*Chris Durell*
DraftKings / FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks for September 29, 2017
The final weekend of the regular season is upon us and there are still some teams with tons of motivation as they fight for their playoff lives. For fantasy, we will want to focus on these situations for the most part, but don’t forget about the young players looking to make an impact as they play for a spot next season. Let’s jump right in and take a look at a few top pitchers and stacks for tonight.
Starting Pitchers
Zack Greinke
Opponent – @ KC
DraftKings – $11,300
FanDuel – $9,500
The last week of the season is a real challenge when selecting pitchers and there is no such thing as a “safe” play. I lean Greinke at the top as Strasburg was held to just 83 pitches in his last start. Greinke also comes with some risk as the Diamondbacks have locked up the top wildcard spot in the NL but at least you get a bit of a discount on both sites. Greinke is also coming off his worst start of the season but overall, is having a fantastic season all while pitching in a top 3 hitters park. He has given us a ton of upside with his highest K rate(9.57 K/9) since the 2011 season with an impressive 3.18 ERA and 3.34 xFIP. Although he has been better at home, you can’t ignore the park upgrade for him tonight in Kansas City facing a Royals team that ranks 24th in wOBA and 21st in wRC+ vs. right-handed pitching.
Dan Straily
Opponent – vs. ATL
DraftKings – $7,100
FanDuel – $7,400
The value play of the day is Dan Straily who will be at home Friday night facing a Braves team that has really stumbled down the stretch. They sit second to last in wOBA and wRC+ over the last 14 days and also sit in the bottom third of the league vs. right-handed pitching. For Straily, it has been a huge rebound after getting blown up for eight earned runs vs. the Phillies a couple weeks back. Since then, he has allowed just two earned runs over his last 11 innings pitched and flashed a ton of upside with 17 strikeouts. The only knock is that in those two starts he has allowed seven free passes but I am not too worried as he has been much better than that all season with 2.82 BB/9 rate. All things considered, he is in play in all formats with a low to mid $7K price tag on both sites.
Top Stack
Colorado Rockies vs. Hyun-Jin Ryu(LAD)
The Rockies are one of the teams fighting for their playoff lives as they try to hold off the Brewers for the second wildcard in the National League. Lucky for them they open the final regular season series at home in Coors which, once again, ranks as the top hitters park in the league. They will face Hyun-Jin Ryu who was removed from his last start after getting hit in the arm and with the Dodgers already locked into the playoffs, I don’t expect them to run him out there for a full start. In one sense, that is a good thing as he has been fairly consistent in the second half allowing more than two earned runs just twice. On the other hand, he has been prone to giving up home runs(16.8% HR/FB rate) and got destroyed in his last start in Coors in mid-May. Look for the Rockies to put forward their best effort with everything on the line in the final days of the season.
Top Hitters to Stack: Nolan Arenado, Charlie Blackmon, DJ LeMahieu, Trevor Story
Philadelphia Phillies vs. Matt Harvey(NYM)
Going a little off the board here with my second stack but it has more to do with the pitcher than the team he is facing. The Phillies have struggled to score runs all season but should be able to kick off their final series in style facing Matt Harvey. He returned to the Mets rotation at the start of September and has picked up right where he left off, pitching bad! In those four starts and one relief appearance, he has allowed a total of 24 earned runs in 18.1 innings(11.78 ERA) and has given up four home runs(18% HR/FB rate) while striking out just 10 and walking nine batters. If ever a time to jump on the Phillies, it would be tonight.
Top Hitters to Stack: Cesar Hernandez, Rhys Hoskins, Nick Williams
Thank you for reading and if you have any questions as lineup lock approaches please contact me via Twitter (@Jager_Bombs9)
