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MLB DFS Picks: Spotlight Pitchers and Top Stacks | Sept. 17
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MLB DFS Picks: Spotlight Pitchers
Overall the Detroit lineup is filled with unproven or inconsistent youngsters, with a few capable veterans sprinkled in and, of course, Javier Baez and his six-year, $140 million contract looking on with complete disinterest from the dugout.
Over his last dozen games, Ragans has compiled a 3.31 ERA, 3.47 FIP and 3.73 xFIP. These tilts include games in New York against the Yankees, in Cleveland, in Houston, in Boston and in Coors Field. That is some tough competition, which also demonstrates how the 26-year-old has leveled up once again. In this span he also has 10.83 strikeouts per nine innings, a tick below his 10.96 per nine on the season, which is the fourth-best mark in the league among qualified starters. Enjoy!
Veteran RHPs Nathan Eovaldi and Chris Bassitt are squaring off in Texas, and their respective offenses are both struggling. Then there is RHP Griffin “Tomato” Canning at home against the historically bad White Sox in a real-life experiment of the Irresistible Force vs. the Immovable Object.
Ultimately it looks like RHP Tylor Megill has the best combination of salary and fantasy points per dollar in a matchup against Washington. The Nationals do have a few talented players in the lineup, though most are getting their first action in The Show. CJ Abrams and Luis Garcia are the most accomplished hitters, but everyone else has various question marks.
Megill has bounced up and down from the minors several times this season, though it looks like he will be in the rotation for the rest of the season. In his three appearances since being recalled, the 29-year-old hurler has compiled 15.1 innings, a 2.35 ERA, 1.80 FIP and 2.99 xFIP with 10.57 strikeouts per nine innings.
Last year, Megill saw his strikeouts drop from 9.7 per nine down to 7.5 while also posting a career-worst 4.13 walks per nine innings. It would seem that he has resolved most of those issues while looking like a pitcher to covet for DFS purposes when he has a good matchup.
Citi Field is a very favorable park for pitchers, and the Nationals have scored the seventh-fewest runs over the last 30 days with 3.88 per game. To their credit, the Washington hitters mostly limit strikeouts, but Joey Gallo and newcomer James Woods could give Megill four or five themselves.
MLB DFS Picks: Top Stacks
Main Slate Primary Target: Kansas City Royals
Yesterday RHP Reese Olson will be returned from the injured reserve, granting RHP Casey Mize and LHP Tarik Skubal an extra day of rest.
Mize missed two months with a hamstring injury, and last year he had Tommy John surgery. He is a talented pitcher who was the first overall selection in the 2018 MLB Draft.
He had only 10 innings in The Show in 2022 and missed the 2023 season while recovering from surgery. That, along with the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, leaves him with only 283.1 big league innings under his belt. In his three games back in the saddle, he has a 5.63 ERA and 5.36 FIP, with his 3.72 xFIP indicating he has been a little unlucky with four home runs in these 16 innings. He should be good for around 80 to 85 pitches, which means four or five innings, then it will be the beleaguered bullpen taking over.
The trio to target against right-handed pitchers are, of course, Bobby Witt Jr. (who crushed his 32nd home run of the season off Olson last night), veteran Salvador Perez and soon-to-be free agent Michael Massey, who excels with the platoon advantage. MJ Melendez also joins Massey in that category, giving us a solid core four. Hunter Renfroe and his light-tower power are always a fine option in stacks or as a one-off.
Main Slate Wild Card Target: Chicago White Sox
Chicago has won three consecutive games, which is only the fourth time this season that has happened, with the 2024 high being a four-game winning streak back in early-May. The team needs to win six of the last 11 games to tie the 1962 New York Mets for the worst-ever record in a 162-game season.
Yoan Moncada (groin) is back in action, which is a boost to this lineup, bereft of even average hitters. Luis Robert Jr. is having a dreadful season, not even getting many serious inquiries during the July trade deadline. Gavin Sheets and Andrew Benintendi are better with the platoon advantage, with Andrew Vaugh currently the “best” hitter, earning cleanup duties.
So why this team? Well, that would be all because of Canning, who has ceded 25 runs in his last 34.2 innings, with per-nine-inning ratios of 6.23 strikeouts, 3.12 walks and 1.82 home runs.
There is no need to do a full ChiSox stack, but the salary savings provided by Robert, Benintendi, Sheets and Vaughn will go a long way on DraftKings to loading up on the Coors Field Extravaganza while also rostering a top pitcher.
