Welcome to Monday! We are officially in the final week of the season! We have another week of regular season DFS to capitalize on and build more winning MLB DFS lineups. 

We have an AL central battle between the Tigers, Royals, and Twins, all fighting for the final two wild card spots, with the Mariners also holding onto a small amount of hope. The NL is mainly sorted out with the Braves trying to fight themselves back in and steal a wild card from either the Mets or the Diamondbacks. 

 

 

 

It is a big travel day across the league, so we only have four games today, giving us a 4-game main slate starting at 6:40 PM ET on DraftKings and FanDuel. 

With such a small slate, the choices are far more limited than usual, but this will give you some practice if you plan to play DFS in the playoffs. Building lineups on small slates can be challenging, so let’s dive into today’s playbook and all of my favorite MLB DFS picks for the day!

MLB DFS Picks & Daily Fantasy Playbook Today, September 23

With a 4-game slate, your options are limited, especially once you consider that you likely don’t want any offense against your pitchers. So, you are quickly narrowed down to six teams or less to build your offense around. I could see playing both of the top pitchers today, but I like E-Rod in this spot at his price, so I likely will be pairing one of the top pitchers with him.

On the offensive side, my favorite lineups to target today include the Arizona Diamondbacks, Philadelphia Phillies, Boston Red Sox, and Toronto Blue Jays.

 

 

 

MLB Weather Today, 9/23

There is some rain throughout the day. I am not worried about it impacting the game, but keep an eye on it as we get closer to game time. 

MLB DFS Optimizer & Lineup Generator Today

This Playbook is your ultimate resource for crafting amazing MLB DFS picks. Dive into our expert advice and recommendations, and don’t forget to check out today’s MLB DFS projections, MLB DFS ownership projections and our special MLB lineups page! 

You can easily mix all this info with the MLB DFS Lineup Generator, helping you lock in your Core Plays and create winning lineups quickly! Here’s a sample lineup for today’s games:

 

 

 

MLB DFS Lineup Picks: Starting Pitchers

Top Options For Strikeouts

Best Odds For A Win

MLB DFS Lineups: Core MLB DFS Pitchers

Eduardo Rodriguez, Arizona Diamondbacks

I love Eduardo Rodriguez at this price. He is coming off an 11-strikeout performance in Coors Field, but his price is lower than it was for that outing and the lowest it has been all season. This is way too much of a discount, and he should probably be locked in most lineups today. 

The Giants against lefties over the last month have a league-leading 33.3% strikeout rate and are slashing .134/.194/.227 with a 20 wRC+, all last in the league. With E-Rod's strikeout upside and the Giants looking this terrible against lefties, this looks like a no-brainer for a bunch of strikeouts and a great chance at a win. 

Hunter Brown, Houston Astros

Hunter Brown hasn’t been his best over his last two starts, giving up 5 earned runs to the Athletics and then pitching a quality start against the Padres but with only 3 strikeouts (though that is the norm with the Padres). Before that, he had 6 straight starts with 2 earned runs or less, throwing 37 innings with 35 strikeouts, a 1.22 ERA, and a 0.86 WHIP. 

The Mariners give him a good matchup today. The offense has been performing much better over the last month, but they still have a 25% strikeout rate against righties, and I think Hunter Brown is good enough to shut them down. 

Aaron Nola, Philadelphia Phillies

We’ve had a few good and a few bad from Aaron Nola recently. He got beat up a bit by the Marlins (ouch) and the Mets, but then had two great starts with 9 strikeouts against the Brewers and Braves, both good offenses.  

The Cubs also have a pretty good offense and will not roll over easily, which gives Hunter Brown the edge today. However, I still think Aaron Nola's upside is higher than most other pitchers' today, and I trust him to give a solid outing. 

 

 

 

MLB DFS Lineup Picks: Hitters

Highest Expected Run Totals 

MLB DFS Lineups: Core MLB DFS Hitters

Triston Casas, 1B Boston Red Sox

I'm not turning away from the usual move of attacking Chris Bassitt with lefties. Lefties are still slashing .300/.382/.474 against him this season with a 1.56 HR/9. Triston Casas has legit power, as we just saw yesterday with a 3-homer game in game one of the double-header. 

Triston Casas, if healthy, can be one of the better power-hitting first basemen in the league and started the season as a $5,000 player. Seeing the performance we did yesterday, I am very happy to jump back in and take this discount right now with such a good matchup. 

Ketel Marte, 2B Arizona Diamondbacks

Sure, he isn’t facing a lefty, but I don’t care. The Diamondbacks are my favorite offense to target today, and Ketel Marte is their best hitter. He has also been excellent against righties, just not as insanely dominant as he has been against lefties. 

Hayden Birdsong has struggled even worse against righties, so part of me wants Marte not to switch-hit in this matchup and bat as a righty, where he has been better and where Birdsong has struggled more (I know this probably wouldn’t benefit him, but one can dream). Regardless, I love Marte and am happily paying for him today, no matter the matchup. 

Trevor Story, SS Boston Red Sox

This one isn’t a lefty against Bassitt, but almost all of Story’s success in his short season has come against righties. The shortstop position feels pretty weak today as well, and the discount you get on Story for someone who can easily produce solid value feels really good.

In his last 8 games he has slashed .357/.419/.607 with 2 homers and 3 steals. That is some great production that, hopefully, he can keep up through the last week of the season to give the Red Sox some hope for what 2025 could bring.  

Lourdes Gurriel, OF Arizona Diamondbacks

Lourdes Gurriel has made a quick return from the IL with 3 hits and a homer in his first 2 games back. In his 20 games before landing on the IL he had slashed .338/.432/.544, and I am expecting that type of production to continue now that he has returned. 

You could build an entire outfield of Diamondbacks with a combination of Lourdes Gurriel, Corbin Carroll, Joc Pederson, Jake McCarthy, Randal Grichuk, and Pavin Smith, and I would be happy to use any of them. Still, Lourdes Gurriel is my favorite of the group to include in any Diamondbacks stack I put together today. 

 

 

 

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