We made it to Friday, RotoBallers! We are following an exciting Thursday night between the Eagles and Vikings with a 13-game MLB slate. What a time to be alive! At first glance, strong stacking matchups include San Francisco at Coors Field, Kansas City vs. Houston, Minnesota at Chicago White Sox, Milwaukee vs. Washington, Washington at Milwaukee (game stack?), and Los Angeles Dodgers at Seattle Mariners.
The Dodgers' matchup tonight is against George Kirby, who has a 3.48 ERA, 3.62 xFIP, and a 23.5% strikeout rate. LA's bats are hot versus right-handed pitchers, which include Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts, Jason Heyward, Will Smith, and J.D. Martinez, among others. Having an ERA and xFIP under 4.0 is impressive, but Los Angeles has a .201 ISO for the season, .199 against righties. Given their matchup and price, Los Angeles could be low-owned tonight and one of my top tournament stacks.
This article will provide my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for DraftKings and FanDuel on 9/15/2023 and the slate locking at 7:05 p.m. ET. 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. Monitoring injury news and today's MLB starting lineups is also essential. Now that we got all that out of the way, it's onto the picks! Follow me on Twitter @DtepDC for more free betting and DFS advice.
DraftKings, FanDuel Pitchers - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
Tarik Skubal, DET @ LAA ($9,000 DK, $9,800 FD)
Left-hander Skubal has a 3.47 ERA, a 2.61 xFIP, and a 27.3% strikeout rate and faces a Los Angeles Angels team with a 24.3% K rate and who have lost six of their last 10 games. Skubal has gone 3-1 in his last five starts, striking out 39 in 30 innings pitched. The lefty's reverse splits have him allowing a slash line of just .132/.175/.211 to left-handers and .237/.284/.351 righties.
No matter what side of the plate the Halos are batting from, Skubal will make things difficult, and at a price tag of $9,000 on DraftKings, he's a solid starter in all contests tonight.
Seth Lugo, SD vs. OAK ($8,600 DK, $9,500 FD)
In Lugo's last five starts, he's gone 2-1 with a 2.54 ERA. He faces an Oakland team that has been up and down this season (mostly down), and that is slashing .214/.279/.344 versus right-handed pitchers
The A's have gone 5-5 in their last 10 games with a .149 ISO (0.132 versus right-handers) and an 89 wRC+. Their batting has not been impressive this season, ranking dead last in six of the batting stats for this year. Lugo is allowing just .295 offensive wOBA this season, and versus an A's team that struggles to take significant at-bats, I expect that number to go down. Lugo can be added to all contests, regardless of size or type.
Also consider Justin Steele, Zach Eflin, Logan Webb, Bailey Ober
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DraftKings, FanDuel Infielders - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
Corey Seager - SS, TEX vs. Lucas Giolito ($6,500 DK, $4,400 FD)
In seven at-bats versus Giolito this season, Seager has a .286 batting average with one home run and three RBI. Texas has had an up-and-down season since their strong start, but they are back up to a .190 ISO and 116 wRC+, slashing .267/.340/.457.
For the season, Seager is batting .344/.406/.663; .500/.560/1.00 in his last five games with five doubles, two homers, and 6 RBI. The Rangers are on a six-game winning streak, which I expect to continue on the road versus Giolito and the Guardians tonight.
Jose Altuve - 2B, HOU vs. Zack Greinke ($6,400 DK, $4,200 FD)
Altuve makes the list again versus former teammate Zack Greinke, who has a 5.47 ERA for the season. Altuve is slashing .308/.397/.539 this year; .355/.420/.678 on the road and .319/.406/.565 versus righties.
Greinke is 1-15 this year and 0-4 in his last five games. The Astros have an opportunity tonight to stay at the top of the NL West, just ahead of the Texas Rangers, who just swept the Blue Jays. An outing versus an aging Greinke will do much to pad their lead as the regular season ends. Houston is one of my favorite stacks tonight, anchored by Altuve.
