TV gives his lineup construction advice for Sunday
We have a full slate of games Sunday across MLB, including a day-night doubleheader between the Braves and Nationals. There are a few spots with massive playoff implications as the Rangers host the Mariners with 1.5 games separating them, and the Blue Jays and Rays continue to jockey for Wild Card positioning.
There are plenty of guys who won’t play, and that’s September baseball, so remain flexible. I’ll dive into the foundational building blocks you need to construct your lineups around.
The effects of Tropical Storm Ophelia will be felt in the Northeast. Mainly, Philadelphia and the Bronx are two spots we’re keeping a close eye on.
Luis Arraez, leg – He left Saturday’s game early. It’s uncertain if he will be back in the lineup.
Tony Kemp, ankle – It was announced yesterday that Kemp will be out indefinitely with an ankle injury.
Randy Arozarena, quad – He missed Saturday’s clash with the Jays and it’s currently unknown if he will be in the lineup.
Top-Priced Starting Pitchers (DraftKings)
There’s no denying how great Strider has been. In his last two starts, he faced a deep Phillies lineup and went 7 innings in each start, allowing 4 hits in both. He struck out 11 and 9 batters in each outing. He put himself into the history books as he officially owns the most strikeouts of any pitcher in their first 50 starts since 1893! The Contrarian Edge Optimizer is not suggesting rostering Strider today though. Likely due to the insane $12,900 salary.
The Optimizer again isn’t considering the second-highest salaried pitcher today, Freddy Peralta. My assumption is that the Brewers won’t be looking for Freddy to go deep into the game as they have locked up the NL Central division crown. He has been great of late, posting a 1.96 ERA over his last 10 starts. Despite some great names on today’s board, we’re going to look to roster some cheaper options at starting pitcher.
Hunter Brown vs. KC: $8,800
There are plenty of cheaper options at starting pitcher if we don’t want to pay up for guys like Strider. Brown is an obvious choice. You see the Astros are playing at home against the Royals, and you gravitate to that spot. Do you want someone who can strike people out? Brown is your guy. The 25-year-old has had some rough starts of late, but he’s had at least 5 strikeouts in 6 straight starts. On the surface, the Royals aren’t a perfect spot for strikeouts, but on the road, they have the fifth-most per game, and they have the lowest batting average in the league in away games.
Jordan Wicks vs. COL: $7,000
The 24-year-old lefty Wicks will toe the rubber for the Cubs today at Wrigley. He gets to face the struggling Rockies, which he recently threw 6 innings against on the road and allowed just 3 hits. He has a 2.67 ERA through his first 5 career starts. The Rockies have the fourth most strikeouts since the All-Star break and have the third-lowest batting average against lefties this season!
Cubs vs. Rockies (Ty Blach)
We’ll stay at Wrigley and stack Cubbies bats against the veteran lefty Blach. Multiple Cubs hitters have had previous success facing Blach. In 2 of his last 3 starts, he’s allowed 3 homeruns! In September alone, he’s given up 19 runs in 19.2 innings. I would like to see Nico Hoerner $5,700 in lineups as he’s the best Cubs bat. He’s hitting .287 with 42 steals. It doesn’t hurt that he’s 3 for 4 in his career versus Blach. Believe it or not, but Cody Bellinger has spanked lefties this season. He has a .342 average when facing left-handed pitching versus .290 against righties. He’s hitting .333 in 24 at-bats against Blach. Cheaper outfield options like Ian Happ and Suzuki are really great pivots on Sunday.
Astros vs. Royals (Steven Cruz)
As I said earlier, it’s natural to gravitate towards the Astros when they are at home facing the Royals, and in this case, it’s smart too. The Contrarian Edge Optimizer even agrees to stack Astros bats today. Cruz is going to be an opener for Kansas City today, meaning they will likely go to their bullpen in the second or third inning. The Royals pen has the 7th-highest home runs per 9 innings and the third-highest ERA in MLB. If you opt for cheaper starting pitching options, you can stack guys like Kyle Tucker and Alex Bregman. Tucker has a hit in 13 of 19 games in September, but he has struggled in the month overall, hitting just .214. He can be in for a bounce-back spot today. Altuve has been red-hot over the last week, hitting .360 with 4 extra-base hits.
CC breaks down PrizePicks and Underdog
The penultimate weekend of the regular season is here, and there are plenty of intriguing picks to make on a full Friday slate of MLB action.
