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It's hard to believe it's the last Friday of the regular season and man, is it a jam-packed pitching slate. Yu Darvish headlines at $11,200 but we've also got Carlos Carrasco, Clayton Kershaw, and Jose Berrios carrying high price tags, as well as the potential to put up a ton of points. Looking further down the page, there are a ton of intriguing value plays that could put up high point totals for a low cost.
With all the talented arms on the mound, lineup construction will be critical as there are not as many bad pitchers to pick on for this nine-game slate. As a result, I'm looking to pay down at pitcher wherever possible to have extra cash for the high-priced hitters from the few offenses with implied run totals over five.
I'll provide you with my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for the FanDuel main slate on 9/24/2020. Be sure to check out all the MLB player news, including late scratches, and the projected and confirmed daily MLB lineups for each DFS slate. You can also read more DFS advice and lineup picks for sites like DraftKings, and other sports.
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Tyler Mahle, P - CIN @ MIN ($8,500)
Mahle has been one of the quieter breakout pitchers of the 2020 season as the right-hander sports a 3.57 ERA with a 1.10 WHIP and a pristine 29.6 percent strikeout rate. His Statcast metrics rival those of a proven-ace; his .193 xBA against is in the top-eight percent of the league and he is generating swinging-strikes at a gaudy 13.8 percent rate. A matchup with Minnesota looks daunting on paper, but the Twins are prone to struggles against right-handed pitching. They rank 20th in the league in on-base percentage vs right-handers and their 25.2 percent strikeout rate is the ninth-highest in baseball.
Mitch Keller, P - PIT @ CLE ($6,300)
Normally I wouldn't play the third-lowest priced pitcher on the slate, but that pitcher usually isn't as talented as the Pittsburgh right-hander. Keller posted a 28.6 percent strikeout rate last season and pitched significantly better than his 7.13 ERA would indicate as his FIP was just 3.19 with a 3.47 xFIP. He spent over a month on the IL this season and struggled in his first start back, but bounced back with a strong effort this past Sunday. Keller pitched six shutout innings without allowing a hit and striking out six Cardinals. Cleveland isn't an ideal matchup but they rank 25th in the league in OPS vs right-handers so Keller has some high upside as a GPP play.
FanDuel DFS Infielders
Freddie Freeman, 1B - ATL @ BOS ($4,400)
The Atlanta offense has been among the hottest in the Majors and now gets to tee off on 30-year-old rookie Chris Mazza. Freeman is absolutely mashing with a 92.4 MPH average exit velocity and is among the league leaders in expected batting average, wOBA, and expected wOBA on contact. The Braves will be popular thanks to their matchup but I'm absolutely interested in paying up for the top 1B on the slate.
Jose Altuve, 2B - HOU @ TEX ($3,100)
While DJ LeMahieu and Ozzie Albies lead the keystone with salaries north of $4,000, Jose Altuve offers just as much upside given his matchup with Rangers starter Kyle Cody. Cody has a 5.17 xFIP through 17 innings this season and has walked 10 batters in that time. The Texas bullpen is bad to begin with and will be tired after the team gave up double-digit runs to these Astros on Thursday.
Rafael Devers, 3B - BOS vs. ATL ($3,900)
Devers' numbers are down for the season but most of that has to do with his struggles vs left-handed pitching. Against righties, Devers is batting .295 with a .604 slugging percentage. He's hitting the ball well with a 12.4 percent barrel-rate and should be able to handle Braves starter Kyle Wright who sports a 6.37 career FIP through 51 innings pitched in his Big League career.
Adalberto Mondesi, SS - KAN vs. DET ($2,900)
Mondesi is scalding-hot at the dish right now and is coming off a four-hit game Thursday. MLB's stolen base leader has been running wild on the basepaths and added two more on Thursday to bring his total to 22 on the season. His speed gives him a higher floor as one trip on base could justify his cost. The Royals will be facing Spencer Turnbull who is due for some serious regression as his 3.83 ERA is not supported by a 5.04 SIERA
FanDuel DFS Outfielders
Alex Verdugo, OF - BOS vs. ATL ($3,000)
As of Thursday night, this game has the highest over/under on the slate and I'm interested in getting pieces of both offenses. Verdugo is a great value as the leadoff hitter for Boston and will have the platoon advantage vs Wright. The Boston left-handed bats should be the top stack of the night as Wright's batting average against is 98 points higher when facing lefties.
Jackie Bradley Jr., OF - BOS vs. ATL ($2,700)
Speaking of Boston lefties, Bradley Jr. is on fire lately and has been hitting more towards the middle of the batting order, significantly raising his appeal in DFS. Bradley Jr has a hit in 11 of his last 13 games and is batting .347 in that time. On the season, he's sporting career highs in batting average (.280), OBP (.355), and slugging percentage (.423). Fire up JBJ as a one-off or as part of the aforementioned Red Sox stack.
Michael Brantley, OF - HOU @ TEX ($3,200)
You can never go wrong playing Brantley as the Houston outfielder has been priced in this range most of the season despite overperforming more often than not. He's batting .302 on the season with elite plate discipline metrics that should give him a safe floor versus Cody. He's making hard contact at a 40 percent rate and should be able to put up a strong game vs his in-state rivals.
