RADIO
It's a nine-game slate tonight and we have four aces ready to take the mound, all of which have average to above-average matchups. It gets dicey at pitcher after the top tier, though, so making the right selection at SP2 will be a difficult yet crucial endeavor. There are plenty of gas-can pitchers for offenses to take advantage of tonight and we have a handful of big boppers to prioritize as one-offs or within team stacks.
I'll be going through some of the best plays at each position on DraftKings with a GPP/tournament lineup build in mind. That's not to say that these players won't work in cash-game lineups, but we're looking to provide high-upside plays for the most part (it's more fun that way, anyway). As a reminder, it is best practice to stack 3-5 hitters from the same team for DFS purposes, so try to envision how the games will play out and build your lineups from there. Utilizing unique lineup combinations (i.e the nine, one, two, and three hitters) is another great way to differentiate.
In this article, I'll be providing you with my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for the DraftKings main slate on 9/16/2020. The lineup picks will range from some of the elite players to mid-priced options and value plays. You can also read more DFS advice and lineup picks for sites like FanDuel and other sports too. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to contact me on Twitter @kringstad19
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DraftKings DFS Starting Pitchers
Jacob deGrom - SP, NYM vs PHI ($10,400)
deGrom is the top pitcher to pay up for tonight, with all due respect to Gerrit Cole and Lucas Giolito. deGrom has the best numbers on the slate with a 1.67 ERA, 0.87 WHIP, 1.95 FIP, and a 2.43 xFIP. He tops the slate in both strikeout rate (37.8%) and SwStr% (21.2%). The Phillies have a top-tier offense and don't strike out very often, but they have just the 15th-highest OPS against RHP and they're projected to score just 3.3 runs at home today. The perennial Cy Young contender actually faced the Phillies on 9/6 and went seven innings, allowing three hits and one earned run while striking out 12 in the outing (38.8 DK points). Cole looks great as he has a similarly-positive matchup and may get more run support, but he clearly falls short to deGrom when it comes to strikeout upside. deGrom is rocking an otherwordly 44% K% across his last four starts.
Dylan Bundy - SP, LAA vs ARI ($9,100)
If you don't want to pay all the way up for one of the top three studs, or if you want to be contrarian by stacking to two high-priced SP's, Bundy is the pick for you today. Bundy's price dropped by $700 despite him throwing a season-high 12 strikeouts and recording 37.5 DK points in his last start (@TEX). Prior to that, he had four subpar starts in a row after his salary rose to ace-like levels, but he still has incredible numbers on the season. He holds a 2.48 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, 2.66 FIP, and a great 29.3% K%. He induces a ton of soft contact (18.8%) and his matchup against the Arizona Diamondbacks is a juicy one. Though they don't strike out a ton, they're a bottom-five offense by most metrics and are currently projected to score just 3.8 runs tonight.
Other options: Gerrit Cole (NYY vs PHI) $9,900, Brady Singer (KC vs DET) $6,200, Lance McCullers Jr. (HOU vs TEX) $7,500
DraftKings DFS Infielders
Anthony Rendon - 3B, LAA vs ARI ($5,800)
Rendon's price jumped despite him putting up just 9 DK points last night, but we have to like the Angels' top hitters again in this spot as they have a 5.2 implied total against Caleb Smith and the Diamondbacks bullpen. Smith, formerly of the Marlins, will be making just his third start of the year. He was solid last season and hasn't been really tested this season as he went just three innings in both starts, though he has given up two homers despite the limited action. This is more of a bet on Rendon's upside as he's hitting the ball hard and due for a big game.
Luke Voit - 1B, NYY vs PHI ($5,000)
Voit, who's having a great season overall, has been crushing the ball lately as he's hitting .320/.308/.800 with four home runs, 13 RBI, and seven runs scored over the last seven days. He has had two separate games with two longballs and at least 37 DK points in that span as he's now the MLB leader with 18 homers on the season. He's a neutral-splits hitter but his impressive .366 ISO against RHP comes in at 10th in MLB this season (min. 70 AB's). He'll face a hittable righty in Tanner Roark, who has a 5.60 ERA and has allowed 10 home runs over his last seven starts (and multiple homers in three of his last four starts).
Jose Altuve - 2B, HOU vs TEX ($3,400)
Altuve went hitless in his return from the IL on Tuesday, and his price has now dipped below Josh Rojas in the DK 2B pool. It's easy to see why as Altuve is hitting .219/.283/.315 with just three home runs, 12 RBI, 24 runs scored, and two stolen bases in 2020. However, we know what the former MVP is capable of when he's clicking, and he's worth going back to the well on as he'll be hitting second in a packed lineup that should demolish Kyle Gibson. Gibson has allowed 24 earned runs in his last five starts as he holds near-slate-worst rates in WHIP (1.66), K% (18.4%), HR/FB% (32.4%), and Hard% (44.5%).
Other options: Ozzie Albies (ATL vs BAL) $4,500, Alex Bregman (HOU vs TEX) $4,800, Renato Nunez (BAL vs ATL) $3,700
DraftKings DFS Outfielders
Michael Brantley - OF, HOU vs TEX ($3,300)
Brantley is (always) underpriced and, as mentioned above, Kyle Gibson is a pitcher to target on Wednesday. He's hitting .305/.373/.516 with a .211 ISO and .384 wOBA, and he also walks (9.9% BB%) and doesn't strike out much (15.5% K%). He'll have the platoon advantage over Gibson and he's a much better hitter against RHP, slashing .325/.284/.532 with 36 of his 43 homers against righties since 2018.
Ryan Mountcastle - OF, BAL vs ATL ($3,300)
The rookie slugger is hitting .350/.411/.588 with five homers, 18 RBI, and 11 runs scored over his first 80 at-bats in the big leagues. Mountcastle (what a name) will hit third against the southpaw on Wednesday and he comes in at a cheap salary on Draft Kings. He gets the platoon advantage over the Braves starter Cole Hamels, who's making his first start of the year and will only throw three or four innings. There will be plenty of scoring and rostership on the Braves side of this matchup - get some leverage on the field by getting to a few Orioles.
Michael Conforto - OF, NYM vs PHI ($4,900)
Conforto went 1-for-4 with three strikeouts last night as he had his third straight below-value DFS outing. However, the man is hitting .341/.427/.559 with a .218 ISO and .433 wOBA this year. His xBA, wOBA, and xWOBA are all in top 10% of the MLB. Opposing pitcher Zack Wheeler is having a great season (2.47 ERA, 3.11 FIP), but he holds a low 17.7% K% and gives up a fair amount of line drives (26.8% LD%). Conforto will also have the platoon advantage in this matchup - he had a .926 ISO and 27 of his 33 homers against RHP last season.
Other options: Mike Trout (LAA vs ARI) $6,300, George Springer (hOU vs TEX) $4,400, Hunter Dozier (KCR vs DET) $4,000, Mike Tauchman (NYY vs TOR) $2,800
DraftKings DFS Stacks
The Braves come in as the top stack of the night with their golden matchup against Keegan Akin, who got rocked by the Yankees in his last start. The Yankees (vs Roark) and Angels (vs Caleb Smith) are also intriguing, while the Astros (vs. Gibson) and White Sox (vs Gibson) are also firmly in play. The sneaky stack of the night belongs to the Royals (vs Skubal).
Good luck in your DraftKings contests and make sure to give me a follow on Twitter!
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