Hello again everybody, and welcome to today’s MLB Full Count breakdown! I’m mutt18 and I am one of your basketball, football and baseball coaches. We head into the beginning of the week with only 5 games on tap here. Just want to take a minute and say #NeverForget, as we honor the victims of 9/11 on this 20 year anniversary.
A Look at Pitchers:
Early – Kevin Gausman is gonna be the chalk here and for good reason, he’s been dominant all year long and this Cubs magic is gonna wear off at some point. Cole Irvin also has a good matchup against Texas as well but your option are pretty limited on a small slate.
Main – Things get better for the night slate, as we can kick off with Luis Castillo and Walker Buehler who are both in solid spots, but I like Castillo’s more. Charlie Morton has the dream matchup against the Marlins and I’d even be inclined to look at Corey Kluber here depending on his pitch count. Michael Pineda is also a nice value here against a KC team that never really hits the long ball which is his kryptonite.
Early Slate
San Francisco Giants @ Chicago Cubs
Here we kick off with Kevin Gausman going up against Zack Davies, who never really impresses me, Gausman has been pretty dominant all year long and I really like him here as I think this Cubs magic offense that has appeared out of nowhere is going to dissipate back to nothing. Meanwhile, Davies should get lit up by this Giants offense here, especially their LHBs, I love Belt, Crawford, and Wade here for sure.
Giants 5 star plays – Wade Jr., Belt, Crawford
Giants 4 star plays – Posey, Bryant, Yastrzemski
GPP note – Great spot for SFG here, you want their LHBs against Davies
Cubs 5 star plays – None
Cubs 4 star plays – Contreras, Duffy, Bote, Schwindel, Wisdom
GPP note – More of a hedge type play against what would be the chalkiest pitcher on the early slate
Texas Rangers @ Oakland Athletics
Next we have Kolby Allard taking on Cole Irvin, Allard has had his ups and downs this year but has been better of late but I will be stacking against him today for sure. Texas does not hit LHPs well so I like Irvin here as a pivot off of what I expect to be a chalky Gausman on the early slate and you can stack those A’s RHBs and Matt Olson against Allard here.
Rangers 5 star plays – None
Rangers 4 star plays – Garcia, Lowe, Solak
GPP note – Don’t love them here, more of a hedge type play as well
A’s 5 star plays – Marte
A’s 4 star plays – Chapman, Olson, Canha, Murphy
GPP note – Stack their RHBs and Olson, he crushes LHPs with an ISO near .350
Toronto Blue Jays @ Baltimore Orioles
Next we have a double header here in the Blue Jays and Orioles and neither team is on the slates so I’ll be quick here, you have Ryu against Akin, Akin is horrible and Ryu is not, the Blue Jays bats should get to Akin early, in the second game you have Stripling against a pitch that is TBD so again the Jays should be in a great spot there as well.
Jays 5 star plays – Guerrero
Jays 4 star plays – Hernandez, Semien, Dickerson, Gurriel, Grichuk
GPP note – Hernandez against LHPs is almost a lock
Orioles 5 star plays – None
Orioles 4 star plays – Mountcastle, Hays, Mancini, Mullins
GPP note – O’s are better against LHPs, you’ll want RHBs there
Colorado Rockies @ Philadelphia Phillies
Here we have Kyle Freeland going up against Zack Wheeler in what should be a pretty good pitching matchup. Freeland has had his issues this year but has looked much better as of late, and we all know that Zack Wheeler can rack up the K’s with the best of them. Neither offense is one I’m gonna target too heavily, but you can use the Phils RHBs here, especially McCutchen.
Rockies 5 star plays – none
Rockies 4 star plays – Story, Cron, Hampson, Rodgers
GPP note – Not a good matchup for this offense
Phillies 5 star plays – McCutchen
Phillies 4 star plays – Segura, Realmuto, Harper, Bohm, Torreyes
GPP note – Decent spot, but I really want more one-offs here than stacking
Milwaukee Brewers @ Cleveland Indians
Here we have Corbin Burnes going up against Zach Plesac, we all that Burnes has been dominant this year, but at 11.3K on FanDuel that’s an easy fade for me as he hasn’t pitched past the 6th inning in 3 straight starts, including only 5 innings in his last start as the Brewers are keeping their top SPs fresh for the playoffs. Plesac has been alright this year, he never really gets blown up, but this is another game I don’t have a ton of interest in from a DFS perspective.
