RADIO
The top daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for DraftKings on 9/26/20. Kyle Ringstad's MLB DFS analysis and sleepers for building optimal DFS rosters.
There are 11 games on the DraftKings main slate on Saturday. It's nearing the end of the season and with many teams having already clinched their playoff spot, it's important to be aware of situations where hitters may be surprisingly held out or pitchers being given a short leash. After an amazing slate with a ton of pitching on Friday night, Saturday features Luis Castillo, Dylan Bundy, Brandon Woodruff, and not a whole lot else. On the plus side, there should be plenty of offense to target!
I'll be going through some of the best plays at each position on DraftKings with a GPP/tournament lineup build in mind. That's not to say that these players won't work in cash-game lineups, but we're looking to provide high-upside plays for the most part (it's more fun that way, anyway). As a reminder, it is best practice to stack 3-5 hitters from the same team for DFS purposes, so try to envision how the games will play out and build your lineups from there. Utilizing unique lineup combinations (i.e the nine, one, two, and three hitters) is another great way to differentiate.
In this article, I'll be providing you with my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for the DraftKings main slate on 9/26/2020. The lineup picks will range from some of the elite players to mid-priced options and value plays. You can also read more DFS advice and lineup picks for sites like FanDuel and other sports too. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to contact me on Twitter @kringstad19
DraftKings DFS Starting Pitchers
Luis Castillo - SP, CIN vs MIN ($9,800)
It's not the most comfortable matchup in the world, but Castillo is clearly the most talented pitcher on the board and he easily comes with the highest upside as well. He has been dominant as he has allowed two runs or less in each of his last four starts, which were all coincidentally wins to bring his record to 4-5 on the season. Castillo has spectacular numbers, featuring a 2.86 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 2.72 FIP (sixth in the MLB), 2.82 xFIP (sixth), 31% K% (13th), and a 15.7% SwStr% (fifth). The changeup is his most common pitch and it's very effective at a 40.8% Whiff% and .179 xBA. In addition to making batters swing and miss often, he induces a ton of groundballs (58.5% GB% and 22.6% FB%), which is the way to go against this powerful Twins lineup. The Twins have turned the offense back on as of late, ranking 10th in team wOBA (.340) and holding the third-highest ISO (.225) in the MLB since the start of September. However, they're projected for just four runs today and they hold the eighth-highest strikeout rate (25.4%) against RHP this season. They have the bats to beat him, but Castillo definitely has the highest ceiling on the state and has a great chance to continue his three-game streak of at least 30 DK points here tonight.
Brandon Woodruff - SP, MIL vs STL ($8,700)
Woodruff is on a bit of a roll as he has 26 strikeouts and just five earned runs over his last three starts (19 and 2/3 innings). He did have a somewhat-shaky outing against the Cardinals sandwiched in the middle of those starts where he allowed seven hits, three earned runs, and two homers while striking out just five. That shouldn't scare us off him tonight. Woodruff holds a 3.43 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 3.45 FIP, 3.40 xFIP, and a great 30.5% K%. His 15.3% LD% is the lowest on the slate by a wide margin. The Cardinals have been very mediocre on offense this year, evidenced by their .700 OPS (eighth-worst) and .134 ISO (third-worst) against RHP. They just don't really have the bats to punish opposing pitchers and we have to like Woodruff's chances in this matchup with the way he has been going.
Other options: Michael Pineda (MIN vs CIN) $8,400, Ryan Yarbrough (TB vs PHI) $7,000, Joe Musgrove (PIT vs CLE) $6,700
DraftKings DFS Infielders
Dansby Swanson - SS, ATL vs BOS ($4,200)
Dansby is having a solid season at the plate and his recent surge has his season line up to .274/.344/.457 with nine homers, 34 RBI, 48 runs scored, and five stolen bases. He's hitting .333 with two doubles, two homers, seven RBI, and four runs scored over his last five games played. He has always hit much better against RHP and that is especially true this season where he's slashing .301/.374/.514 against RHP (.171/.227/.220 against LHP). Swanson holds a .355 wOBA and that will play against rookie Tanner Houck, who has been impressive but is making just the third start of his career. The Braves currently sport the fifth-highest implied total at five runs. Pay attention to the lineup order - knock Swanson's projection down a bit if he's seventh or lower.
