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The top daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for DraftKings on 9/2/21. Brian Entrekin's MLB DFS analysis and sleepers for building optimal DFS rosters.
We have a 5-game main slate on tap tonight, and it's not a great one. We have two games that are clear places to target offense, and one is Coors Field, so that will be the insanely popular place to build lineups. Unfortunately, there are also only a few pitchers to really support on this slate, and they are not your typical aces to target for DFS. Tonight will be a very ugly slate, and being super contrarian will not feel good but may be necessary. Listen in to MLB DFS Quick Hits for a rundown of the entire evening's slate.
The slate starts with which pitchers to build around. Do we pay up for Shane McClanahan, Triston McKenzie, and Carlos Carrasco, or do we get frisky with one of the ugly punt options? Most will be focusing on the four top-priced pitchers, so differentiating at pitcher could be the ticket if you still want a bunch of the big bats. Oh, the big bats. Coors is in play tonight, and it should be CHALKY. Chi Chi Gonzalez pitching for the Rockies should have people flocking to Braves bats, and it is hard not to agree. The Cubs and Pirates game should be a great pivot as there are two pitchers going that pitch to a ton of contact. Tonight's slate is messy and quite chalky, so do not be scared to be super uncomfortable about your lineups. Side note, I did not write up any Rockies or Braves players as they are so obvious you do not need an article to tell you to play them. This article is to give some different options if you want to avoid all the chalk.
This article will provide you with my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for DraftKings on 9/2/2021. The lineup will range from some of the elite players to mid-priced options and value plays. You can also check out today's FanDuel MLB DFS lineup picks and read more DFS advice and lineup picks for other sports too. It’s also important to monitor injury news and today's MLB starting lineups. If you have any questions or comments, contact me on Twitter @bdentrek.
DraftKings DFS Starting Pitchers
Shane McClanahan - P, TB vs. BOS ($10,100)
McClanahan has been nothing short of consistently outstanding for most of the season. Over his last seven starts, he has thrown at least five innings in each start while also allowing three earned runs or less in all starts. He has thrown six or more innings in six starts and has only allowed three home runs. He has been outstanding and gets a matchup versus a depleted Red Sox lineup that he should be able to take care of tonight. McClanahan faced the Red Sox on August 1 and through six outstanding innings, allowing one run and striking out seven. The Red Sox are missing a handful of players on the COVID IL and will be putting out a make-shift lineup tonight. McClanahan is the most expensive option on tonight's but brings one of the best floors, which is even more important on tonight's ugly slate. Just eat the high-price and roster Shane tonight.
Triston McKenzie - P, CLE at KC ($9,300)
McKenzie flicked the switch in August and looked like the potential ace many thought he could be in the minors. He threw four quality starts in August while striking out 28 over 28 innings. The most impressive part of McKenzie's dominance was that he only walked TWO batters in the entire month. That's absolutely outstanding. He will be coming off the IL with a minor shoulder injury which honestly felt more like monitoring his innings. Usually, I do not roster players off the IL, but tonight's slate is bad, which means McKenzie is definitely in play tonight. He takes in the Royals, who are striking out nearly 22% of the time, versus RHP in August with a .236 average and a 78 wRC+. A pairing of McClanahan and McKenzie will not be cheap by may have the highest ceiling on the slate.
Other Options: Eduardo Rodriguez (BOS at TB) $9,000, Carlos Carrasco (NYM vs. MIA) $8,000
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DraftKings DFS Infielders
Austin Hedges - C, CLE at Mike Minor ($2,200)
With Ramos out for the season, Hedges should see most playing time behind the plate for Cleveland. He will not hit for great average as he is only hitting .237 over his last 11 games, but he does much more for his value. He has five extra-base hits over those same 11 games, including two home runs to go with a .237 ISO. Hedges even added a stolen base to go with a 9.1% walk rate. For being essentially free, he sure stuffs the stat sheet when he gets going. He should be able to get going tonight versus Minor, who has allowed three or more runs in five straight starts with two home runs allowed in four of the five starts. Cleveland is in play again tonight, and Hedges could be a great catching punt.
Frank Schwindel - 1B, CHC vs. Mitch Keller ($3,300)
Schwindel continues to shine with regular playing time for the Cubs. He homered for his third straight game last night and now has hit safely in eight of his last 10 games. He has scored eight or more DK points in seven of his last eight games, with double-digit production in five of those games. He faces Keller tonight, who has been a real-life pitching machine of late. Since he returned on August 1, he has allowed 36 hits in 24.2 innings pitched with 17 runs. It is not just LHH that gets to Keller; it's RHH as well, as they are hitting .284 with a .497 SLG and nearly two HR/9. Most will flock to LHH versus Keller, and they are solid plays, but targeting some RHH thump like Schwindel and Patrick Wisdom is one way to be a bit different.
