Friday, Sept. 9, brings the ruckus with a plethora of pitching along with a Coors Field Extravaganza. The 12-game featured slate locks at 7:05 p.m. ET. Let’s get into the top MLB DFS picks today for pitchers and stacks for DraftKings and FanDuel daily fantasy baseball lineups.
DraftKings & FanDuel MLB DFS Picks Today (9/9)
Main Slate: Philadelphia Phillies vs. LHP Patrick Corbin — 5.2 implied runs
Even with the cooler weather in Philadelphia bringing game time temperatures in the mid-70s, the Stokastic Top Stacks Tool likes this matchup against struggling southpaw Patrick Corbin. Last year the 33-year-old ceded the second most home runs in the league and he has been surging up that ignominious leaderboard over the second half of the season. Though he has somehow allowed only four earned runs in his last three starts, he still has a 6.28 ERA, 1.70 WHIP and five NEGATIVE-fantasy-point efforts on the season.
Rhys Hoskins seems all but preordained to launch a ball out of the park and we can surround him with Alec Bohm, Jean Segura and catcher J.T. Realmuto. Additionally, both Kyle Schwarber and two-time MVP Bryce Harper also have home run potential against fellow lefties.
Evening Slate: Houston Astros vs. RHP Michael Lorenzen — 5.2 implied runs
The Stokastic Top Batters Tool  is highlighting several individual Houston players as excellent point per dollar options at their respective positions and they are not as popular as they typically would be with the game in Coors Field looming large. Michael Lorenzen is a great baseball player having been an outfielder as well in his time with Cincinnati. It is also amazing that he is able to pitch, though he would be better off as a multi-inning reliever who did not have to go through a batting order more than once.
Lorenzen has been out for the last two months with a shoulder issue, though he has been fully vetted through several minor league rehabilitation outings. Tonight he should be good for something in the 70- to 80-pitch range, though it would not be a surprise if the Astros send him to the showers early. Lefties are the place to start with Yordan Alvarez and Kyle Tucker being two of the best in the game. If a full stack is desired, then Jose Altuve and Alex Bregman are the next best options followed by Trey Mancini and rookie Jeremy Pena.
Late Slate: Chicago White Sox at RHP James Kaprielian — 4.4 implied runs
Hopefully Chicago saved some runs for tonight after seeing a whopping 14 base runners touch home plate last night. It was an all out rout with six different batters recording multiple hits along with five total home runs. James Kaprielian looked like he may have figured things out with a stellar July, notching a 1.93 ERA in five starts. Sadly, that was a mirage as in his six August appearances, he lasted only 29 innings with a 5.59 ERA, while issuing a walk every other inning. The silver lining is that he allowed only three long balls, however, he still has a .190+ ISO to batters of either-handedness over the last two seasons.
The White Sox are better equipped to face lefties, but they do have enough pop in their bats to be serviceable in this matchup. The first two targets should be Gavin Sheets who is coming in at a ridiculous $2,700 on DraftKings and switch-hitter Yoan Moncada is red hot with a five-hit game last night that included a pair of round-trippers. Eloy Jimenez and Jose Abreu and be used in a full stack on the main slate, with catcher Yasmani Grandal and outfielder A.J. Pollock entering the fray as late-slate differentiation options from the bottom half of the order.
Best MLB DFS Pitchers
Primary Target: RHP Lucas Giolito at Oakland Athletics — 3.1 implied runs
- DFS Salary: DraftKings $8,500 | FanDuel $8,200
Pitching takes care of itself today with half a dozen similarly projected options. Basically the choice will be more talented hurlers against better offenses or mid-rotation starters against anemic bats. Lucas Giolito falls into the latter category as he has struggled with consistent fantasy production as well as with reaching his upside potential demonstrated over the last couple of years. Pretty much everything remains the same from his pitch mix to his velocity, albeit with a 92.9 mph average on his fastball being down a tick from the last three seasons. The strikeouts are still there at nearly 10 per nine innings and targeting the Athletics pitiful offense has been a lucrative strategy for most of this year.
Secondary Target: RHP Charlie Morton at Seattle Mariners — 3.5 implied runs
- DFS Salary: DraftKings $10,200 | FanDuel $9,300
Charlie Morton keeps chugging along as a solid starter toeing the rubber every five or so days. His unique mix of being a ground ball pitcher (45.1% over the last two seasons) with strikeout upside (175 Ks this year are the 11th most in the league) keep him on the radar against most teams. While the Mariners have stellar against southpaws, they are just above league average against right-handed hurlers with a 106 wRC+. There success has been with being able to field a lineup with above average hitters, but only a couple are All-Star caliber batsmen. Seattle’s projected lineup does have some power with a .199 ISO against right-handed pitching over the last two seasons, but that is accompanied by a 24.1% strikeout rate. Morton should be able to mitigate the long balls and with a Coors Field Extravaganza on tap, gamers may be reluctant to roll with a five-figure pitcher on DraftKings tonight.
Wild Card Target: LHP Nick Lodolo at Milwaukee Brewers — 4.3 implied runs
- DFS Salary: DraftKings $10,200 | FanDuel $9,300
Rookie Nick Lodolo gets the nod as a wild card option tonight with his strikeout upside providing access to a higher fantasy ceiling than Lance McCullers against the Angels or Frankie Montas against the Rays. Clearly this trio should be well represented in the portfolio of any multi-entry gamers, but for those building five or fewer lineups, Lodolo is the way to go.
Milwaukee will be sending out as many right-handed hitters as possible against the rookie lefty, though aside from Willy Adames, Andrew McCutchen and Hunter Renfroe, Lodolo should have the talent advantage. The Brew Crew offense has been on a late summer vacation as they have plated more than four runners only four times in their last 11 games.
Additional Opportunities
Frankie Montas currently has a 4.5 over/under on his strikeout prop which seems like a very achievable target with the Stokastic projections forecasting 5.6 strikeouts in tonight’s matchup against Tampa Bay. The projected lineup for the Rays has a collective 22.8% strikeout rate against right-handed pitchers over the last two seasons. Though he struggled in his first couple of starts while wearing pinstripes, Montas has notched at least six strikeouts in each of his last three games.
If this wager feels a bit risky, you can still navigate things at an advantage with a RISK FREE BET up to $1,000 on BetMGM.
Other Pitching Options
- RHP Miles Mikolas at Pittsburgh Pirates (Early)
- RHP Frankie Montas vs. Tampa Bay Rays (Main SP2)
- RHP Lance McCullers Jr. vs. Los Angeles Angels (Main, Evening)
- LHP Daniel Lynch vs. Detroit Tigers (Main SP2, Evening)
- LHP Robbie Ray vs. Atlanta Braves (Late, tournaments only)
Other Hitting Options
- Avisail Garcia vs. LHP David Peterson (Early)
- Rafael Devers at RHP Austin Voth (Main)
- Kyle Farmer at RHP Jason Alexander (Evening)
- Hunter Dozier vs. LHP Joey Wentz (Evening)
- Austin Riley at LHP Robbie Ray (Late)
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Final MLB DFS Thoughts & MLB Weather Notes
Tonight it looks like Minnesota is going to have rain in the forecast, which is annoying because the visiting Guardians are well positioned to hammer Dylan Bundy. Then in rare twist, San Diego may also cancel their game with the Dodgers as there is a slow moving tropical storm travelling up the Baja Peninsula and arriving in SoCal early today.
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