Weather Report
There’s some hot weather on tap for this holiday slate, but no games look to be in danger of being rained out.
Injury Report
Luis Robert (quad) -- Robert was scratched from the lineup the last two games because of cramping in his right quadricep. The outfielder is day-to-day, but with a day game upcoming, there’s a very good chance he won’t be in the lineup against the Royals on Monday.
Christian Walker (elbow) - Walker is dealing with an elbow contusion, but he came off the bench Sunday and hit a homer in the Diamondbacks’ loss to Baltimore. There’s a good chance he’ll start against Colorado on Monday, but fantasy GMs will want to make absolutely sure before adding him.
Yordan Alvarez (knee) -- Alvarez was able to stay in the game against the Yankees on Sunday, but Astros manager Dusty Baker told reporters the slugger did bang his knee after he tripped while attempting to make a play in left field. That he was able to stay in the game is a good sign, but Houston will take caution with Alvarez to begin a massive three-game series against the Rangers.
Top Priced Starting Pitchers (DraftKings)
Justin Steele vs. SF: $10,000
Aaron Civale vs. TB: $9,700
Logan Webb vs. CHC: $9,500
Merrill Kelly vs. COL: $9300
Jose Berrios vs. OAK: $8800
J.P. France vs. TEX: $8400
Bryan Woo vs. CIN: $8000
Brayan Bello vs. TB: $7800
It’s not the deepest group of starting options, but there are some solid names. Steele is the priciest, and he’s somewhat quietly ranked second in all of baseball in wins (15) and ERA (2.69). The southpaw is coming off six innings of shutout baseball against the Brewers on Tuesday, and while the price is high, it’s certainly reasonable to expect solid numbers from the 28-year-old against a mediocre San Francisco lineup.
Berrios’ matchup against the A’s looks awfully good on paper, but this is one fantasy MS might want to take a closer look at before making the decision to place him in the lineup. After pitching well in the first half of the 2023 campaign, the right-hander has given up five runs in back-to-back starts with an ERA of 5.53 with only 23 strikeouts in 27.2 innings of work. The A’s, meanwhile, are coming off a sweep against the Angels to improve to a pathetic 42-95 record, but they’ve been playing much better as of late thanks to help from hitters like Zack Gelof. This isn’t the slam dunk on paper that you might believe.
Bellohas shown flashes of brilliance in his first full season with Boston, but there hasn’t been a ton of consistency, which is to be expected from a 24-year-old pitching in the AL East. He was shaky in his last outing against the Astros while not getting out of the fifth inning, but he only allowed one run in each of his two starts before that. He had a 3.34 ERA in six starts in August. The Rays are a tricky option and Bello doesn’t miss many bats, but you can justify him as your second starter because of his ability to initiate ground balls.
Sneaky option
Cole Ragans vs. CHW: $7,200
This one almost seems too easy. Ragans has been fantastic since joining the Kansas City rotation, and the southpaw has a fantastic 53/9 K/BB ratio over his last six starts. The left-hander will face a White Sox lineup that is probably going to be missing Robert, and even if the talented centerfielder returns to action, the rest of the lineup leaves a lot to be desired. Expect a lot of DFS players to be using Ragans so this isn’t as sneaky as you might think, but it’s impossible to not recommend Ragans at this price. Too easy.
Stack Attack
Mariners vs. Reds (Tejay Antone)
C Cal Raleigh $4,700
3B Eugenio Suarez $4,600
OF Julio Rodriguez $6400
OF Tesocar Hernandez $4600
Rodriguez and Hernandez were outstanding in August and have helped Seattle take a lead in the American League West into September for the first time in 20 years. Raleigh has also been excellent with the power, and getting to play in Great American Ballpark gives all four of these players a chance to go yard. Add in the fact that the Reds are going with a bullpen game, and it makes a ton of sense to load up on Seattle options for the first game of this three-game set.
Diamondbacks vs. Rockies (Peter Lambert)
1BChristian Walker $4,500
2B Ketel Marte $4,900
OF Corbin Carroll $5500
OF Tommy Pham $3500
Managers will want to make sure both Pham and Walker do return to the lineup, as we discussed the Walker injury and Pham is day-to-day with a finger injury. Either way, this is a matchup to exploit with the D-Backs taking on a mediocre-- at best -- starting option in Lambert. Carroll is always a good bet for a combo meal (homer and stolen base) and Marte has enjoyed a strong bounceback season from his disappointing 2022 campaign. Get as many Diamondback options into your lineup as you can for the main slate.
.svg){kind=icon}
.svg){kind=icon}