Get your MLB DFS research started with DFS Army’s Full Count! Pitching advice, stack strategy, home run calls, and everything you need.
Welcome to another year of the DFS Army MLB Full Count! You have to start your research somewhere, and oftentimes going game by game and breaking down every matchup and its key players is the first step in our process. My name is Mike aka @MadnessDFS on Twitter, make sure to give me a follow as I’ll occasionally make updates to the advice in the article out on Twitter as well as inside our coaching forums. With that said, let’s get it started!
Full Slate Breakdown Picks for MLB DFS 9/13:
Apr 24, 2022; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees starting pitcher Gerrit Cole (45) pitches in the fifth inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports
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Before we start… I NEED to give a massive shoutout to our members from this weekend for absolutely smashing week 1 of the NFL season!!! Shoutout to “RapidfirexD” for taking home A MILLION DOLLARS on Sunday’s main slate!
Main MLB Slate Player Projections and Stacks:
Baltimore Orioles (-152) @ Washington Nationals (+132)
Rundown:
We’ll kick this slate off with Dean Kremer and the Orioles heading into Washington to take on this weak Nationals lineup. Kremer has been fine as of late but still only has an 18.5% strikeout rate on the season. I think you can make a case for him as an SP2 option on DraftKings, but I don’t want to go here on one-pitcher sites like FanDuel. Cory Abbott will start for the Nats and is a guy that has not been good as of late in terms of DFS production. He’s only gone more than two innings in one start in his last five starts. I don’t see a reason to force him in here against the Orioles who come in with an implied run total of 4.8 on the road.
BAL 5-star plays: Cedric Mullins, Gunnar Henderson
4-star plays: Adley Rutschman, Anthony Santander, Ryan Mountcastle
GPP Note: I think the Orioles look like a solid stacking option on this slate.
WAS 5-star plays: None
4-star plays: Luke Voit, Joey Meneses
GPP Note: This lineup is just soooo ugly.
Tampa Bay Rays (-) @ Toronto Blue Jays (-)
Implied Run Totals:
Rundown:
Josh Fleming will get the start for the Rays in a game where we don’t quite have a spread or implied run total yet. There is some question as to who will actually pitch for the Rays, so that’s what’s causing that after they called up Kevin Herget yesterday. I would imagine it’s more of a bullpen game than anything for them, so we can exclude both guys from our pitching pool. The Jays will send Mitch White to the mound and he’s a guy that has really struggled as of late giving up a combined 18 earned runs over his last three games. This ballpark isn’t great for pitching, so he’s a pretty quick exclusion for me as well in this one.
TBR 5-star plays: Wander Franco
4-star plays: Yandy Diaz, Randy Arozarena, Brandon Lowe
GPP Note: The Rays are probably more of a mini-stack team to me even in a nice matchup.
TOR 5-star plays: Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette
4-star plays: George Springer, Alejandro Kirk, Matt Chapman
GPP Note: The Jays look like a solid stack here at home where the ball can get out in a hurry.
New York Yankees (-166) @ Boston Red Sox (+140)
Implied Run Totals:
Rundown:
Gerrit Cole will get the start for the Yankees as they head into Boston to start a rivalry series with the Red Sox. Cole has looked much better as of late with at least 62 FanDuel points in two of his last three games and has a 32.1% strikeout rate on the season. He’s an elite pitching option on both DraftKings and FanDuel in all formats. I will say, there are some Red Sox bats with some nice BvP against Cole in his career, see below:
JD Martinez: 7-35 with 2 HRs
Xander Bogaerts: 8-32 with 2 HRs
Tommy Pham: 10-27 with a HR
Rafael Devers: 8-28 with 6 HRs!!!
The Red Sox will start Nick Pivetta in a rough matchup against this high-powered Yankees lineup. Pivetta hasn’t been great this season or as of late, he likely won’t be a guy I get a whole lot of exposure to in this one.
NYY 5-star plays: Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton
4-star plays: Gleyber Torres, Josh Donaldson
GPP Note: I have no issue going right back to the Yankees in this one.
BOS 5-star plays: None
4-star plays: Tommy Pham, Rafael Devers, Xander Bogaerts, JD Martinez
GPP Note: I don’t have any issues with a few of these one-off options against Cole who is no stranger to giving up random home runs.
