It’s unfair for anyone to face the Astros right now. This team is so stacked and it’s why many experts have them pegged as the clear-cut favorite to win the World Series. It’s easy to see why they’re such big favorites when analyzing their roster, so let’s go ahead and get into that.   Now’s your chance to get DFSR PRO, which will give you access to our NFL and MLB optimizers and our new player lab! Get started for free by clicking the button below. START YOUR FREE TRIAL NOW! Houston Astros  Starters  Justin Verlander: Not much needs to be said about the future Hall-of-Famer. This dude has a 2.58 ERA, 0.80 WHIP and 35.4 percent K rate this season, which is pretty much on par with what he's been doing for over a decade. Those absurd numbers make him scary against anyone and he’ll surely be in top form in yet another playoff run.  Gerrit Cole: What if I told you that Verlander was not the best pitcher on this staff. Some would argue that it’s this guy, with Cole having a breakout season. Not only did the right-hander lead the league with 326 strikeouts, he also matched it with a 2.50 ERA and 0.89 WHIP. He was even better in the second half, posting a 1.51 ERA, 0.71 WHIP and 14.1 K.9 rate over his final 14 starts.   Zack Greinke: Jeez, it’s scary that the Astros added this dude to their already stacked pitching staff. Greinke was in the midst of another brilliant season before coming over to Houston, as he finished the year with a 2.93 ERA and 0.98 WHIP. That would make him the best pitcher on any pitching staff but he’ll go ahead and slot in for Game 3 in this series.   Bullpen  Look for these three starters to take care of most innings but their bullpen isn't too shabby either. Will Harris, Bruce Rondon and Ryan Pressly will carve out the middle innings while Roberto Osuna will be closing out games. That makes this the most dangerous pitching staff in the league and it’s no wonder that no one wants to face them.   Lineup  It would be one thing to have a pitching staff like this with an average lineup but this may be the best hitting core in baseball too. George Springer leading things off is truly scary, with the slugging outfielder posting a .393 OBP and .974 OPS this season. That pairs beautifully with Jose Altuve in the two-hole, with the little man having yet another stellar season. Michael Brantley hitting third is consistency at its finest, with the lefty outfielder hitting .300 pretty much every year. Alex Bregman is no joke in...

DFS NFL Podcast - Week 4 Game-by-Game Breakdown for FanDuel and DraftKings 9/26/19 Doug and James are back to discuss every single game on the main slate for Week 4 on their DFS NFL Podcast. After breaking down their Week 4 cash game plays yesterday, DFSR's duo sits down to see if they can finally find some serviceable running back plays to go with a sea of great options at other positions. Now’s your chance to get DFSR PRO, which will give you access to our NFL and MLB optimizers and our new player lab! Get started for free by clicking the button below. START YOUR FREE TRIAL NOW! The big question this week basically boils down to whether you want to pay up for good running backs in tough spots (like Dalvin Cook) or risk running backs with next to no track record in great match-ups (like Wayne Gallman). Either way, it's not going to be easy. The guys also discuss some interesting game-script sensitive options, like Josh Jacobs at $6,000 against the Colts, or Justin Jackson if things get out of hand against Miami. Wide Receiver seems to be filled with great mid-range options if you're going after a high floor, but this could open up some interesting big tournament stacks that you normally wouldn't be able to get quite as much separation on. If everyone is on Keenan Allen, Tyler Lockett, Julian Edelman, and Cooper Kupp, all of a sudden you can get separation by pairing Watson and Hopkins, Ryan and Jones, or Mayfield and Beckham. You'll have to guess right on running backs, but you always have to do that for big tournaments anyway. Either way, this shapes up to be a riveting week in the world of DFS on FanDuel and DraftKings, and if you're looking for a comprehensive breakdown of each game on the main slate, then you've come to the right place. As always, you can get access to the projections that power this podcast by heading to...

DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Tuesday 9/24/19 This time of the year is truly bizarre. We have pitching changes every day and wacky lineups being set by volatile managers, which causes mayhem for us. That's why it's important to do your own research because our information is from the day before. Things change quickly at this time of the year and it's imperative to focus in on any bits of news you find or nuggets that could give you an edge. Now’s your chance to get DFSR PRO, which will give you access to our MLB and NBA optimizers and our new player lab! Get started for free by clicking the button below. START YOUR FREE TRIAL NOW! Pitchers Gerrit Cole FD 12300 DK 13000 Opponent - SEA (Justin Dunn) Park - SEAFD - 42.25 DK - 24.13 It's going to be tough to fade Cole in this matchup. The simple fact is, we have a guy with a 39 percent K rate facing a club who ranks 28th in K's this season. That spells disaster for this terrible Seattle lineup, as they also rank bottom-10 in OBP and OPS since a fluky opening month. Cole has been downright absurd recently too, providing a 1.76 ERA, 0.82 WHIP and 13.6 K/9 rate over his last 18 starts. That's one of many reasons why Cole and the Astros enter this matchup as a -420 favorite. Madison Bumgarner FD 8600 DK 8200 Opponent - COL (Jeff Hoffman) Park - COLFD - 34.49 DK - 18.82 There was a lot of skepticism surrounding Bumgarner at the beginning of the season and it’s hard to understand why now. He’s back at it this season with a 3.86 ERA and 1.13 WHIP, doing a lot of that damage at home. In fact, Mad Bum has a 2.80 ERA and 0.92 WHIP at Oracle Park this season. That’s a recipe for disaster for the Rockies. Colorado ranks 29 in OBP on the road this season. In his two home starts against the Colorado this year, Bumgarner has allowed just three runs and 12 baserunners across 13 innings of action while striking out 18 batters. Catcher/First Base Mitch Moreland FD 3000 DK 4700 Opponent - TEX (Edinson Volquez) Park - TEXFD - 8.34 DK - 6.28 While we don't really like this DraftKings price, Moreland is going to be hard to fade on FanDuel. How crazy is it that someone with these splits is priced below $3,000. We're talking about a dude with a .554 SLG and .889 OPS against right-handed pitching. That's fantastic news in a stadium like Globe Life Park, which ranks as one of the most hitter-friendly environments in the league. Facing...

DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Monday 9/23/19 The season is nearing an end, but Monday is still a very slow day with only five games on the schedule as teams prepare for the final push. This is the last week of the regular season and most teams are firmly out of contention. That can make things rather tricky considering the lack of motivation on many teams. Now’s your chance to get DFSR PRO, which will give you access to our NFL and MLB optimizers and our new player lab! Get started for free by clicking the button below. START YOUR FREE TRIAL NOW! Pitchers Steven Matz FD - P 8900 DK - SP 7600 Opponent - MIA (Caleb Smith) Park - NYMFD - 32.02 DK - 16.45 Matt isn’t exactly a worldbeater, but we’ll take what we can get on this shorter slate. He’s facing a Marlins’ team ranked second-to-last on the season in wOBA against lefties and starting a number of callups down the stretch. Matz enters as the biggest moneyline odds favorite, -193 at home, and can strike out hitters at just under a K/9. With Blake Snell likely on another conservative pitch count returning from arm surgery, Matz comes as the cash game play for Monday at these prices. Patrick Corbin FD - P 10500 DK - SP 11800 Opponent - PHI (Zach Eflin) Park - WSHFD - 37.03 DK - 20.32 If there’s enough savings in the bats, then it might make sense paying up for Corbin here. He doesn’t have quite the win odds (-171) or as good a matchup as Matz, but is the better arm. He has a 3.61 xFIP on the season and is striking out 10.6 batters per nine. The 8% walk rate is up a bit over his last couple of seasons and I don’t exactly love the matchup against the Phillies. But, in theory, Washington is still playing for something here as they work to secure the wildcard slot in the NL. At this point in the season, that kind of thing really matters considering so many teams just don’t have a single thing to play for. If you think Adam Wainwright (FD $9200 DK $8100) can in anyway maintain his recent form then he looks like a good play against the Diamondbacks. I’m a bit skeptical though and think he’s running a bit hot over the last four games. Catcher/First Base Paul Goldschmidt FD - 1B 3600 DK - 1B 4500 Opponent - ARI (Alex Young) Park - ARIFD - 13.28 DK - 10 Goldschmidt’s season-long numbers don’t look all that impressive, but that has more to do with his struggles against righty arms. Against lefties,...

DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Friday 9/22/19 Now’s your chance to get DFSR PRO, which will give you access to our MLB and NBA optimizers and our new player lab! Get started for free by clicking the button below. START YOUR FREE TRIAL NOW! We're down to a week left in the regular season and this time of the year is truly impossible to predict. What makes it even more frustrating is the fact that managers are benching studs and changing rotations at will. While that does make it tough, it also opens up a boatload of value for us. With that in mind, let's get to our favorite pitcher of the day. Pitchers Hyun-Jin Ryu FD 8100 DK 9500 Opponent - COL (Antonio Senzatela) Park - COLFD - 37.3 DK - 20.51 Ryu is in contention to land the NL Cy Young and that alone makes this price tag truly shocking in such a supreme spot. This matchup with the Rockies is sensational, with Colorado ranked 23rd in K rate, 28th in runs scored, 30th in OBP and 29th in OPS on the road. That's truly terrifying against a pitcher with a 2.35 ERA and 1.03 WHIP. Ryu has been especially good at home, totaling a 1.77 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and 9.0 K/9 rate at Dodgers Stadium this season. All of this has Ryu entering this matchup as a -350 favorite.  Matthew Boyd FD 9100 DK 10500 Opponent - CHW (Reynaldo Lopez) Park - CHWFD - 36.45 DK - 20.36 While Boyd has been struggling recently, we really like him in this spot. Getting to face the Tigers is the best match-up in baseball but the White Sox aren't far behind. In fact, Chicago currently ranks 25th in K rate, 23rd in xwOBA, 26th in runs scored, 24th in OBP, and 26th in OPS. That's bad news against one of the best strikeout pitchers in the Majors, with Boyd generating a 3.81 xFIP, 1.20 WHIP and 31 percent K rate. In his two starts against the White Sox this season, Boyd has struck out 22 batters across 11.1 innings, collecting at least 43 FanDuel points in both outings.  We also love Luis Severino against a bad Blue Jays offense but he might see a limited pitch count with this being his second start off the IL. Catcher/First Base Freddie Freeman FD 4200 DK 4700 Opponent - SF (Logan Webb) Park - SFFD - 13.85 DK - 10.5 Freeman sat out on Saturday after celebrating an NL East title but he should be fully ready to go here. He earned every bit of that rest too, as he's currently one of the leading contenders for NL MVP. That's crystal clear when you see...