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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 9/22:
Sep 21, 2022; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies center fielder Matt Vierling (19) is doused by liquid and bubble gum after hitting a walk off RBI single during the tenth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
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Early MLB Slate Player Projections and Stacks:
Los Angeles Angels (+125) @ Texas Rangers (-145)
Rundown:
We’ll kick the day off with an early slate as the Angels continue their series against the Rangers. Michael Lorenzen will get the start for the Angels and has been solid since returning from injury. I don’t know that I want to go back to him here, but the pitching on this slate isn’t great so his 18.2% strikeout will keep him in play here. Martin Perez will take the mound for the Rangers and will look like a nice option in all formats. He has a 2.84 ERA on the season and the Angels have the highest strikeout rate as a team on the season at 26.2%.
LAA 5-star plays: Mike Trout
4-star plays: Taylor Ward
GPP Note: I don’t normally like stacking against Perez, he does enough to keep opposing offenses down.
TEX 5-star plays: Corey Seager, Marcus Semien
4-star plays: Nathaniel Lowe, Adolis Garcia, Jonah Heim
GPP Note: I do like the Rangers stack more than getting to Lorenzen.
Minnesota Twins @ Kansas City Royals
Implied Run Totals:
Rundown:
The Twins will send Josh Winder to the mound in a nice matchup against the Royals. Winder hasn’t been great giving up six earned runs over 8.2 innings since re-joining the staff on 9/11. He won’t be a guy I want to get to even in a good matchup against a weak offense. Jonathan Heasley will get the start for the Royals and is coming off of a nice start last time out against the Red Sox where he went 6.2 innings of no-run ball. That being said, he has just a 15.7% strikeout rate on the season which will make it hard for me to get to him here.
MIN 5-star plays: None
4-star plays: Luis Arraez, Jose Miranda, Carlos Correa, Nick Gordon
GPP Note: The Twins would be more of a secondary stack for me just due to the state of their current lineup.
KCR 5-star plays: None
4-star plays: MJ Melendez, Bobby Witt Jr., Salvador Perez
GPP Note: The Royals would be more of a mini-stack team for me, I like the top of the lineup a heck of a lot more than the bottom.
San Francisco Giants @ Colorado Rockies
Implied Run Totals:
Rundown:
The Giants will send John Brebbia to the mound against a weaker Rockies lineup in Coors Field which is starting to cool down when it comes to dodging the heat. Brebbia will serve as more of an opener and by the looks of it, Jharel Cotton will follow him in this one. Neither one of these guys is stretched out to be a starter and in Coors Field, I don’t think it makes a ton of sense to get to either of these guys. The Rockies will start Jose Urena who is a guy I generally love stacking against, so likely not a guy I want to use as a pitching option. My only issue with stacking against him here is the amount of pinch-hitting the Giants do. That being said, Urena does have at least 13.5 DraftKings points in three of his last four starts.
SFG 5-star plays: Joc Pederson, Wilmer Flores
4-star plays: Mike Yastrzemski, Brandon Crawford
GPP Note: You’ll notice the implied run totals start to fall at Coors Field this time of year, I still think the Giants look good here against Urena if you can dodge the pinch-hit risk.
COL 5-star plays: CJ Cron
4-star plays: Ryan McMahon, Yonathan Daza, Charlie Blackmon
GPP Note: Similar to the Giants, the Rockies lineup isn’t great, but it’s Coors against a bad pitching staff.
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Seattle Mariners (-240) @ Oakland Athletics (+190)
Implied Run Totals:
Rundown:
The Mariners will send George Kirby to the mound in a great matchup against the A’s in this one. He’ll look like one of the better pitching options on the slate with at least 36 FanDuel points in four of his last five games. He has a 25.5% strikeout rate on the season and this A’s offense is one of the worst in the league right now. Speaking of the A’s, they’ll send Adrian Martinez to the mound, and much like the rest of the slate… not really a guy I’ll have interest in. I guess you could make a case for him as a GPP SP2 option with an 18.9% strikeout rate, but nothing I’m thrilled about.
SEA 5-star plays: Julio Rodriguez
4-star plays: Mitch Haniger, Carlos Santana, Ty France, Jesse Winker
GPP Note: The Mariners look like a good stacking option on the early slate.
OAK 5-star plays: None
4-star plays: None
GPP Note: I’ll be loading up on Kirby here.
