Good morning and afternoon Tuesday DFS'ers! Let's cherish this lovely 15 game main slate tonight as there are only a handful of them left in this MLB season. We've got a bevy of games tonight with high projected run totals, so we have quite a few stacking opportunities to discuss. First, let's take a gander at a few Vegas lines of interest. The games with the highest over/unders listed tonight are as follows: Cardinals at Rockies (12), Angels at Rangers (10.5), White Sox at Phillies (9.5) and the Tigers at Twins (9.5). The hitters with the best positive park factors are the right-handed and left-handed hitters of the Cardinals and Rockies, the left-handed hitters of the Red Sox and Orioles, and the left-handed batters of the Rangers and Angels.
In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy baseball MLB lineup picks for FanDuel on 9/20/16. The DFS lineup picks will range from high-priced to low-priced options and identify options who will out-perform their expectations, including sleepers and value plays on FanDuel. Let's get right to it.
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DFS Lineup Stacks to Target for FanDuel
Texas Rangers against Daniel Wright
There are quite a few different powerful combinations you can make tonight among the hitters in the Rangers lineup against Daniel Wright. Wright hasn't pitched that much at the MLB level this season, but in the short period of time that he has, opposing hitters have really feasted. The Rangers have a run projection of 6.1 tonight, which is the highest figure of any team not playing at Coors Field, and you could make the case to stack their right-handed batters, lefties, or any combination of the two. In 2016, Wright has allowed a .411 wOBA and .542 slugging percentage to lefties and a .421 wOBA and .625 slugging percentage to right-handed batters. My favorite Rangers are Nomar Mazara, Carlos Gomez, Ian Desmond and Jurickson Profar.
St. Louis Cardinals versus Jorge De La Rosa
Like is the case with the Rangers above, you don't really have to pick a side - lefties or righties - to attack Jorge De La Rosa with. He's a pretty equal opportunity splits guy, as showcased by the numbers he's allowed to left-handed batters (.364 wOBA, .462 slugging percentage) and to right-handed batters (.362 wOBA, .482 slugging percentage). The Cardinals feature the highest projected run total tonight at 6.4, they get a major park factor boost as this game is being played at Coors, and, on top of all that, De La Rosa has been squared up well over his past few starts (55% hard hit rate, 25% line drive rate). My favorite Cardinals tonight are Stephen Piscotty, Matt Carpenter, Aledmys Diaz and Tommy Pham.
Also Consider: White Sox right-handed batters versus Jake Thompson
DFS Starting Pitchers to Consider for FanDuel
Jon Lester (SP, CHC) - $10,700
Lester sticks out to me as the best cash game option of the night and if you pair him with a relatively cheap stack, you can make a case for having him as your tournament pitcher as well. In 2016, he has a strong WHIP of just over 1, an impressive HR/9 at 0.98 and his K/9 is solid as well, sitting at 8.97. Tonight, his strikeout projection gets a major boost from this Reds lineup that really struggles against left-handed pitching. To date, they've struck out in over 29% of their at-bats against southpaws and possess a team wOBA of just .265. Over his past three starts, Lester has allowed a hard hit rate of just 12% and an average batted ball distance of just 174 feet. On top of all that, I think he has a strong chance for a win as well with the strong Chicago lineup backing him.
Michael Pineda (SP, NYY) - $8,400
If taking risks is something you're comfortable with, take a long look at Michael Pineda tonight in tournament formats. He's had a real up and down season, but he's price appropriately tonight and his 10.34 K/9 gets a boost from this strikeout happy Rays lineup, who have gone done swinging or looking in more than 26% of their at-bats versus right-handed pitching this season. Pineda's WHIP and HR/9 are concerning, but the upside is there, and he has managed to keep hitters off balance a bit over his last few starts, as his 25% hard hit rate indicates. Additionally, the Rays are projected for just 3.9 runs this evening.
Also Consider: Rich Hill (SP, LAD) - $9,400
DFS Infielders to Consider for FanDuel
Catcher (C)
Mike Zunino (C, SEA) - $2,700
The catching options today are extremely underwhelming. No one really jumps off the page as a great cash game option, but Zunino fits the bill as a strong tournament option type. He's got a 47% hard hit rate over the past 15 days and his splits against southpaws are really strong - .382 wOBA and a .286 ISO.
Also Consider: Hector Sanchez (C, SDP) - $2,100
First Base (1B)
Carlos Santana (1B, CLE) - $3,600
Santana is a pretty nice bargain at this price and he faces the struggling Volquez, who has been pretty beat up this season. Santana has huge split differentials and should always be in consideration when he faces a right-handed pitcher. To date, he owns a .356 wOBA and .251 ISO split.
Also Consider: Kennys Vargas (1B, DET) - $3,100
Second Base (2B)
Brian Dozier (2B, MIN) - $4,000
Dozier is still on fire, which is hard to believe but the numbers most certainly back it up. His hard hit rate over the past two weeks is over 55% and his splits against southpaws - .428 wOBA, .364 ISO - make him a must start tonight.
Also Consider: Tommy La Stella (2B, CHC) - $2,300
Shortstop (SS)
Corey Seager (SS, LAD) - $3,900
Like the options at catcher tonight, no shortstop feels like the perfect selection. I feel most comfortable with Seager, however, thanks to his very high floor. His wOBA and ISO splits, .406 and .234, respectively, are most impressive and the salary figure isn't too much of a stretch.
Also Consider: Freddy Galvis (2B, PHI) - $2,900
Third Base (3B)
Jake Lamb (3B, ARI) - $3,500
Lamb and his Arizona teammates get to pick on poor Paul Clemens tonight, who has no business pitching at the major league level. For the season, Lamb owns impressive splits against right-handed pitchers, sporting a .366 wOBA and .277 ISO.
Also Consider: Jorge Polanco (3B, MIN) - $2,700, Jung-ho Kang (3B, PIT) - $3,600
DFS Outfielders to Consider for FanDuel
Stephen Piscotty (OF, STL) - $3,700
Piscotty gives us excellent Coors Field exposure at a very affordable price tonight. He's facing a subpar pitcher in De La Rosa and his .416 wOBA split is incredibly impressive.
Adam Eaton (OF, CHW) - $3,400
Eaton gets a nice park factor boost, has great lineup order value and he and his Southside teammates should tee off against Jake Thompson. For the season, Eaton owns a .349 wOBA and .447 slugging percentage split against righties.
Robbie Grossman (OF, MIN) - $2,900
I'm shocked Grossman is available at this price point tonight, but this isn't a complaint. I'm fitting him into my lineups in all formats, as his .436 wOBA and .236 ISO splits are incredible values. He possesses big home run upside this evening.
Also Consider: Matthew Joyce (OF, PIT) - $2,100
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