We’ll try to build off the nice 4-for-5 day we had Wednesday by going with one that’s a pretty easy selection on paper. Yes, the Rockies are one of the worst teams in baseball, and yes, Taillon had a strong start two outings ago against the Diamondbacks. He also has struggled for much of the year and allowed five runs -- three earned -- against Colorado on September 13 and was pushed back. This would be an even easier call if it was in Colorado instead of Chicago, but either way, Taillon is not a reliable option.
Devers went hitless in his past two games but has a slash of .333/.446/.594 in September. He’ll face White Sox pitcher Touki Toussaint, who’s shown flashes but hasn’t been effective in back-to-back starts. Considering he gave up just one run over five innings against the Twins in his last outing, it’s likely Toussaint struggles, and it shouldn’t shock anyone if Devers reaches this total with ease.
Burnes faces the Marlins, who can be difficult to generate swings and misses against – they’re fourth best in strikeouts. But it’s difficult to bet against this total with Burnes, as the former Cy Young winner has struck out seven or more batters in four straight starts and five of his last six outings even while having mixed results in other categories. He should be able to generate just enough punch outs to cash this ticket.
Paredes had two hits and three RBI in the final two games of the series against the Angels. He’s quietly put together an excellent campaign with 29 homers and an .845 OPS, but his last HR was against the Mariners on September 8. There’s no guarantee that changes Friday, but Chris Bassitt has allowed 27 homers this season in his 31 starts.
Might as well go with another over. Rutschman and the Orioles will be squaring off against Shane Bieber, who’s making his first start since the All-Star break. There are questions as to how deep he’ll be able to work in this contest. Ramirez will get Dean Kremer and hit from the left-side, and southpaw hitters have registered an .814 OPS against the right-hander in 2023.
Being honest with our fine readers, I’ve missed on the last three combo totals, and I’m due to get one right. Right?
Our top choices for your MLB lineup construction
With just over one week left in the regular season, there are still plenty of intriguing storylines to monitor, and compelling matchups with serious playoff implications, on tap for Friday’s jam-packed 15-game docket.
In addition to a pivotal showdown in the heart of Texas between the Mariners and Rangers, there’s a critical South Beach face-off between the Brewers and Marlins that will have immense playoff scenario ramifications.
There are a few intriguing stack options and low-cost savvy starting pitching options for savvy fantasy managers to speculate on, which should make for an exciting evening of late-season baseball.
There's a potential in-game delay in Washington with rain in the forecast for later in the contest. There's risk for starting pitchers here, but not enough to avoid this matchup.
Royce Lewis, Twins 3B (hamstring)
Lewis sat out Wednesday afternoon’s matinee against the Reds following an early exit Tuesday with left hamstring tightness. Fantasy managers should consider him day-to-day heading into Friday’s series opener against the Angels.
Brandon Lowe, Rays 2B (knee)
Lowe was lifted from the ninth inning Thursday against the Angels after fouling a ball off his right knee earlier in the contest. It doesn’t sound like a serious concern, but it’s a situation worth tracking closely ahead of Friday’s showdown against the Blue Jays.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Blue Jays 1B (knee)
Guerrero Jr. is day-to-day with right knee inflammation after undergoing an MRI Wednesday night that didn’t reveal structural damage. The 24-year-old slugger appeared as a pinch-hitter Thursday against the Yankees, which seems to suggest that he could be ready to return this weekend.
Luis Arraez, Marlins 2B (ankle)
Arraez has missed two games since being scratched from Tuesday’s lineup after suffering a left ankle sprain during pregame infield drills. It sounds like he’ll be a game-time decision for Friday’s critical series opener against the Brewers.
Jake Burger, Marlins 3B (quad)
Burger is day-to-day heading into Friday’s series opener against the Brewers after being lifted from Wednesday’s game against the Mets with right quad tightness.
Christian Yelich, Brewers OF (back)
Yelich has missed 12 of Milwaukee's last 13 games due to an ongoing lower back issue, so it’s nearly impossible to forecast when he’ll be ready to return at this juncture. He’s too risky to roll with during Friday’s series opener in Miami.
DJ Stewart, Mets OF (wrist)
Stewart has missed two straight games due to left wrist soreness and should be considered day-to-day for the moment.
Ha-Seong Kim, Padres 2B/3B (abdomen)
Kim has missed four straight games due to abdominal tightness, but it sounds like he could be ready for Friday’s pivotal series opener against the Cardinals.