Freddie Freeman - 1B, LAD vs. George Kirby ($6,100 DK, $4,200 FD)
No introduction should be necessary for Freeman at this point of the season. The lefty faces right-hander George Kirby tonight, and while Kirby has a 3.48 ERA, he is allowing a .250/.273 /.419 slash line versus lefties, with 10 home runs and 38 RBI.
Freeman is slashing .337/.414/.576 this season, with 26 homers and 93 RBI. Versus right-handed pitchers, he is batting .336/.419/.547, just about the same as his slash line versus lefties, which is .341/.403/.637. No matter who Freeman is facing, he will most likely get to double-digits in fantasy points, making his $6,100 price tag on DraftKings worth it.
DraftKings, FanDuel Outfielders - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
Yordan Alvarez - OF, HOU vs. Zack Greinke ($6,100 DK, $4,100 FD)
I have to add another Astro to this list (as well as my stacks below). Lefty Alvarez faces right-hander Greinke in Kansas City tonight. Versus righties, Alvarez is .slashing .294/.423/.618 with 21 home runs and 53 RBI.
I can't see Greinke stopping his former team from hitting every pitch he throws at them. Alvarez is batting .298/.411/.584 for the season, with 27 home runs and 88 RBI. He went .353/.400/.765 in his last five games with two home runs and six RBI. The more stats I look up, the more I accept that Alvarez will be an integral part of my Houston stacks tonight--in any contest.
Mike Yastrzemski - OF, SFG vs. Chase Anderson ($4,400 DK, $3,500 FD)
I mentioned left-hander Yaz when talking about Tuesday's slate earlier this week, and I have to mention him again for tonight's slate versus Chase Anderson in Colorado. Anderson has a 6.59 ERA, a 5.5 xFIP, allowing .295/.378/.545 versus lefties.
Yastrzemski is slashing .253/.337/.481 this season, .500/.579/.938 in the last five days. Versus righties, he is batting .273/.367/.528 with 11 home runs and 29 RBI. In nine games versus Colorado this year, he is batting .350/.519/.500, with three doubles, three RBI, and seven walks. He'll be chalky at $4,400 but a cornerstone of my Giants' stacks tonight at Coors Field.
Lane Thomas - OF, WSH vs. Wade Miley ($5,000 DK, $3,700 FD)
The Nationals aren't ending the 2023 season on the most positive note, but there is plenty to be excited about for next year's bats, Lane Thomas being one of them. Thomas has gone a bit cold these last few games, but he is batting .275/.324/.472 for the season, with 33 doubles, three triples, 24 homers, and 78 RBI.
Washington faces left-hander Miley tonight, who has a 3.30 ERA but a 4.90 xFIP. Verus righties, Miley is allowing a .224/.292/.412 slash line, and this year, when Thomas has faced lefties, he has slashed .333/.379/.565 with 13 doubles, eight homers, and 27 RBI. Thomas is a strong bat versus the Brew Crew tonight and will most likely go overlooked with a Coors game on the same night.
DraftKings, FanDuel MLB DFS Stacks
1. Los Angeles Dodgers vs. George Kirby
Favorite Plays: Mookie Betts, Jason Heyward, James Outman, Chris Taylor
2. Houston Astros vs. Zack Greinke
Favorite Plays: Yainer Diaz, Yordan Alvarez, Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman
3. San Francisco Giants vs. Chase Anderson
Favorite Plays: Mike Yastrzemski, Wilmer Flores, Joc Peterson, LaMonte Wade Jr.
4. Milwaukee Brewers vs. Jake Irvin
Favorite Plays: Christian Yelich, Sal Frelick, Mike Brosseau, Mark Canha (check availability)
5. San Francisco Giants vs. Chase Anderson
Favorite Plays: Mike Yastrzemski, Austin Slater, Bryce Johnson
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