Miguel Cabrera - 1B, DET vs KC ($3,000)
The 37-year-old veteran has been crushing over the past seven days with a .348/.375/.870 slash line and 4 home runs, 12 RBI, and eight runs scored. It's best to target him against RHP but Royals rookie Carlos Hernandez has been awful (5.40 ERA, 10.53 WHIP, 12.53 tERA, 5.4 HR/9) through two starts and shouldn't stay in the game too long. The Tigers are a sneaky, cheap team to stack up today and Miggy is a big piece of that hitting out of the three-hole.
Maikel Franco - 3B, KC vs DET ($4,200)
The other side of the game should see their fair share of offensive fireworks tonight as well. The Royals have a 5.1-run implied total against Matthew Boyd and the Tigers on Saturday, which actually comes in as the fourth-highest total on the slate. It makes sense, though, as Boyd has a slate-worst 6.96 ERA and his 1.51 WHIP, 5.75 FIP, 36.2% GB%, and 64.8% LOB% metrics aren't much pretty either. Boyd shut the Royals out over 5 and 2/3 innings on 9/15 but gave up four earned runs against them in his first start of the year. Franco is one of the Royals who can take advantage and he's in great form, slashing .391/.407/.565 over the last seven days.
Other options: Harold Castro (DET vs KC) $2,400, Alex Bregman (HOU vs TEX) $4,800, Edwin Encarnacion (CHW vs CHC) $3,800
DraftKings DFS Outfielders
Kyle Tucker - OF, HOU vs TEX ($4,200)
Tucker has a high ISO (.251) and wOBA (.355) on the season to go along with nine home runs, 42 RBI, 33 runs scored, and seven stolen bases. He hasn't had a scoreless DFS day since 9/12 and has three games of at least 15 DK points thrown in during that span. He should slot in at fifth in the order against Kyle Gibson, who holds a 5.87 ERA, 1.57 WHIP, 5.67 FIP, and 1.8 HR/9 this season. Tucker is hitting for a .918 OPS against RHP this season and that number has a great chance of going up by the end of the night.
Randy Arozarena - OF, TB vs PHI ($3,800)
*Checks notes* Hmm...this guy has been really, really good. The Rays' #19 prospect is hitting .288/.368/.678 with seven home runs, 11 RBI, 13 runs scored, and four steals over just 59 at-bats this year. He has put up some huge DFS days recently with outputs of 15, 35, and 24 DK points in three of his last six. He should hit third against Zack Wheeler on Saturday. Wheeler has been above-average (2.67 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 3.22 FIP) but certainly not unhittable (20 hits and eight earned runs allowed over his last three starts), so we can definitely go back to the hotshot rookie tonight.
Raimel Tapia - OF, COL vs ARI ($3,700)
Tapia should slot in as the leadoff hitter and he's in great form, slashing .317/.321/.366 with five RBI, 10 runs scored, and four stolen bases over the last 21 days. He's more of a "set the table" hitter than he is a big-bopper (.074 ISO), but the fantasy points still count. He has put up at least eight DK points in five consecutive contests, and he'll have an opportunity to make it six-in-a-row against a subpar pitcher in Luke Weaver. Weaver has a 6.51 ERA, 1.57 WHIP, 4.79 FIP, 5.05 xFIP, and low groundball (34.5%) and high flyball (46.2%) rates.
Other options: George Springer (HOU vs TEX) $5,500, Sam Hilliard (COL vs ARI) $2,400, Bryce Harper (PHI vs TB) $5,600
DraftKings DFS Stacks
The White Sox are my favorite stack of the day today against Jon Lester, though the Astros, Dodgers, and Braves are right there with them. The Tigers and Royals are facing off in a game featuring two terrible pitchers, so that game is certainly one to look at for cheap offense on the Saturday slate.
*** Use my promo code RING to get 10% off any product on the site! ***
Good luck in your DFS contests and make sure to give me a follow on Twitter @kringstad19!
Good luck in your DraftKings contests and make sure to give me a follow on Twitter!
Download Our Free News & Alerts Mobile App
Like what you see? Download our updated fantasy baseball app for iPhone and Android with 24x7 player news, injury alerts, sleepers, prospects & more. All free!
MLB DFS News and Injury Alerts
[jiffyNews category_include='9958' headline='More DFS Lineup Picks and Analysis'