Brandon Lowe - 2B, TB vs. Eduardo Rodriguez ($5,200)
Do you want to talk contrarian? Here's a contrarian play for you. Over the last two weeks, Lowe is hitting .263 with a .368 ISO and a .976 OPS. Lowe has 11 extra-base hits, including five home runs. He is only striking out 21.9% of the time, which is an improvement for Lowe, while also walking nearly 10% of the time. Everyone targets Lowe versus RHP and fades versus LHP, which is usually spot-on as he is only hitting .179 versus LHP this season. However, this could be the exception as he likes facing ERod. In his career, he is 4-11 versus ERod with three home runs. No one is going to roster Lowe and if you are being contrarian with a Rays stack, then definitely throw Lowe in that stack to be quite different than the competition.
Javier Baez- SS, NYM vs. Zach Thompson ($4,400)
They may still be looking for Javy's earring near home plate at Citi Field, but do not worry, the show still goes on. Javy enters tonight's game hitting safely in six of his last eight games. He is hitting .267 with five extra-base hits, including two home runs. He has a .300 ISO and a .880 OPS. There's always a ton of swing and miss with Baez, but when he makes contact, it is usually good, and that includes the last eight games where he has a 14.3% barrel rate and 47.6% hard-hit rate. He takes on Thompson tonight, who has allowed 12 runs over his last 20 innings pitched while only striking out nine, resulting in many balls in play. Most will pay up for the shortstops in Coors, so taking a discount on an outstanding Baez is not the worst contrarian move tonight.
Yu Chang - 1B/3B, CLE at Mike Minor ($2,600)
You want to talk value, let's talk value. Chang enters tonight's game riding a six-game hitting streak where he has hit .450 with seven extra-base hits, including four home runs. Yep, that's SEVEN XBH in only six games. He is also striking out a low 10% of the time. His .750 ISO and 1.650 OPS are insane, unsustainable, but just insane. He takes on Minor tonight, which bodes very well tonight. Chang has a .200 ISO versus LHP this season, and a lot of his late damage has come against southpaws. Chang will be a nice contrarian play and will likely be lowlily rostered as well.
DraftKings DFS Outfielders
Bryan Reynolds - OF, PIT at Keegan Thompson ($3,800)
All Reynolds does is hit. Sure, August wasn't as dominant as his previous month, but he still hit .256 with 10 extra-base hits. He had a .211 ISO, .819 OPS while only striking out 13.3% of the time and walking 10.5%. Reynolds is a steady cash game play daily with some nice GPP upside on nights like tonight. He faces Thompson tonight, who has made two starts and allowed seven runs over six innings while only striking out two. Thompson is pitching to a ton of contact, which plays into Reynolds's wheelhouse. The Pirates are a part of the sneaky PIT/CHC game, and Reynolds is a big part of that. Enjoy the savings on one of the better floors on tonight's slate.
Randy Arozarena- OF, TB vs. Eduardo Rodriguez ($4,500)
As I mentioned, the Rays could be contrarian, and Arozarena could be a major play if making that contrarian stack. He had a heck of an August at the plate, hitting .362 with four home runs and a .275 ISO. He walked over 10% of the time but still struck out 35% of the time, which is definitely less than ideal. He faces ERod tonight, which bodes well, hitting .290 versus LHP this season with a .225 ISO and a 20% HR/FB. Arozarena has that GPP breaking upside tonight and comes at a bit of a discount from the big boppers in the outfield.
Ian Happ - OF, CHC vs. Mitch Keller ($4,400)
Happ just can't be stopped these days as he stays red hot at the plate. He has hit safely in eight of his last nine games, good for a .333 average. Happ has seven extra-base hits, including three home runs plus two stolen bases. His .394 ISO and 1.098 OPS are great, and if he could improve the near 35% strikeout rate, he would be even better. However, the contact quality continues to shine as he is barreling the ball 23.8% of the time to go with a 47.6% hard-hit rate. Happ should mash again tonight in the middle of the Cubs' lineup and facing Keller, who allows LHH to hit .350, and a .526 SLG can't hurt.
DraftKings DFS Stacks
- Chicago Cubs (Mitch Keller, RHP)
- Colorado Rockies (Touki Toussaint, RHP)
- Atlanta Braves (Chi Chi Rodriguez, RHP)
- Cleveland Indians (Mike Minor, LHP)
- Sneaky Stack- Pittsburgh Pirates (Keegan Thompson, RHP)
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