Good morning, DFS folk. We've got an interesting slate on our hands tonight. The schedule has 15 games in store for us - all at night - and there aren't a lot of differences in the projected run totals for many of these games. How should you interpret that statement? Well, I like to think of uncertainty as opportunity. In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy baseball MLB lineup picks for FanDuel on 9/13/16. The DFS lineup picks will range from high-priced to low-priced options and identify options who will out-perform their expectations, including sleepers and value plays on FanDuel.

Before we get into the player analysis, let's take a peek at a few Vegas lines of interest. The games with the highest over/under lines tonight are the following: Orioles at Red Sox (9.5), Rangers at Astros (9.5), and Rockies at Diamondbacks (9.5). Nine-and-a-half is a solid number, not a great one, but the most interesting thing is there isn't much that separates those high lines the the middle-of-the-pack and lower tier numbers. Uncertainty, even from the linemakers in Vegas! The heaviest moneyline favorites of the day - which can help you decide on stacks and potentially which pitchers might be "cash game safe," are the following: Blue Jays (-191), the Tigers (-175), and the Royals (-165). Let's get to it.

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DFS Lineup Stacks to Target for FanDuel

Houston Astros left-handed batters versus AJ Griffin

The differentials in Griffin's splits this season are just baffling. He's been able to tame righties very well to date, while left-handed batters have absolutely teed off against him. In 2016, lefties own - quite literally - a .409 wOBA and a .630 slugging percentage against him. The number that might be even more ridiculous than the slugging percentage allowed, though, is his HR/9 split, which sits at 2.91. I'm really liking with the Astros tonight, who have a run projection of five, and should also load a good chunk of their order with talented hitters on the left side of the plate. My favorite Houston hitters from the left-side tonight are Colby Rasmus, AJ Reed and Jason Castro. From the right side, I'd go with Alex Bregman and/or Carlos Correa.

Toronto Blue Jays right-handed batters versus Drew Smyly

On a day where there aren't many split differentials to attack - save for the lefties against AJ Griffin - I'm going to load up on the uber talented right-handed hitters of the Blue Jays. This lineup has deep threats from top to bottom, happen to be right-handed heavy, and Smyly has struggled this season at times. He's shown flashes of being a solid mid-rotation starter, but he is prone to giving up big innings and more than his fair share of home runs. In 2016, righties have hit him the hard, as he's allowed a .456 slugging percentage and 1.62 HR/9 to that group. If you can fit them into your salary without breaking strategy, mix in a Toronto lefty if possible - Smyly has been home run happy with that group, too (2.03 HR/9). My favorite Toronto hitters tonight are Edwin Encarnacion, Josh Donaldson, Dioner Navarro and lefty Michael Saunders.

Also Consider: Arizona Diamondbacks right-handed batters against Jorge De La Rosa

 

DFS Starting Pitchers to Consider for FanDuel

Noah Syndegaard (SP, NYM) - $10,900

I was a little worried about Thor in late July and early August, but he has returned to form brilliantly these past few weeks, exceeding value in four of his past five starts. In that stretch, Noah owns a hard hit rate of just 20% and an average exit velocity of just 87 miles per hour. For the season, his 0.68 HR/9 is an outstanding mark, as is his K/9 rate of 10.93. Tonight, he has a fairly difficult test, as the Nationals are a solid offense, but the opportunity is still a good one. The park is an excellent one for hitters and the Nationals have an elevated strikeout rate of nearly 28% against right-handed pitching. An eight-to-10 strikeout game is not out of the question, and do like the fact that the Mets are pretty big favorites, especially considering that they're on the road.

Danny Duffy (SP, KCR) - $9,600

He may not be undervalued or underappreciated in the fantasy world, but I can't recall many recent pitchers who were (or are) having as strong of a season as Duffy is, but getting no love for it (on the defending World Series champs, no less). Duffy has been a rock for this Royals squad this year, and in addition to that, a model of consistency. He has been producing FanDuel points at a strong rate, exceeding value in six of his last 10 games, by an impressive margin of nearly seven points per contest. For the season, he owns a solid 1.1 WHIP and a very impressive 10.3 K/9 figure. Tonight, he has another good opportunity ahead of him, as he faces an okay Oakland lineup in a good pitcher's park at home in Kansas City. Syndegaard may offer higher upside, but Duffy is the better value and it looks as though he may have an easier path to a win.

Also Consider: Marcus Stroman (SP, TOR) - $7,800 (GPP)

 

DFS Infielders to Consider for FanDuel

Catcher (C)

Wellington Castillo (C, ARI) - $2,900

Beef! One of my favorite backstops - in name and talents - has a great matchup tonight and an even better price. The right-handed Castillo and his .361 wOBA and .233 ISO have a chance to tee off against Jorge De La Rosa in the desert. Over the past 15 days, Castillo has been squaring up the ball well, sporting a 26% line drive rate.

First Base (1B)

Freddie Freeman (1B, ATL) - $3,600

I was a little torn between Freddie and Big Papi, but with the dollars I'm spending on pitching and this being a close call anyway, I'm going with value and a guy I think will be under-owned. Freeman has really, really good splits - .406 wOBA and a .289 ISO - and faces an inexperienced pitcher in Jake Esch.

Second Base (2B)

Brian Dozier (2B, MIN) - $3,700

One of my favorite stories of the season, the small but mighty Dozier is on a Guinness record book level tear. Perhaps not quite that high, but he's smashing the ball and led the majors in home runs in the month of August, while showing little sign of slowing down in September. He loves facing southpaws, as he does in his matchup tonight, and owns a .397 wOBA and .328 ISO against them this season.

Also Consider: Robinson Cano (2B, SEA) - $3,600

Shortstop (SS)

Chris Owings (SS, ARI) - $2,400

With so many right-handed bats - and value - in the Diamondbacks lineup, why not pick on De La Rosa some more. Owings comes into tonight's contest sporting a 40% hard hit and 24% line drive rate over the past 15 days. He also has a solid .340 wOBA split and a .188 ISO. The ISO isn't really that great, but it's much higher than his southpaw split and he does face a home run prone pitcher tonight.

Third Base (3B)

Jung-Ho Kang (3B, PIT) - $3,500

Kang has come into his own this season after some early season off-field issues and a mid-season slide. He has a good matchup tonight, a park upgrade and a 46% hard hit rate in the past 15 days. His splits are noteworthy as well, owning a .378 wOBA and .267 ISO for the 2016 season.

Also Consider: Kris Bryant (3B, CHC) - $4,000

 

DFS Outfielders to Consider for FanDuel

Michael Saunders (OF, TOR) - $3,200

I still can't figure out why left-handed hitter Saunders loves facing southpaws so much, but he does and you can't even question it with the numbers hes' put up to date. This season, he owns a .406 wOBA split and a .314 ISO.

Hunter Pence (OF, SFG) - $3,600

Hunter Pence has very quickly made up for the time he lost mid-season due to injuries. Not only has he been smoking the ball with a hard-hit rate of 46% over the past 15 days, he also has great splits against left-handed pitching - .395 wOBA, .289 ISO.

Mike Trout (OF, LAA) - $4,000

If you can fit Mike Trout into your lineup on any, you have to at least consider it. If you can fit a guy into your lineup with an insane .428 wOBA and .278 ISO split, you have to do it. Luckily, I'm talking about the same guy, Mr. Trout, who has a great matchup this evening. Pay up for him with confidence.

Also Consider: Yasmany Tomas (OF, ARI) - $2,600

 

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