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The top daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for FanDuel and DraftKings on September 28th, 2022. Juan Carlos Blanco's MLB DFS analysis and sleepers for building optimal DFS rosters.
Welcome back to another edition of the FREE DraftKings and FanDuel MLB DFS picks. As customary, we have an all-day ledger on tap Wednesday, and although DraftKings does not have a full-day slate, FanDuel does. Consequently, today's article will feature picks on both sites for games throughout the day, as even on DK, the suggestions will prove viable for someone playing one of the site's split slates.
There are quite a few big names in the pitching pool Wednesday, but with this being the final week of the regular season and multiple contenders having their postseason spots sewn up, it's certainly possible some starters will be on pitch counts. However, there are two options I'm confident in, as well as a solid selection of hitters we can use to target some favorable matchups.
This article will provide my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for FanDuel and DraftKings on 9/28/2022 that includes a FanDuel main slate locking at 12:35 pm ET. The lineup will range from some elite players to mid-priced options and value plays. You can also read more DFS advice and lineup picks for other sports. It's also essential to monitor injury news and today's MLB starting lineups. If you have any questions or comments, find me on Twitter and ask away!
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DraftKings, FanDuel Pitchers - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
Aaron Nola - PHI at CHC ($9,700 DK, $10,300 FD)
Nola has been much better than his 10-12 record implies, as he also carries a 3.28 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, and 28.7% strikeout rate. Moreover, the veteran right-hander has been at his best on the road, where he's offset a 4-8 mark with a 3.02 ERA, 10.1 K/9, and 0.6 HR/9 across 95.1 innings. Nola has been in particularly strong form lately, as he's held three of his last four opponents to one run or less while recording a 26:5 K:BB in a span of 19.2 innings. Additionally, Nola has rung up 16 strikeouts over 49 career encounters with current Cubs bats.
Meanwhile, Chicago is playing out the string on a disappointing season and hasn't been very threatening to visiting righties of late, generating a .222 average, .280 OBP, .277 wOBA, .121 ISO, and -2.9 wRAA in that split over the last two weeks of play. Nola has yet to face the Cubs this season, and while he's had a couple of serious stumbles when traveling this season, he's also turned in elite road performances against lineups of a much higher caliber than Chicago's in those of the Braves (8. 1 IP, 1 ER, 10 Ks), the Rockies at Coors (5.1 IP, 2 ER), the Dodgers (7 IP, 2 ER, 8 Ks), the Brewers (8 IP, 0 ER, 6 Ks) and the Mets twice (14 IP, 4 ER, 17 Ks).
Taijuan Walker - NYM vs. MIA ($7,900 DK, $8,700 FD)
Walker has put together an impressive body of work against the Marlins this season, pitching to a 4-0 record, 2.23 ERA and 35:6 K:BB across 32.1 innings in five starts. The veteran right-hander has been very effective at Citi Field as well, where he owns a 5-1 record, 0.7 HR/9, .227 BAA, and .283 wOBA across 61.2 innings. The last time Walker saw Miami, he was especially dominant, ringing up 10 strikeouts while allowing just a single earned run over seven strong innings.
The Marlins are playing their last handful of games under outgoing skipper Don Mattingly and have been mostly innocuous against righties on the road of late, producing a 24.9 percent strikeout rate, .118 ISO, .289 wOBA, and -4.5 wRAA in that split during September.
Miami went into Tuesday night's action averaging the fourth-fewest runs per road game as well (3.57) while also tying for that slotting in hits per road game (7.65). The Mets have the incentive to keep winning with the Braves still hot on their tail for the NL East crown, so Walker, who's pitched at least six innings in three consecutive starts, should be out there for a solid workload again Wednesday.
