MLB DFS Optimizer Picks Today: Spotlight Pitchers & Stacks
MLB DFS Optimizer Picks Today: Spotlight Pitchers
Brown has slipped out of contention for the American League Cy Young Award, though he is still most definitely a frontline starter and borderline ace. The 26-year-old is posting career numbers across the board, and going against an inconsistent lineup on the young side plays in his favor.
FanDuel is including the games in the 6 o’clock hour, which adds three more viable options into the mix with RHP Logan Gilbert in Baltimore and RHPs Eury Perez and Gavin Williams squaring off in Cleveland as the Guardians host the Miami Marlins.
The next two pitchers in the DraftKings projections are RHP Kevin Gausman in a tough matchup against the visiting Chicago Cubs and RHP Joe Ryan with the unenviable task of taking on the Yankees in New York.
In the absence of Cruz, the projected lineup for the Pirates has a sub-.100 ISO and a 21.1% strikeout rate. In 2023, RHP Brandon Woodruff made two starts for Milwaukee before landing on the injured list with a shoulder issue. This turned into quite the injury saga, as the subsequent surgery and rehabilitation, plus a few setbacks, cost the now 32-year-old over two seasons of opportunities.
Since returning to action in early July, Woodruff has made six starts, and while he has been effective, it is important to note that he also has been incredibly efficient, with the team happy to keep in the 80- to 85-pitch count range.
In this stretch, he closed out the sixth inning in five games while racking up an impressive 45 strikeouts in 35.1 innings. Luck has been on his side with a .143 batting average on balls in play, and nearly every runner that got on base was stranded there. He allowed seven home runs and nine earned runs in total, which is going to regress at some point, though that doesn’t have to be this afternoon.
It is going to be a tough needle to thread for Woodruff to return much of a profit given his lofty salary and safe workload, especially with Milwaukee not needing to push him, as the Brewers are on their third 11-game winning streak of the season — something that has been done only two other times in the last 90 years. The team is looking to make a deep postseason run, and it is going to need a healthy Woodruff to enhance its chances of grabbing the brass ring.
Other options include RHP Merrill Kelly in a “Remember Me?!” game against his former Arizona teammates as the Rangers host the Diamondbacks. In St. Louis, rookie RHP Michael McGreevy gets to face the hopeless Colorado offense, though the 25-year-old has not exhibited a lot of strikeout upside, so this is a matchup- and salary-based recommendation.
MLB DFS Optimizer Picks Today: Top Stacks
Main Slate Primary Target: Tampa Bay Rays
That still leaves the Tampa Bay Rays and the Athletics in West Sacramento. It is going to be a little cooler than what we have seen for the last two months, with game-time temperatures in the mid-70s, but given RHP J.T. Ginn is on the mound, it is hard not to love the Tampa power bats. Ginn is coming off a career-high nine strikeouts, mowing down the Orioles in Baltimore and easily besting his prior high of seven strikeouts. That is the lone highlight for the 26-year-old this season, other than rejoining the rotation after the All-Star Break.
Brandon Lowe and Junior Caminero are the priority plays, with on-base maven Yandy Diaz and pesky Josh Lowe comprising the second tier. Ha-Seong Kim has been effective against fellow righties this season, though he may slide down the lineup card. Speedster Chandler Simpson has 33 steals, which is only two shy of the league lead held by former teammate Jose Caballero, who is now with the Yankees. This is an impressive feat, considering Simpson spent nearly a month in the minors at the start of the season, also getting a three-week follow-up in June, to work on his offense.
The A’s are also in play against RHP Drew Rasmussen, focusing on the core four of rookie Nick Kurtz, catcher Shea Langeliers, and the lefty-righty combo of Tyler Soderstrom and Brent Rooker. On the late slate, differentiation can be found with JJ Bleday and a slumping Lawrence Butler, who will likely be in the bottom third of the order.
Early Slate Primary Target: St. Louis Cardinals
In Kansas City, RHP Jake Irvin will be toeing the rubber for the Nationals against an improved Royals squad. Adding Mike Yastrzemski and Randal Grichuk at the trade deadline helped to lengthen the lineup, and it is expected that Yastrzemski will be leading off against right-handed hurlers. Add in superstar Bobby Witt Jr., slugger Vinnie Pasquantino, veteran Salvador Perez and a vastly improved Maikel Garcia, and the Nationals could be in trouble.
In St. Louis, LHP Austin Gomber will be going against his former team, and the southpaw has been pitching like he is at Coors Field, even when he is on the road. In his last four appearances outside of Denver, he allowed 16 runs, nine walks and five longballs while striking out only 13 across 19.1 innings.
The Cardinals have not exactly been performing up to franchise standards for the last couple of campaigns, though the team will be able run out a mostly right-handed lineup against Gomber, should that be what they choose. Let salary, positional constraints and personal preference be your guide, with Ivan Herrera as the lone “must play” for the Redbirds.
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