Tuesday, Sept. 7, jumpstarts things with a rousing 12-game main slate featuring plenty of pitching options and a game in Coors Field. 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, Tuesday, Sept. 7
Yahoo Stack of the Day: Atlanta Braves vs. RHP Paolo Espino — 5.5 implied runs
Tuesday brings cooler weather in Atlanta, with game-time temperatures in the upper-70s. There will still be a healthy amount of humidity, but it is not quite the baseline home run weather of July and August. Paolo Espino will be taking the mound for the Nationals in this difficult matchup. Espino is a career minor leaguer with just over 1,500 innings spanning 13 seasons. He saw action in 2017, logging 24 innings in the majors with Texas and Milwaukee. Then he did not get another cup of coffee until Washington brought him in for six innings last year. This season he has 86 innings over 30 appearances, including 14 starts. The best case for the Nationals is, he eats a handful of innings without too much damage. Espino allows power to both sides of the plate, which opens up the Atlanta options.
The Yahoo salary algorithm has kept most of the Atlanta options in the $17 to $20 range, which provides a fair amount of flexibility for roster construction. Joc Pederson ($7) will likely be towards the bottom of the order, though, at the minimum salary, he is very much in play as part of a stack or as a one-off discount dandy.
There is a lot of power in the lineup, with Freddie Freeman ($19, .263 ISO), Austin Riley ($20, .232 ISO), Ozzie Albies ($20, .223 ISO), Adam Duvall ($18, .287 ISO) and Dansby Swanson ($17, .213 ISO) all having collective two-year ISOs over .200.
Evening Slate
San Francisco Giants at RHP Chi Chi Gonzalez — 6.7 implied runs
While it is cooler in Atlanta, Denver is going to be toasty on Tuesday, with temperatures approaching 90 degrees. This has been a rough season for Chi Chi Gonzalez, who has a 6.13 ERA while allowing 1.65 home runs per nine innings. Over his last 400 batters faced, he has an anemic 13.6% strikeout rate, which does not help his cause. San Francisco plated 10 runs on Monday, so they are clearly acclimated to the elevation and thin air of Coors Field.
Mike Yastrzemski was a late scratch with a stomach ailment on Monday, but he is not expected to miss much time. Kris Bryant, Buster Posey, Brandon Belt and Evan Longoria are the core four to target in all formats. LaMonte Wade Jr. and Brandon Crawford are a pesky pair of lefties that have been recently moving around the batting order. Both are in play based on personal preference.
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Arizona Diamondbacks vs. RHP Spencer Howard — 4.8 implied runs
Spencer Howard has had a tough go this season, first with Philadelphia and now with Texas, where he went as part of the Kyle Gibson/Ian Kennedy deal. After coming off the COVID-19 list, he has not topped 52 pitches and will likely be on the mound for around three innings. The Diamondbacks are best utilized on the late slate, but there is a little bit of utility looking to them as a mini stack for differentiation purposes on the main slate based on this matchup.
Generally, Arizona is better suited to take on lefties, and the Rangers have three southpaw relievers. Josh Rojas and Pavin Smith are likely to be at the top of the lineup, and they have a decent chance at five plate appearances. Ketel Marte will have the platoon advantage all game as a switch-hitter, and though he is better from the right side of the plate, he is by far the best offensive option for Arizona. Looking for more than a trio is probably wishful thinking, but David Peralta, Josh VanMeter and Daulton Varsho are a decent contrarian group towards the back half of the batting order.
Spotlight Pitchers
Top MLB DFS Picks Target: LHP Blake Snell vs. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim — 3.7 implied runs
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $49 | FanDuel $10,100 | DraftKings $9,200
Blake Snell had a rough July, but he was lights out across six August appearances. In these outings he logged 36.2 innings with a 1.72 ERA, allowing just four home runs and striking out at least six strikeouts in each game. Though Ohtani has played a handful of games in the outfield this season, it does not make sense for the Angels to risk him given they have nothing to play for as a team. That leaves Jared Walsh and Justin Upton as the only scary bats, and then the next-best options are inconsistent youngsters Brandon Marsh and Jo Adell.
Secondary MLB DFS Picks Target: LHP Max Fried vs. Washington Nationals — 3.6 implied runs
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $48 | FanDuel $9,300 | DraftKings $8,600
Tonight will be the sixth time that Max Fried has started against Washington this season. The results have been mixed. However, since the trade deadline after the Nationals moved several key players, Fried has held them in check, allowing just two runs in 12 innings and striking out 12. Juan Soto and Josh Bell are the main bats Fried will have to worry about. There is a chance that Bell will move to the outfield, so Ryan Zimmerman can man first base, but that should not dissuade gamers from rolling with Fried in tournaments.
Wild Card MLB DFS Picks Target: RHP Jake Odorizzi vs. Seattle Mariners — 3.7 implied runs
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $35 | FanDuel $7,800 | DraftKings $7,500
Jake Odorizzi has squared off against Seattle in two of his last three starts, allowing just two runs and striking out 15 across 10.2 innings. The salary is favorable, as is the matchup, but the potential lack of a ceiling game for Odorizzi needs to be pointed out. Only twice in 19 starts has he closed out the sixth inning, and he typically stays in the 85- to 95-pitch range. The strikeouts are inconsistent, which also can mute his upside.
Final Thoughts for the Tuesday, Sept. 7 MLB DFS Picks Slate
The NFL will be overwhelming the rest of the DFS landscape starting with Thursday Night Football. Looking ahead, MLB is playing it smart and will have an abbreviated four-game main slate, with every game starting in the 7 o’clock hour. Additionally, remember that MLB contests on Sunday are almost nonexistent, so be sure to get in the action while it is available.
