It's Friday once again and you know what that means, right? We have yet another massive slate with a 13-gamer on both FanDuel and DraftKings! That's a lot of players to sort through, but don't worry because I got your back and I am going to give you some of the best spots to further examine before making your lineup decisions tonight.
There's no shortage of good plays on the mound today, but I'm going to try to give you some options at each price tier for pitchers. And with bats, I'll try my best not to just give you the most obvious plays, but dig in a little deeper to find some sneakier pivots.
As always, this article will provide my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for DraftKings and FanDuel. Friday's main slate locks at 7:05 EST on 9/2/2022. The lineup picks will range from some elite high-priced players to mid-priced options, and value plays. I'll give you a few of my top pitching options and then some infielders, outfielders, and teams to stack! You can also read more DFS advice and lineup picks for other sports here. It's also essential to monitor injury news and today's MLB starting lineups. Now that we got all of that out of the way, it's onto the picks!
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DraftKings, FanDuel Pitchers - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
If you like data, here are some projections for today's starting pitchers. Green is good for the pitcher, while red is bad!
(click to enlarge)
Sandy Alcantara vs. ATL ($10,300 DK, $10,400 FD)
Just give this guy the Cy Young award already! If you were wary of using him in tough spots, consider that he's coming off a complete game against the Dodgers in which he struck out ten. I have his strikeout projection up over seven tonight against this K-prone Atlanta team. Obviously, there is some risk here, but the ceiling is massive with Sandy's ability to pitch deep into games. He's easily the best pitcher on the slate and I'll gladly use him in all formats despite Atlanta being a pretty darn good offense.
Jordan Montgomery vs. CHC ($9,200 DK, $9,600 FD)
This might seem like a lot to pay for Monty, and I know he struggled in his last outing against Atlanta. But the St. Louis version of Monty has still been something special. He's sporting a 1.76 ERA and 0.82 WHIP in five starts as a Cardinal and today he's a heavy favorite at home against a middling Cubs team. Yes, it's the same team that he threw a complete game shutout against a few weeks ago (it was a one-hitter with seven strikeouts). Even if he can't replicate that dominance, there's a good chance he pitches well and picks up a win tonight.
David Peterson vs. WAS ($8,300 DK, $8,000 FD)
Sticking with another lefty here, Peterson has been sneaky good all season and managed to hold onto a spot in a very good Mets' rotation as the sixth starter. He's been better than Taijuan Walker, honestly, and if someone had to go to the pen it should be Walker, not Peterson. But I digress. Peterson has a favorable match-up here against the Nats, who have been striking out more here later in the season. Peterson is a big home favorite with some solid strikeout potential and his price tag is a little more friendly than Monty's if you want to save a few bucks.
Also consider - Jeffrey Springs vs. NYY, Dean Kremer vs. OAK
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DraftKings, FanDuel Infielders - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
Dermis Garcia - 1B, OAK vs. Dean Kremer ($2,000 DK, $2,800 FD)
Who doesn't love a value play with some HR upside? The Oakland youngster is now hitting over .300 and has two home runs in his last three games. Kremer has some reverse splits and Garcia has some pretty wild numbers against righties so far (small sample size warning) with a .559 wOBA and .438 ISO. Who knows if this 24-year-old has any sticking power in the bigs in the long term, but for now he certainly has my attention for DFS lineups until we see him cool off.
Xander Bogaerts - SS, BOS vs. Dallas Keuchel ($5,400 DK, $3,800 FD)
We absolutely have to load up on some Red Sox today as they face Keuchel and his 8+ ERA. I'm simply amazed that teams keep letting Keuchel pitch for them. He's allowed six or more earned runs in five of his last seven starts and he simply can't get anyone out anymore. It's a shame because he was a pretty good pitcher for a decent stretch there, but he has no velocity left and is no longer able to induce 60% groundball like he used to.
Anyway, let's fire up some Boston bats. I'll start with Bogaerts, who has been rolling of late scoring double-digit DK points in seven of his last ten games. His .426 wOBA against lefties is the best on the team and he has a little pop in that bat, too, with 12 dingers this year.
Trevor Story - 2B/SS, BOS vs. Dallas Keuchel ($4,800 DK, $3,700 FD)
The Sox really missed his bat for a huge chunk of the year, but Story already has two three-hit games since returning to the lineup from injury and he's swiped two bases as well. He has solid power against lefties and the only major concern usually is his 34% strikeout rate. But he's facing Keuchel today, a guy who couldn't strike me out (okay, he probably could actually). I love firing up big swingers against guys who don't miss bats, and Story fits that profile well. I'm definitely going to have some full Boston stacks today, but if you just want to hunt homers or lock in the top cash options from Boston it's Story and Boegarts for me.
DraftKings, FanDuel Outfielders - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
Anthony Santander - OF, BAL vs. JP Sears ($5,100 DK, $3,000 FD)
The first thing you should notice is the massive discount on FanDuel here. Santander deserves to be a 5k player (4k on FD) with the season he's having and his bat has been a huge reason why Baltimore is having such a big year. He's been one of the best power-hitting switch-hitters in the bigs in 2022 with 24 home runs. Only 8 of those HR have come against lefties, but he's hitting .299 against them with a .384 wOBA and .244 ISO. And don't forget, he will likely swing around to the left side of the plate for 1-2 at-bats against right-handed relievers, too.
Starling Marte - OF, NYM vs. Josiah Gray ($5,800 DK, $4,000 FD)
Not too many hitters are as hot as Marte is right now! Over the last two weeks, he's hitting .351 with four home runs and 12 RBI. Whether you believe in hitters getting "hot" or not, you have to be impressed with the quality of contact that Marte is making right now. And anytime we get Josiah Gray on the hill, we have to strongly consider stacking against him or at least hunting homers with one-offs as he's allowed the most (32) home runs of any pitcher this season. The next closest guy is Berrios at 27! Gray gives up bombs and Marte never gets cheated on a swing, I think he gets into one again today.
Stone Garrett - OF, ARI vs. Eric Lauer ($2,300 DK, $3,100 FD)
Let's hunt for some more value and the Diamondbacks have been a great source of it lately as they've had some young hitters make a huge impression right of the gates. Garrett has been one of those guys who has made an immediate impact. He's hitting .407 with two home runs and three doubles in his first seven games since being called up. I expect him in the lineup against the lefty Lauer here and he's posted a lofty .602 wOBA and .364 ISO so far against southpaws (again limited sample size warning). FanDuel has been much quicker to price up the Snakes, but on DK you can still play Garrett for super cheap and I plan to deploy him in my cash games.
DraftKings, FanDuel MLB DFS Stacks
Here are my top stacks for tonight (in the order in which I like them)
- Boston Red Sox (5.6 implied run total) vs. Dallas Keuchel (5.46 xFIP)
- New York Mets (5.2 implied run total) vs. Josiah Gray (5.09 xFIP)
- Kansas City Royals (4.3 implied run total) vs. Drew Hutchison (5.66 xFIP)
I hope I gave you a head start on your research today and I wish you the best of luck! If you ever have questions about DFS or fantasy baseball, my DMs are always open and I appreciate you taking the time to read my picks today.