MLB Daily Fantasy Stacks & Pitchers – 09/28/16

Chris Durell

Welcome to the last hump-day edition [sad face] of our daily fantasy baseball picks. With just one afternoon game we will focus on the 14-game main slate starting at 7:00 p.m. ET tonight.

We are closing in on the end of the 2016 regular season with just five days remaining with many teams still in the hunt for October. Five of the six divisions have been locked up leaving the Red Sox with a magic number of one going into tonight. Between the AL and NL, there are also six teams with a realistic chance of taking one of the two wildcard spots in each league. It’s going to be an exciting race to Sunday evening. Let’s take a look at a few pitching and stacking options for tonight’s slate.

PITCHERS

Cole Hamels FD 9900 DK 10700
Opponent – MIL (Anderson) Park – @TEX
FD – 36.41 DK – 23.94

The pitching is really thin tonight with only two aces on the mound. You will have to make the decision between Jake Arrieta who is at the top in salary on both sites or Cole Hamels. I lean Hamels as he has the slight edge on the projections when looking at PTS/$ value due to the $500 discount on DK and $1,100 discount on FD. Hamels has put together an impressive first full season with the Rangers with a 15-5 record and 3.30 ERA that is backed up by a 3.86 xFIP and elite 9.02 K/9 rate. He had struggled a bit coming down the stretch but rebounded nicely in his last start, limiting the A’s to six hits and zero runs over seven innings while striking out seven batters. The Brewers are a better team against left-handed pitching but have struggled a ton lately ranking 22nd in wRC+ with a 27.5% K rate over the last 14 days.

Jose De Leon FD 7400 DK 8500
Opponent – SD (Perdomo) Park – @SD
FD – 36.3 DK – 23.61

Young prospect Jose De Leon will get the ball tonight for the Dodgers who have wrapped up their playoff spot by winning the NL West. De Leon was called up in September when rosters were expanded after months where many thought he should have already been in the rotation. He dominated at the Triple-A level this season going 7-1 with a 2.61 ERA and high 11.57 K/9 rate. Jose has flashed that upside in his first three starts with the Dodgers striking out 14 batters in 14.2 innings. The issue has been the long ball, but the good news is he gets a matchup in the worst hitters park in the majors tonight. The Padres also rank dead last in wOBA and wRC+ against right-handed pitching. If he can get into the 5th or 6th inning, he should easily be able to crush his value tonight.

STACKS

Detroit Tigers vs. Zach McAllister (Indians)
Park – Comerica Park

One thing I will often do when looking for my stacks for the night is to look at the bottom of the starting pitcher salary on both sites. Tonight it is the same guy, Zach McAllister. Zach has pitched out of the bullpen this season, and while he comes with a high 9.48 K/9 rate, he will be now facing batters more than once if he makes it that far. Mcallister is walking almost four batters per nine with an xFIP(4.53) that is nearly one full run worse than his ERA(3.58). Add to it that he will be facing a Tigers team that has been red-hot, ranking 2nd in wOBA and wRC+ over the last 14 days and McAllister could be in for a long night, (or a short one depending on how you look at it).

Elite Options – Ian Kinsler, Miguel Cabrera, Justin Upton, Victor Martinez
Secondary Options – Cameron Maybin, J.D. Martinez, James McCann

Boston Red Sox vs. Bryan Mitchell
Park – Yankee Stadium

Who else is at the bottom of the salary list? Bryan Mitchell of the Yankees who is just another guy as the team appears to be prepping for next season already. In his first four starts, Mitchell has struggled with control walking seven batters while only striking our nine in 18 innings. If you are not missing bats at the major league level, you are going to get hard (32.3% hard contact) and post less than ideal numbers (4.50 ERA and 5.26 xFIP). Things don’t get any easier tonight as he will face the #1 offensive team in the league looking to clinch the AL East and home-field advantage through the ALCS.

Elite Options – Mookie Betts, David Ortiz, Xander Bogaerts, Dustin Pedroia
Secondary Options – Hanley Ramirez, Jackie Bradley Jr.

As always, thank you for reading and good luck in the final week of the season!