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The MLB season is coming down the home stretch and it’s a great time to get in on some DraftKings action. Monday features a seven-game main slate, starting at 4:10 p.m., to start the week off right.
Set your DraftKings lineups here: MLB $100K Relay Throw [$25K to 1st]
PITCHER
Stud
Trevor Bauer, CLE vs. PIT, $10,800 - While the hitters are hurt from the three doubleheaders today, the pitchers aren’t really affected. In fact, there is an argument that Bauer benefits since he’s now somewhat likely to get the complete game bonus. Bauer made it through seven innings in his last start and has reached that mark in three of his eight starts this season. He’s also in a plus matchup against the Pirates and he’s averaging 29.7 DKFP with a 1.74 ERA.
Value
Touki Toussaint, ATL at BAL, $5,600 - This is a price play. Toussaint isn’t pitching all that well this season, and especially not lately, but there aren’t many cheap options I like. Toussaint is super cheap and is a talented young pitcher even if his results aren’t baring that out. On the plus side, he is striking out 11.63 hitters per nine innings, so his upside is substantial if he can avoid his control issues.
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CATCHER
Stud
Travis d’Arnaud, ATL at BAL, $4,700 - Currently riding a five-game hitting streak and picking up a hit in 11 of his past 12 starts, d’Arnaud is one of the hotter catchers in the league. This stretch has brought his DKFP average up to 9.0 per game, the second most of any catcher on today’s slate.
Value
Ryan Jeffers, MIN at CHW, $2,700 - At a cheap price, it’s tough to ignore Jeffers’ recent upside. He has homered in each of his past three starts, so I am hopeful that he will start again today. These are the only three homers of Jeffers’ career but he’s only appeared in 20 games and he’s posted pretty strong numbers in the minors previously.
FIRST BASE
Stud
Matt Olson, OAK at SEA, $5,300 - I assume Olson will see decreased ownership since he’s going up against a left-handed pitcher. I don’t think the left-on-left matchup matters for him. Olson has actually hit lefties slightly better than righties this season. Against southpaws, he has a 117 wRC+ with three homers.
Value
Jesus Aguilar, MIA vs. PHI, $3,800 - This is a weird spot for cheap first baseman. As of now, it looks like all the starters at the position come with an expensive price tag. There are very limited cheap options to consider. Not only is Aguilar cheap but he also comes with some upside. He’s averaging 21 DKFP in his past two games and has double-digit DKFP in seven of his past 11 games.
SECOND BASE
Stud
Ozzie Albies, ATL vs. BAL, $4,400 - I don’t mind that Albies is hitting at the bottom of the Braves’ lineup because he’s on a tear. In his past five games, he has scored at least 20 DKFP three times, showing both power and speed upside. He has two homers and has swiped three bags over this stretch.
Value
Dylan Moore, SEA vs. OAK, $4,100 - Even though the Mariners don’t have a great offense, Moore isn’t part of the problem. He’s averaging 10.6 DKFP, making him one of the top producing second base eligible players in DFS. Despite this, his price never really goes up. Moore has reached base in nine consecutive games and is among the league leaders with 11 stolen bases.
THIRD BASE
Stud
Manny Machado, SD at LAD, $5,500 - The good news is that Machado is great. The bad news is that the Dodgers have yet to confirm a starting pitcher as of the time I am writing this, so I don’t know what his matchup looks like. It took a year, but the Padres inking Machado to a big deal is finally starting to pay dividends. He’s near the top of the WAR leaderboard and is averaging 12.4 DKFP in his past five games.
Value
Josh Donaldson, MIN at CHW, $4,100 - Unfortunately, a calf injury derailed Donaldson’s season. He was sent to the IL and it only takes a few weeks to miss most of this shortened baseball season. Now that Donaldson has been back for a week, he’s starting to find his groove again. He has homered twice in his past five games and is poised for a big finish to the season if he stays healthy.
SHORTSTOP
Stud
Fernando Tatis Jr., SD vs. LAD, $5,600 - A lot of what I said about Machado applied to Tatis. He has been a terrific fantasy player all season and is running away with the NL MVP. He’s the main reason that the Padres are turning into a fan-favorite team. His 11.9 DKFP average is more than any player in the league. Tatis combines power and speed unlike most players and has 15 homers to go with nine stolen bases.
Value
Marcus Semien, OAK at SEA, $4,300 - After a career year in 2019, Semien is hurting in 2020 like most of us. He has taken a big step back but I am still always willing to roster him against left-handed pitchers. Semien only has 32 plate appearances against southpaws this year, which is part of the reason for his less-than-great numbers. He had a 148 wRC+ against left-handed pitchers last year.
OUTFIELD
Stud
Ronald Acuña Jr., ATL at BAL, $6,000 - Now that the wrist injury is behind him, Acuña is back as one of the top sluggers in baseball. The Braves are putting space between themselves and the rest of the NL East and Acuña is a big reason why. He has put up double-digit DKFP in eight of his past 11 games, hitting six homers over that span.
Value
Corey Dickerson, MIA at PHI, $3,800 - Dickerson gets passed around to a lot of teams. This shouldn’t be the case since he has been a quality big-league hitter for years. Playing on the Marlins isn’t ideal for counting stats, although Dickerson is in a good spot in the lineup by hitting leadoff. He’s hitting well in September after a slow start to the season and has reached base in nine of his past 10 starts.
Set your DraftKings lineups here: MLB $100K Relay Throw [$25K to 1st]
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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is gehrenberg) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.