Other options: Justin Verlander - HOU vs. ARI ($10,500 DK, $11,200 FD)
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DraftKings, FanDuel Infielders - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
Matt Olson - 1B, ATL at Josiah Gray ($4,700 DK, $3,300 FD)
Olson entered Tuesday night's action with 72 extra-base hits, including 29 homers, along with 95 RBI. His prodigious power should play especially well against Gray, who has had trouble keeping the ball in the park all season, especially against left-handed hitters. Moreover, Olson has actually been at his best on the road, where he's put together a .808 OPS and connected on 16 of his 29 homers across 334 plate appearances.
Meanwhile, Gray has given up a jaw-dropping 37 home runs across 136.2 innings. He's allowed 21 of those to left-handed hitters, which have tagged him for a .265 average, .981 OPS, and .415 wOBA, with those figures bumping up to .301, 1.113, and .465, respectively, when split out just for his encounters with lefty bats at Nationals Park. Olson has belted 12 homers off righties on the road on his way to a .331 wOBA and .242 ISO in that split, and when Gray exits, he'll face a bullpen that's allowed a .268 average and .333 wOBA to left-handed hitters in September.
Luis Rengifo - 2B, LAA vs. Adrian Martinez ($4,400 DK, $2,500 FD)
The switch-hitting Rengifo has been at his best against lefties, but he's also thrived in his home park all season and is facing a highly vulnerable rookie in Martinez. Rengifo is enjoying a career-best season that saw him go into Tuesday's action with a .273 average, .439 slugging percentage, and 41 extra-base hits overall, including 15 homers. Moreover, he's produced a .319 average and .910 OPS at Angel Stadium, along with a .389 wOBA. He's been solid against righties there as well, tallying a .273 average and .330 wOBA in that split.
Martinez's struggles against lefty bats include a .314 BAA, .398 wOBA, and 2.8 HR/9, along with a 6.99 FIP. The right-hander has also given up a 21.1 percent HR/FB rate in that split, and he'll come into Wednesday's start having pitched to a 10.54 ERA, 2.20 WHIP, and 4.0 HR/9 over the 13.2 innings covering his last three starts. Finally, consider Rengifo has been an excellent hitter against Martinez's trademark sinker, posting a .313 average and .397 wOBA against the pitch this season.
Isiah Kiner-Falefa, NYY at Mitch White ($3,200 DK, $2,400 FD)
Kiner-Falefa represents some highly cost-effective exposure to the Yankees lineup in a good matchup against White, who's all0wed 47 hits and pitched to an 0-4 record, 7.39 ERA, and 1.67 WHIP across the 35.1 innings he's logged with the Blue Jays since his trade from the Dodgers. White has had a couple of particularly rough outings at Rogers Centre already, where he was tagged by the Angels and Cubs for a combined 13 runs over 9.2 innings in back-to-back starts on Aug. 26 and Aug. 31.
Kiner-Falefa has been very balanced in his production against pitchers of both-handedness, and he owns a .268 average and .327 OBP against right-handed pitching on the road. The shortstop went into Tuesday night's action wielding a hot bat in September as well, as he'd produced a .286 average, .802 OPS, and .352 wOBA across 79 plate appearances while striking out at a tiny 8.9 percent clip in the sample. Then, White has a .295 BAA, .339 wOBA, and 6.02 ERA since the All-Star break, a sample in which he's conceded a .341 average, .841 OPS, and .362 wOBA to the 44 right-handed hitters he's faced at home.
Justin Turner - 3B, LAD at Joe Musgrove ($4,500 DK, $3,000 FD)
Turner is in a tough matchup on paper Wednesday against Musgrove, but it's one he's conquered frequently in the past and that comes in the midst of a red-hot stretch at the plate for the veteran. Entering Tuesday's action, Turner was sporting a red-hot .356 average, .998 OPS, and modest 16.0 percent strikeout rate over his previous 12 games, including a 1.054 OPS and .451 wOBA against right-handers over that span.
