Welcome to the Fantasy Alarm MLB DFS Playbook for Sunday, September 21st! 

Let’s start the week on the right foot with some winning lineups today. We have a 10-game main slate in store for us this evening on DraftKings and FanDuel starting at 1:35 PM ET. Today, we have plenty of talent on the diamond and many different ways to build your lineup. Our expert analysis is here to guide you through the top pitchers, value plays, and stackable offenses to target.

Whether chasing big GPP prizes or grinding cash games, we’ve got you covered with insights tailored to today’s matchups. Let’s jump right into the key plays and strategies to dominate the slate!

 

This season's MLB DFS picks and playbook will consist of a pitcher and hitter core players section with written analysis, player pool grid and core stacks section.

The core player section should be used as a starting point for all lineups, you may not be able to use all players in the same lineup, but those players should be the building blocks for you on a given night.

The player pool grid will feature both players from the core player section along with additional plays to help you build a complete lineup. The grid will be broken into top priced players, mid-priced players and value tier players.

The stacks section will bring you are favorite lineups stacks for the day and which players we would look to include in those stacks based on matchups and pricing.

Make sure you subscribe to the Fantasy Alarm YouTube channel so you never miss a show! Also, join the Fantasy Alarm Discord to get your DFS lineup questions answered by our MLB DFS team! Plus, as always, be sure to check in with our MLB DFS Tools, with the Daily MLB Projections, MLB DFS Rostership Projections, and our MLB DFS Lineup Generator when building those lineups today to help you decide which players you should be targeting.

 

MLB DFS Picks & MLB Playbook

MLB Weather: Sunday, 9/21

Chicago Cubs @ Cincinnati Reds

Chance at a delay.

Atlanta Braves @ Detroit Tigers

Chance at a delay.

 

 

Recommended MLB DFS Starting Pitchers

Let's get into today's core pitching plays for our DFS lineups

Core MLB DFS Pitchers

Spencer Strider, Atlanta Braves

Over the last 30 days, everything has gone wrong for the Detroit Tigers and the offense has sputtered out. On the flipside, Spencer Strider has three quality starts in his last four outings and has looked more and more like his former Cy Young self. The Tigers rank 26th or worse in OPS, wOBA, and wRC+ and are 23rd in ISO vs. RHP over that span. The strikeouts that were evading Strider are on the up and up as he's fired off 14 Ks over his last 13 IP.

Trey Yesavage, Toronto Blue Jays

The 2024 first-round draft pick of the Blue Jays made his major league debut last week and was absolutely electric. He tied a Blue Jays franchise record with nine strikeouts while allowing just one run over five innings. The Royals offense can be potent, but over the last 30 days they're slightly worse than league average in most major categories. They don't strike out a lot, so we'll see how this goes, but I believe in the young stud.

Cam Schlittler, New York Yankees

Despite not being great in his last outing, this is a spot that Schlittler should bounce back in a major way. The Orioles have been a subpar offense against righties during that time ranking 20th in wRC+, 21st in wOBA, and 24th in OPS while sporting a near 27% K-rate. That's the important part because Schlittler has massive strikeout upside.

Simeon Woods Richardson, Minnesota Twins

There has been a big shift in pitch mix for Simeon Woods Richardson and it basically started right before he's gone on this pretty great three-game stretch. Twice he's thrown he's splitter 30% of the time and that's a pitch he's averaged 8.1%. In fact, he didn't throw ANY in his first SEVEN games this season. He's throwing that a LOT and his curveball is barely being used. His strikeout rate is also way up and is coming off 11, 6, and 7. Even knowing that the Guardians have won 10 straight games, they rank 28th or worse in OPS, ISO, wOBA, and wRC+ against righties over the last 30 days.

Eury Perez, Miami Marlins

This is pretty much a no brainer. A plug and play. Something that wasn't vetted because it's NFL Sunday. There's no way we should be getting Eury Perez at the price he is on DK, but alas, we are. Don't overthink it too much.

ADDED - Merrill Kelly looks very good against the Marlins here.

 

 

Recommended MLB DFS Hitters

Let's check out today's core plays to build our lineups around.

Core MLB DFS Hitters

Mets Offensive Explosion on a Collision Course

Jake Irvin takes the mound for the Nationals and man, it's such an elite spot for the Mets. Irvin has been quite bad all year long. He's been awful against both splits, but especially bad against left-handed hitters.

vs. LH - .259 ISO, .278 xISO, .381 wOBA, .408 xwOBA

vs. RH - .163 ISO, .187 xISO, .318 wOBA, .327 xwOBA

It's impossible not to like the Mets here with how many lefties they have throughout their lineup..

I'm playing five Mets and nobody can stop me.

Brew Crew

The Brewers can throw a LOT of righties at your left-handed hurlers and that's what Matthew Liberatore has to deal with today. Liberatore struggles against righties allowing a .164 ISO, .210 xISO, .315 wOBA, and .356 xwOBA.

The Brewers righties we should be looking at is Jackson Chourio, Isaac Collins, Andrew Vaughn, Caleb Durbin, and Blake Perkins. I'm unsure if William Contreras is in the lineup, but if he plays he's an option as well. If he doesn't, Danny Jansen is solid.

Athletics Home Run Ceiling, Per Usual

The top five projected hitters for the Athletics have posted a .180 ISO or better against right-handed pitching. Burrows has been OK against lefties, but he's struggled with righties as well.

Righties have a .193 ISO & .214 xISO along with a .331 wOBA & .354 xwOBA. Lefties have a .265 BABIP, which suggest they've been a bit unlucky. here are the A's against righties;

Reds Alive?

The reason you'd run a Reds stack today is because of the home run upside. They also run a lot, too. Both righties and lefties take Jameson Taillon deep a lot.

vs. RH - .240 ISO, .194 xISO, .334 wOBA, .319 xwOBA

vs. LH - .183 ISO, .202 xISO, .277 wOBA, .328 xwOBA

The righties: Noelvi Marte, Spencer Steer, Matt McLain

The lefties: Elly De La Cruz, TJ Friedl, Will Benson

Top One Off's / Mini-Stacks

Player Pool

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Stacks

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