Welcome to David Mendelson’s MLB DFS Quick Hits for FanDuel & Draft Kings Contests for Tuesday, September 22, 2020
The last full week of September baseball is upon us. This is usually the point in the season where you’ll see many prospects either pitching or hitting that you’re unfamiliar with. Starters benched for extra rest before the playoff run. Make sure you pay attention to your lineups before lock to make sure your guys are actually playing. Tonight is an 11-game slate tonight with some intriguing arms! The bats are where you’ll really make your marks tonight as there are some high predicted run totals on the slate. In these MLB DFS Quick Hits, you’ll see my:
Pitching Plays – My top two pitching plays of the night. The opposing team’s effectiveness against pitcher’s handiness, K rate, and wRC+ are just a few of the items considered here.
Happy Hitters – One corner infielder, middle infielder, and two outfielders who should be smiling at the end of the night. Hitter’s platoon splits, ISO, and wOBA are just a few of the items considered here.
Let’s Get Weird – I will give one hitter and one pitcher lesser owned that MIGHT have a chance to boom but an equal chance to bust. In other words, a dart throw that could set you apart in MLB DFS GPP’s. Your decision if you want to live dangerously.
Let’s dive right into today.
Top MLB DFS Plays for 9/22
Pitching Plays
- Brady Singer ($6,900 DK / $9,600 FD) – Singer has been GREAT over his last two starts. Two starts ago, he was within a few outs of a no-hitter and threw eight shutout innings of one-hit ball at Cleveland. Last time out at Detroit, he threw six shutout innings of two-hit ball. You know one of the big things in DFS? You ride the wave when someone is hot. Singer has looked to have ditched his change-up and is going heavy sinker and slider approach over his last few starts. The results have looked promising to say the least. The Cardinals are striking out 26% of the time and have a stinky .290 wOBA since the calendar turned to September. Singer looks to be a great MLB DFS play tonight.
- Framber Valdez ($9,700 DK / $10,000 FD) – Any matchup vs Seattle is always juicy to look at. Framber Valdez’s best pitch is his curveball. Guess who ranks in the bottom 3rd of the league vs the curveball? That would be the Mariners. Seattle is also hitting .193 as a team and striking out 26% of the time vs LHP over the last several weeks. Valdez looks get quite a few K’s tonight.
Happy Hitters
- Corner Infield: Salvador Perez ($4,700 DK / $ 3,400 FD) – Although St. Louis has not announced a starter to replace the injured Dakota Hudson in the rotation for Tuesday’s game, all signs are pointing to the lefty Austin Gomber to start. Mr. Perez has destroyed LHP so far in 13 September AB’s, slashing .583/.615/1.583. This is also complemented by his league-leading 473 wRC+. Even if Gomber only pitches a few innings, that may be all Perez needs to put one in the seats.
- Middle Infield: Miguel Rojas ($4,500 DK / $3,100 FD) – The MVP of the first week of this season before the Marlins were quarantined, Rojas has looked good of late vs LHP. Over his last 20 AB’s vs lefties, Rojas is slashing .632/.650/1.053. He also has a 359 wRC+, which is 4th in baseball over that time. Hamels doesn’t scare me in this potential high scoring affair, so I’d start Rojas with confidence.
- Outfielder #1: Wil Myers ($5,100 DK / $3,500 FD) – Over the last few weeks, Myers is 4th in all of baseball with a 259 wRC+ vs RHP. Over his last 39 AB’s he’s knocking the cover off the ball with a .600 ISO and .971 SLG. In a stacked lineup against a volatile pitcher like Canning, I like Myer’s chances to contribute in this game.
- Outfielder #2: Jared Walsh ($4,700 DK / $3,100 FD) – The story of the last what feels like month of baseball is Jared Walsh. Over his last 15 games, Walsh has 8 HRs and 23 RBIs while hitting .373. Over that same time period, to a .579 ISO and .538 wOBA vs RHP. Davies has been better than expected this year, but if anyone outside Trout gets to him tonight, I would expect it to be Walsh.
Let’s Get Weird
- Steven Brault ($6,400 DK / $7,800 FD) – Going against a Chicago Cubs lineup that let’s face it, has underwhelmed this season. The Cubs have the 3rd worst wRC+ in September vs LHP and Brault and has a 3.57 Home ERA in 22 IP, as opposed to 4.85 in 13 IP on the road. The Cubs over this time are also striking out nearly 30% of the time! Call this a gut call but I think you could do a lot worse here.
- Adam Duvall ($4,800 DK / $3,100 FD) – Picking Adam Duvall on the right night is like hitting the lottery in DFS. When he’s on, he’s ON. He’s had multi 3 HR games already this season. In a matchup with Jose Urena, who let’s face it, might not make it through one time through the order, I like Duvall and his .509 ISO to be a factor in this Braves lineup tonight.
For more analysis on the hottest hitters give Chris Clegg’s dive into the latest Statcast trends a read.
Make sure to follow me on twitter @DMendy02 and tag me if I helped you win some cash on this MLB DFS slate. Good luck!
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