MLB DFS Playbook September 19: Top Plays for DraftKings and FanDuel
Published: Sep 19, 2023
Hello and welcome to the MLB DFS Playbook for September 19! We have a 12-game slate on DK and FD on our hands today. We have a 7:05 pm ET start time. Make sure to check out all of our amazing MLB DFS tools as they are always worth going through before building your lineups as are the Vegas Odds. However, as I am sure you have figured out by now, the new playbook will be a one-stop shop that includes everything from easy-to-read player write-ups and suggestions to MLB Weather Reports to lineup construction tips to our best value plays for DraftKings and FanDuel. You will be given core plays around which to build your lineups, DFS stacks to consider for GPP tournaments and key statistics to help you in your DFS research. Let’s dive in!
MLB DFS Playbook September 19
MLB Weather Updates
Cleveland Guardians vs. Kansas City Royals (possible rain)
Games that appear to have a decent wind blowing out:
Cleveland Guardians vs. Kansas City Royals (blowing out to LCF)
Games that appear to have a decent wind blowing in:
None.
Recommended DFS Starting Pitchers
Top Options for Strikeouts
Spencer Strider, Atlanta Braves
Luis Castillo, Seattle Mariners
Best Odds for a Win
Ryan Pepiot (Los Angeles Dodgers -245)
Blake Snell (San Diego Padres -234)
Spencer Strider (Atlanta Braves -225)
Luis Castillo (Seattle Mariners -222)
Favorite Starters to Use for DFS Lineups
I will be spending up on SP tonight as there is a ton of upside on the mound tonight.
Spencer Strider, Atlanta Braves
Strider seems to enjoy mixing in those awful outings where he scores negative points, but when he is not doing that, he’s normally scoring 30+ points on dk and that’s a hard number to ignore when it is happening so often. I don’t love this matchup, but the upside that Strider brings to the table is second to no one.
Luis Castillo, Seattle Mariners
Castillo is cruising to a top-3 (probably runner-up) finish in AL Cy Young voting as he has had a fantastic season; he has a 3.08 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, and has struck out 199 batters across 1811 innings of work. He has scored at least 25.9 dk points in four of his past five outings, including two straight. He faced the A’s earlier this year and delivered six shutout innings with 8 Ks in a win to finish with 29.9 dk points.
We also have Snell, who is likely taking home the NL Cy Young Award this season with an incredible campaign, pitching to a 2.43 ERA and striking out 217 across 167 innings of action. He hant scored fewer than 16.5 dk points in any of his past 10 starts. The Rockies are not good and Snell has faced them twice this season, averaging 26.8 dk points per start against them with an insane number of Ks, punching out 21 in 11.1 innings.
Other options that work that are a bit cheaper: Ryan Pepiot and Logan Allen
Recommended DFS Hitters
Highest Expected Run Totals
5.15 – Washington Nationals
5.03 – Los Angeles Dodgers
5.02 – Atlanta Braves
Favorite Hitters to Use for DFS Lineups
Dominic Smith, Washington Nationals
Dom will likely be a popular play today and for good reason. He is extremely cheap for one, for two he is facing a garbage pitcher in Jose Urena, and lastly he is also swinging it well right now. He is hitting .286 over his last 10 games and actually flashing some pop finally with three dingers in that span. If paying up at pitcher, it’s going to take some nice plays like Smith to make it work.
Andres Gimenez, Cleveland Guardians
Gimenez’s price keeps dropping… even though he’s scorching hot right now, hitting .375 with a home runs and three steals over his last 10 games. Not really sure why the price is moving the opposite way that it should be, but it makes Gimenez very appealing to me. I have repeated a bunch this year, but I love players who offer power and speed and that’s Gimenez as he has 13 home runs and 29 steals this season.
Ronald Acuna Jr., Atlanta Braves
Acuna is back in one of those unstoppable / going crazy phases that he has been in so many times this year. He is hitting .415 over his last 10 games with FIVE home runs and three steals. His monster year continues as he is now hitting .336 with 37 home runs and 66 stolen bases. His ability to do it both with the bat and with his legs make his upside tough to matchup when he’s rollin’ like this.
Jarred Kelenic, Seattle Mariners
Kelenic hasn’t exactly lit it up since coming off IL, but it’s only been a couple games, so I’m not too concerned about that. I like the cheap price tag that he currently has. I like the fact that he has 11 home runs and 12 steals this year in less than 100 games. I like the face that he has averaged nearly a R/RBI per game. And I like this matchup because Paul Blackburn simply isn’t any good with a 4.33 Era and unsightly 1.55 WHIP. Opposing batters have a .291 average against him.
