MLB DFS Playbook September 4: Top Plays for DraftKings and FanDuel
Published: Sep 04, 2023
We have seven games on tonight's MLB DFS main slate which kicks off at 2pm ET with some interesting pitching matchups and great spots for offenses to put up some nice run totals. Be sure to check in with our MLB DFS Tools, with the daily MLB projections, MLB DFS rostership projections, and our MLB DFS Lineup Generator when building those lineups today to help you decide which players you should be targeting!
MLB DFS Playbook: September 4
MLB Weather Updates
No weather issues for tonight's slate!
DFS Lineup Construction Thoughts
We have a seven game slate here with some pretty obvious builds that should get some decent ownership. I'm not going to shy away from the chalk plays which likely center around the Seattle Mariners, Merrill Kelly and Cole Ragans on this slate but I will look to find ways to be different while still having the chalk plays in my lineups.
Recommended DFS Starting Pitchers
Top Options for Strikeouts
- Justin Steele vs San Francisco Giants
- Cole Ragans vs Chicago White Sox
- Merrill Kelly vs Colorado Rockies
Best Odds for a Win
- Cole Ragans vs Chicago White Sox
- Merrill Kelly vs Colorado Rockies
- Justin Steele vs San Francisco Giants
- Jose Berrios vs Oakland Athletics
- See More
Favorite Starters to Use for DFS Lineups
Merrill Kelly, SP Arizona Diamondbacks
He's the cover of the playbook so you know we were going here. Kelly is +110 to get the win on DraftKings Sportsbook which is about as big of a favorite as you can be when it comes to the win prop. He is also sitting at -160 to record more than 17.5 outs, has his strikeout prop set at 7.5 and his earned run line set at 1.5. We also just recently saw this matchup which was in Coors Field and Kelly tossed six-innings of two-run baseball while striking out 11.
Cole Ragans, SP Kansas City Royals
Ragans was horrid this season out of the bullpen but he's seen new life as a member of the Royals starting rotation, posting a 1.71 ERA with 56 strikeouts over 41.2 innings in seven starts this season. Ragans is set at -135 on the over 17.5 outs with his earned run total sitting at -145 on the under 2.5 earned runs allowed. His strikeout prop is only set at 5.5 but with a -180 line on the over which makes sense considering the fact that Ragans has gone under 5.5 strikeouts just once over his last six starts. The White Sox are an offense we like to target and they could be without Luis Robert who was scratched from the lineup on Sunday.
Recommended DFS Hitters
Highest Expected Run Totals
- Texas Rangers vs J.P. France
- Arizona Diamondbacks vs Peter Lambert
- Seattle Mariners vs Tejay Antone
- Toronto Blue Jays vs Ken Waldichuk
- Cincinnati Reds vs Bryan Woo
- See More
Favorite Hitters to Use for DFS Lineups
Julio Rodriguez, OF Seattle Mariners
He is the cover of the MLB DFS podcast which you can watch below and for good reason. Rodriguez is hitting .409 with an OPS of 1.186 over the last 10 games. It's not just the power for Rodriguez either as he has four stolen bases to go along with three home runs during this stretch of play. The Mariners are playing in Cincinnati which is a great hitting environment
Gabriel Moreno, C Arizona Diamondbacks
It's not often a catcher appears in this section but Moreno continues to be a nice value plays and he is smoking the baseball right now, hitting .375 with an OPS of 1.163 over the last 10 games. Moreno was one of the better catching prospects in baseball as a member of the Blue Jays and was a key part of the deal which saw Dalton Varsho go to Toronto this offseason.
Davis Schneider, 2B/3B Toronto Blue Jays
Attacking Ken Waldichuk is always a popular play and today should be no different. Schneider has continued to rake at the dish since being called up and while the sample size is still small he has absolutely torched southpaws. On the season, Schneider is hitting .400 with a .610 wOBA with an ISO of 640. Schneider has hit fiver homers in 25 at bats against southpaws. He is locked in.
Tune Into Today's MLB DFS Podcast Breaking Down Today's Slate!
Player Pool
| $ Tier | SP | IF | 2B | 3B | SS | OF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High |  Merrill Kelly  $10,300 |  Jose Altuve $4,000 |  Alex Bregman $3,600 |  Corey Seager $4,500 |  Julio RodrÃguez $4,300 | |
 Justin Steele $10,600 |  Davis Schneider $3,900 |  Bobby Witt $4,200 | Corbin Carroll $4,000 | |||
| Kyle Tucker $3,800 | ||||||
| Medium | Cole Ragans $9,000 | Vladimir Guerrero $3,300 | Marcus Semien $3,600 | Eugenio Suárez $3,000 | J.P. Crawford $3,100 | Chas McCormick $3,500 |
| Cal Raleigh $3,000 |  Josh Lowe $3,400 | |||||
| George Springer $3,400 | ||||||
 Adam Duvall $3,200 | ||||||
 Jake Fraley $3,200 | ||||||
 Teoscar Hernández $3,200 | ||||||
| Low | Triston Casas $2,900 | Whit Merrifield $2,900 | Ezequiel Duran $2,700 | Jeremy Peña $2,700 | Masataka Yoshida $3,100 | |
 Josh Rojas $2,700 | Ernie Clement $2,200 | TJ Friedl $3,000 | ||||
| Lourdes Gurriel $2,900 | ||||||
| Will Benson $2,800 | ||||||
 Nick Martini $2,800 |
Stacks
| Mariners | Teoscar Hernández | J.P. Crawford | Cal Raleigh | Julio RodrÃguez |
 DraftKings | 4600 | 4500 | 4700 | 6400 |
| Fanduel | 3200 | 3100 | 3000 | 4300 |
| Reds | Elly De La Cruz | TJ Friedl | Nick Martini | Jake Fraley |
| DraftKings | 5700 | 4500 | 2800 | 4300 |
| Fanduel | 3700 | 3000 | 2800 | 3200 |
| Astros | Chas McCormick | Alex Bregman | Jeremy Peña | Kyle Tucker |
| DraftKings | 4700 | 5500 | 4100 | 5900 |
| Fanduel | 3500 | 3600 | 2700 | 3800 |
| Blue Jays | George Springer | Ernie Clement | Davis Schneider | Vladimir Guerrero |
| DraftKings | 4600 | 2200 | 4600 | 5000 |
| Fanduel | 3400 | 2200 | 3900 | 3300 |
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.