Saturday, Sept. 4, has a healthy eight-game main slate with some weather to keep an eye on in Cincinnati. 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. 4
Yahoo Stack of the Day: Chicago White Sox at LHP Daniel Lynch — 5.5 implied runs
Rookie Daniel Lynch has done a nice job in his last five starts allowing just two home runs and enabling the Royals to win every game. The strikeouts are ticking up, and he has averaged one per inning in this stretch. However, he is also averaging three walks per game. Handing out that many free passes to a team as deep as Chicago could lead to some crooked numbers.
The ChiSox will be rolling out a lineup full of right-handed hitters, which will give them a nice advantage over Lynch. Yoan Moncada ($14) and Eloy Jimenez ($17) are the Yahoo bargains at the top of the lineup. Andrew Vaughn ($11) will likely draw a start tonight as well, and even at the bottom of the order, this is a salary that is hard to ignore.
Reigning American League MVP Jose Abreu ($22) is the favored option among the Chicago players with a $20+ salary. For additional discounts or differentiation at the bottom of the order, switch-hitting Cesar Hernandez ($8) and veteran Leury Garcia ($12) could make a nice “wraparound” stack with Luis Robert ($21) who will likely be the leadoff man. Duos and trios seem to be the way to go here, as a full-stack will consume a large portion of the salary cap.
Evening Slate
Arizona Diamondbacks vs. LHP Marco Gonzalez — 4.1 implied runs
All eyes will, of course, be on Atlanta and Colorado playing in Coors Field with an 11.0 implied run total. Though Arizona’s offense is much maligned, they do have several good hitters swinging the stick from the right side of the plate. Marco Gonzales has allowed a pair of longballs in each of his last two outings and five in his last four. While he is a decent pitcher, he has issues with home runs, which looks like a good time to strike.
Over the last three seasons, Ketel Marte (.300 ISO), Carson Kelly (.256 ISO), and Nick Ahmed (.227 ISO) have made life difficult for opposing southpaws. Christian Walker has average power, but he should be in the cleanup slot with RBI opportunities most of the time he comes to the plate. If Andy Young makes the lineup, he is at the minimum salary on every DFS site, and he has flashed extra-base hit upside in righty/lefty matchups.
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Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim vs. LHP Kolby Allard — 4.7 implied runs
This has been a rough stretch for Kolby Allard, who has allowed two home runs in four straight starts. He is allowing 1.95 per nine innings on the season, so this is the time to focus on any Angel hitter with even a modicum of power. Front and center, of course, is Shohei Ohtani, who leads the league with 42 home runs. There is a chance he gets tonight off after throwing 117 pitches last night, but we should have advanced notice of his status.
In an interesting quirk, Allard has allowed a .245 ISO to fellow lefties this season which makes Jared Walsh very intriguing as he has above-average power in same-handed matchups. Justin Upton is still showing flashes of power in his 15th season, and if Kurt Suzuki is behind the dish, he is an excellent way to knock out any catcher requirements. Juan Lagares and Jared Mayfield have a little pop in their bats, and at the bottom of the order, they will be less popular than most hitters on the short slate.
Spotlight Pitchers
Top MLB DFS Picks Target: LHP Framber Valdez at San Diego Padres — 3.3 implied runs
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $45 | FanDuel $9,800 | DraftKings $10,000
Though this is not an easy matchup, Framber Valdez does get a park upgrade, and he will be facing a pitcher instead of a designated hitter. While he is not a household name, Valdez has been outstanding in his last seven starts allowing a single home run. In this stretch across 44.1 innings, he has a 2.43 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, and nearly a strikeout per inning. It will be interesting to see how many gamers are willing to take him against the San Diego offense tonight.
Secondary MLB DFS Picks Target: LHP Julio Urias at San Francisco Giants — 3.5 implied runs
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $48 | FanDuel $9,500 | DraftKings $9,700
Tonight is Game 18 of the regular season series between the Dodgers and Giants. San Francisco has a slim lead at 9-8, and they are also one game up in the standings for the NL West. Ten games in this series have been decided by two or fewer runs which creating a playoff atmosphere. Raise your hand if you were aware that the Giants lead the league with 201 home runs.
San Francisco has given Julio Urias fits accounting for 10 of his 53 earned runs. The sublime southpaw has faced the Giants four times with a 3.80 ERA with just three home runs and three walks in 23.2 innings. Urias has allowed just two home runs in his last six starts, and with the powerful Dodgers offense behind him, he has a league-leading 15 wins. This is not a gimme matchup by any stretch, but Urias has found success in his earlier tilts against tonight’s opponent.
Wild Card MLB DFS Picks Target: RHP Reynaldo Lopez at Kansas City Royals — 4.7 implied runs
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $35 | FanDuel $8,100 | DraftKings $6,300
Saturday’s wild card is Reynaldo Lopez, slotting in for Lance Lynn against the Royals. This is purely a salary play on Yahoo and DraftKings, and we need to keep in mind that Lopez has done most of his work this season out of the bullpen. Tonight we should see something in the 65-70 pitch range as a baseline and make our decisions accordingly. Lopez did log 75 pitches just two weeks ago, so there is a little wiggle room to see him approach that figure.
Final Thoughts for the Saturday, Sept. 4 MLB DFS Picks Slate
Tonight should be a fun one with a game in Coors Field and most of the top pitching options in difficult matchups. Keep an eye on the weather in Cincinnati, as that will be the decision point when looking to ace Tyler Mahle as an option.
