he gets. If you drop the qualification to 140 innings, only Cristopher Sanchez and Framber Valdez have a higher groundball rate than Pallante’s 54.5%. His matchup today is against a Giants offense that has really been hampered by injuries. Their projected lineup has two batters with an OPS over .720.
- Ryan Johnson has a 2.11 ERA over his last seven starts. That comes with a 5.43 FIP, so don’t believe that this is suddenly an emerging pitcher. He has a 98% strand rate during that stretch of games. His matchup today is against the Seattle Mariners. He is only an option on DraftKings at his salary.
Suggested Lineup Stacks
San Diego Padres Projected Lineup (9/15)
| POS |
PLAYER |
DraftKings Salary |
FanDuel Salary |
| 2B/OF |
Fernando Tatis Jr. |
$7,000 |
$4,400 |
| SS |
Xander Bogaerts |
$5,000 |
$3,400 |
| 3B |
Manny Machado |
$6,200 |
$3,700 |
| 1B |
Ty France |
$4,900 |
$3,400 |
| OF |
Jackson Merrill |
$5,700 |
$3,800 |
| C |
Luis Campusano |
$4,200 |
$3,100 |
| OF |
Austin Hays |
$3,800 |
$2,700 |
| 1B/2B |
Jake Cronenworth |
$4,200 |
$3,000 |
| OF/2B |
Samad Taylor |
$4,500 |
$3,300 |
- If you’re going to stack the Padres, you are going to have to go very cheap at starting pitcher. It could be worth it, though, with a matchup against Kyle Freeland at Coors Field. Freeland is coming off the injured list (IL) with his 6.37 ERA and 4.78 FIP. He is allowing over 11 hits per nine innings this season.
- Fernando Tatis Jr. has as much upside on this slate as any hitter has had all season. In his career against Freeland, he has gone 7-for-30 with five extra-base hits, including a home run. He has a league-leading 1.006 OPS in the second half of the season.
- Manny Machado has hit home runs in back-to-back games. That makes four home runs in September already. While his season-long numbers have never caught up after his slow start, he has been his typical self since the start of July. Since July 1st, Machado has a .260 average with a .793 OPS.
- The cheapest option in the Padres’ lineup on both sites is Austin Hays. He hasn’t gotten much playing time since coming to San Diego over a month ago. When he does play, it’s against left-handed pitchers like Freeland. He has an .858 OPS against left-handed pitchers this season.
Chicago Cubs Projected Lineup (9/13)
| POS |
PLAYER |
DraftKings Salary |
FanDuel Salary |
| OF |
Pete Crow-Armstrong |
$6,500 |
$4,200 |
| OF |
Seiya Suzuki |
$5,000 |
$3,500 |
| 3B |
Alex Bregman |
$5,500 |
$3,300 |
| OF |
Tyrone Taylor |
$3,100 |
$2,700 |
| SS/2B |
Nico Hoerner |
$3,500 |
$2,800 |
| 1B |
Michael Busch |
$3,900 |
$3,100 |
| 2B/OF/3B |
Matt Shaw |
$3,000 |
$2,600 |
| C |
Carson Kelly |
$3,300 |
$2,700 |
| 2B/3B |
Pedro Ramirez |
$3,500 |
$2,800 |
- No team has a higher OPS, wRC+ or wOBA against left-handed pitchers than the Chicago Cubs. The left-handed pitcher who has the unenviable task of facing that lineup today is Martin Perez. His ERA is only 3.08, but that comes with a 4.24 FIP and 4.60 xERA.
- The slight discount on Seiya Suzuki compared to Pete Crow-Armstrong is why he’d be my choice to build a Cubs stack around. Suzuki has been far better this season against left-handed pitchers. He has a .304 batting average and .978 OPS against lefties this season. That OPS is seventh in baseball against left-handed pitchers.
- There are actually some pretty interesting affordable options in this lineup. Carson Kelly is in play to be your catcher when you see a left-handed pitcher on the mound. Against lefties, he has 12 extra-base hits, including six home runs in 133 plate appearances. Against right-handed pitchers, he has only four home runs in 267 plate appearances.
- Another quite affordable option in the Cubs’ lineup is Matt Shaw. While he has yet to deliver on his prospect pedigree, he is delivering against left-handed pitchers — 10 extra-base hits and an .823 OPS.
Core Studs
- After a bit of a cool stretch, Matt Olson has hit two home runs in his past four games. His matchup today is against Kevin Gausman. Olson is 6-for-19 against Gausman in his career, with three home runs.
- Ben Rice is closing the season out on a strong note. In his last 19 games, he is batting .356 with a .995 OPS. He has hits in his last four games, including a pair of home runs.
- No batter is more feared by left-handed pitchers than Coby Mayo. He leads the league with a 1.121 OPS and 16 home runs (in 137 at-bats) against lefties. Mayo’s matchup today is against left-handed pitcher Sean Manaea.
Value Plays/Punts
- Josh Bell is a switch-hitter who doesn’t have a noticeable split against right- or left-handed pitchers. His matchup today is against left-handed pitcher Max Fried. Bell has gone 8-for-24 against Fried in his career, with a pair of extra-base hits. He’s already hit three home runs in September.
- Spencer Jones is a high-volatility option. In his first 77 games, he is striking out 35% of the time. However, he also has a 54.5% hard-hit rate, which has resulted in 22 extra-base hits with a .777 OPS.
- Isaac Paredes has a home matchup today against right-handed pitcher Michael Wacha. Eighteen of his 21 home runs have come against righties. His OPS in home games is nearly 100 points higher than in road games. He’s hit home runs in back-to-back games.
Tuesday’s Top 3 Underdog Player Props
What a tear Elly De La Cruz is on. He’s already hit six home runs in 12 September games and has cleared this number in 11 of those 12 games. De La Cruz has a difficult matchup against Yoshinobu Yamamoto, but he can still clear this mark with a single swing.
It’s not quite the run that Elly De La Cruz is on, but Jackson Chourio hasn’t been far behind. He has a .382 batting average with a 1.025 OPS in September. He has exceeded this number in 10 out of 12 games this month. The Pirates are expected to have a bullpen game today.
Victor Mesa Jr. has a matchup today against right-handed pitcher Jack Perkins. Mesa has been fantastic against right-handed pitchers (.853 OPS). He has gone over 1.5 combined hits + runs + RBIs in his last nine games.
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