We have a later main slate today, so you have a bit more time to refine your MLB DFS lineups.
DraftKings’ main slate begins at 7:10 p.m. ET and includes the last seven games of the evening. The FanDuel main slate starts a bit earlier and includes four extra games.
Wednesday’s Top MLB DFS Picks & Player Props
Wednesday’s Starting Pitcher Rankings (9/16)
- This isn’t the prettiest slate of starting pitcher options, as even the most expensive options have their warts. Shota Imanaga interests me for DFS. It all comes down to whether or not he can avoid the home run ball. Seven of his last 10 starts have resulted in at least 34 points on FanDuel. His matchup today is against the Atlanta Braves.
- Yusei Kikuchi recently returned from nearly a four-month absence due to a shoulder injury. In his four starts since returning, he has a 3.27 ERA over 22 innings. It’s a similar story to Imanaga — avoiding walks and home runs is key. His matchup today is against the Mariners.
- The story of Cristian Javier is similar to Kikuchi’s in that he missed a substantial amount of time due to a shoulder injury. It took him a while to ramp back up after spending time in the bullpen, but he seems to be rounding into form in September. Two of his three highest-scoring games on either DFS site have been in his past two starts. His price is much more affordable on DraftKings.
Suggested Lineup Stacks
San Diego Padres Projected Lineup (9/16)
We have a later main slate today, so you have a bit more time to refine your MLB DFS lineups.
DraftKings’ main slate begins at 7:10 p.m. ET and includes the last seven games of the evening. The FanDuel main slate starts a bit earlier and includes four extra games.
Wednesday’s Top MLB DFS Picks & Player Props
Wednesday’s Starting Pitcher Rankings (9/16)
- This isn’t the prettiest slate of starting pitcher options, as even the most expensive options have their warts. Shota Imanaga interests me for DFS. It all comes down to whether or not he can avoid the home run ball. Seven of his last 10 starts have resulted in at least 34 points on FanDuel. His matchup today is against the Atlanta Braves.
- Yusei Kikuchi recently returned from nearly a four-month absence due to a shoulder injury. In his four starts since returning, he has a 3.27 ERA over 22 innings. It’s a similar story to Imanaga — avoiding walks and home runs is key. His matchup today is against the Mariners.
- The story of Cristian Javier is similar to Kikuchi’s in that he missed a substantial amount of time due to a shoulder injury. It took him a while to ramp back up after spending time in the bullpen, but he seems to be rounding into form in September. Two of his three highest-scoring games on either DFS site have been in his past two starts. His price is much more affordable on DraftKings.
Suggested Lineup Stacks
San Diego Padres Projected Lineup (9/16)
| POS |
PLAYER |
DraftKings Salary |
FanDuel Salary |
| OF/2B |
Fernando Tatis Jr. |
$7,200 |
$4,400 |
| OF/3B |
Dustin Harris |
$3,400 |
$2,900 |
| 3B |
Manny Machado |
$6,200 |
$3,700 |
| 1B |
Ty France |
$4,900 |
$3,400 |
| OF |
Jackson Merrill |
$5,700 |
$3,800 |
| C |
Luis Campusano |
$4,400 |
$3,100 |
| SS |
Xander Bogaerts |
$5,000 |
$3,400 |
| 1B/2B |
Jake Cronenworth |
$4,100 |
$3,000 |
| C |
Freddy Fermin |
$3,100 |
$2,700 |
- The lack of high-end pitching options means you can save money on pitching and load up on the top hitters. No team has a better matchup than the Padres at Coors Field against right-handed pitcher Mason Adams. Adams is due for some regression as his 3.38 ERA is roughly two runs lower than his 5.68 FIP and 4.98 expected ERA.
- We’re going back-to-back days with Fernando Tatis Jr. as someone you have to consider in stacks. He delivered yesterday with a solo home run. That’s his second home run in as many days. He’s already hit six home runs in September.
- Getting both Tatis and Jackson Merrill into your lineup is going to be expensive, but could pay off big time. Merrill has hit 20 of his 25 home runs against right-handed pitchers this season. He has 14 hits in his last 27 at-bats, including six extra-base hits and three home runs.
