MLB DFS Picks: Draftkings + FanDuel Picks 9/16/20

Wednesday, Sept. 16, has a mix of early games and then a nine-game main slate for DraftKings, FanDuel, Yahoo and SuperDraft. Before you lock in your MLB DFS lineups and MLB DFS picks, make sure to check out check out Awesemo’s DFS baseball MLB rankings and projections.

Early-Slate MLB DFS Picks

Colorado Rockies vs. RHP Mike Fiers – 5.3 implied runs

This slate is going to be all about Coors Field and we will not be alone in that snap assessment. The other quartet of pitchers plying their trade in the other games all do a good job of limiting runs. Also, keep in mind the Cardinals – Brewers game is of the seven-inning variety.

While Fiers does own two of the 304 regular season no-hitters in MLB history, he also has allowed 70 home runs since the beginning of 2018, which is the third most in the league during that span. This season Fiers has allowed eight home runs split evenly between lefties and righties. At this point we all know the drill with the Rockies. Focus on the power trio of Trevor Story, Charlie Blackmon and Nolan Arenado. Today we should be able to find differentiation for our lineups from the seven-inning game, so do not be shy about grabbing a couple batsmen from that matchup.

Main-Slate Picks

New York Yankees vs RHP Tanner Roark – 5.6 implied runs

Yesterday Giancarlo Stanton returned after missing more than a month and clearly inspired the Yankees to roll up six home runs and five doubles on their way to plating 20 against the Jays. Stanton was 0-for-4 with two strikeouts and a walk. He was also the only starter without a hit or a run scored, so it must have been inspiration that he brought to the table.

Aaron Judge is poised to return, but we do not know if it will be today or later in the week. Gleyber Torres has also missed two games with a sore quad, but he is getting close to playing as well. Roark is nearing the end of the line after ceding 10 home runs with a 1.73 WHIP in just 35.1 innings this season. He has allowed six home runs to righties and four to lefties, so feel free to target him from either side of the plate.

For differentiation today, we can consider the Yankees understudies, particularly if Stanton, Judge and Torres are all in the lineup. Luke Voit will slide down the order, but he has light-tower power, as does Clint Frazier. Gary Sanchez does well in righty-righty matchups, and he should be in the bottom third of the order as well, which has him as a candidate to pair with Voit, Brett Gardner and then wrap around to leadoff man D.J. LeMahieu.

Evening-Slate MLB DFS Picks

Chicago White Sox vs. RHP Jake Odorizzi – 4.7 implied runs

The Houston Astros get a phenomenal matchup against struggling RHP Kyle Gibson. Check out Terry “TMcB” McBride’s analysis for that stack for free here in his daily column.

Odorizzi has been out for the last three plus weeks with an abdominal strain. Prior to going on the shelf, he had made just three appearances lasting 10.0 innings with three home runs, an 8.10 ERA with a 1.60 WHIP. He did have nearly a strikeout per inning, but who knows where he stands now after missing so much time. The 30-year-old veteran of nine MLB campaigns has always been a bit enigmatic. For the first two-thirds of his career, he was showing some reverse splits, meaning he was worse against fellow righties than opposite-handed batsmen. That has neutralized over the last three years since he joined the Twins. Of course, he no longer calls Tropicana Field home, and he has seen his home runs tick up.

Jose Abreu, Eloy Jimenez and Edwin Encarnacion all have a .230-plus ISOs against same-handed hurlers since the beginning of last year. Rookie Luis Robert and veteran Nomar Mazara provide differentiation from the bottom third of the lineup on the short slate. Finally, switch-hitters Yoan Moncada and Yasmani Grandal give us flexibility at the top of the lineup, where they will have the platoon advantage all game.

Late-Slate Picks

San Francisco Giants vs. RHP Ljay Newsome – 5.1 implied runs

Be aware that this game is in Oracle Park, though the Mariners will be considered the home team. This series was moved from Seattle due to poor air quality and will be played in San Francisco. Once again 2020 outdoes itself, having a sporting event move to a location that less than 100 hours ago was dealing with poor air quality itself.

Newsome was drafted in the 26th round of the 2015 draft out of high school. Over his five seasons in the minors, he has progressed through the ranks, though he has just 10.2 innings above AA ball. Heading into this season he was a fringe top-20 prospect for Seattle, and he projects as a multiple-inning reliever or opener. By most metrics the Mariners have a bottom-five bullpen this season.

It is going to be in the mid-60s at first pitch with a slight breeze out to center field. By now you are all aware of my crackpot theory that they are using “juiced” baseballs in Oracle Park this season similar but opposite to the “humidors” actually used in Coors Field and Chase Field. For what it’s worth, San Francisco is behind only Boston and Denver for runs allowed per game this season.

Contrarian main and late slate targets include:

Mike Yastrzemski is still getting it done, which is amazing considering he was a 29-year-old rookie making his debut last season. On a fun note, he reached his 30th home run milestone faster than his Triple Crown-winning grandfather Carl. Alex Dickerson and Brandon Belt are intriguing options, as the Mariners have just one lefty in their bullpen. Of course, they have four southpaws in their starting rotation, so this composition makes sense.

On the late slate look to Brandon Crawford, Evan Longoria and Joey Bart for differentiation.

As always, you can reach out to me in Awesemo.com Premium Slack or on Twitter @EMacDFS if you have any questions or want to discuss anything MLB DFS related.

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Author

Eric MacPherson

Eric "EMac" MacPherson won the 2007 Fantasy Baseball grand prize (trip for two to the MLB All-Star game) in the Roto format on ESPN. He won again in 2008, this time in the H2H format. As one of the early adopters of daily fantasy sports, EMac has been providing content for baseball and basketball as well as both professional and college football since 2012 for a variety of websites including DraftKings Playbook, FanVice, RotoWorld, Daily Fantasy Bootcamp, and RotoGrinders. He is well into his third decade of fantasy sports and has a wealth of knowledge and experience. Follow him on Twitter @EMacDFS or contact EMac by emailing [email protected].