Brewers 5 star plays – None
Brewers 4 star plays – Adames, Escobar, Narvaez, Tellez, Yelich
GPP note – LHBs against Plesac should do well
Indians 5 star plays – Reyes
Indians 4 star plays – Ramirez, Reyes, Mercado, Straw, Zimmer
GPP note – Reyes is heating back up and his price has come down, has a .320 ISO against RHPs
Tampa Bay Rays @ Detroit Tigers
Here we have Chris Archer going up against Casey Mize in what should be a pretty stackable game here from a DFS perspective. Chris Archer isn’t who he used to be and this Tampa offense just keeps on chugging against anyone you throw at them so I really like both sides from a fantasy perspective, although Archer could be a decent cheaper SP if you need one
Rays 5 star plays – Lowe, Meadows
Rays 4 star plays – Cruz, Wendle, Franco
GPP note – Great spot for their LHBs, especially Lowe
Tigers 5 star plays – None
Tigers 4 star plays – Grossman, Schoop, Haase, Baddoo
GPP note – Decent spot here as a low owned stack, could pay off big time if they can get to Archer early
Washington Nationals @ Pittsburgh Pirates
In this matchup we have Josiah Gray going up against one of the worst MLB pitchers right now in Wil Crowe, who has been consistently getting hit around all year. The Nationals lineup doesn’t pack as much of a punch as it used to though so he could be alright here, and Gray should handle this Pirates offense pretty easily, he’s one of my favorite plays for the early slate.
Nationals 5 star plays – Gray
Nationals 4 star plays – Bell, Kieboom, Soto
GPP note – Really good spot, but hard to see them really crushing Crowe here with that weak lineup
Pirates 5 star plays – None
Pirates 4 star plays – Hayes, Moran, Reynolds
GPP note – Their offense hasn’t been good all year, and nothing has changed.
Main Slate
Los Angeles Angels @ Houston Astros
Now we get to the main slate which is much better in my opinion, to kick things off we have Jose Suarez going up against Leury Garcia who has not been good in 4 of his last 5 starts, I can see the Angels getting to him here, and I like the Astros side of the ball as well as they are a much better offense against LHPs now that they are healthy.
Angels 5 star plays – Ohtani
Angels 4 star plays – Fletcher, Walsh, Upton, Mayfield, Gosselin
GPP note – Really like their bats here, should be a high scoring game
Astros 5 star plays – Bregman
Astros 4 star plays – Correa, Diaz, Gurriel, Altuve, Brantley, Alvarez
GPP note – Stack Astros RHBs against Suarez and profit
Boston Red Sox @ Chicago White Sox
The Sox haven’t named a starter here yet, but they’re taking on Dylan Cease who has been pretty lights out in 2 of his last 3 starts and the White Sox need wins almost as bad as the Red Sox do. I likely won’t be stacking against him here today, but I do like the White Sox bats here against whomever the Sox decide to throw out there, especially if its a lefty.
Sox 5 star plays – None
Sox 4 star plays – Bogaerts, Verdugo, Renfroe, Devers, Martinez
GPP note – More of a one off type situation than full on stack against Cease
White Sox 5 star plays – None
White Sox 4 star plays – Abreu, Moncada, Hernandez, Anderson, Grandal
GPP note – Need to know who’s throwing for the Sox, but should be a great spot for White Sox bats
Kansas City Royals @ Minnesota Twins
Here we have Brady Singer taking on Michael Pineda, and I actually really like the Twins offense here. Pineda has been solid but we all know his weakness is the long ball, and the Royals really don’t hit many HRs so if he can avoid Perez here he should cruise.
Royals 5 star plays – Perez
Royals 4 star plays – Merrifield, Alberto, Dozier
GPP note – More of a one-off play offense today
Twins 5 star plays – Donaldson
Twins 4 star plays – Kepler, Garver, Rooker, Sano
GPP note – Love them here as Singer is due for a bad game
Cincinnati Reds @ St. Louis Cardinals
Here we have Luis Castillo going up against Miles Mikolas. I expect the Reds bats to be chalky here today as Mikolas hasn’t gotten above 30 FPs in his 5 starts including only 3 and 5 IP in his last two starts. You’re gonna wanna play as many Reds bats as you can here as they are still one of the best offenses in baseball. On the other side, I won’t be stacking against Castillo as he has been really sharp the 2nd half of the season and this Cardinals offense is sputtering a bit right now
Reds 5 star plays – Votto
Reds 4 star plays – Moose, Farmer, Aquino, Stephenson, Winker
GPP note – ALL THE REDS BATS
Cardinals 5 star plays – None
Cardinals 4 star plays – O’Neill, Bader, Carlson, Arenado, Goldschmidt
GPP note – You can grab some one offs here and hope that they can dong of Castillo, but not a full on stackable team today
Miami Marlins @ Atlanta Braves
Next we have Elieser Hernandez going up against what I expect to be a very chalky Charlie Morton here, as this Marlins offense is just flat out bad and K’ing at a near 30% rate to RHPs on the year. Hernandez has been solid but he is someone you can stack against as he did get lit up by the Reds a few starts ago, and this Braves offense is very similar to them. The Marlins offense would be a hedge play against Morton but one that could pay off.
