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We head into Thursday night with a weird 6 game slate on tap. The main slate locks at 4:05 pmEST. There are two games in the 4 o'clock hour and then the other four games start at 7:10 pm and later. Regardless, it looks like a fun slate to build some lineups for and win some money tonight.
When looking at the slate the top-priced arm is Clayton Kershaw and it's Clayton all alone. There are a couple of other arms to target with Mike Clevinger making his Padres debut, Zach Eflin, and his new curveball, and maybe even a pricey Dylan Cease. With so few pitching targets, it leaves a lot of bats to attack. There are the obvious ones like the White Sox and Yankees and then some really cheap options like the Mets. Listen in to MLB DFS Quick Hits to get a full rundown of the player pool as well.
In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for DraftKings on 9/3/2020. 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, contact me on Twitter @bdentrek.
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DraftKings DFS Starting Pitchers
Clayton Kershaw - P, LAD vs AZ ($10,300)
Kershaw is the most expensive pitcher tonight and for good reason. Over his last three starts, he seems healthy and is pitching like the ace we have come to love. He has thrown at least six innings in all three starts and given up one run or less in each start. The two runs he has allowed were on solo home runs, so teams are not currently putting rallies together against Kershaw. Over the last three games, he also has a 29.6% strikeout rate, .156 BABIP, and a 36.2% hard-hit rate. He's going up against a Diamondbacks team that is only hitting .223 with an abysmal .102 ISO and just lost Starling Marte. Kershaw should be extremely chalky tonight and it is hard to defend fading the chalk.
Mike Clevinger - P, SD at LAA ($8,700)
Clevinger makes his debut with the Padres tonight and gets a solid matchup vs the Halos. After his time spent at the Indians' alt-site, he faced the Twins and threw six strong innings, only allowing two runs while striking out six. On the season he has a 22.6% strikeout rate and a 37.7% hard-hit rate. He faces an Angels team tonight that has been a major offensive disappointment this season. They are striking out 21.3% of the time versus RHP with a .250 average and .186 ISO. If Clevinger can work around Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout, he may be in for a really nice night at a decent price.
Other Options: Zach Eflin (PHI vs WAS) $7,800
DraftKings DFS Infielders
James McCann - C, CWS at Danny Duffy ($4,400)
McCann brings a six-game hit streak into tonight's juicy matchup versus Duffy. Over the six games, he is hitting .381 with a .470 wOBA. The major reason to like McCann tonight is the fact he is a part of what of the best offenses versus LHP and he also hits lefties very well. This season he is hitting .500 with a .250 ISO. That is a small sample, so let's look at 2019 where he hit .295 with a .197 ISO. He has hit lefties well throughout his career and is a nice piece of the White Sox action tonight.
Luke Voit - 1B, NYY at Robert Gsellman ($3,900)
I write about Voit often, especially versus RHP and he usually does not let us down. He has hit safely in 16 of his last 19 games, good for a .357 average, a .429 ISO, and nine home runs. He has hit RHP very well in his career and that has carried over to this season where he is hitting .337 with a .361 ISO, a 52% hard-hit rate, and a really nice 40.7% HR/FB rate. He faces Gsellman tonight who is likely on a short innings limit, so that means more Mets bullpen. Voit is too cheap for tonight's matchup.
Other Options: Jose Abreu (CWS at KC) $5,300, Pete Alonso (NYM vs NYY) $3,000
DJ LeMahieu - 2B/3B, NYY at Robert Gsellman ($4,300)
I did not want to write up all the Yankees, but it is very hard not to discuss LeMahieu. Since his return from the IL, he has hit safely in all six games for a .368 average and .421 ISO. He has scored five or more points in five of the six games with a high score of 28 points. He is hitting .421 vs RHP this season and that after hitting .310 with a .349 wOBA off RHP in 2019. LeMahieu is my top second base play period tonight in cash and tournaments.
Manny Machado - 3B, SD at Andrew Heaney ($4,600)
On Monday, Machado snapped his 12 game hitting streak but picked right back up on Tuesday with two more hits. Over his last 14 games, he is hitting .474 with a .560 wOBA. He also has 11 extra-base hits, including six home runs and impressively a 6.3% strikeout rate. Machado has always hit LHP well and that has not changed this season to the tune of a .333 average and a .418 wOBA. Last season he had a .315 average and a .441 wOBA. Jump back on Machado and the Padres tonight vs Heaney who is allowing a 57.6% hard-hit rate to RHH this season.
Other Options: Rafael Devers (BOS vs TOR) $5,200, J.D. Davis (NYM vs NYY) $2,800
Tim Anderson - SS at Danny Duffy ($5,500)
There are a lot of very strong shortstop options tonight, but I would feel wrong not mentioning Anderson vs a lefty like Duffy tonight. This season he is hitting .471 with a .647 ISO vs LHP. Those are elite numbers when it comes to splits. In his career, he is 12-35 for a .343 average and a .350 wOBA vs Duffy. If paying up at shortstop, Anderson should be near the top of your list.
Other Options: Fernando Tatis Jr. (SD at LAA) $5,200, Amed Rosario (NYM vs NYY) $2,000
DraftKings DFS Outfielders
Luis Robert - OF, CWS at Danny Duffy ($4,700)
Let's go back to the White Sox, as they are a major stack tonight, and check out Luis Robert. The rookie has been scorching hot of late. Over his last 10 games, he has hit safely in seven of 10 games for a .316 average. He has hit five home runs to go with a crazy 191 wRC+. A lot of the numbers have been impressive from the rookie, but over the last 10 games, he is barreling the ball 24.1% of the time with a 48.3% hard-hit rate. He has scored 10 or more points in six of the last 10 games. Don't leave Robert out of your White Sox stacks.
Lourdes Gurriel Jr. - OF, TOR at Martin Perez ($3,900)
When there is a great spot to stack up the Jays it brings all the outfielders into play. Teoscar Hernandez and Randal Grichuk are in play as well, but we are rolling with the streaking Gurriel here. He is coming in with a three-game hitting streak where he has four extra-base hits and has scored seven or more DK points in those three games. He faces lefty Perez tonight and will look to keep things going. He is only hitting .243 with a .315 wOBA vs LHP this season, but his previous two seasons he hit at least .300 with a .351 wOBA or better. Look for Gurriel to be overlooked in the Jays stacks nad become a sneaky nice play in a great stack today.
Jay Bruce - OF, PHI vs Anibal Sanchez ($2,900)
As always, Bruce a GPP only play and if looking for the value he is a great one. Over his last 13 games, he is the definition of a tournament play as he has hit safely in six of 13 games for a .239 average and a 30.4% strikeout rate. The thing is he still is crushing with a .360 wOBA, .415 ISO, and eight of the 11 hits for extra bases including five home runs. When he hits, he hits big. He is hitting .292 with a .521 vs RHP this season and that could very well continue versus Sanchez tonight. LHH is hitting .322 with a .401 wOBA vs Sanchez this season. Bruce is a really nice target for tournaments tonight with a double dong upside.
DraftKings DFS Stacks
- Chicago White Sox at Kansas City Royals (Danny Duffy, LHP)
- Toronto Blue Jays at Boston Red Sox (Martin Perez, LHP)
- New York Yankees at New York Mets (Robert Gsellman, RHP)
- New York Mets vs New York Yankees (J.A. Happ, LHP)
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