Saturday, Sept. 11, brings a variety of slates during the afternoon as well as an eight-game main slate frontloaded with six games in the first hour. Let’s get into the top MLB DFS picks for pitchers and stacks for Yahoo, DraftKings and FanDuel daily fantasy baseball lineups.
MLB DFS Picks: Spotlight Pitchers and Top Stacks, Saturday, Sept. 11
Yahoo Stack of the Day: Houston Astros vs. LHP Jose Suarez — 5.6 implied runs
While Jose Suarez is not exactly a pushover, he is not a lights-out pitcher either. The walks are a little high, the strikeouts below league average and he needs timely groundballs and double plays frequently to work himself out of jams. Tonight is a tall order as the will be taking on the Astros, who are once again the best team in the league against southpaws. For perspective, they lead the league with a 120. wRC+ against lefties. This means they are creating runs 23% more efficiently than league average. The Yankees, Blue Jays and White Sox are also elite against left-handed hurlers in the 112-113 wRC+ range. Think about that chasm for a moment that separates Houston from even the other top offenses.
There are a couple of gifts from the Yahoo salary algorithm tonight, highlighted by Yulieski Gurriel at just $14. That is a steal for the Cuban who is currently sixth in the batting title chase with a .312 average. Near the bottom of the order, we should see catcher Martin Maldonado ($7), Chas McCormick ($7) and Jake Meyers ($11) they can be utilized as a contrarian trio that will enable all sorts of lineup construction flexibility or as one-off discount dandies.
The usual suspects of course are the core options led by Jose Altuve ($16) at the top of the order. Alex Bregman ($17) thrives in opposite-handed matchups and Carlos Correa ($18) is no slouch either. Yordan Alvarez ($17) has nearly a .250 ISO in his career when facing same-handed hurlers and gamers still shy away from him in lefty/lefty matchups. The salary will have him on everyone’s radar tonight, but this is one spot where we can comfortably align ourselves with The Masses.
Afternoon Slate
Washington Nationals at RHP Wil Crowe — 4.8 implied runs
In a fun twist, Wil Crowe will be facing the team that traded him, along with Josh Bell, who was the key player in that deal. It would seem that Crowe is a glorified “opener” at this point of his career, as he has closed out the fifth inning just once in his last six starts. In this stretch, he has logged just 25.1 innings with a 7.46 ERA allowing 2.84 home runs per nine innings.
We will definitely want to be rolling with Juan Soto and the aforementioned Bell as the best two options on the Nats. Lane Thomas and Yadiel Hernandez are not going to rack up the fantasy points, though they are cheap, in the top half of the lineup and they have had their productive moments for the post-fire sale Washington squad. The salary cap relief they provide will allow us to grab a couple big bats on this slate against the shell of Chris Archer or workload limited Casey Mize as he bounces off the proverbial rookie wall.
Late Slate
Los Angeles Dodgers vs. RHP Chris Paddack — 4.8 implied runs
Though Chris Paddack had some buzz as a prospect, he has not been able to see that translate to sustained success in The Show. Facing the Dodgers is never easy and we need to remember that Paddack missed almost all of August with a strained right oblique. While Paddack does have good control and rarely walks anyone, he is below average when it comes to strikeouts and allowing extra-base hits.
Gavin Lux and Chris Taylor are bargains across the board and they should be among the least popular Los Angeles players at the bottom of the order. Justin Turner has a long history of success in same-handed matchups and he is coming with a reasonable salary on the main DFS sites. The core four naturally will be Max Muncy, Trea Turner, Corey Seager and Mookie Betts. It is just wild that Cody Bellinger has not been an everyday player just two seasons removed from winning the 2019 National League MVP. Skipper Dave Roberts has said he wants to give him a few days off to “clear his head,” which is why we should see Lux and Taylor in the lineup through the weekend with their ability to play multiple positions.
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Top MLB DFS Picks Target: RHP Charlie Morton vs. Miami Marlins — 2.7 implied runs
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $55 | FanDuel $9,000 | DraftKings $8,000
Sometimes we get gifts, and that is the case with Charlie Morton on DraftKings and FanDuel tonight. The Marlins have a laughably sub-3.00 implied run total against the 37-year-old veteran, who has a nice combination of above average strikeouts and groundballs. The Yahoo salary is not out of bounds, but it is a bit of a stretch, which will likely keep the popularity of Morton in check where as he will be off the charts on DraftKings and FanDuel.
Secondary MLB DFS Picks Target: RHP Walker Buehler vs. San Diego Padres — 3.4 implied runs
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $59 | FanDuel $9,700 | DraftKings $9,400
The Padres are not a pushover, though their offense has not consistently performed up to the lofty expectations that were assigned to them this year. Walker Buehler is second among qualified pitchers with a 2.31 ERA and 0.94 WHIP and he leads the league with 24 quality starts. Luis A. Garcia going against the Angels is the pivot option away from Morton and Buehler on the Saturday main slate.
Afternoon MLB DFS Picks Target: RHP Corbin Burnes at Cleveland Indians — 3.8 implied runs
- DFS Salary: Yahoo N/A | FanDuel $11,300 | DraftKings $10,700
Corbin Burnes has been phenomenal this season with a top three 2.38 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and 12.3 strikeouts per nine innings. Even though he will be facing the designated hitter with this game in an American League park, Burnes gets a slight edge over Zack Wheeler, who is not quite in the same form he was for the first half of the season. Josiah Gray of the Nationals will be the discount dandy on the afternoon slate as a second pitcher on DraftKings.
Final Thoughts for the Saturday, Sept. 11 MLB DFS Picks Slate
Tonight should be a fun one, with 26 teams in action and no weather concerns. Do not forget that college football DFS is in full swing, and NFL kicks off in full on Sunday with a 13-game main slate.