St. Louis Cardinals (+130) @ San Diego Padres (-148)
Implied Run Totals:
Rundown:
We’ll round out the early slate with Jack Flaherty taking the mound for the Cardinals. He hasn’t been great since returning from injury at the start of the month, so I’ll likely make him prove it to me before I go back to using him as a pitching option, especially against a good offense on paper. The Padres will start Joe Musgrove and is right there with Kirby as the top pitching option on the slate. He has a 24.5% strikeout rate and is coming off of a great start last time out against the Dbacks. Snell shut the Cardinals team down last night, I like Musgrove’s chances to do the same here.
STL 5-star plays: None
4-star plays: Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Arenado, Tommy Edman, Albert Pujols
GPP Note: Musgrove will be heavily owned on this slate, so I don’t hate some leverage bats here.
SDP 5-star plays: Juan Soto, Manny Machado
4-star plays: Brandon Drury, Jake Cronenworth, Josh Bell
GPP Note: I like the Padres quite a bit against Flaherty who has struggled.
Main MLB Slate Player Projections and Stacks:
Chicago Cubs (-110) @ Pittsburgh Pirates (-110)
Implied Run Totals:
Rundown:
Onto the main slate where the Cubs will head into Pittsburgh to take on a weak Pirates team. The Cubs will send Hayden Wesneski to the mound against a bad offense. Wesneski hasn’t been all that shabby to start his MLB career, he has at least 26 DraftKings points in two of his three starts and is a guy I think we can go back to here as a cheap pitching option in a great matchup. The Pirates will start Mitch Keller who has not been good this season. That being said, he’s been much better as of late with at least 14.7 DraftKings points in four straight games and gets a nice matchup against a weak lineup at home in a pitcher’s park.
CHC 5-star plays: Ian Happ
4-star plays: Franmil Reyes, Nelson Velasquez, Christopher Morel
GPP Note: Tough ballpark and this lineup is really watered down right now.
PIT 5-star plays: None
4-star plays: Oneil Cruz, Bryan Reynolds
GPP Note: I may go back to the Wesneski well here.
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Toronto Blue Jays (-137) @ Tampa Bay Rays (+115)
Implied Run Totals:
Rundown:
The Jays will send Jose Berrios to the mound against the Rays who are always pesky. The price tag on Berrios is lower than we’re used to seeing but is right where it should be based on his recent performances. He has just a 19.8% strikeout rate on the season and this Rays team isn’t a team that’s going to chase out of the zone all that much, he’d be more of a secondary SP2 option for me. Speaking of the Rays, they’ll send JT Chargois to the mound. It looks like he’ll just be an opener with Ryan Yarbrough as a long reliever. I won’t have interest in either of these guys against a high-flying Jays offense.
TOR 5-star plays: Bo Bichette, George Springer
4-star plays: Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Matt Chapman, Teoscar Hernandez
GPP Note: I hate stacking in this ballpark for whatever reason, but the Jays look good here.
TBR 5-star plays: Randy Arozarena
4-star plays: Wander Franco, David Peralta
GPP Note: The Rays would be more of a one-off team for me against Berrios.
Milwaukee Brewers (-150) @ Cincinnati Reds (+128)
Implied Run Totals:
Rundown:
Milwaukee heads into Cincy to take on the Reds in this one and Brandon Woodruff looks like a great option as he takes the mound for the Brewers. He’s been great as of late with at least 31.9 DraftKings points in back-to-back games and is a guy I want to go right back to here in a great matchup. I’m seeing conflicting starting pitchers for the Reds as I see Hunter Greene in some spots and Mike Minor in some spots, so keep an eye on who they confirm, but either one of those guys won’t be in my pitching pool on this slate.
MIL 5-star plays: Christian Yelich, Willy Adames
4-star plays: Rowdy Tellez, Hunter Renfroe
GPP Note: I like the Brewers in a great hitting ballpark.
CIN 5-star plays: None
4-star plays: None
GPP Note: Woodruff looks great as a starting pitching option.
Houston Astros (-200) @ Baltimore Orioles (+165)
Implied Run Totals:
Rundown:
The Astros will head into Baltimore to take on the Orioles as they send Justin Verlander to the mound. Verlander is coming off of an elite start last time out against the A’s but still threw just 79 pitches and I think that may be something to get used to until we get to the postseason, they don’t have any reason to push him. That being said, he can clearly produce even with a pitch count, so he’ll look like a nice option again in this one. The Orioles will send Kyle Bradish to the mound in a tough matchup against this Astros team. I might have more interest in him in a different matchup, but the risk/reward doesn’t make sense for him in this spot.