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Chicago Cubs (+325) @ New York Mets (-400)
Implied Run Totals:
Rundown:
The Cubs come in as massive underdogs in this one, but you’ll know why once we get to who’s pitching for the Mets. Adrian Sampson will get the start for the Cubs in a rough matchup with this Mets team. Sampson has been fine as of late but just doesn’t have the upside I want in a pitcher. Speaking of upside, Jacob deGrom will get the start for the Mets in an elite matchup with this Cubs team. He and the Mets come in as massive -400 favorites, so the win and quality start equity is huge here. He has at least 31.1 DraftKings points in four of his last five and has an elite 41.4% strikeout rate on the season.
CHC 5-star plays: None
4-star plays: None
GPP Note: If you’re stacking against deGrom, send me a H2H please.
NYM 5-star plays: Francisco Lindor, Pete Alonso
4-star plays: Daniel Vogelbach, Mark Canha, Brandon Nimmo, Tyler Naquin
GPP Note: I think the Mets look solid here against Sampson and this Cubs bullpen.
Kansas City Royals (+155) @ Minnesota Twins (-188)
Implied Run Totals:
Rundown:
The Royals will send Kris Bubic to the mound against this Twins team that is still missing Byron Buxton. Bubic has not been good this season with a 5.40 ERA and an xERA of 5.79, so I don’t see a reason to get to him here. Joe Ryan will start for the Twins in what looks like a nice matchup against a bad Royals team. Ryan has actually started three games already against Kansas City this season and is averaging 22.5 DraftKings points per game in those starts. I think you can make a case for him as an SP2 in this matchup as he comes in with a 24.2% strikeout rate on the season.
KCR 5-star plays: None
4-star plays: MJ Melendez, Bobby Witt Jr., Salvador Perez
GPP Note: If you’re not playing Ryan, the top of this Royals lineup is pretty solid.
MIN 5-star plays: Jose Miranda, Carlos Correa
4-star plays: Gio Urshela, Gary Sanchez
GPP Note: This lineup just looks so different without Buxton in there, they’d be more of a mini-stack team for me.
Milwaukee Brewers (+175) @ St. Louis Cardinals (-213)
Implied Run Totals:
Rundown:
The Brewers head into St. Louis to take on the division rival as they continue to fight to stay in the playoff race in the NL. They’re set for a bullpen game today with Matt Bush getting the start and what seems to be Josh Lindblom to follow for long relief. I don’t see a reason to get to either of these guys against a good Cardinals lineup. Speaking of the Cardinals, they’ll send Jordan Montgomery to the mound in an elite matchup against a Brewers team that has really struggled with left-handed pitching this season. Not to mention, Montgomery has been great since coming over from New York with at least 39 FanDuel points in back-to-back games and a 21.3% strikeout rate on the season.
MIL 5-star plays: None
4-star plays: Willy Adames, Christian Yelich, Mike Brosseau
GPP Note: I don’t want to stack the Brewers against a good left-handed pitcher here.
STL 5-star plays: Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Arenado
4-star plays: Brendan Donovan, Tommy Edman, Tyler O’Neill
GPP Note: The Brewers bullpen is solid and I’m generally not a fan of stacking against bullpen games, but you can make a case for the Cardinals here.
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Oakland Athletics (+130) @ Texas Rangers (-152)
Implied Run Totals:
Rundown:
Ken Waldichuk will get the start for the A’s as they head into Texas to take on the Rangers. Waldichuk has been solid since being called up from the minors and has shown just an 18.6% strikeout rate. I do think he’ll be a solid pitcher in this league, but I don’t want to rush into playing him against a team with a 4.8 implied run total. The Rangers will send Cole Ragans to the mound in this one against a bad A’s lineup. That said, Ragans has not been anything flashy from a DFS perspective and likely won’t be a guy I get to here either.
OAK 5-star plays: None
4-star plays: Ramon Laureano
GPP Note: I don’t stack the A’s.
TEX 5-star plays: Adolis Garcia, Marcus Semien
4-star plays: Corey Seager, Nathaniel Lowe
GPP Note: Probably more of a mini-stack team, but I don’t hate taking advantage of the young pitcher and this A’s bullpen.