Player Pool
| $ Tier | SP | 1B | 2B | 3B | SS | OF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High |  Spencer Strider  $11,500 |  Freddie Freeman $4,100 | Mookie Betts $4,500 | Austin Riley $4,000 |  Bobby Witt $4,200 | Ronald Acuña $5,000 |
| Blake Snell $11,300 |  Gunnar Henderson $3,700 |  Fernando Tatis $3,800 | ||||
| Medium |  Luis Castillo $10,900 |  Nathaniel Lowe $3,100 |  Gleyber Torres $3,200 |  Josh Jung $3,300 | CJ Abrams $3,300 |  Seiya Suzuki $3,100 |
| Jarred Kelenic $2,900 | ||||||
| Low |  Dominic Smith $2,400 |  Andrés Giménez $3,000 | Matthew Batten $2,300 |  Tim Anderson $2,500 |  Jordan Walker $2,800 | |
| Heston Kjerstad $2,400 |
Stacks
| Braves | Austin Riley | Matt Olson | Ronald Acuña |
 DraftKings | 5800 | 6400 | 6900 |
| Fanduel | 4000 | 4500 | 5000 |
| Nationals | Dominic Smith | Lane Thomas | CJ Abrams |
| DraftKings | 2800 | 4700 | 4800 |
| Fanduel | 2400 | 3200 | 3300 |
| Dodgers | Mookie Betts | Will Smith | Freddie Freeman |
| DraftKings | 6600 | 5400 | 6100 |
| Fanduel | 4500 | 3500 | 4100 |
| Guardians | Andrés Giménez | José RamÃrez | Bo Naylor |
| DraftKings | 3700 | 5700 | 3200 |
| Fanduel | 3000 | 3700 | 2600 |
Player News
Daulton Varsho picked up three hits, three RBI and a homer in a win over the Angels on Thursday.
Varsho has only played in seven games this year, but they’ve been seven good ones. He’s homered three times already, and his slugging percentage is a remarkable — and entirely unsustainable — .727 over 22 at-bats. Varsho has been a mediocre offensive player in his two seasons with the Blue Jays, but it’s possible at the age of 28 he’s having a breakout campaign. Far from a guarantee, but possible.
Taylor Ward hit a two-run homer in a loss to the Blue Jays on Thursday.
Ward, 31, gave the Angels a 2-0 lead with a two-run homer off Chris Bassitt in the first inning. He’s now gone deep in two of his last three games, and it ‘improves’ his slash to .181/.224/.391. Ward has been one of the most hot/cold players players in the sport over the last few years, so fantasy managers who can afford to make some roster moves may want to look at Ward while the going is good.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. picked up three hits and scored twice in an 8-5 win over the Angels on Thursday.
Guerrero also drew a walk. It gives the first baseman multiple hits in back-to-back games, and it’s the third time in May that he’s reached that mark. That’s helped raise his average from .268 to .295, and the only thing fantasy managers can be disappointed with is his .432 slugging percentage. That number should continue to climb as the season unfolds, but Vladdy Jr. has had some inconsistent seasons when it comes to power production.
Chad Green picked up his first save of 2025 with a scoreless ninth against the Angels on Thursday.
Green got the save after Jeff Hoffman worked in back-to-back games — and struggled — in the first two contests against the Angels. He struck out two and looked the part while needing just nine pitches to get through the inning. Hoffman should remain the closer, but Green is on his tail if the struggles were to continue.
Chris Bassitt allowed five runs — four earned — while working six-plus innings against the Angels on Thursday while picking up a win.
Bassitt allowed three runs over the first two innings on a pair of homers, but settled down over his next four frames. He came out to work the seventh, but ended up being charged for two more runs after leaving the contest. The 36-year-old veteran has forged a 3.35 ERA and outstanding 49/8 K/BB ratio over the first quarter of the season, but this wasn’t him at his best. He’ll get the Rays next week if the rotation order stays the same for Toronto.
José Soriano allowed three runs over five innings while not factoring in the decision Thursday against the Blue Jays.
Soriano left with a 4-3 lead, but it was erased quickly after his departure. The 26-year-old was not exactly dominant in his outing with eight hits allowed and four free passes, but he did strike out six to help balance things out a smidgen. Soriano takes an even ERA of 4.00 into a scheduled start against the Padres in San Diego on Tuesday. There should be better options for that one.