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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 9/01:
Aug 31, 2022; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets right fielder Starling Marte (right) celebrates with first baseman Pete Alonso (20) after hitting a two-run home run in the third inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports
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Early MLB Slate Player Projections and Stacks:
Seattle Mariners (-163) @ Detroit Tigers (+140)
Rundown:
We’ve got a split slate of games on tap today, four on the early slate and four on the main slate. We’ll get started with the Mariners heading into Detroit and sending Logan Gilbert to the mound. The Tigers have quickly become one of the top options to stream pitching against over the past few weeks so this spot looks pretty nice for Gilbert, especially at his price tag. He hasn’t exactly been great lately, but still carries a 21.3% strikeout rate on the season giving us at least a little upside. The Tigers will start Eduardo Rodriguez who is another guy I think we can make a case for as well. he has at least 19.6 DraftKings points in three of his last five games and if he can tighten up his command he’ll look pretty solid here.
SEA 5-star plays: Julio Rodriguez, Eugenio Suarez
4-star plays: Sam Haggerty, Mitch Haniger
GPP Note: If you’re not running Rodriguez out there this team looks good as a mini-stack for sure and I think I could be talked into a full stack against a lefty.
DET 5-star plays: None
4-star plays: Javier Baez, Riley Greene, Kerry Carpenter
GPP Note: Just one-offs for me from the Tigers.
Kansas City Royals (+189) @ Chicago White Sox (-222)
Implied Run Totals:
Rundown:
The Royals are finishing up a series on the south side and sending Daniel Mengden to the mound. He hasn’t thrown more than 35 pitches in any of his appearances in the bigs this season, however, has been a starter for most of his time in the minors. All that said, not a guy that I would be all that thrilled to start here. The White Sox will start Johnny Cueto who has been sneaky great this season but coming off of a rough start last time out against the Diamondbacks. The only thing that keeps me off of Cueto is his low ceiling due to a low 15.4% strikeout rate. I get using him as an SP2 option due to his 2.98 ERA but a guy who’s better as a real-life starter at this point.
KCR 5-star plays: None
4-star plays: MJ Melendez, Salvador Perez, Bobby Witt Jr.
GPP Note: I don’t really want to stack against Cueto.
CHW 5-star plays: Jose Abreu, Eloy Jimenez
4-star plays: Andrew Vaughn, Gavin Sheets, AJ Pollock
GPP Note: The White Sox are a solid stack here, I just wish their lineup had more firepower to it.
Oakland Athletics (+102) @ Washington Nationals (-117)
Implied Run Totals:
Rundown:
Ken Waldichuk will make his big league, Athletics debut here after coming over from the Yankees in the Frankie Montas deal. He comes in as the A’s third-ranked prospect behind Langeliers and Soderstrom, so there’s a good deal of hype behind him. He’s shown flashes of a nice strikeout rate in the minors in his career with mostly a 30+% strikeout rate. I think you could do worse if you’re spending up for bats here, the Nationals don’t exactly scare me on the other side of this one. Speaking of the Nats, they’ll send Paolo Espino to the mound and just won’t be a guy I have any interest in even against a poor A’s offense.
OAK 5-star plays: None
4-star plays: Shea Langeliers, Sean Murphy, Seth Brown
GPP Note: You can make a case for a mini-stack for the A’s but their full lineup isn’t good enough for a full-stack.
WAS 5-star plays: Luke Voit
4-star plays: Lane Thomas, Joey Meneses, Nelson Cruz
GPP Note: You can say the same thing for the Nats if you’re not dabbling in the Ken Waldichuk waters.
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Los Angeles Dodgers (-143) @ New York Mets (+123)
Implied Run Totals:
Rundown:
The Dodgers will send Clayton Kershaw back out there after being on the IL for about a month with a back injury. I would not expect them to push him very much here, that being said, he did throw a 70-pitch simulated game over the weekend, so I would expect he gets to that mark at the very least. He’s more in play than he normally would be due to the size of the slate as well. He still has a 26.2% strikeout rate on the season and a 2.64 ERA. Chris Bassitt will take the mound for the Mets in a tough spot against this Dodgers offense. Bassitt had a rough go of it last time out but it was just due to a lack of strikeouts, he still went 7.1 innings. He’s in play here as well due to the pitching on this slate, he’s been very productive this season.
LAD 5-star plays: Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts
4-star plays: Trea Turner, Will Smith
GPP Note: I normally don’t target hitters against Bassitt, but this offense is loaded.