Colorado Rockies (+163) @ Chicago White Sox (-190)
Implied Run Totals:
Rundown:
Chad Kuhl will get the start for the Rockies as they head into the south side to start a series with the White Sox. Kuhl is generally a guy I like to stack against and he’s proven that as of late with his production. He won’t be a guy I look to get any pitching exposure to on this slate. Chicago will send Michael Kopech to the mound and is a guy we’ve looked to get to every now and then due to his price tag. He’s been extremely volatile this season but he does have some upside with a 21.4% strikeout rate. This Rockies team is not good away from Coors Field either, so I think we can make a case for Kopech here as an SP2 option on DraftKings.
COL 5-star plays: None
4-star plays: Ryan McMahon, CJ Cron, Brendan Rodgers, Charlie Blackmon
GPP Note: I don’t hate a leverage stack against Kopech here, he’s been very volatile, so you may catch him on a bad start.
CHW 5-star plays: Jose Abreu, Eloy Jimenez
4-star plays: Yoan Moncada, Gavin Sheets, Andrew Vaughn
GPP Note: The White Sox look like a solid stack in all formats.
San Diego Padres (-105) @ Seattle Mariners (-110)
Implied Run Totals:
Rundown:
The Padres will send Yu Darvish to the mound as they head into Seattle to begin a series with the Mariners. Darvish has at least 37 FanDuel points in four straight games and will be a guy that looks solid again in this one. He has a 24.9% strikeout rate on the season and is a nice pivot off of Cole and deGrom if you need to save some salary. Seattle will send Logan Gilbert out there in a tougher matchup with this Padres lineup. That being said, he has at least 31.9 DraftKings points in back-to-back games and has looked great. I have no issue looking to him in tournaments in hopes he continues the run he’s on.
SDP 5-star plays: None
4-star plays: Juan Soto, Manny Machado, Josh Bell, Jake Cronenworth
GPP Note: I don’t think I want to stack against Gilbert who has looked great as of late.
SEA 5-star plays: None
4-star plays: Julio Rodriguez, Mitch Haniger
GPP Note: Same deal here, I don’t want to stack against Darvish.
Los Angeles Dodgers (-196) @ Arizona Diamondbacks (+165)
Implied Run Totals:
Rundown:
The Dodgers will send Clayton Kershaw to the mound in a solid enough matchup with this Dbacks team. He got his pitch count up to 86 last time out and would expect that to continue to climb as they prep him for a postseason run… at the same time they’re not going to push him either. I do think he’s a solid option in all formats on both DraftKings and FanDuel. Merrill Kelly will get the start for the Dbacks in a rough matchup with this Dodgers team. That being said, Kelly has been really good as of late with a 2.94 ERA and at least 22.9 DraftKings points in three of his last five games. I don’t want to seek him out against the Dodgers, but I get it for tournaments if you land on him.
LAD 5-star plays: Trea Turner, Freddie Freeman
4-star plays: Mookie Betts, Will Smith
GPP Note: I don’t think I want to stack against Kelly who has looked great as of late.
ARI 5-star plays: None
4-star plays: Ketel Marte, Christian Walker
GPP Note: Just one-offs against Kershaw.
Atlanta Braves (-167) @ San Francisco Giants (+144)
Implied Run Totals:
Rundown:
We’ll round out the slate with Kyle Wright getting the ball for the Braves in a solid matchup with this Giants team in a pitcher’s ballpark. Wright is coming off of a bad start last time out but had at least 21.3 DraftKings points in his four previous starts. I have no issue going right back to him in all formats. The Giants will send Jakob Junis to the mound in a tough matchup against this Braves lineup. If you’re really desperate for an SP2, I suppose you could make a case for him, but I doubt I get much of any Junis on this slate.
ATL 5-star plays: Austin Riley
4-star plays: Ronald Acuna Jr., Dansby Swanson, Matt Olson, Michael Harris
GPP Note: I don’t normally stack in this ballpark, but the Braves look fine here.
SFG 5-star plays: None
4-star plays: None
GPP Note: I don’t want to stack against Wright even after his last start.