- Dustin Harris is one of the cheapest options you can add to a Padres stack. The Padres are already the third team that he has played for this season, but the first one where he has found success. He’s hitting .333 with a .790 OPS in a 45 at-bats since joining the Padres.
Boston Red Sox Projected Lineup (9/16)
| POS |
PLAYER |
DraftKings Salary |
FanDuel Salary |
| OF |
Roman Anthony |
$4,700 |
$3,000 |
| OF |
Jahmai Jones |
$2,400 |
$2,300 |
| OF |
Wilyer Abreu |
$5,200 |
$3,100 |
| 1B/C |
Willson Contreras |
$4,900 |
$3,500 |
| C |
Adley Rutschman |
$3,700 |
$3,000 |
| SS |
Trevor Story |
$3,200 |
$2,800 |
| 3B/2B |
Caleb Durbin |
$3,200 |
$2,800 |
| 1B/2B/SS/3B |
Nick Sogard |
$3,400 |
$2,900 |
| OF |
Nate Eaton |
$2,700 |
$2,500 |
- MacKenzie Gore is starting today against the Boston Red Sox. Trying to predict what you get from Gore from start to start is nearly impossible. He has made 31 starts this season and allowed four or more earned runs in 10 of them. The Red Sox rank in the top five in wOBA against left-handed pitching.
- The starting point for a Red Sox stack against Gore is Willson Contreras. He has been fine against right-handed pitchers, but has really excelled against left-handed pitching (.954 OPS).
- Wilyer Abreu is also a good option. That may seem odd given that he is a left-handed hitter, but he has an odd reverse split this season — .234 batting average and .754 OPS against righties versus .307 batting average and .899 OPS against lefties.
- Jahmai Jones is the cheapest option in the Red Sox’s lineup, but don’t overlook what he could do. It’s a tiny sample, but he has held his own since he became a platoon bat after joining the Red Sox in July; he has a 1.269 OPS against left-handed pitchers.
Core Studs
- If you can afford him, it’s always a good idea to get Yordan Alvarez in your DFS lineup. His matchup today is against left-handed pitcher Daniel Lynch. Alvarez is better against right-handed pitchers, but an .855 OPS against left-handed pitchers is still remarkable for a left-handed batter.
- This entire article is typically stats-driven, but if there is a story to paint, it’s Pete Alonso in his last chance to hit a home run against the Mets this season. We know he can hit them; he has already hit 14 home runs in the second half.
- Heriberto Hernandez quietly has hit 24 home runs this season. It’s fully supported by a 13.5% barrel rate and a 47% hard-hit rate. His actual slugging rate of .449 is below his expected slugging rate of .481.
Value Plays/Punts
- Jake Burger has a matchup today against left-handed pitcher Jake Bennett. Burger is an option against left-handed pitchers. He has a .909 OPS against lefties this season, with 12 of his 26 home runs coming against them.
- Kyle Karros has a home matchup against left-handed pitcher Robbie Ray. Surprisingly, he has been better in road games than at home this season. His OPS against left-handed pitchers this season is .794.
- Jakob Marsee‘s struggles lasted so long at the start of the season that it’s easy to overlook how productive he has been since the start of August. Over his last 40 games, he’s batting .306 with a .903 OPS.
Wednesday’s Top 3 Underdog Player Props
We went with Elly De La Cruz yesterday against Yoshinobu Yamamoto. He delivered with a pair of hits. That now brings him to 12 out of 13 games this month with more than 1.5 combined hits + runs + RBIs. Today, we get an even lower total of 0.5.
Anthony Molina‘s time as a relief pitcher seems to be keeping his strikeout prop a bit depressed. Molina has pitched in seven games this season (four as a reliever and three as a starter). In his first four appearances as a reliever, he never struck out more than two batters. In his three most recent games as a starter, he has struck out at least four batters in each game.
This one is a bit more story-than-stats focused. The Brewers clinched their fourth consecutive National League Central title last night. While they still have a bye or the number one seed to play for, they’re expected to be cautious with Logan Henderson and Jacob Misiorowski. Henderson has gone over 6.5 strikeouts in two of his last five games.
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