Willson Contreras, Cardinals C (wrist)
Contreras will miss the remainder of the regular season after undergoing an MRI on Thursday that revealed left wrist tendonitis.
Pablo López is aiming to rebound on Friday night with an extremely favorable matchup against a floundering Angels’ lineup on the heels of one of his worst outings of the season in which he gave up five runs over five innings last Saturday against the White Sox. It’s not hyperbolic to suggest that Los Angeles’ lineup is the worst in baseball at the moment with a .684 OPS over the last 30 days, which ranks fifth worst in baseball during that span.
Framber Valdez has been phenomenal of late for the Astros and finds himself squaring off against a Kansas City lineup that ranks 22nd in baseball this season with a pedestrian .710 OPS against left-handed pitching. The 29-year-old southpaw has allowed three earned runs or fewer in five consecutive starts since August 25 and allowed just one run (zero earned) over seven frames his last time out against the Royals in Kansas City on September 17.
Shane Bieber makes his return to Cleveland’s starting rotation following a two-month absence due to right elbow inflammation and shouldn’t have any workload restrictions when he takes the ball on Friday night in a tough spot against the Orioles.
It’s an extremely tough road matchup Friday night against the Astros, who tagged him for five runs over six innings on Saturday in his previous start, but there’s an argument to be made the Cole Ragans has been one of the best pitchers in baseball since the All-Star break, posting a microscopic 2.28 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 76/19 K/BB ratio across 59 1/3 innings (10 starts). The 25-year-old southpaw’s stratospheric strikeout upside makes him an interesting option for fantasy managers despite the challenging matchup.
Sawyer Gipson-Long, Tigers RHP, vs. Athletics: $7,700
Gipson-Long finds himself in line for an extremely favorable matchup on Friday night when he faces off against the rebuilding Athletics in pitcher-friendly Oakland. The unheralded 25-year-old right-hander has allowed just three runs on six hits with a 16/3 K/BB ratio across 10 innings over a pair of starts since receiving the call to the majors. He may not be a household name, but it’s a phenomenal matchup and he offers enough strikeout potential to be a worthwhile gamble for fantasy managers in this one.
Braves vs. Nationals (LHP Patrick Corbin)
The best offense in baseball against a pedestrian southpaw is the obvious foundational building block for fantasy managers on Friday evening. There’s no platoon advantage for Matt Olson and Ozzie Albies, but they’ve been so hot of late that it’s difficult to justify leaving them out of the lineup mix.
Yankees vs. Diamondbacks (RHP Brandon Pfaadt)
The combination of hitter-friendly Yankee Stadium and homer-prone rookie right-hander Brandon Pfaadt have the potential to lead to some fireworks. Aaron Judge would be the preferred centerpiece, but Gleyber Torres, Anthony Volpe and DJ LeMahieu also make sense in this matchup.
Dodgers vs. Giants (LHP Sean Manaea)
Los Angeles has enough lefty-mashing platoon options to stack their lineup advantageously against the division-rival Giants on Friday evening with a red-hot J.D. Martinez, who has homered four times in his last four games, headlining the stacking options in this one. Fantasy managers should also consider lower-cost options like Enrique Hernández, Chris Taylor and Amed Rosario as well.
TV gives us his best PrizePicks and Underdog plays
There is a short schedule of MLB games Thursday, including two day games as the Rays host the Angels and the Cardinals host the Brewers. There doesn’t appear to be a marquee matchup, but there are playoff implications.
Mookie Betts, Dodgers OF, 0.5 Runs (Higher) – Underdog
Thursday is Dodger Day. It’s easy to back LA when they face a struggling young pitcher -- Giants 22-year-old lefty Kyle Harrison. He’s allowed at least four runs in his last three starts. Betts is top five in on-base percentage and is one of two players to score a run in over 60% of games played this season.
Freddie Freeman, Dodgers 1B, 0.5 Single (Higher) – Underdog
Freddie is .344 against left-handed pitching and is tied with the fifth-most singles in MLB. He has cooled off in September by his standards, but a matchup with Harrison doesn’t scare us away.
Yandy Diaz, Rays, 1B, 7 Fantasy Points (More) – PrizePicks
Yandy has been the Rays’ most consistent hitter and is extremely underappreciated as one of MLB’s best. He has the second-best batting average at home (.354) and only Luis Arraez has a better average at home. He’s surpassed this number in five straight games at the Trop.
