MLB DFS Picks: Draftkings + FanDuel Picks 9/12/20

Saturday, Sept. 12, has a mix of early games with everyone coming together for a 7:05pm ET nine-game main slate on DraftKings, FanDuel, SuperDraft and Yahoo. Before you lock in your MLB DFS lineups and MLB DFS picks, make sure to check out check out Awesemo’s DFS baseball MLB rankings and projections.

For the Saturday MLB DFS Live Before Lock Show click HERE.

Early-Slate Picks

Miami Marlins vs. RHP Spencer Howard – 4.6 implied runs

This is a key game for the Marlins as they are right behind the Phillies in the playoff chase. Howard had two seasons with Cal-Poly before being selected by Philadelphia in the second round of the 2017 draft. Heading into this season he had not pitched above double-a ball. In college and in the minors, he had a 10-11.5 K/9 rate which is phenomenal.

Over five starts this season he has held his own with a 22.2 K% against same-handed hitters, but he has struggled against lefties. The 54 opposite-handed batsmen that have faced him have compiled a .354 ISO, 9.3 BB%, 3.38 HR/9 with just a 14.8 K%. Yes, that is a very small sample size but we can look to a couple of key lefties from the Fish.

Corey Dickerson is the obvious choice, but Matt Joyce is right there as a salary saving option. Just know that he is a pinch hit risk in the event a lefty reliever comes into the game. Starling Marte is now the best player and he should be hitting second followed by Jesus Aguilar who feasts against same-handed hurlers. Former Diamondbacks prospect Jazz Chisholm is a wildcard, but he is cheap with some minor league pop and he is not afraid to swipe a bag.

Main-Slate Picks

Chicago White Sox vs. RHP Michael Fulmer and LHP Daniel Norris – TBD implied runs

In this game it is lining up for a Fulmer/Norris righty/lefty combo. This is a “lost” season for Fulmer who is working back from Tommy John surgery. The Motor City Kitties are in no hurry to rush him and basically have him on a three inning limit. The strikeouts have been there with 17 in 19.2 innings, but the control has not as evidenced by his 10 walks. Oh, he also has allowed SEVEN home runs. Amazingly enough Norris has allowed only one home run in 21 innings this season. Heading into this year during the 2018-2019 seasons he ceded 1.77 HR/9 to lefties and 1.53 HR/9 to righties. It would seem that the Regression Monster is coming…

We should see Yoan Moncada and Yasmani Grandal at the top of the order and as switch-hitters they are well suited for the Detroit pitching combo. Tim Anderson is one of the best in the league against southpaws and holds his own against righties. Jose Abreu tends to do better against righties, but he still has light tower power when facing opposite-handed hurlers. Then we can add in Eloy Jimenez, Edwin Encarnacion and Luis Robert for full-stacks. Keep in mind none of these players will be cheap, but they are phenomenal alternatives to the Coors Field crowd. Nomar Mazara and Nick Madrigal are the discount dandies towards the bottom of the order.

Coors Field Extravaganza

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at LHP Kyle Freeland – 6.1 implied runs

Colorado Rockies vs. RHP Jaime Barria – 6.6 implied runs

If you have read my column for any length of time, you are fully aware that I typically do not write up the Coors Field games because where is the fun in that. However, when things are going to be wild like this we do need to point out where The Masses will be congregating on Saturday. FanDuel only bumped the salaries for Mike Trout $5,000 and Anthony Rendon $4,500. DraftKings got Trout $6,000, Rendon $5,400 and then put both Shohei Ohtani and likely leadoff hitter Andrelton Simmons at $4,500 apiece. The other Halos range from under-priced to ridiculously cheap.

While Freeland is a solid pitcher at home and his numbers this season are right in line with the last two years, the pricing is just too good to ignore. In his last 167.1 innings at home, the veteran southpaw has allowed a 1.67 HR/9 but held steady with his 48.6 GB% keeping his 4.68 ERA and 4.46 xFIP reasonable. The Rockies bulllpen is nothing to write home about, so we can most definitely target the Angels on Saturday night in the 80 degree weather.

Los Angeles will be rolling with Barria who has been a disaster against same-handed hitters. In his last 500 same-handed matchups, he has been crushed with a 2.34 HR/9, 49.4 FB%, 17.0 HR/FB% and a .274 ISO. We will definitely want to pay that price tag for Nolan Arenado and Trevor Story who have a .237 ISO and a .252 ISO, respectively, since the beginning of the 2018 season against righties. After that, pretty much anyone else is in play as we should be into the LA bullpen within 3-4 frames.

As always, you can reach out to me in Awesemo.com Premium Slack or on Twitter @EMacDFS if you have any questions or want to discuss anything MLB DFS related.

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Author

Eric MacPherson

Eric "EMac" MacPherson won the 2007 Fantasy Baseball grand prize (trip for two to the MLB All-Star game) in the Roto format on ESPN. He won again in 2008, this time in the H2H format. As one of the early adopters of daily fantasy sports, EMac has been providing content for baseball and basketball as well as both professional and college football since 2012 for a variety of websites including DraftKings Playbook, FanVice, RotoWorld, Daily Fantasy Bootcamp, and RotoGrinders. He is well into his third decade of fantasy sports and has a wealth of knowledge and experience. Follow him on Twitter @EMacDFS or contact EMac by emailing [email protected].