Thursday, Sept. 9, is a matinee of two slates heading towards the NFL Opener. There is a quick two-game early slate, with a frontloaded main slate kicking off in the 6 o’clock 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, Thursday, Sept. 9
Yahoo Stack of the Day: Atlanta Braves vs. RHP Erick Fedde — 6.1 implied runs
Picking on the Nationals rotation has become a thing over the last month, as the cupboard is quite bare in Washington. Tonight marks the 58th start of Erick Fedde’s career and his 70th overall appearance. On the season he has a 5.27 ERA, which is in line with his 5.16 career mark. This season his strikeouts have increased to almost one per inning, but the tradeoff of challenging hitters is still allowing above-average power. Fedde has struggled in his three starts against Atlanta this season, with an 11.12 ERA and only seven strikeouts across 11.2 innings.
Once more the Yahoo salary algorithm seems to have capped the Atlanta salaries in the low $20s. Their projected lineup has seven hitters above .200 ISOs over the last two seasons, with only Jorge Soler ($18) trailing at a still-robust .180 ISO. If Joc Pederson ($8) draws the start, he will provide tremendous flexibility, even if he is a pinch-hit risk against Washington fresher lefty relievers. Speaking of the Nationals bullpen, they have had to pick up the slack down the stretch, backing up a group of starters that has had trouble clearing the fifth inning.
Mix and match anyone who makes the lineup based on personal preference and positional need. Even short-slate rosters will need room to differentiate elsewhere for large-field tournaments.
Early Slate
Chicago White Sox at LHP Sean Manaea — 4.0 implied runs
For the early contests, most gamers will be looking to target the Dodgers against Jake Woodford. Sean Manaea brings name recognition, but he has been pretty sketchy over his last six starts. In this timeframe he has an 8.00 ERA in 27 innings, which can mostly be attributed to three home runs per nine innings during this stretch.
The White Sox have a fierce lineup now that everyone is healthy. On the season they trail only the Astros against left-handed pitchers with their 114 wRC+. In addition to creating runs 14% more efficiently than league average, they also have top-three power. In his last 186 matchups against lefties Jose Abreu has an other-worldly .355 ISO. Yasmani Grandal is back, and since the beginning of last season he has been even better with a .358 ISO against southpaws.
Luis Robert, Eloy Jimenez and Andrew Vaughn all have above-average power against opposite-handed pitchers. Switch-hitter Cesar Hernandez can provide some differentiation at the bottom of the order, and in this loaded lineup he is getting lost in the shuffle despite a solid track record throughout his career from the right side of the plate.
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Top MLB DFS Picks Target: RHP Huascar Ynoa vs. Washington Nationals — 4.0 implied runs
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $39 | FanDuel $8,800 | DraftKings $8,600
Huascar Ynoa has been solid over his last four starts. He was on the verge of a breakout season before losing a fight against a dugout bench, suffering a fractured hand that cost him three months. In his 23 innings since returning he has a 3.52 ERA with 21 strikeouts while allowing three home runs. Though the Nationals lineup can be pesky at times, the only consistent threats are Juan Soto and Josh Bell.
Wild Card MLB DFS Picks Target: LHP Ranger Suarez vs. Colorado Rockies — 3.6 implied runs
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $40 | FanDuel $8,600 | DraftKings $7,400
There are bad offenses, there are anemic offenses, and then there are the Rockies on the road. This season Colorado has a 70 wRC+ when away from Coors Field. While Ranger Suarez has seen a dip in his strikeouts as he converts from a reliever to a starter, he has been outstanding with his run prevention and limiting power. Though Colorado is markedly better against southpaws, they are still an offense to target against when they are away from the thin Denver air.
Early MLB DFS Picks Target: RHP Reynaldo Lopez at Oakland Athletics — 4.6 implied runs
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $35 | FanDuel $7,900 | DraftKings $7,100
Pitching is incredibly thin for the early action. On the two-pitcher sites the best bet is to mix and match combinations. In a situation like this it is perfectly fine to take a couple hitters against rostered pitchers for differentiation and since none are ace caliber. The hope for Reynaldo Lopez is that he works 70 to 80 pitches and gets a handful of strikeouts while allowing only a couple runs. Most gamers are going to go with Manaea, which is fine, though that will force a lot of similar rosters, with just four teams in the player pool.
Final Thoughts for the Thursday, Sept. 9 MLB DFS Picks Slate
Each of the DFS sites is handling their main slates a little differently tonight. The unifying theme, however, is that everything will be locked down in plenty of time for all eyes to be on Thursday Night Football. Outside of some potential precipitation in New York, things look clear from a weather aspect.
