MLB Daily Fantasy Stacks and Pitchers – 9/23/16
Chris Durell
Welcome to another TGIF edition of our daily fantasy baseball picks. Friday brings us one afternoon matchup between the Cardinals and Cubs and a large 14-game slate that kicks off at 7:00 p.m. ET. The pitching is a little thin at the top tonight making it a great night to save on the mound and load up on the bats. Let’s take a look at a few pitchers and stacking options to help you cash in tonight!
PITCHERS
Drew Pomeranz FD 8700 DK 8700
Opponent – TB (Archer) Park – @TB
FD – 36.57 DK – 24.12
Since coming over from the Padres in mid-July, Pomeranz has been down a winding road. He has shown flashes of his double-digit K upside but also has four or more earned runs in four of his 12 starts. Three of those bad games came at home in the most unfriendly pitcher’s park outside of Coors Field. On the road is where Pomeranz excels as he has limited the opposition to two earned runs or less in four of his five road starts with the Red Sox. The good news today is that he is back on the road as he gets a big park upgrade going to Tropicana Field to face the Rays. He met them in Tampa on August 25th allowing seven hits but just two earned runs and a whopping 11 strikeouts. The Red Sox are red hot right now winning eight straight and are starting to run away with the American League East division. Look for the hot streak to continue on Friday making Pomeranz one of the top value plays of the day with an excellent win potential.
James Paxton FD 7300 DK 8400
Opponent – MIN (Gibson) Park – @MIN
FD – 29.16 DK – 19.05
Dipping down even further in the value bin is hard-throwing southpaw James Paxton. He has a fastball that averages 96.9 MPH and throws it 62% of the time generating an above average 11.6% swinging strike rate. He also comes with excellent control and is walking under two batters per nine and sits with a nice 3.61 xFIP for the season. He gets one of the better matchups of any pitcher tonight as the Mariners are -140 favorites facing a Twins team that holds the worst record in the major leagues to this point with just 55 wins under their belt. The Twins have been decent against lefties all year ranking 14th in wOBA, but they are struggling overall lately ranking dead last in almost all offensive categories and striking out at a 27.5% clip. Look for the Paxton and Mariners to come out strong as they try and jump up the standings and into the wildcard hunt.
STACKS
Baltimore Orioles vs. Shelby Miller (Diamondbacks)
Park – Oriole Park at Camden Yards
After getting swept by the Red Sox in their latest four-game series, the Orioles should be angry and come out swinging tonight. They have fallen a half-game out of the second wildcard and sit on the outside looking in at the moment. It will be a welcome site seeing the Diamondbacks come to town with their league worst 5.19 team ERA. The offense has been the least of their worries this season as they have scored the 10th most runs(709) in the majors and rank 3rd in wOBA(.335) and wRC+(107) against right-handed pitching. The O’s are projected for about 5.75 runs tonight, and I would not be surprised to see them go over that total. The elite options for the Orioles are Adam Jones, Mark Trumbo, Chris Davis and Manny Machado with value options in Hyun-Soo Kim, Matt Wieters, and Pedro Alvarez.
Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Gio Gonzalez (Nationals)
Park – PNC Park
The Pirates are another team on the outside looking in at the wildcard with little time to make up ground. They come in as slight favorites(-115) tonight at home against Gio Gonzalez and the Nationals. They could be a sneaky stack that could come in low-owned due to their lower run projection(4.08) tonight. I feel that is low as the Pirates rank 4th in wOBA(.340) and 2nd in wRC+(114) against left-handed pitching, and Gio Gonzalez is nothing more than an average starting pitcher and has struggled mightily lately. Twice in his last two starts he has allowed six earned to the weak hitting Atlanta Braves which raises some red flags. Starling Marte was lifted from last night’s game with back spasms which sucks as he was making long-awaited return. You can roll with Andrew McCutchen, Gregory Polanco and Jung-Ho Kang with confidence if you want some value consider Sean Rodriquez, Francisco Cervelli and David Freese who all hit left-handed pitching with a .400+ wOBA.