DraftKings FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks for September 8, 2017
*Chris Durell*
DraftKings / FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks for September 8, 2017
Welcome back for another night of daily fantasy baseball. Thursday brings us a smaller eight-game slate but is not short on elite pitching or top bats in great spots. Let’s dig in and take a look at a couple of the top pitchers and stacking options.
Starting Pitchers
Max Scherzer
Opponent – vs. PHI
Park – Nationals Park(Neutral)
Scherzer will be back on the mound after leaving early last Saturday’s game when he was hit in the calf muscle with a line drive. He played catch and Tuesday and was pain-free after a bullpen session on Wednesday so there is no need to worry about it at this point. That is good news as he has been elite all season with a 2.19 ERA, 12.1 K/9 rate and crazy 15.7% swinging strike rate. Scherzer also gets a top matchup vs. the Phillies who rank near the bottom in almost all offensive categories vs. right-handed pitching including wOBA(.311), wRC+(89), and K rate(23.7%). Roll him out with confidence in all formats.
Luke Weaver
Opponent – vs. PIT
Park – Busch Stadium(Pitchers Park)
Kid’s got game. In nine appearances(8 starts) last season, Weaver showed his huge upside with an 11.2 K/9 rate but struggled to keep the ball down and in the park(30.7% GB rate). In eight appearances(5 starts) this season, he has shown the same upside(11.3 K/9) but has seen his ERA drop over three runs and it has to with him now generating over 50% ground balls. This makes him a near elite DFS option in the right matchups and he gets that tonight as the Pirates have actually ranked worse than the aforementioned Phillies. He makes an excellent SP2 option on DraftKings or GPP option on FanDuel if you are loading up on bats.
Top Stacks
Hard to fade the hottest team in baseball when looking at DFS from a stacking perspective. They picked up their 14th straight win on Wednesday (writing this before Thurs night game) and during that streak have scored an average of 6.9 runs per game. Three players (Jose Ramirez, Carlos Santana, Francisco Lindor) have hit 5+ home runs in the last 14 days and four players (add Roberto Perez) have double-digit RBI. They crush left-handed pitching and get a plus matchup vs. a weaker one in Wade Miley who has posted a 4.91 ERA, 4.56 xFIP, and a 17.5% HR/FB rate this season.
For value tonight, I will be leaning on the New York Mets who despite all the injuries have ranked in the upper half of the league in wOBA/wRC+ over the last 14 days. They don’t have the most talented roster which will leave them low owed and they also get a great matchup. Amir Garrett will be taking the ball for the Reds after being recalled on Tuesday. Before his demotion in late June, he was an absolute gas can with a 7.41 ERA and 27.5% HR/FB rate over 12 starts.
Thank you for reading and if you have any questions as lineup lock approaches please contact me via Twitter (@Jager_Bombs9)