DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Saturday 9/10/22

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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 and we will likely be jamming in as many as possible and it stars with Walker at first.

With the price and matchup, Walker is easily the top play at the position which could create some lower ownership for upside plays in Rowdy Tellez(MIL) and Vladimir Guererro Jr(TOR) who also have plus matchups but are more expensive and have not been as consistent. 

Second Base

Jonathan India FD 3300 DK 5300
Opponent - MIL (Adrian Houser) Park - MIL
FD - 8.95 DK - 6.76

The Reds are all but eliminated and in rebuild mode but India has been one of the few bright spots down the stretch. He comes into tonight with hits in 19 of his last 21 games hitting .333 in that time and getting on base at an elite .416 rate. He and the Reds also get a decent matchup against Adrian Houser who has posted a 5.79 ERA over three appearances since coming off the IL. I won't be full-stacking the Reds in this game but love India as a one-off piece in all formats.

Nick Gordon FD 2100 DK 3000
Opponent - CLE (Triston McKenzie) Park - CLE
FD - 6.4 DK - 4.97

To fit two top pitchers and maybe get away from the Coors game we are likely going to have to sacrifice and punt a couple of spots to make it happen. Enter Nick Gordon who is very cheap on DraftKings and min price on FanDuel. He isn't going to win you a GPP on his own but has been very consistent lately with hits in nine of his last 11 games including four multi-hit efforts and five extra-base hits. He has gotten the benefit of hitting in the #4 and #5 hole in the lineup quite a bit and if back there again, is one of my top punts on this slate to load up on pitching and some big bats.

Shortstop

Bo Bichette FD 4000 DK 5700
Opponent - TEX (Kohei Arihara) Park - TEX
FD - 9.93 DK - 7.65

Bo knows baseball has worked his way back up the lineup as he has been tearing apart below-average opponents. Going back to August 4(31 games), Bo has not only been consistent hitting .336 but has been very productive for fantasy with a .426 wOBA/184 wRC+ with eight home runs. He now gets a plus matchup vs Arihara(5.29 ERA/4.04 xFIP) and has been more consistent against righties. Bichette is my top play at shortstop and favorite Jays play tonight.

Kyle Farmer FD 3200 DK 4000
Opponent - MIL (Adrian Houser) Park - MIL
FD - 7.59 DK - 5.83

Along with Jonathan India, Kyle Farmer has also provided some spark to Reds lineup as they just grind out the season and wait to be officially eliminated from playoff contention. Farmer has gone 8 for 17 over his last four games with a double and two home runs and is hitting .305 with a 113 wRC+ since the start of August when he was moved up to the three-hole in the lineup. I won't be going here for cash games but Farmer compliments India nicely if wanting to stack the Reds as a value PTS/$ team in GPP formats.

Third Base

Josh Rojas FD 3400 DK 4700
Opponent - COL (José Ureña) Park - COL
FD - 14.23 DK - 10.9

I mentioned trying to jam as many D-backs as possible in our lineups and if going that route it would be hard to ignore their leadoff hitter. While Rojas lacks overall upside, he fits the role at the top of the lineup well as he has been getting on base at a .382 clip going back to early August. What really draws me in on DraftKings is the fact his price, which was hitting the high $5K range, is now back down in the $4K range which is strange given the elite park factor and implied runs for the D-backs. Lock and load in all formats.

Brendan Donovan FD 2400 DK 3100
Opponent - PIT (JT Brubaker) Park - PIT
FD - 8.51 DK - 6.57

With our builds focusing on expensive pitching it limits our usage of elite, MVP calibre bats like Goldy and Arenado but we can get exposure to the Cards lineup in other ways. One of those ways is targeting Donovan who hits leadoff in front of those sluggers and just like I talked about with Rojas, Donovan has been setting the table well. Going back to mid-August, he is hitting .333 with an elite .392 OBP and 138 wRC+. Combine that with a price that remains in the punt territory and you have yourself a top PTS/$ play in all formats.

Outfield

Daulton Varsho FD 3600 DK 4600
Opponent - COL (José Ureña) Park - COL
FD - 13.64 DK - 10.38
Jake McCarthy FD 3500 DK 3500
Opponent - COL (José Ureña) Park - COL
FD - 11.85 DK - 9.14

The system is once again very high on both sides of this matchup at Coors Field on Saturday and it makes a ton of sense not only because of the park factor but also because of the plethora of PTS/$ value. Let's start with the Diamondbacks who may not be in the playoff race but have been one of the hottest offense's down the stretch. Varsho went into Friday's series opener with hits in four of his last five games including three multi-hit efforts and five long balls. For McCarthy, he comes much cheaper, has been moved up the lineup, and has been scorching hot since the start of August hitting .304 with a .369 wOBA and 136 wRC+. This duo is one of our top two-player stacks in all formats tonight.

Randal Grichuk FD 3000 DK 4100
Opponent - ARI (Madison Bumgarner) Park - ARI
FD - 11.31 DK - 8.61
Yonathan Daza FD 3000 DK 2500
Opponent - ARI (Madison Bumgarner) Park - ARI
FD - 9.7 DK - 7.62

On the other side of the diamond, we have the home squad who will face a struggling lefty that we have been targeting heavily throughout the entire second half of the season. Bumgarner has been downright terrible recording a 6.97 ERA/4.86 xFIP over his last nine starts while giving up 42.3% hard contact and a 12.6% barrel rate. I am most intrigued in rostering Daza here and while he lacks upside, he has been rock solid hitting .304 on the season and has been much better against lefties(.347 avg vs .279 against RH). For upside, we can consider Randall Grichuk who has 15 home runs on the season and has also been much better against lefties with a .385 wOBA/134 wRC+/.258 ISO. At their prices, we are all over both of these outfielders in all formats.

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Chris Durell