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Happy Thursday RotoBallers! This is John Brubaker dropping some of my favorite plays for today's slate. After a small slate last week, we have a bit of a bigger slate tonight, with a five-game DraftKings slate and a six-game FanDuel slate. It is nicer to have a bit of a larger player pool tonight than in previous weeks, but it's still a bit more difficult to navigate than say an eight or ten-game slate. Nevertheless, I'm here to help you seek out the top plays on tonight's slate.
We do have a minor slate difference tonight, with FanDuel adding the Phillies/Marlins game. It's easier to relay my lineup picks when I don't have to select guys who may be on one site's slate and not the other, but tonight I'll be withholding players in that game, but I would recommend a potential Phillies stack if you're playing on FanDuel.
This article will provide my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for DraftKings at 7:20 pm and FanDuel at 6:40 pm on 9/15/2022. The lineup picks will range from some elite players to mid-priced options, and value plays. 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!
DraftKings, FanDuel Pitchers - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
Lance McCullers Jr., HOU vs OAK ($9,700 DK, $9,900 FD)
We'll start tonight's slate off similar to how we did last week, with a starting pitcher against the Oakland A's. While pitching tonight isn't as fruitful as last week's options, despite it being just a three-game slate, we have to make do with what we have. McCullers will most likely be the highest-owned pitcher on the slate but does project well including a slate-best 25.3% strikeout rate. McCullers is 7-3 with a 3.25 ERA against the A's in his career, including a six-inning shutout performance back on August 13, where he struck out five.
DraftKings Projection: 18.9
FanDuel Projection: 34.97
Miles Mikolas, STL vs CIN ($9,000 DK, $9,200 FD)
I'll most likely be doubling up on high-priced arms this evening while stacking against the low-priced ones. While that's a rather vanilla strategy, I feel as if this particular slate is playing to that, at least according to my model. Mikolas has been great for the Cardinals this season and projects to a 3.74 xFIP and 22.14% strikeout rate in this one. After tossing seven innings of one-run ball against the Reds back on July 16, Mikolas has struggled against Cincy, allowing ten earned runs across 9.1 innings in two starts since. Let's hope he gets back to his old form in this one.
DraftKings Projection: 15.9
FanDuel Projection: 29.94
Also consider: Carlos Carrasco, Noah Syndergaard (FD Only)
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DraftKings, FanDuel Infielders - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
Paul Goldschmidt - 1B, STL vs. Chase Anderson ($6,300 DK, $4,600 FD)
As far as hitters go, who better to start off with than the soon-to-be MVP Paul Goldschmidt? Goldy is unfortunately priced accordingly on both sites, but we'll take a chance with him tonight nevertheless. He projects to a 35.65% hard contact rate and .753 wOBA + ISO against Cincinnati starter Chase Anderson's pitch types. He is just 3-16 in his career off of Anderson but should be a key anchor in a Cardinals stack, the top stack tonight according to my model.
DraftKings Projection: 10.9
FanDuel Projection: 14.82
Oneil Cruz - SS, PIT vs. Carlos Carrasco ($4,700 DK, $3,100 FD)
Oneil Cruz's athleticism and baseball tools have set the world on fire since he was called up back in June. While he hasn't necessarily put it all together in terms of production, he's begun to find his groove at the plate and is heating up. He projects to a 43.57% hard contact rate and .674 wOBA + ISO against Carrasco's pitch types. I wouldn't be surprised if Carrasco, who struggles against left-handed hitters, falls victim to Cruz and the Pirates lineup tonight.
DraftKings Projection: 9.1
FanDuel Projection: 12.73
Carson Kelly - C, ARI vs. Sean Manaea ($3,600 DK, $2,200 FD)
If we're paying up for two higher-priced starters, we're going to need some value hitters to fill our lineup. I'll be looking at Carson Kelly to fill the gap at the catcher position on DraftKings. Kelly has a respectable .576 wOBA + ISO against southpaws this season, and that number gets bumped up to .723 against tonight's starter Sean Manaea's pitch types. Kelly has struggled against Manaea historically, coming up with just two hits in 15 at-bats against the left-hander. However, those two hits are a double and a home run, and we'll hope he can channel some of that tonight and win us some green.
DraftKings Projection: 8.3
FanDuel Projection: 10.89
DraftKings, FanDuel Outfielders - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
Yordan Alvarez - OF, HOU vs. James Kaprielian ($6,200 DK, $4,100 FD)
As far as outfielders go, I always name my highest-graded outfielder on the slate. That honor goes to Astros bopper, Yordan Alvarez. Alvarez and the Astros will be taking on Oakland's James Kaprielian. Air Yordan has been absolutely crushing right-handed pitching this season, and projects to a 45.84% hard contact rate as well as a .844 wOBA + ISO against Kaprielian's pitch types. Surprisingly, he's had just one at-bat against the righty in his career but should make his presence felt this evening.
DraftKings Projection: 10.3
FanDuel Projection: 14.07
Corey Dickerson - OF, STL vs. Chase Anderson ($2,800 DK, $2,600 FD)
As I mentioned earlier, we'll be needing value tonight if we decide to pay up for two pitchers, so we'll take a look at Cardinals outfielder Corey Dickerson. Dickerson appears as of now to be in the top half of the Cardinals lineup tonight, and while my projections for his hard contact rate and wOBA + ISO are rather low, it's an opportunity that can't be passed up. He's 6-24 against Anderson in his career, but should be a part of the chain in a Cardinals stack I'll have a lot of exposure to.
DraftKings Projection: 8.9
FanDuel Projection: 11.35
Kyle Garlick - OF, MIN vs. Daniel Lynch ($2,400 DK, $2,300 FD)
I'll finish off the slate with probably my favorite value play, lefty-killer, Kyle Garlick. We wrote up Garlick last week against Yankees lefty Nestor Cortes, and he didn't do much before being pinch-hit for. Tonight, I hope, is a different story, as Garlick projects to a 39.95% hard contact rate and .595 wOBA + ISO against Kansas City starter Daniel Lynch's pitch types. He's 3-6 against the southpaw, and we'll look for more of the same tonight.
DraftKings Projection: 7.7
FanDuel Projection: 10.07
DraftKings, FanDuel MLB DFS Stacks
St. Louis Cardinals vs. Chase Anderson
The Cardinals rank as the top stack on my model tonight, with a rating of 53.09. This comes as no surprise as Reds starter Chase Anderson (0-3, 9.00 ERA) has been nothing short of a gas can this year across the nine innings he's pitched. It'll be no easier today against a Cardinals lineup that ranks 7th in OPS (.739), 7th in wOBA (.323), and 5th in wRC+ (111) against right-handed pitching.
Favorite Plays: Corey Dickerson, Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Arenado, Brendan Donovan, Lars Nootbaar
Houston Astros vs. James Kaprielian
Not too far behind St. Louis comes the Astros, who grade out to a 49.73 stack rating on my model. They'll be taking on James Kaprielian (3-9, 4.79), who's making just his second appearance against Houston in his career. His first was back in October of last season, where he allowed two runs (one earned) in 3.1 innings, striking out five. He'll have a tough task against the Stros offense tonight, who ranks 8th in OPS (.732), 9th in wOBA (.319), and 7th in wRC+ (109) against righties.
Favorite Plays: Jose Altuve, Yordan Alvarez, Jeremy Pena, Alex Bregman, Kyle Tucker, Aledmys Diaz
Also Consider: Minnesota Twins, Philadelphia Phillies (FD Only)
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