Nico Hoerner, Cubs, 2B, 0.5 Strikeouts – (Lower) Underdog
Hoerner has been one of my favorite picks all season. He’s up to 15th in batting average (.286) and is eighth in strikeout percentage (12.6%). He will face the Pirates’ Johan Oviedo, who’s had highs and lows this season. Hoerner is 5 for 10 against him with zero strikeouts.
Gerrit Cole, Yankees, SP, 4.5 Hits Allowed (Higher) – Underdog
As a Yankee fan, this isn’t what I want to see for Cole as he looks to lock up the AL Cy Young, but the numbers don’t lie. He has allowed at least five hits in five of his last nine starts. The Blue Jays’ project nicely against Cole with Vlad Guerrero Jr. (.357), Alejandro Kirk (.438), and George Springer (.333). We know Cole will likely give the Yankees length and a long leash means more opportunities for the Jays to rack up a few hits.
David Peterson, Mets, SP, 4.5 Hits (More) – PrizePicks
I considered going with Nick Castellanos after his 2-home run game, but instead we’ll ride with the entire Phillies lineup. I expect he will contribute, but in case he doesn’t we have plenty of other bats. Mets lefty Peterson has allowed at least six hits in three straight outings and has been smashed on the road. The Phillies have one of the best lineups hitting at home against lefties.
The best options for your MLB lineup construction
In the penultimate Thursday slate of the season, we have a relatively large slate with seven matchups.
There isn’t rain in the forecast at any of the home stadiums.
Max Fried - His start was pushed to Thursday after he began to develop a hotspot on his pitching hand. The team hasn’t announced if the hot spot is gone entirely so don’t be surprised if they yank him out of the game earlier than expected.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. - He was scratched from Wednesday’s game with right knee discomfort and is set to undergo an MRI so the team can get a better idea of his prognosis. He is considered day-to-day until we learn more.
Everson Pereira - Everson Pereira has missed the last five games due to a low-grade hamstring strain. He has avoided the injured list so far but he would be a risky player to rely on Thursday night.
DJ Stewart - Stewart was scratched from Wednesday’s contest with a wrist injury. We should find out more about his status later in the day on Thursday.
Javier Báez - Báez has missed the past two contests with lower back tightness. There is a chance he is ready to go on Thursday.
Brandon Crawford - Crawford was removed from Wednesday’s game with right hamstring tightness. Tyler Fitzgerald is expected to be added to the active roster, so we should expect the veteran shortstop to miss some time.
Grayson Rodriguez ($8,000 DK/ $9,000 FD) The 23-year-old righthander has had a superb second half of the season and he will face the Guardians on the road Thursday. Since July 17, Rodriguez has a 2.5 ERA, 2.91 FIP, 1.06 WHIP, and 16.5 K/BB ratio. His 111.1 IP this season is way above his 75 IP he pitched last season. It isn’t likely that the Orioles will cap his innings this season as they just punched their card to the playoffs for the first time since 2016.
Tarik Skubal The lefty has been outstanding since he returned from the injured list this summer. He has a 3.25 ERA, 2.8 SIERA, 0.97 WHIP, and 25.9 K/BB ratio over 69 1/3 innings. His fastball velocity is up around one MPH and he gets to face the Athletics in Oakland on Thursday night.
His price ($9,600 DK/ $10,300 FD) seems like a great price point for a pitcher of his caliber facing one of the worst offenses in recent memory.
David Peterson has had a mostly down season this year, posting a 5.22 ERA overall but an out of the world 7.35 ERA on the road this season. The Phillies are just coming off a wild and exciting series against the Braves and Nick Castellanos ($4,800 DK/ $3,500 FD) could be looking to feast on Thursday. The 31-year-old is hitting lefties extremely well, posting a .323/.369/.557 with an impressive 1.151 OPS against southpaws at home.
Giants (Kyle Harrison) vs. Dodgers
Kyle Harrison is expected to start for the Giants Thursday evening and while it is difficult to create a stack of Dodgers hitters, it can be done!
J.D. Martinez has been absolutely on fire since he returned from the injured list. The veteran designated hitter is hitting .395/.455/.737 with four homers and 14 RBI since September 8.
Amed Rosario doesn’t play often but he did start against the last southpaw the Dodgers faced. The 27-year-old is hitting much better against lefties, posting a .781 OPS with just a 14 percent strikeout rate.
Then there is Freddie Freeman. What is there to say? Whenever you have enough money to add Freeman to your DFS lineup, you are usually in for a good night!
