Slate Details
DK – Main slate (10 games) – starts 1:35 p.m. EDT
FD – Main slate (11 games) – starts 1:35 p.m. EDT
Weather Impact
A little sketchy in TB@BAL and there might be a delay, but I think they get the game in. There might be a delay in the MIN@CHW game but the weather should clear up pretty quickly.
Pitching
Carlos Rodón gave up 7 ERs in 3.2 innings on September 7th against the Tigers. Outside of that start, Rodon has not given up more than 2 ERs in a start since early August. He even struck out 9 batters in 5 innings against the Red Sox in his last start and I think he puts up a nice line against the Pirates today.
Hyun Jin Ryu isn’t going to blow you away but the veteran lefty has not given up more than 3 ERs in seven consecutive starts. The Red Sox have struggled at the plate in the last two weeks (79 wRC+, 28.3 K%). Ryu won’t win you a crazy amount of money today but he won’t kill you either.
The Chicago White Sox offense seems is very hit or miss and today they are going to have one of their big misses against Sonny Gray. Chicago has a 72 wRC+ over the last two weeks and I think Gray goes 7 innings minimum and should put up an excellent fantasy performance.
My #1 pitcher on the board today is Brandon Woodruff against the Nationals. Coming off a complete game shutout of the Marlins after 7 additional shutout innings against the Pirates, Woodruff should dominate a mediocre Washington lineup that was shut out by Mitch Keller on Thursday.
Would I recommend starting Sean Manaea in Coors Field? Probably not. But he was pretty good in his last start against the Guardians (5.2 IP, 1 ER, 5 Ks) and the Rockies’ lineup has struggled mightily recently. If you are feeling bold, playing Manaea will at the very least give you some differentiation from the rest of the DFS community.
Pitcher Pricing 9-17-2023
Hitting
The Houston Astros offense has been the best in baseball over the last two weeks and has been spearheaded by Yordan Alvarez (221 wRC+) and Jose Altuve (175 wRC+). Against Jordan Lyles I am going to be stacking the Stros and I am particularly interested in Jeremy Peña, Alex Bregman, Kyle Tucker and Michael Brantley.
This just has not been Dylan Cease’s year and I don’t think it gets better today against a Twins lineup that has put up 26 runs in the first three games of this series. If the bases are loaded when Royce Lewis steps up to bat, look out because a grand slam is coming. Carlos Correa, Matt Wallner, Edouard Julien, Jorge Polanco and Willi Castro are all also in the top 50 in baseball in wRC+ over the last two weeks and Max Kepler and Alex Kirilloff provide some pop in the middle of the lineup. This would be a nice low-priced stack alternative to Houston.
Other hitters of note:
- Jesús Luzardo is not someone I typically want to play hitters against, but Braves RHHs like Ronald Acuña Jr., Jr., Austin Riley and Sean Murphy should be in play. Marcell Ozuna has a 1.400 OPS in 5 career at-bats against Luzardo and is also an interesting target.
- Pete Alonso is finishing the season on a strong note and I think he goes deep against Cincinnati LHP Brandon Williamson today. Brandon Nimmo has also been playing well in the leadoff spot for New York and Ronny Mauricio is an exciting young player.
- Dakota Hudson has given up 12 ERs in his last two starts and is always a pitcher to go against. Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper are excellent guys to get in your lineup if you have the cash.
Hitter Pricing 9-17-23