Musgrove ran into some trouble against the Dodgers the last time he faced them on Sept. 11, a game in which Turner began his aforementioned hot streak with a pair of homers, including a grand slam, for five total RBI. Turner has tormented Musgrove for a .400 average with a trio of round-trippers overall and just one strikeout in 17 career encounters, and the veteran right-hander has been more hittable than usual recently with a .286 BAA and .378 wOBA in 20.2 September innings.
Other options: Freddie Freeman - 1B, LAD at Joe Musgrove ($5,400 DK, $3,900 FD); Dansby Swanson - SS, ATL at Josiah Gray ($5,200 DK, $ 3,600 FD)
DraftKings, FanDuel Outfielders - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
Anthony Santander - BAL at Rich Hill ($4,500 DK, $3,000 FD)
Hill has had a difficult go of it in his Fenway Park home digs this season and the righty-swinging Santander has a swing built for the legendary ballpark's cozy confines, making the slugger very worthy of consideration Wednesday at reasonable salaries. Santander has already belted a career-high 33 round trippers and driven in 87 runs when factoring in his spectacular night Tuesday, which saw him push his homer total at Fenway to six this season across 39 plate appearances.
Hill has conceded a .285 average and .364 wOBA to right-handed hitters at Fenway Park this season, along with a 1.6 HR/9. In turn, Santander has a .298 average, 10 homers, a .390 wOBA, and a .245 ISO against southpaws overall, including a solid 21.7 percent line-drive rate when facing lefties on the road. Santander will also have the benefit of facing a fatigued Boston bullpen when Hill exits, one that was forced to work 5.2 innings Tuesday night to push their total over the last week to a robust 28.2 innings.
Joc Pederson - SFG vs. Jose Urena ($5,300 DK, $2,600 FD)
Pederson has a prolific home-run swing and Jose Urena has been tormented by left-handed hitters his entire career, making this an excellent matchup to try and capitalize on Wednesday. Pederson returned to action Tuesday night after having gotten a couple of nights off, and he'd already responded by launching his 23rd homer while working out of the leadoff spot at the time of this writing. Pederson has also unsurprisingly tormented Urena in past encounters, posting a .600 average with a double, a triple, and a homer with only one strikeout across 16 career plate appearances.
Urena has allowed a .363 average and .382 wOBA to left-handed hitters on the road, along with a 5.04 xFIP and 23.2 percent line-drive rate. Pederson has clocked righties for a .357 wOBA, .219 ISO, and .824 OPS at home, a split in which he's also posted a 41.7 percent hard-contact rate. It's also worth noting he's been a terror against Urena's trademark sinker this season, blasting the pitch to the tune of a .362 average and .468 wOBA while posting a minuscule 7.7 percent strikeout rate against it this season.
Nick Gordon - MIN vs. Johnny Cueto ($2,800 DK, $2,500 FD)
Gordon makes for a viable value left-handed bat to deploy against Cueto, who, despite his resurgent season in Chicago, has still continued to struggle with left-handed hitters. For his part, Gordon has come into his own in this, his second season, generating a solid .278 average and .764 OPS, figures constituted by well-balanced contributions. Gordon has flashed both power (26 doubles, nine homers) and speed (four triples, six stolen bases), and he's been especially impressive against righties at home with a .287 average, .773 OPS, and .333 wOBA in that split.
Cueto has given up a .271 average and .321 wOBA to left-handed hitters, along with a 4.71 xFIP. The veteran righty has also surrendered a .300 average, .776 OPS, and .336 wOBA across 22 September frames, and when he exits, Gordon will get a crack at a White Sox bullpen that's allowed a .298 average and .345 wOBA to left-handed hitters during September.
Other options: Mike Trout - LAA vs. Adrian Martinez ($6,000 DK, $4,500 FD); Aaron Judge - NYY at Mitch White ($6,300, $5,000 FD)
DraftKings, FanDuel MLB DFS Stacks
- Giants vs. Jose Urena, COL, RHP
- Angels vs. Adrian Martinez, OAK, RHP
- Yankees at Mitch White, TOR, RHP
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