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We have only one game off the main slate Friday night, which will afford us plenty of opportunities for differentiation in tournaments. There are also a number of solid pitching options to choose from, although my preference is to not scrimp and pay up for a couple of the highest-salaried options on the slate.
There's also quite a bit of hittable left-handers taking the hill, which helps inform several of my batter selections, and a few higher-salaried sluggers that I see as worth the investment given their matchups Friday.
I'll be providing you with my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for the FanDuel main slate on 9/10/2021. Be sure to also 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.
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FanDuel DFS Pitchers
Cash Game/GPP Anchor Play:
Robbie Ray – at BAL ($11,200)
Ray's current form has him under increasingly serious Cy Young consideration and also makes him an excellent play against a non-contending Orioles squad Friday. The veteran left-hander has eight straight quality starts and four consecutive double-digit strikeout efforts to boot. One of each came two starts ago against Baltimore when he authored a seven-inning, two-earned-run, 10-strikeout performance that netted 55 FD points. Ray is averaging an impressive 42.2 FD points overall this season as well and Baltimore checks in with a pedestrian .284 OBP and .300 wOBA against southpaws at home in the last month, furthering his case all the more.
Potential Alternate Play
Framber Valdez – vs. LAA ($10,500)
Valdez is another left-hander in a very good spot Friday, considering the opposing Angels check in with a .221 average, .277 OBP, .279 wOBA and -10.1 wRAA against lefties on the road in the second half of the season. Valdez is a highly reliable play against virtually any opponent anyhow, as he boasts an average of 34.8 FD points per start and has flashed a ceiling well north of 40 on multiple occasions this season. He's also been particularly effective at home, where he owns a 4-1 record, 2.73 ERA, 9.4 K/9 and 0.5 HR/9 across 52.2 innings.
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FanDuel DFS Infielders
Salvador Perez- C/1B, at MIN ($4,200)
Perez's MVP-caliber campaign includes a robust average of 11.4 FD points per contest, along with a whopping, career-high 42 homers and 104 RBI. The veteran backstop also comes in with an impressive .323 average over the last eight games, a stretch during which he's slugged four of his homers and knocked in 10 runs. Perez has belted 25 homers off right-handers and 20 of them on the road, and Friday, he faces Twins starter Griffin Jax, who's allowed multiple earned runs in five straight starts, carries a 2.8 HR/9 at home and has seen 11 of the 18 homers he's given up come off right-handed bats.
Ketel Marte – 2B, at SEA ($3,800)
The switch-hitting Marte's work against left-handers this season includes a .413 average and 1.235 OPS, and he's actually been a much more dangerous hitter on the road overall with a .371 average and .991 OPS in that split. In turn, Mariners starting southpaw Marco Gonzales has had trouble keeping the ball in the park at home, where he's yielded a 2.3 HR/9 there across 59 innings. Opposite-handed matchups have also given him trouble, as Gonzales has given up 19 homers (out of 24) to right-handed bats. Elven of those round trippers have been hit off him at T-Mobile Park, where Gonzales has surrendered a .370 wOBA to right-handed hitters.
Luis Urias – 3B, at CLE ($2,200)
Urias carries a particularly appealing salary for a player with his power upside, which he's demonstrated this season in the form of 44 extra-base hits, including 19 homers. The slugging infielder has been a better hitter in same-handed matchups and on the road, posting .789 and .794 OPS figures in those respective splits. The matchup works in his favor Friday, as Indians starter Eli Morgan, despite looking better of late, has still surrendered a .272 average and nine homers to right-handed hitters, as well as a 7.53 ERA, 1.56 WHIP and 2.6 HR/9 at home overall. Morgan has been particularly vulnerable in same-handed matchups at Progressive Field, where he's surrendering a .383 average, 1.168 OPS and .483 wOBA to righty bats.
Trevor Story – SS, at PHI ($3,900)
Deploying Story against a left-hander is never a bad idea for DFS purposes. as the Rockies slugger owns a .300 average and .970 OPS versus that handedness. Story has hit for a much poorer average on the road overall, but notably, nine of his 20 homers have come outside Coors and he sports a .335 wOBA and massive .315 ISO against southpaws when traveling. Meanwhile, Phillies left-hander Bailey Falter, who's slated to at least open the contest Friday and likely work multiple innings early, has seen four of the five homers he's allowed come off righty bats.
FanDuel DFS Outfielders
Nelson Cruz - at DET ($4,000)
Cruz is another slugger who's always under consideration when a lefty is on the mound, especially one that's proven vulnerable frequently in Matthew Boyd. Boyd has allowed 52 home runs and a .261 average to right-handed hitters since the beginning of the 2019 season, and Cruz, who's now up to 30 homers, boasts a .927 OPS and .327 average against left-handed pitching on the campaign, as well as a .302 average and .967 OPS when traveling for the Twins or Rays this season.
Byron Buxton– vs. KC ($3,700)
Cruz's former teammate Buxton is also worthy of consideration Friday, considering his overall body of work and matchup against Royals southpaw Daniel Lynch. Lynch has been knocked around in opposite-handed matchups for a .313 average and six homers in a 205-batter sample. For his part, Buxton has a .308 average and .898 OPS against lefties, as well as an average of 12.4 FD points per game this season.
Nick Castellanos – at STL ($4,100)
Castellanos gets a crack at a left-hander as well in the Cardinals' Jon Lester, who's surrendered a .438 average with a double and three homers in 16 career encounters with the Reds slugger. Castellanos has a .320 average and .957 OPS versus lefties overall this season, and a .327 average and 1.003 OPS versus southpaws since the start of the 2019 campaign. Lester has also given up a .316 average to right-handed hitters, along with 16 of the 18 homers that he's allowed this season.
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