Cubs vs. Pirates (Johan Oviedo)
Johan Oviedo has had an interesting season. It seems he either does really well (complete game shutout vs Kansas City on August 28) or very bad (3 2/3 IP with five hits and three earned runs against the Cardinals on September 3.
The Cubs have been on a bit of a skid as they look to lock down a spot in the playoffs. Nico Hoerner has had a bit of a breakout season this year, hitting .286/.346/.30 with nine home runs and 41 stolen bases.
It will be a tall task to swipe a base against Oviedo and Endy Rodriguez, but Hoerner has the speed to get it done. Ian Happ has a 925 OPS against right-handers on the road and his price point is much better than Cody Bellinger’s price.
Seiya Suzuki has been a man on a mission in the second half, hitting .305/.363/.568 and it doesn’t seem like many of the popular DFS sites have got on to that fact.
Sara's stacks and lineup construction options for Wednesday's slate
There’s a full slate of baseball action Wednesday providing all sorts of fun options for stacking. Keep an eye on the weather in St. Louis, where there is a possibility of a rainout or delay later. I’d probably just avoid stacking either Brewers or Cardinals given the wealth of other options out there – let’s look at a couple of those more closely.
The Twins will face off against the Reds and Hunter Greene in Cincinnati, one of the best hitting environments in the majors. Quite a few Twins have been hot lately and I’ll be looking to stack Edouard Julien ($4100/3000) who’s had a .416 on base percentage with three home runs over the last two weeks while hitting leadoff along with at least one of Matt Wallner ($3700/2800) slashing .297/.395/.432 during that time period, Ryan Jeffers ($3600/2800) .280/.379/.440 (excellent offensive production at catcher), and/or Max Kepler ($4500/2900) .295/.367/.477.
Out west the Padres will look to put some runs on the board after a pretty anemic 2-run win against the Colorado Rockies last night resulted in a no-decision for Blake Snell despite his seven innings of no-hit work. Don’t let last night’s offensive doldrums fool you, quite a few Padres have been red hot lately including Luis Campusano ($3400/2900), who has been excellent at the plate slashing .302/.348/.465 with two home runs in the last two weeks – you could do a lot worse at catcher.
If you’ve built your stack correctly with some of those cost-effective Twins hitters, it gives you the opportunity to add Xander Bogaerts ($4700/3100) who has been excellent over the last two weeks slashing .370/.420/.717 with three home runs and a wRC+ of 208. Wildly, that isn’t even the best wRC+ during that time period on the Padres with his teammate Juan Soto ($5600/4000) slashing .364/.463/.705 with a wRC+ of 210 and four home runs during the same time period. It all makes Jurickson Profar’s ($3500/2800) .308/.400/.462 look positively pedestrian, but it definitely is not and you should see if you have room for Profar in your stack as well.
If you’re looking for another leadoff option that’s relatively cost-effective in your stacks, see if you have room for Steven Kwan ($/3100) who hit leadoff for the Guardians and is slashing .304/.419/.391 over the last two weeks. We all know Kwan is unlikely to hit a lot of home runs, he’s got four doubles and a triple during that stretch while scoring nine runs for the Guardians.
On the pitching side it’s hard to pass up George Kirby ($9700/10000) against the Oakland Athletics. Kirby has struggled in his last couple of starts but he’ll look to right the ship against an A’s lineup that is the only team in baseball to not put up at least 620 runs so far this season (at 547 runs this season with 12 games to go it’s unclear the As will clear 600 runs this season and they sport a league worst -326 run differential.
A bit of a contrarian pick from the optimizer, but I’m going to also build around Lucas Giolito ($7600/9600). Giolito’s struggles with multiple teams this year are well documented, but after a rough initial outing with the Guardians against the Minnesota Twins Giolito has quietly turned in exceptional back-to-back performances. On September 9 he threw seven innings with 2 earned runs and nine strikeouts against the Angels. His last time out on the 15th was even better with 7 innings of shutout baseball and 12 punchouts against the Rangers.
CC gives you the best PrizePicks and Underdog options
We’re getting closer and closer to the postseason with just less than two weeks to go in the regular campaign, but there are some fun over/unders to hit with a strong slate available Wednesday.
