Hello and welcome to the MLB DFS Playbook for September 14! We have a small 5-game slate on DK and an even smaller 4-gamer on FD on our hands today. We have a 7:07 pm ET start time, so plenty of time to get those lineups made! Make sure to check out all of our amazing MLB DFS tools as they are always worth going through before building your lineups as are the Vegas Odds. However, as I am sure you have figured out by now, the new playbook will be a one-stop shop that includes everything from easy-to-read player write-ups and suggestions to MLB Weather Reports to lineup construction tips to our best value plays for DraftKings and FanDuel. You will be given core plays around which to build your lineups, DFS stacks to consider for GPP tournaments and key statistics to help you in your DFS research. Let’s dive in! 

 

MLB DFS Playbook September 14

MLB Weather Updates

San Francisco Giants vs. Colorado Rockies (rain, potential PPD)

Games that appear to have a decent wind blowing out:

None. 

Games that appear to have a decent wind blowing in:

None. 

Recommended DFS Starting Pitchers

Top Options for Strikeouts

Kevin Gausman, Toronto Blue Jays

Logan Webb, San Francisco Giants

Kenta Maeda, Minnesota Twins

Best Odds for a Win

Logan Webb (San Francisco Giants -245)

Kenta Maeda (Minnesota Twins -183)

Kevin Gausman (Toronto Blue Jays -164)

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Favorite Starters to Use for DFS Lineups

This slate is UGLY for pitching. We only have a couple good pitchers and they all are in tough spots, so we either have to roll with them despite that, or go with bad pitchers. 

Kevin Gausman, Toronto Blue Jays

I, of course, hate having a pitcher face the Rangers, but we don’t really have any alternatives. Gausman is elite and has FAR more upside than anyone else on this slate. He’s cruising to a top-5 finish in AL Cy Young voting with a 3.28 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, and 217 Ks across 167.1 innings of work. Even if he gives up three or four runs tonight, his K-rate will likely still make him a better play than our other options. 

Kenta Maeda, Minnesota Twins

Maeda is probably the biggest chalk of the slate at SP on DK tonight. He is pretty cheap and he is a solid pitcher facing a bad offense. He has been pitching better of late with a 4.08 ERA ad 1.17 WHIP over his last 10 starts. He has also been good in the strikeout department this season with 96 Ks across 89 innings of work. He’s also been a totally different pitcher on the road with a 3.42 ERA, compared to a 6.05 ERA at home. 

Recommended DFS Hitters

Highest Expected Run Totals 

5.78 – San Francisco Giants

5.00 – Colorado Rockies

4.98 – Minnesota Twins

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Favorite Hitters to Use for DFS Lineups

I avoided the Giants/Rockies game in my write-ups because it looks like a heavy PPD risk, which would turn this slate into a tiny 4-gamer / 3-gamer. Keep your eyes on that game if choosing to roster them. 

Jorge Polanco, 2B/3B, Minnesota Twins

The Twins are the chalk of the slate with the Giants/Rockies game in serious jeopardy and Polanco leads the way for me. He is hitting .314 with a 1.003 OPS over his last 10 games and averaging 10.4 dk ppg in that span. He has hit for good power this season with 12 bombs in just 69 games of action and he has tacked on four steals. Jose Urena is not an MLB pitcher and has no business being in this league at this point (he has an 8.46 ERA and 2.10 WHIP this year). 

Royce Lewis, 3B/SS, Minnesota Twins

Lewis is even hotter than Polanco is right now, hitting .316 and averaging 12.7 dk ppg over his last 10 games. He has three home runs and two steals in that timeframe, giving him 12 home runs and 5 steals in just 52 games this season. He has been better on the road this year, hitting .369 with a dk pgg of 106 away from Minnesota, compared to .250 and 8.4 at home, respectively. 

Ceddanne Rafaela, SS/OF, Boston Red Sox

I have no clue how the Red Sox lineup will shake out with this being Game 2 of a double header, but I like both Rafaela and Wilyer Abreu as salary-saving options. Both players are playing in Game 1, but I do feel as though Rafaela has the better chance of playing in Game 2 as well. Rafaela is hitting .318 over his last 10 games with a steal and a home run. He hit leadoff in Game 1 and I would love to see him there again in Game 2. (DK only). 

Heston Kjerstad, OF, Baltimore Orioles

Facing Civale isn’t the easiest of tasks in the world, but he also doesn’t scare me and considering Kjerstad is making his MLB debut and is just $2,000, it’s a gamble worth taking. He slashed .299/.370/.500 at AAA this season with 10 bombs, after slashing .310/.384/.576 at AA with 11 bombs to start the year. Being a lefty also suits Baltimore’s field better these days than being a righty does. (DK only). 

Player Pool

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Stacks

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