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It's hard to believe, but we're approaching the last week of the regular season. With so few games left before the playoffs, I intend to treasure each and every full slate of baseball we get from here on out. Friday night brings us another fun slate with a myriad of ways we can construct successful lineups. There are a number of attractive pitching options on the slate, but no top-tier aces, so ownership should be spread out among the hurlers.
On the hitting side of things, the Dodgers always-dangerous lineup get to play at Colorado in a game with an over/under that opened at 13. We've also got the Yankees lineup getting healthy and sporting an implied-run total close to six after they hit the most home runs ever in a three-game period. Tampa Bay also has a high implied run total while being cheaper and should carry lower ownership.
I'll be providing you with my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for the FanDuel main slate on 9/17/2020. Be sure also to 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 too.
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Zach Plesac - CLE @ DET ($10,400)
Plesac is the top-priced pitcher on the slate, but not by much as three pitchers are within $1,000 of the Cleveland starter. With the top options priced so close, give me the one who's facing Detroit and their league-worst 28 percent strikeout rate vs righties. Plesac is the ideal cash-game option because he has a high-floor as he's gone six-plus innings in each six of his starts this season. He struggled in his last start where he gave up five runs, but he's given up one run or less in four of six starts with a solid 25.5 percent strikeout rate. Cleveland is also the biggest favorites on the slate as of Thursday night giving Plesac the best chance for a win of any pitcher on the slate.
Tyler Mahle - CIN vs. CWS ($8,100)
Tyler Mahle's strikeouts in his last four starts are as follows: 11, 3, 10, 3. This means he's due for another double-digit strikeout game, right? If only it were that easy. Mahle has always been an up-and-down starter who's stuff always seems better than his final stats. His underlying metrics are those of a high-end starter such as his 13.8 percent swinging-strike rate and a .198 xBA against. Despite those numbers, he couldn't escape the third inning in his last start. I'm willing to give him a pass as he had four walks which weren't an issue in any of his other starts and if he comes out throwing strikes he could carve up a White Sox lineup looks tough on paper. However, the south-siders have the seventh-highest strikeout-rate vs right-handed pitching and are 18th in team-OBP vs righties.
FanDuel DFS Infielders
Luke Voit, 1B - NYY vs. BOS ($4,300)
Voit is scalding-hot right now and at this point, I'm willing to ignore salary and give FanDuel a blank check to get him in my lineup. Voit has four homers in his last three games as the Yankees have been launching homers at a historic pace. Boston will trot out Martin Perez who sports a ghastly 5.13 FIP on the season and is in the bottom 10-percent of baseball in average exit velocity. Voit, on the other hand, leads the Majors in homers and is near the top of the Statcast leaderboard in expected slugging and expected wOBA.
Brandon Lowe, 2B - TB @ BAL ($3,800)
While you can't go wrong with DJ LeMahieu, Tampa Bay is also in a great spot to do damage Friday night vs Alex Cobb and a tired Baltimore bullpen thanks to Thursday's doubleheader. Cobb is giving up an obscene 10.6 percent barrel rate this year and it's led to some ugly Statcast data such as a 7.18 ERA or a .332 xBA against. He's not striking anyone out and will need to deal with a hot Tampa offense in hitter-friendly Camden Yards. Lowe, for his part, has a .370 batting average and .732 slugging percentage over his last seven games.
Joey Wendle, 3B - TB @ BAL ($2,300)
Sticking with the theme of picking on Cobb, Wendle is one of the best value plays on the slate at just $2,300. Wendle has seven hits in his last six games and will have the platoon advantage vs Cobb. Wendle has a better career average vs right-handed pitching and all 14 of his career homers have come against righties. He's a great option in a Tampa Bay stack or as a one-off salary relief option in cash games.
Gleyber Torres, SS - NYY vs. BOS ($3,000)
Torres got off to a rough start to the season but has pulled his average up to .259 and has an extra-base hit in two-straight games, including a homer Thursday. Torres is one of the cheapest ways to get a piece of the Yankees lineup despite the fact he'll hit in the middle of the order for a team with one of the highest implied run totals. He's got a high-floor thanks to a 13.2 percent walk rate so he should be able to get on base and his ceiling is high as well facing a mediocre lefty in Perez.
FanDuel DFS Outfielders
Avisail Garcia, OF - MIL vs. KC ($2,800)
Garcia has batted leadoff every game since September 9 and is hitting .414 with a .514 on-base percentage in that time. He's a career .299 hitter vs left-handed pitching and now faces a mediocre lefty in Danny Duffy. Duffy has walked nine batters against just seven strikeouts in his last two starts and has a 5.11 xFIP on the season. Milwaukee should be able to put up runs and Garcia should be a big part of it.
Alex Dickerson, OF - SF @ OAK ($2,800)
Dickerson has a .283 average this season vs right-handed pitching including seven of his eight homers. The Giants have been a sneaky-good source of fantasy points over their past few games. On the season, Dickerson has an 11.2 percent barrel rate which has led to a career-high hard-hit rate and average exit velocity. He should hit high in the Giants order vs A's starter Chris Bassitt. Bassitt's 4.70 xFIP suggests he's due for some regression and the Giants could take advantage of that tonight.
Kevin Pillar, OF - COL vs. LAD ($3,200)
The Dodgers are rolling out Mitch White to start a bullpen game in Coors Field. What could go wrong? Pillar is one of the more affordable options to get exposure to the game with the highest implied run total on the slate. He should be batting fifth and should bat multiple times with men on base. He has hits in seven of his last eight games and is in a good spot to do damage Friday.
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