Underdog Fantasy MLB Picks September 4: Trea Turner Stays Hot for Phillies vs Padres
Welcome back to another week on the Major League Baseball schedule as we take a look at top MLB Underdog picks today. There are games going on all afternoon, but we'll just focus on some MLB picks for the evening matchups. My top MLB picks today on Underdog Fantasy feature Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Trea Turner taking on Rich Hill and the San Diego Padres. Plus, Lucas Giolito makes his Cleveland Guardians debut tonight. Don't miss out on these top MLB player picks on Underdog Fantasy for “Pick'Em” contests tonight. Check out the latest MLB weather report and the confirmed MLB lineups when placing those MLB daily picks or setting daily fantasy baseball lineups as well. Plus, the MLB daily projections and MLB Batter vs Pitcher page will help you find the best matchups for MLB picks and MLB DFS lineups. Let's dive into the top MLB player picks on Underdog Fantasy for Monday, September 4th.
MLB Underdog Fantasy Top Picks September 4
Trea Turner, Philadelphia Phillies – HIGHER than 1.5 Total Bases
Trea Turner has been swinging a hot bat for a full month now, so let’s keep backing him with our Underdog Fantasy picks. The Philadelphia Phillies shortstop is batting .364 with a 1.162 OPS over the past month with 11 home runs, nine doubles, and one triple across 27 games. Lately, Turner is hitting .414 over his past seven games coming into tonight. He’s also on a major power surge right now with six home runs over his last seven games and nine homers in his past 15 games. In terms of total bases, Turner has 2+ in six straight games and in nine of the past 10. Until he cools off, we have to continue riding him.
Turner will face left-hander Rich Hill, who has struggled since joining the San Diego Padres at the trade deadline. Hill had an 8.50 ERA and 1.61 WHIP across his five starts in August. Going back further, the veteran southpaw now has a 6.75 ERA over the past two months. The Phillies offense is one of the best in the league against left-handed pitching lately and it’s hard to see Hill having much success here. Turner also boasts strong career BvP numbers vs Hill with a .471 BA (8-for-17), two doubles, and one homer. Plus, the Padres starter is allowing a .284 BA to right-handed hitters this season.
Lucas Giolito, Cleveland Guardians – LOWER than 2.5 Earned Runs
Lucas Giolito will pitch for his third different team on Monday night when he starts for the Cleveland Guardians. He was claimed off waivers last week after spending just over a month with the Los Angeles Angels following the trade from the Chicago White Sox. Now Giolito’s first start with his new team will come against the Minnesota Twins in a pivotal AL Central series. Though he struggled to a 7.24 ERA in his six starts with the Angels, Giolito can be more effective than you’d think tonight.
The right-hander boasts a 2.53 ERA at home this season compared to a 6.27 ERA on the road. Of course, Giolito’s home parks before tonight were in Chicago and Anaheim. Still, there’s something to be said about a pitcher who’s clearly been more comfortable pitching at home (wherever that is) than on the road. Plus, Giolito has had multiple good outings against the Twins earlier this year. He’s faced them three times already while with the White Sox and allowed only two total earned runs over 18 combined innings. He also struck out 7+ in each of those starts. We can see Giolito do it again tonight as the Twins offense comes in with just a .306 wOBA and high 27.2% K rate vs right-handed pitching over the past week. Finally, it’s worth mentioning that he boasts a 1.67 ERA in six career starts in Cleveland. Granted, those outings came against the Guardians lineup – but still.
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Player News
Cubs re-signed RHP Caleb Kilian to a minor league contract.
The 27-year-old hurler was released last weekend after being designated for assignment, but after exploring the open market he has decided that a reunion with the Cubs made the most sense. Kilian will continue to function as extra rotation depth at Triple-A Iowa for the time being.
Corey Seager went 2-for-3 with a homer and a walk to help the Rangers take down the Angels 5-3 on Thursday.
Seager had a bad first week and a half while dealing with a calf strain, but he’s collected 14 hits, including three homers, in his last eight games, putting him at .306/.368/.516 overall. Alas, it’s produced just six RBI, mostly because the Rangers are getting terrible production from the ninth and first spots in the order.
Kumar Rocker recorded his first MLB victory after pitching seven innings of three-run ball and striking out eight Thursday against the Angels.
Rocker walked none and surrendered just one double and four singles. Unfortunately, all five hits came in the first and fifth innings, resulting in three runs between them. Still, Rocker was terrific in needing just 78 pitches to get 21 outs. It’s the kind of performance that suggests he might offer mixed-league value at some point. We just wouldn’t trust him quite yet. His next start will come in Sacramento against the A’s.
Robert Garcia picked up his first save of the year with a perfect ninth against the Angels on Thursday.
Garcia got the call tonight with Luke Jackson having pitched the previous two days and retired the Angels on five pitches. Even though he’s the better reliever of the two, he’ll likely resume taking a backseat to Jackson on Friday.
Jack Kochanowicz gave up four runs and eight hits in 4 2/3 innings against the Rangers on Thursday.
The surprising and misguided decision to pick Kochanowicz over Reid Detmers for a rotation spot at the end of the spring isn’t working out for the Angels. The team might reverse course soon, but Detmers hasn’t been used as a long guy and isn’t stretched out to start right away. Kochanowicz is now 1-2 with a 6.20 ERA, but at least he gets the Pirates next.
Joc Pederson went 0-for-4 with a strikeout Thursday, dropping his average to .060.
It’s mostly been hard grounders and routine flies from Pederson thus far, but given that his bat speed is unchanged from last year, we don’t have big concerns here yet. That said, this might not be the weekend he turns it around, given that the Rangers are set to face the Dodgers.