NYM 5-star plays: Starling Marte, Pete Alonso
4-star plays: Brandon Nimmo, Francisco Lindor, Darin Ruf
GPP Note: Maybe Kershaw struggles in his first game back? I don’t mind taking a shot on the Mets here on a weak stacking slate.
Main MLB Slate Player Projections and Stacks:
Baltimore Orioles (+160) @ Cleveland Guardians (-184)
Implied Run Totals:
Rundown:
Onto the main slate and we’ll kick it off with Kyle Bradish getting the start against the Guardians here. Bradish is coming off of one of his better starts of the season against the Astros and has been much better since coming back from the minors at the end of July. At this price tag, I don’t think you can completely exclude him from your player pool but won’t be a guy I’m actively trying to jam in. The Guardians will start with Shane Bieber on the other side of this one. He’s been in really good form as of late with at least 23 DraftKings points in four of his last five games and even though this Orioles team can be pesky, he’s a guy I’ll have a bunch of interest in here.
BAL 5-star plays: Gunnar Henderson
4-star plays: Adley Rutschman, Cedric Mullins
GPP Note: Henderson’s price tag is too cheap on DraftKings after we saw him send a bomb to right center last night. Just one-offs against Bieber for me.
CLE 5-star plays: Jose Ramirez
4-star plays: Josh Naylor, Steven Kwan, Andres Gimenez
GPP Note: The Guardians would be more of a mini-stack for me here.
Texas Rangers (+137) @ Boston Red Sox (-162)
Implied Run Totals:
Rundown:
Glenn Otto will get the start for the Rangers as they head into Boston to take on the Red Sox. Otto has been fine as of late but has an xERA of 5.37 which is almost .6 points higher than his ERA of 4.79, so we could even see a little regression from him here. He won’t be a guy I get to on this slate, Boston will look like a nice stack against him. Speaking of Boston, they’ll send Rich Hill to the mound who is coming off of a massive 11-strikeout game last time out against the Rays. I don’t hate going right back to him as an SP2 on DraftKings, but he won’t be a guy I want as my lone pitcher on FanDuel due to the other options on the slate.
TEX 5-star plays: Adolis Garcia, Marcus Semien
4-star plays: Corey Seager
GPP Note: Yet another mini-stack team against Hill.
BOS 5-star plays: Rafael Devers, Alex Verdugo
4-star plays: Tommy Pham, Xander Bogaerts, JD Martinez, Trevor Story
GPP Note: I like the Red Sox stack a good deal here against Otto.
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Colorado Rockies (+320) @ Atlanta Braves (-395)
Implied Run Totals:
Rundown:
Chad Kuhl will get the start for the Rockies against a high-powered Braves offense on the road in this one. He’ll be a pretty quick exclusion from my pitcher pool personally, this Braves lineup is elite and Kuhl, well… isn’t. Spencer Strider will start for the Braves and looks like a great option in all formats on both DraftKings and FanDuel. He comes in as a -395 favorite against a weak Rockies team, so the quality start and win equity look great. That’s not to mention his 2.87 ERA and massive 36.7% strikeout rate on the season… he’s pretty tough not to like in this spot.
COL 5-star plays: None
4-star plays: None
GPP Note: I’ll have a good deal of Strider interest here.
ATL 5-star plays: Matt Olson, Austin Riley
4-star plays: Ronald Acuna Jr., Michael Harris, Vaughn Grissom
GPP Note: The Braves are one of the better full-stacks on this short slate.
Milwaukee Brewers (-136) @ Arizona Diamondbacks (+114)
Implied Run Totals:
Rundown:
We’ll round out the slate with Brandon Woodruff and the Brewers heading to Arizona to take on this exciting Dbacks team. Woodruff is coming off of a really nice start against the Cubs last time out where struck out 10 over six innings of work. He’ll be a great option on both DraftKings and FanDuel tonight with his 29.6% strikeout rate against a young Dbacks lineup. Arizona will send Merrill Kelly to the mound against a Brewers team that has found some spark in its lineup with Keston Hiura and Garrett Mitchell bringing some energy and Christian Yelich starting to hit better. I do think Kelly is in play due to the size of the slate however, he’s been good this season and is sporting a 2.97 ERA.
MIL 5-star plays: Christian Yelich, Garrett Mitchell
4-star plays: Keston Hirua, Hunter Renfroe
GPP Note: You can make a case for a full Brewers stack, but they would be a GPP/secondary stack only against Kelly.
ARI 5-star plays: None
4-star plays: Corbin Carroll, Jake McCarthy, Daulton Varsho
GPP Note: I like Woodruff a good amount, but there are some nice one-offs on this team at the very least.