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After back-to-back nights of the Yankees’ offense making a mockery of the main slate, we get to add their offensive gumption to the cauldron of a Coors Field (feat. the Dodgers’ thundering bats) and Shane Bieber-focused slate.
This slate is smaller than usual, which makes the thunder lurking inside of it even more important to hone in on. Yankees stacks against Chase Anderson, Dodgers and Rockies exposure, and finding low-priced batters to squeeze in around Bieber all highlight likely scenarios that fantasy managers will find themselves in.
I'll be providing you with my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for the FanDuel main slate on 9/17/2020. Be sure also to check out all the MLB player news, including late scratches, and the projected and confirmed daily MLB lineups for each DFS slate. You can also read more DFS advice and lineup picks for sites like DraftKings, and other sports too.
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FanDuel DFS Pitchers
Shane Bieber - CLE @ DET ($11,900)
The kingpin of the slate -- and arguably of all of DFS -- makes his 11th start of the year Thursday, and his second at Comerica Park. The first? An 11-strikeout, seven-inning scoreless barrage of unhittable stuff back on Aug. 15. That performance will merit an overwhelming level of consideration, such that you don’t need to read too in-depth to understand why Bieber will be the premier cash play option on the slate.
Detroit has accumulated the second-most strikeouts of any club in the American League, making them particularly susceptible to the stylings of Bieber. With a 41.3% K rate (top one percentile) and 41.3% Whiff rate (top two percentile) for Bieber, there’s the potential for a massive statistical output, which would be right in line with where the vast majority of his outings have been. Finding cheaply priced bats will be a challenge, but running out arguably the Majors’ best arm against one of it’s premier swing-and-miss offenses may be a recipe for a showdown that would hurt to fade.
Casey Mize - DET vs. CLE ($6,200)
On the other side of the coin, there’s Mize. While he undoubtedly has the most treacherous path to a win (which would be the first of his career) of any starter Thursday, the matchup itself makes him a worthy GPP option. Cleveland’s offense, despite it’s star power, has been wholly underwhelming in 2020, having entered play as recently as Wednesday with the fifth-lowest OPS in the Majors.
Mize’s primary bugaboo has been his pitch limit. He is yet to exceed 83 pitches in a single outing during his first taste of the big leagues, but he has limited the opposition to three earned runs or fewer in each of his five starts. Having averaged better than a strikeout per inning thus far (9.5 K/9), his four-seam fastball appears to be his key pitch, even as he has deployed it just 26.9% of the time. Opposing batters have produced just a .167 BA and .389 SLG against the pitch, which may be the key to him turning in an outing worthy of consideration. Additionally, his near bottom of the barrel price tag allows for maximum offensive exposure in a slate chock full of powerful bats with tantalizing matchups.
FanDuel DFS Infielders
Paul Goldschmidt, 1B - STL @ PIT ($3,700)
Despite having his hitting streak snapped in the second leg of Wednesday’s doubleheader against Milwaukee, Goldschmidt has continued to produce despite the onslaught of games that he has been on the field for in September. His avoidance of left-handed pitching this year has been something of an anomaly, but he has posted a 1.365 OPS in 23 plate appearances versus southpaws. Facing Pirates lefty Steven Brault on Thursday is particularly appealing as well, as Goldschmidt has homered twice in 11 at-bats against him, good for a career .909 SLG.
DJ LeMahieu, 2B - NYY vs. TOR ($4,000)
If real life imitated art a la the MLB Slugfest video game from the early aughts, LeMahieu would currently have flames emanating from his bat each time that he stepped to the plate. Having driven in eight runs over his last two games, LeMahieu is in the midst of a nine-game hitting streak that has seen him compile five home runs and 35 total bases. Anderson is in a perilous spot Thursday with the Yankees’ bats having posted double-digit scoring efforts in each of their last two outings, which begins with LeMahieu’s daunting presence at the top.
Alec Bohm, 3B - PHI vs. NYM ($2,700)
With the Phillies’ lineup hampered by the absence of Rhys Hoskins (elbow) and J.T. Realmuto (hip), Bohm has slid up into a prominent spot in the order. Having delivered a 123 OPS+ through his first 32 games, Bohm’s price tag has steadily risen, yet seems to have capped itself below his production value. Whether as part of a Phillies stack or as a low-priced one-off, Bohm is worthy of consideration at the hot corner amidst multiple high-priced sluggers.
Francisco Lindor, SS - CLE @ DET ($3,500)
Having slashed .347/.411/.592 to begin September, Lindor is a superstar at a fair price tag Thursday. Six of the 10 hits that Mize has allowed to left-handed batters this season have been of the extra-base variety, with Lindor doing all of his home run damage against righties. Now firmly entrenched in the leadoff spot, snagging a potential additional at-bat puts Lindor over the top when it comes to consideration.
FanDuel DFS Outfielders
Giancarlo Stanton, OF - NYY vs. TOR ($3,800)
After receiving the night off Wednesday, Stanton should be back in the mix and in the heart of the New York order Thursday, becoming yet another Yankees bat worthy of consideration. Despite his sporadic appearances due to injury, Stanton has amassed a .431 on-base percentage this season, with six of his 12 hits going for extra bases.
Clint Frazier, OF - NYY vs. TOR ($3,400)
The whole vote of confidence that manager Aaron Boone provided Frazier with earlier in the week proves smarter by the day as the outfielder homered again Wednesday, raising his OPS at Yankee Stadium this season to 1.147 in 21 games. Frazier has slugged .783 over his last seven games, treating the Bronx like his personal bandbox. Anderson has yielded a career-worst 2.1 HR/9 this season, which could spell trouble against a New York lineup that is clicking on all cylinders.
Kevin Pillar, OF - COL vs. LAD ($3,300)
Finally some exposure at Coors Field for those eyeing the southpaw showdown between Julio Urias and Kyle Freeland. Pillar has tagged left-handed pitching this season to the tune of a .569 SLG and .926 OPS, giving him considerable upside when factoring in his presence at Coors Field on Thursday.
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