HOU 5-star plays: Yordan Alvarez, Kyle Tucker
4-star plays: Jeremy Pena, Alex Bregman
GPP Note: I have no issue going right back to the Astros in this one.
BAL 5-star plays: None
4-star plays: None
GPP Note: I’m not stacking against Verlander.
Boston Red Sox (+140) @ New York Yankees (-167)
Implied Run Totals:
Rundown:
Boston will head into what should be a PACKED house all series against the Yankees as Aaron Judge continues to chase the home run record. That said, we’ll start with Boston who will send Michael Wacha to the mound in a tough matchup. He hasn’t been terrible as of late with at least 16.7 DraftKings points in five straight, but I don’t think this is the time to go back to him. The Yankees will start Jameson Taillon who has really cooled off as of late being held under 10 DraftKings points in three of his last four games. He’s another guy I don’t see myself getting to on this slate.
BOS 5-star plays: Rafael Devers
4-star plays: Xander Bogaerts, JD Martinez, Tommy Pham
GPP Note: I have no issue going right back to the Red Sox against Taillon who has been struggling.
NYY 5-star plays: Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton
4-star plays: Anthony Rizzo, Gleyber Torres, Oswaldo Cabrera
GPP Note: The Yankees look good here, but Wacha has been solid, to say the least.
Atlanta Braves (-145) @ Philadelphia Phillies (+125)
Implied Run Totals:
Rundown:
The Braves will head into to Philly for a series with the Phillies in this one, they’ll start Max Fried in the opener here. Fried has been great this season with a 2.52 ERA and a 22.9% strikeout rate on the season. The Phillies offense is good, but I think Fried wins this matchup and looks like a solid option in all formats. Philly will send Ranger Suarez to the mound in a tough matchup against this Braves lineup which is one of the better lineups in the league. I don’t think Suarez has the upside to warrant the risk in rostering him against this lineup, so he’ll be an exclusion for me on this slate.
ATL 5-star plays: Austin Riley
4-star plays: Ronald Acuna Jr., Matt Olson, Dansby Swanson
GPP Note: I like going back to the Braves here against a lefty.
PHI 5-star plays: None
4-star plays: Kyle Schwarber, Bryce Harper, Rhys Hoskins
GPP Note: I don’t love the idea of stacking against Fried.
Cleveland Guardians (-140) @ Chicago White Sox (+120)
Implied Run Totals:
Rundown:
Starting with the Guardians who will send Shane Bieber to the mound in a pretty good matchup with this middle-of-the-road White Sox lineup. Bieber has been really good as of late with at least 47 FanDuel points in five straight starts to go along with a quality start in 10 straight starts, so obviously the consistency is there and so is the upside. The White Sox will start Johnny Cueto who has been really good in terms of real-life pitching but doesn’t quite have the upside I’m looking for when it comes to DFS with just a 15.4% strikeout rate on the season.
CLE 5-star plays: Jose Ramirez
4-star plays: Andres Gimenez, Amed Rosario
GPP Note: I don’t love stacking against Cueto, but there are some fine one-offs here.
CHW 5-star plays: None
4-star plays: Eloy Jimenez, Luis Robert
GPP Note: I don’t love the idea of stacking against Bieber who is firing on all cylinders right now.
Arizona Diamondbacks (+175) @ Los Angeles Dodgers (-210)
Implied Run Totals:
Rundown:
We’ll round out the day with Zac Gallen taking the mound in a tough matchup with this Dodgers team on the road. Gallen has been really good as of late averaging 26.5 DraftKings points per game in his last 10 starts. I won’t talk you off of going to him here, but I’m not one who loves attacking this Dodgers lineup with opposing pitching. Speaking of the Dodgers, they’ll send Julio Urias to the mound and is a guy who has been incredible this season. He has at least 21.6 DraftKings points in four of his last five starts and gets a great matchup with this Dbacks team. He has a 24.4% strikeout rate on the season and looks great again here.
ARI 5-star plays: None
4-star plays: Christian Walker, Ketel Marte
GPP Note: I’m not attacking Urias if I can avoid it.
LAD 5-star plays: None
4-star plays: Mookie Betts, Trea Turner, Freddie Freeman
GPP Note: Gallen has been good enough to where I don’t want to go crazy on this Dodgers stack.
