Welcome to David Mendelson’s MLB DFS Quick Hits for FanDuel & Draft Kings Contests for Tuesday, September 1, 2020
We have a big 11-game slate tonight that locks at 7:05 PM EST. We have ace-caliper arms facing off in Philadelphia, a young, exciting arm in Boston, and plenty of dumpster-fires on the mound tonight. Of course with all those dumpster-fires, that means we have BATS! 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 9/1
Pitching Plays
- Dallas Keuchel ($8,700 DK / $8,400 FD) – Would you believe me if I told you that THE Minnesota Twins are 27th in the league in ISO vs LHP’s over the last few weeks? It’s true. Keuchel has looked reborn this season working with pitch framing expert Yasmani Grandal, as he’s getting to pitch low consistently and get called strikes. The Twins have lost 5 in a row up to this piece of writing and are floundering. Kuechel could work deep in this game a potentially give you 6+ K’s.
- Framber Valdez ($8,100 DK / $9,900 FD) – Going against a Rangers team that has tied for the second-worst wRC+ over the last two weeks vs LHP to go with a .120 ISO. Expect this to be a good pivot play to some aces on the bump.
Happy Hitters
- Corner Infield: Brandon Belt ($4,200 DK / $ 3,800 FD) – All you have to see is Coors Field and your attention is automatically grabbed right? Well, Belt is leading all of baseball over most of August, with a .485/.553/.848 slash line vs RHP. He’ll have the park factor and his hot hitting to back him up this game vs Jon Gray, who is also 10-for-24 career against. Get that bat in there today.
- Middle Infield: Francisco Lindor ($5,300 DK / $3,300 FD) – This man is batting .500 in 32 AB’s vs Jakob Junis. .500!!! That includes 4 HR’s and 12 RBI’s. Lindy absolutely loves mashing Jakob JUNKis and will be a fixture in every lineup I play today. Lindor also has a respectable wOBA of .333 vs RHP as well so don’t overthink this one.
- Outfielder #1: Kyle Tucker ($4,500 DK / $3,600 FD) – He’s facing..Jordan Lyles. That alone should get you excited. The guy with a 9.25 ERA and 2 HR/9. Add the fact that Tucker is crushing the baseball and trying to make his mark on staying up with the big league club for good. Tucker is hitting .429 with a .551 wOBA over the ladder half of August vs this handiness and is walking more than he is striking out. In a game that should have a lot of runs on the board for the Astros, I’d expect Tucker to contribute heavily.
- Outfielder #2: Jason Heyward ($2,300 DK / $2,800 FD) – Not a name I thought I’d ever put here honestly. He’s been mashing of late and has been one of the best hitters vs RHP the last few weeks. He’s got a 1.385 OPS and a 250 wRC+. The crazy part? He’s walking at a 21% clip as opposed to 12% K rate. It’s said he’s adapted a pull-heavy approach to his swing recently and it seems to be allowing him to see the ball better and hit it like he did his rookie season.
Let’s Get Weird
- Spencer Turnbull ($8,700 DK / $8,100 FD) – This is definitely a risk it for the biscuit take, but Turnbull could be really good here. Milwaukee has been putrid vs most RHP this season and hasn’t seen Turnbull many times. The Brewers are striking out 27% of the time and have a .174 BA over the last few weeks vs right-handers so this might work out okay. Fun fact: Did you know Turnbull is 1 of 2 qualifying pitchers to not yet give up a home run? That’ll probably be jinxed after this article but it needs to be said.
- Robinson Cano ($4,400 DK / $3,500 FD) – What do you know? The old guy still has it! Since the middle of August, Cano has accumulated the highest wrC+ and wOBA of any middle infielder in baseball. He has two doubles and a walk in three plate appearances vs Wojciechowski and the game is in homer-happy Camden Yards. Cano should deliver in this game.
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!
Looking to identify more hot hitters? Then check out Chris Clegg’s look at the latest Stacast trends.
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