Since returning from injury August 20, Greene has only gone over seven strikeouts once -- a nine-punchout game against the Cardinals on September 10. That said, this right-hander has fanned a whopping 129 hitters in just 97 innings and possesses some of the best swing-and-miss stuff in baseball. He’s also going to face a lineup that strikes out with the best of them -- or worst of them? -- and will be without Carlos Correa and Royce Lewis. I like Greene to have a strong outing that sees him show off that ability to miss bats again.
The caveat here is you’ll want to make sure Raleigh is in the lineup on a getaway day in the afternoon before making this bet. Assuming he is either behind the plate or lined up as the DH, he makes sense as a play as a middle-of-the-order option that will be squaring off against Joey Estes and the lowly Athletics. It wouldn’t be a shock if Raleigh hit this total with an early two-run homer, but either way, he’s a good bet to be a fantasy contributor as Seattle looks for the sweep and to stay in the hunt for the American League West title.
Miller has pitched decently in his last few starts and shown the ability to miss bats, and he’ll be facing off against a Detroit lineup that doesn’t exactly strike a lot of fear into the hearts of pitchers. So, while it makes sense for the rookie right-hander to be a usable option, he’s held a lineup under two runs once in his last four starts, and he’s posted a 4.12 ERA thus far in September. That’s not an abhorrent number, and again, picking against Miller has far less to do with the ability he can pitch well, and more to do with the fact that holding a lineup to under two runs is hard. Baseball is hard.
In the month of September, Henderson has hit .305/.314/.612 with five homers and 15 RBI. In his last eight starts for the Astros, Javier has given up 10 round-trippers while registering a 5.87 ERA over 38.1 innings of work that has seen his ERA balloon up to 4.74. Do I need to say anymore? I don’t think I need to say anymore. There are several quality Baltimore options to think about using in both DFS and in this type of format, but ride the hot hand of Henderson if you can only choose one.
It’d be understandable if you went in the opposite direction on this one if only because the Los Angeles lineup is not a whole heck of a lot of fun to watch right now. That said, Civale has not pitched six innings since August 16, and that’s the only time he’s hit the over on this total as a member of the Tampa Bay rotation. Even if Civale is efficient -- something he hasn’t been terribly often in 2023 even while putting up solid numbers -- there’s a good chance he’s only going to be on the mound for five innings before giving way to the excellent Rays’ bullpen.
Check out TV's PrizePicks and Underdog choices
There is a stacked schedule of MLB games Tuesday. Among them, two of the hottest teams since the All-Star break, the Mariners and Dodgers, have soft matchups against the Athletics and Tigers, respectively. The Braves and Phillies continue to battle for NL dominance.
This isn’t an indictment of Lucchesi, it’s a shoutout for the Miami offense. The Marlins own the second-highest batting average against left-handed pitching at .283. At home, they have the fourth-highest batting average (.273).
Lucchesi has been giving the Mets length, so this gives Miami more opportunity to rack up runs while he is out there. The Marlins have scored the second-most runs in MLB over the last week.
Bradley is another young pitcher with great stuff that the Rays somehow keep producing. In two of three starts since returning from the IL, he has gone over six strikeouts. Bradley will face a depleted Angles lineup. Since the All-Star break, the Angles have the fourth-most strikeouts.
It’s easy to back the favorite for NL MVP with confidence on most nights. Tonight, he faces lefty Christopher Sanchez, against whom Acuna is 2 for 4 in his career. Acuna is tied with teammate Matt Olsen with the second-most total bases over the last month. Acuna has topped this number in 10 of 15 games this month, including 4 of 5 against the Phillies.
The Athletics’ lineup is abysmal. Over the last 10 games, they are batting. 213. They have the lowest batting average at home and the lowest team average at .224. The Mariners are in the AL West and Wild Card races.
We can expect Castillo to show up in a big way. In his only other start against Oakland this season, he threw six shutout innings and accumulated 52 fantasy points. We can expect a similar performance tonight.
The Astros host the Orioles in a massive series to measure the strength of each team heading into the postseason. Gibson has allowed at least 3 ER in six of his last seven starts. The Astros have seen Gibson a ton over his career, and Houston has scored the second-most runs in MLB since the All-Star break.
The Dodgers and Mookie face the Tigers Tuesday. Detroit will utilize an opener In this game, Miguel Diaz. We like Mookie to cross the plate because the Tigers bullpen is in the bottom 10 in nearly every category. Mookie has scored the second most runs per game this season, and over the last month, he has the second-best on-base percentage behind only Yordan Alvarez. The Dodgers have scored the second most runs this season, and Mookie is a major reason.
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