DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Thursday 9/15/22
DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Thursday, 9/15/22 This baseball season feels like it's been going on for a decade, but the end is coming out of nowhere. We only have a few weeks remaining in the regular season, and it'll be fun to watch these clubs battle for postseason positioning. Unfortunately, we have a small card for this Thursday slate, with only eight games spread throughout the day. That means we have a small player pool to pick from, but there are still plenty of great options on the board. With that in mind, let's kick things off with some arms! Now’s your chance to get DFSR PRO, which will give you access to our MLB, NBA, PGA, NHL, and NFL optimizers and our new player lab! Get started for free by clicking the button below. START YOUR FREE TRIAL NOW! Pitchers Lance McCullers Jr. FD - P 9900 DK - SP 9700 Opponent - OAK (James Kaprielian) Park - HOU FD - 43.91 DK - 23.89 It was a bit of a slow start for McCullers after his recovery from injury, but he's starting to hit his stride. The young right-hander has his ERA down to 2.20, allowing three runs or fewer in all five of his starts. The K rate has been slow to come around, but he has 13 Ks across 12.2 innings in his last two starts. That's the stud we've become accustomed to, with McCullers striking out 750 batters across 671 innings coming into the year. The strikeouts should be on the rise against an offense like this. Oakland ranks 29th or 30th in runs scored, OBP, OPS, and xwOBA. Not to mention, McCullers enters this matchup as a -300 favorite. Lance Lynn FD - P 10100 DK - SP 7500 Opponent - CLE (Hunter Gaddis) Park - CLE FD - 33.27 DK - 17.95 What is DraftKings thinking here? Lynn has returned to the ace we saw in past years, providing a 1.19 ERA, 0.72 WHIP, and 10.8 K/9 rate across his last six starts. Those are Cy Young calibre numbers, making it laughable that Lynn remains just $7,500 over on DK. In any case, we'll ride that recent form because Lynn has a 2.91 ERA and 1.07 WHIP over the last two years. Facing Cleveland might sound tough on the surface, but this team owns a 29th-ranked xwOBA. They simply have nothing outside Jose Ramirez, which is evident by the fact that Lynn allowed just one run across 11.2 innings in their last two matchups while striking out 12 batters. Carlos Carrasco (FD $9000 DK $9400) has had a bounceback season for the Mets, entering this matchup as a -250 favorite...
DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Tuesday 9/13/22
DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Tuesday 9/13/22 Now’s your chance to get DFSR PRO, which will give you access to our MLB, NBA, PGA, NHL, and NFL optimizers and our new player lab! Get started for free by clicking the button below. START YOUR FREE TRIAL NOW! Pitchers Jacob deGrom FD 12000 DK 11800 Opponent - CHC (Adrian Sampson) Park - CHCFD - 53.74 DK - 31.27 DeGrom is as big a favorite in Tuesday’s game as you’ll really ever see in a Major League Baseball game. He opened at -423 against the Cubs at home and now it’s sitting at -390. That is just a ridiculous number and he makes for an incredibly tough fade as a SP1. Even with the price being as high as it is, you pretty much have to play him. The numbers are just sick. He is striking out batters at a 41% clip with a 15.75:1 K:BB. Those are video game stats for a starting pitcher. We will have to make some concessions with the bats but it doesn’t matter because deGrom is just that good. Jordan Montgomery FD 9100 DK 8400 Opponent - MIL (Matt Bush) Park - MILFD - 39.08 DK - 20.61 While it isn’t in the deGrom category of crazy favorites, Montgomery is in a good spot of his own on Tuesday against the Brewers. He’s sitting at -210 at home and the price on DraftKings actually makes it palatable that we can get a bat or two into the lineup. He’s gone six of more innings in four of his last six starts including a complete game one-hitter against the Cubs and he limits the walks in a big way which makes up for the K rate being a little on the lower side. Catcher/First Base Adley Rutschman FD 3100 DK 5400 Opponent - WSH (Cory Abbott) Park - WSHFD - 11.5 DK - 8.75 Ryan Mountcastle FD 2700 DK 3700 Opponent - WSH (Cory Abbott) Park - WSHFD - 11.4 DK - 8.71 No teams come into this slate with overwhelmingly high run lines, but the Orioles are in a good spot against the Nationals and Cory Abbott. The ultra-prospect Rutschman has had an excellent first season in the majors with an .800 OPS and 10 home runs through his first 377 plate appearances. He’s walking almost 14% of the time and striking out less than 18%. That’s right where you want to be from a cash game perspective and the price doesn’t break the bank on FanDuel at all. Meanwhile, Mountcastle should be hitting cleanup for the O’s on Tuesday and is more of a boom-or-bust type for fantasy purposes. He does has 21...
DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Monday 9/12/22
DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Monday 9/12/22 Now’s your chance to get DFSR PRO, which will give you access to our MLB, NBA, PGA, NHL, and NFL optimizers and our new player lab! Get started for free by clicking the button below. START YOUR FREE TRIAL NOW! Pitcher Framber Valdez FD 11000 DK 10700 Opponent - DET (Eduardo Rodriguez) Park - DET FD - 39.65 DK - 20.51 Valdez checks all the boxes today and it starts with his consistency with rice straight starts allowing two or fewer earned runs. In that time, he has also seen his K rate spike with eight or more punchouts in four of those starts. He now gets an elite matchup against a Tigers offense that ranks dead last with a .279 wOBA/81 wRC+ and as a big favorite, is my top pitcher in all formats on Monday. Spencer Strider FD 10400 DK 10100 Opponent - SF (Alex Cobb) Park - SF FD - 39.03 DK - 21.35 The rookie of the year awards have been a runaway in both leagues and it’s been Strider in cruise control in the NL. He has gone 6-1 over eight second half starts while recording a 2.14 ERA/2.07 xFIP and elite 38.5% K rate. He now faces a struggling Giants team that has fallen of the map in the standings and struck out over 26% of the time over the last month. It’s a double pay up kind of night and Strider is an elite play in all formats. Catcher/First Base Nathaniel Lowe FD 3600 DK 4200 Opponent - MIA (Braxton Garrett) Park - MIA FD - 8.84 DK - 6.7 If we are going to be paying up for two pitchers tonight, we best find some mid-tier value bats and the Rangers offer just that. It starts at first base with Nathaniel Lowe who has been one of the hottest bats in baseball down the stretch sporting a .396/.460/.693 slash line since mid August. He and the Rangers get a terrific matchup against Bryan Hoeing who has been roughed up for 10 this and eight earned runs in his first two appearances. All things considered, Lowe is my top play at first and one of my top overall PTS/$ plays on this slate. Yuli Gurriel FD 2300 DK 3300 Opponent - DET (Eduardo Rodriguez) Park - DET FD - 8.04 DK - 6.2 More value at first base with Yuli Gurriel who checks almost every box starting with the matchup. He and Astros face a struggling Eduardo Rodriguez who has given up eight earned runs including five long balls in his last two starts. For Gurriel, he is rarely going to win you a...
DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Sunday 9/11/22
DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Sunday, 9/11/22 Today is a fantastic day. Not only is it Week 1 of the NFL season, but this marks my final regular season day in my season-long fantasy baseball leagues! That means this is the most important sports day of the season because I have more fantasy teams in those two sports than I'd like to admit. It has me zoned in on this Sunday card, though, because I have numerous teams on the bubble of the playoffs. I feel like our projections are on point, so let's go ahead and get started with the arms! Now’s your chance to get DFSR PRO, which will give you access to our MLB, NBA, PGA, NHL, and NFL optimizers and our new player lab! Get started for free by clicking the button below. START YOUR FREE TRIAL NOW! Pitchers Aaron Nola FD - P 11000 DK - SP 10800 Opponent - WSH (Aníbal Sánchez) Park - PHI FD - 46.61 DK - 25.6 Nola had a nightmarish outing against Arizona last week, but he's been astounding outside of that. In his other 26 starts this season, Aaron has accumulated a 3.01 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, and 10.1 K/9 rate. That WHIP and K rate has made him one of the best producers in fantasy, and he should maintain those averages against Washington. This team traded away Josh Bell and Juan Soto at the trade deadline and might have the least talented lineup in baseball. Nola has walloped Washington all year, tallying a 1.66 ERA and 0.92 WHIP in three starts against them. Not to mention, he's likely to be a -300 favorite in this matchup. Taijuan Walker FD - P 8000 DK - SP 7700 Opponent - MIA (Jesús Luzardo) Park - MIA FD - 35.48 DK - 18.15 It's hard to understand why Walker remains so cheap on both sites. He's had two horrific outings in which he allowed 15 combined runs, but he's close to that total in his other 22 starts. In fact, Taijuan has a 2.71 ERA and 1.13 WHIP if you take out those two stinkers, and we're willing to do that since it was the Braves and Phillies. Facing Miami is a much easier matchup, with the Marlins ranked 27th in runs scored, OBP, OPS, and wOBA. Walker has certainly had his way with them, allowing three runs or fewer in their last four matchups while posting a 2.59 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, and 7.9 K/9 rate in those starts. Brady Singer (FD $9200 DK $8700) has 15 Ks in two starts against the lowest-scoring team in baseball and should have no issues with the Tigers here. Catcher/First Base Paul...
DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Saturday 9/10/22
DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Saturday 9/10/22 Now’s your chance to get DFSR PRO, which will give you access to our MLB, NBA, PGA, NHL, and NFL optimizers and our new player lab! Get started for free by clicking the button below. START YOUR FREE TRIAL NOW! Pitchers Kevin Gausman FD 10300 DK 9700 Opponent - TEX (Kohei Arihara) Park - TEX FD - 38.28 DK - 20.44 Choosing pitchers can be tricky down the stretch as some teams will be limiting starters to prepare for the playoffs. The Jays don't have that option as they are not only short on starters due to injury but also in a very tight race for the AL Wildcard. Gausman has had a few blips on the radar in the second half but has still been terrific holding opponents to two or fewer earned runs on five of his last seven starts and has a 30% K rate in the second half. He now gets an elite matchup against a Rangers team that has lost 10 of their last 11 games while tallying a .277 wOBA, 80 wRC+, and 24% K rate in that time. Fire up Gausman in all formats. José Urquidy FD 9500 DK 9000 Opponent - LAA (Shohei Ohtani) Park - LAA FD - 34.81 DK - 18.09 There isn’t a whole lot to get excited about in terms of value SP2 options so I am fully on board with the system which prefers a double pay-up almost daily. Urquidy isn’t a pitcher that provides a ton of upside with a below-average K rate(19.5%) but he has been rock solid in the second half holding opponents to two or fewer earned runs in six of eight starts for a 2.45 ERA. With a plus matchup against an Angels team that has been a bottom 10 offense in the second half and striking out over 25% of the time, Urquidy is easily my top SP2 on this slate. Catcher/First Base Christian Walker FD 3900 DK 4400 Opponent - COL (José Ureña) Park - COL FD - 13.06 DK - 9.9 The system is all over the Coors game on DraftKings once again on Saturday and it comes as no surprise as both sides get plus matchups and are way too cheap to stack. It starts with Christian Walker who has been very consistent lately with hits in nine of the last 10 games he has started including four multi-hit efforts. The red-hot D-backs offense also gets another elite matchup against Jose Urena who has been nothing short of a disaster in the second half posting an 8.65 ERA over nine starts. Arizona is our top overall PTS/$ stack tonight...