RADIO
Kevin Luchansky highlights the top FanDuel MLB DFS lineup picks for 9/14/18, and a couple of sleepers to consider while building daily rosters.
Happy Friday, my fellow fantasy addicts. I can't believe we only have a few of these regular season Fridays left together - the season has really flown by, but at least the tight pennant races should make what we have left a very interesting segment of the season. The Cubs are home today, but, they opted for a night game so we have glorious 15 game Main slate tonight.
Before we just into player selections, let's take a quick peek at a few Vegas lines of interest to me. The Yankees (-270), Cubs (-205), and Astros (-190) are all enormous favorites. None of the other games really stick out in that regard, pretty evenly split for the most part. As for implied run totals, the Yankees are also out in front in that category at 5.7, followed by the Indians (5.2), Phillies (4.9), White Sox (4.9) and the Cubs at 4.8.
In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for FanDuel on 9/14/18. The lineup picks will range from some of the elite players to mid-priced options and value plays. You can also read more DFS lineup picks for DraftKings and other sports too. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to contact me up on Twitter @kpLuch.
FanDuel DFS Pitcher
Cole Hamels - SP, vs CIN ($9,500)
Hamels has been pretty damn brilliant since donning the Cubbie pinstripes and I like his matchup at home in Wrigley Field tonight against the Reds. Hamels has allowed two earned runs or less in seven of his eight Chicago starts and he recently dominated this same Reds team with a complete game gem, allowing one earned and striking out seven Cincinnatti hitters. This Reds squad simply doesn't have much punch to their offense, and the strikeout outlook is pretty high for Hamels this evening. The projected Cincy lineup has a 25% K rate this season against southpaws, with just a .307 wOBA split. Hamels and the Cubs are also the second biggest favorite of the night on the moneyline (-205), and with the Reds having a 3.3 implied run total, Hamels can be used in all formats tonight.
Tyler Anderson - SP, at SFG ($6,300)
Anderson has taken anyone who rosters him on quite the roller coaster ride of ups and downs this season. When he's on, he can be downright nasty. But when he's off, he can barely make it through three frames. In tournaments tonight, I'm willing to take the risk on Anderson as the matchup and the price are really ideal. Anderson will be taking his game to the pitcher's paradise in San Francisco to face an awful Giants offense and a team that's lost 11 straight games. Anderson has a solid mix of pitches and decent strikeout stuff (8.8 K/9) and the strikeout projections for him tonight are elevated by the fact the projected San Francisco lineup has a really high strikeout split at just over 27%.
Also Consider: Jose Berrios - SP, at KCR ($8,500) - GPP
FanDuel DFS Infielders
Wilson Ramos - C, vs MIA ($2,800)
Ramos has been struggling a little with production, but he has the matchup to cure his funk tonight. Wei-Yin Chen has been absolutely dreadful pitching on the road, and he gives up a lot of power to right-handed batters. Ramos has been really strong against southpaws this season, too, posting a .394 wOBA and a .248 ISO.
Ji-Man Choi - 1B, vs OAK ($3,500)
Choi has been running hot in September and he draws a favorable matchup tonight against Oakland starter Edwin Jackson. The switch-hitting Choi's splits are up to .394 and .264 in wOBA and ISO, respectively - damn good numbers, especially for someone in this price tier. His batted ball profile is also encouraging, as he's posted a 44% hard hit rate this month.
Travis Shaw - 2B, vs PIT ($3,700)
Shaw has been swinging the bat really well lately, and it's shown up in his batted ball profile for the month of September - he owns over a 40% hard hit rate and over a 40% fly ball rate in that stretch. Tonight, he draws a matchup against Chris Archer that is probably easier than it's perceived by the public, and as such, I've got interest in him as a tournament sleeper. He has big power upside in this one, and has posted a .272 ISO split against right-handed pitching this season.
Josh Donaldson - 3B, vs DET ($3,400)
It sure is nice to see the Bringer of Rain back healthy! The southpaw crusher draws a pretty damn good matchup tonight against lefty Matt Boyd in Cleveland. It's been a short season for Donaldson, but the splits are elite and align with what he's done in the past, as he has a .423 wOBA and a .339 ISO.
Didi Gregorius - SS, vs TOR ($3,800)
Gregorius appears to have shaken off the rust he acquired on the disabled list. His bat came alive last series, as he posted big numbers in two of the three games in Minnesota. He's got a good matchup tonight to continue the trend, and he gives us exposure to the top projected offense tonight at a really fair price. Thus far in 2018, Gregorius boasts a .241 ISO split against right-handed pitching.
FanDuel DFS Outfielders
Bryce Harper - OF, at ATL ($4,500)
If you look at his recent ownership percentages, it would seem half of the DFS community has forgotten about Harper. He's actually been damn good this month, beating his price implied value in seven of his last 10 games. He gets a major park upgrade for lefty batters tonight and draws a good matchup. And, of course, he brings big upside with his .378 wOBA and .256 ISO splits.
Rhys Hoskins - OF, vs MIA ($3,600)
Hoskins' splits aren't anything worth writing home about, but he has been hot lately and I love the matchup here. As mentioned in my Ramos blurb, Chen really struggles with righties - especially on the road. Hoskins has beaten value in four of his last five, and he gives you middle of the order exposure to one of the top projected offense this evening.