Marlins 5 star plays – none
Marlins 4 star plays – Chisholm, Brinson, Sanchez, Alfaro
GPP note – Hedge stack that could pay off big time, I’ll have some shares
Braves 5 star plays – Riley, Freeman
Braves 4 star plays – Albies, Duvall, Pederson, Soler
GPP note – Gonna be chalky but for good reason, this is a great high powered offense but I prefer their LHBs today
Watching the weather is half the battle when it comes to MLB DFS. The DFS Army Weather Station has you covered, from games that have delay and postponement potential to games that could have significant winds that will play a role in selecting a team to stack or a pitcher to use.
New York Yankees @ New York Mets
Here we have Corey Kluber going up against Taijuan Walker, and Kluber is still working his way back from injury. I haven’t seen a pitch count on him but in his 2 starts he’s gone just about 4 innings in each and we could see him go close to 5-6 today as they ramp him back up, I like him in GPPs especially at his price on FanDuel. Walker has also been very good this year, especially at home, so I expect this to be a low scoring game but I will still have some shares of those Yankee bats with all the power they have
Yankees 5 star plays – Gallo, Stanton
Yankees 4 star plays – Judge, Voit, Odor
GPP note – Solid option but Walker never really gets blown up, but hard to pass up that HR power
Mets 5 star plays – None
Mets 4 star plays – Alonso, Conforto, Smith, Davis
GPP note – Kluber may not be back to his old self but can still show flashes of dominance, not a very stackable offense in general
The MLB DFS Research Station is my #1 source for research every single day and is one of the VIP Only tools our members have access to daily. The info in the MLB Research Station includes today’s 
DFS Army Projection, Adjusted BVP matchups and much more. This tool will cut your daily research time in half. If you’re familiar with Ben you already know the time they’ve put into the “Sheets” and are extremely happy to provide them as a part of your DFS Army VIP Membership this year.
Arizona Diamondbacks @ Seattle Mariners
Here we have Humberto Castellanos going up against Chris Flexen in what should be a pretty boring game since they are playing in that huge park in Seattle. Flexen has actually been really good this year, and I’d be on him for GPPs and cash games as he never really gets blown up, the issue is that the D-Backs just don’t K very much. I will have some shares of Seattle’s LHBs against Humberto as he has not been sharp since joining the team
DBacks 5 star plays – none
DBacks 4 star plays – Marte, Varsho, Peralta
GPP note – Not a stackable offense here
Mariners 5 star plays – None
Mariners 4 star plays – France, Seager, Toro, Haniger
GPP note – Under the radar stack that could pay off, they hit much better at home
San Diego Padres @ Los Angeles Dodgers
Now for the night cap, we have Walker Buehler taking on Chris Paddack in what many expect to be a low scoring game. Both of these teams have high powered offenses and Paddack has been known to get blown up at times, so I will have some Dodgers stacks here today for sure, but I’ll also be targeting the SPs from this game as well.
Padres 5 star plays – Tatis Jr.
Padres 4 star plays – Machado, Grisham, Pham, Nola
GPP note – Tough to love any of their bats outside of Tatis
Dodgers 5 star plays – Muncy
Dodgers 4 star plays – Bellinger, Pollock, Turner, Seager, J.Turner
GPP note – They crush everyone, especially Muncy and they aren’t too overly priced tonight
MLB season is upon us! DFSArmy VIP Members had a big season last year and are in for some big things again this season! We will have cheat sheets, breakdowns, and many other tools to help make you successful in one of the more volatile fantasy sports.
Stacks of the Day: Main Slate
- Cincinnati Reds – Reds have been crushing bad RHPs all year long, and Mikolas has looked lost on the mound since returning from injury, I expect them to get to him very early today.
- Atlanta Braves – The Braves crush all types of pitching and Hernandez has shown he can get blown up as well, they are in a great spot again here tonight.
- Los Angeles Dodgers – Paddack doesn’t really strike fear into the hearts of hitters anymore, and this Dodgers offense is just too loaded to pass up especially in the late game.
And that’s going to do it for this one. Thanks for joining me, and be sure to check out the coach’s notes page to see who they are most interested in. Best of luck today!
The only thing you are missing at this point is the key to unlock the next level of your game. Come inside and check us out!! We have experts sharing their secrets and experience on a daily basis. Combine that with the actual ability to ask them questions and get quick answers in return gives you a recipe for success that puts our army hats on leaderboards all over the face of DFS.
