Thursday, Sept. 15, brings a mix of MLB action with FanDuel electing to go with 6:40 p.m. ET featured slate while DraftKings gets underway 40 minutes later. 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 (9/15)
Main Slate Stack: Astros vs. RHP James Kaprielian — 4.7 implied runs
It has been a rough season for James Kaprielian, who has struggled against most above-average offenses. The Stokastic Top Stacks Tool continually has Houston as one of the best stacking options and today is no different. Same-handed batsmen have been particularly effective against the righty and the last 231 he has faced have tattooed him with a .358 wOBA and a .231 ISO. The obstacle that is even more daunting is the paltry 15.9% combined strikeout rate for Kaprielian across his last 500 batters faced.
Alex Bregman thrives against fellow righties and Jose Altuve also has a long track record of success without the platoon advantage. Yordan Alvarez got the day off on Wednesday with a sore hand, but he is expected to be back in the lineup tonight. He and fellow lefty Kyle Tucker round out the best full-stack options. Look to differentiation at the bottom of the order with infielders Aledmys Diaz and defending American League batting champion Yulieski Gurriel.
Secondary Stack: Cardinals vs. RHP Chase Anderson — 5.1 implied runs
Tonight, it looks like targeting the Reds and Athletics on both sides of the ball will be a strong approach. There will still be plenty of ways to find lineup differentiation by taking a chance on a unique pitcher or with a couple of less popular one-off hitters.
Chase Anderson has appeared in 28 games over the last three seasons. These outings have spanned 90.2 innings where he has been saddled with a 7.15 ERA, 1.555 WHIP and allowed 2.4 home runs per nine innings. St. Louis is a top offense against right-handed hitters and it would not be a surprise if they planned on rotating days off for their regulars with this five-game series including a doubleheader on Saturday.
Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado will lead the way, followed by lefties Lars Nootbaar, Brendan Donovan and Corey Dickerson. There even could be an appearance by Albert Pujols against a weak right-hander as he continues his quest for his 700th home run. Switch-hitting Tommy Edman is in play if he is at the top of the lineup and Tyler O’Neill is as well for his light-tower power, regardless of what lineup slot he lands in tonight.
Best MLB DFS Pitchers
Primary Target: RHP Lance McCullers Jr. vs. Athletics — 3.0 implied runs
- DFS Salary: DraftKings $9,700 | FanDuel $9,900
The best pitching options are playing in the early games, which is going to dramatically increase the popularity of Lance McCullers Jr. in his matchup with the lackluster Oakland offense. While the Athletics plated 15 runners during their two-game series against the Rangers in Arlington, they had three or fewer runs in eight of the 11 games leading into that matchup.
McCullers missed most of the season while recovering from a forearm injury he suffered in the playoffs last year. He has had a favorable schedule but did throw 97 and 105 pitches in his last two appearances. Across his five games, he has totaled 28.2 innings with a 2.20 ERA, 1.33 WHIP and 26 strikeouts. Clearly, he is the “cash game” target tonight.
Secondary Target: RHP Miles Mikolas vs. Reds — 3.0 implied runs
- DFS Salary: DraftKings $9,000 | FanDuel $9,200
In three of his last four starts, excluding an eight-inning shutout against the Cubs, Miles Mikolas was a little shaky, allowing 13 runs in 16 innings in Pittsburgh, in Chicago against the Cubs and in Cincinnati against tonight’s opponent. For the season though, he has been steady with a 3.42 ERA and 1.04 WHIP. Only three times this year has any team been able to score more than four runs on Mikolas in 29 chances. Strikeouts have never been a part of his game, but he is averaging 97 pitches per outing and he does have a robust 19 quality starts on the season. The bottom third of the Cinci batting order is populated by “create a players” and the Cardinals are nearly 3-to-1 favorites in this matchup.
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Additional Opportunities
Chase Anderson should be nowhere near our DFS lineups, however, with his 2.5 over/under on his strikeout prop, he is someone we can look to in the sports betting market. The Stokastic projections are forecasting 3.6 strikeouts and a 38% win probability. Tonight, we should see Anderson in the 75- to 80-pitch range and that should be enough for him to get a trio of whiffs, even in this difficult matchup.
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Other Pitching Options
- RHP Kevin Gausman vs. Tampa Bay Rays (Early)
- RHP Lance Lynn at Cleveland Guardians (Early)
- LHP Sean Manaea at Arizona Diamondbacks (Late)
Other Hitting Options
- Jose Abreu at RHP Hunter Gaddis (Early)
- George Springer vs. LHP Shane McClanahan (Early)
- Carlos Correa and Jose Miranda vs. LHP Daniel Lynch (Main)
- Pete Alonso vs. RHP JT Brubaker (Main)
- Josh Bell at RHP Drey Jameson (Late)
Final MLB DFS Thoughts & MLB Weather Notes
Things look reasonably safe across the various venues in action today. This should be a fun featured slate with plenty of ways to find differentiation for those who are bold.
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