The FantasyLabs MLB Player Models have numerous data points to help you construct your MLB DFS rosters.
They house our floor, median, and ceiling projections for each player, but that’s just the beginning of what you’ll find inside. You’ll also find our Trends tool, stacking tool, and more.
Also, don’t forget that for large-field tournaments, you can utilize our Lineup Optimizer to effortlessly create up to 150 lineups, or use our Lineup Builder if you like to hand-build your teams for cash games or small-field tournaments.
Let’s dive into some MLB plays that stand out in our Player Models for today’s main slate.
Bargain Rating Picks
You might be asking: what is Bargain Rating, and why should I care?
Bargain Rating shows how much of a bargain a player is on one DFS site versus others. If a player is significantly cheaper on one site than the other, they will have a favorable Bargain Rating on the site where they’re more affordable and a poor Bargain Rating on the site where they’re more expensive. It’s a straightforward metric, but targeting players at reduced price tags is almost always a strong strategy in DFS.
Bargain Rating strongly correlates with player value, which you can quickly see with our predictive projected Plus/Minus metric.
Seeing how Plus/Minus helps you project how many points a player is expected to score compared to what their salary implies them to score, this is a good company for Bargain Rating.
MLB DFS DraftKings Bargain
Nick Pratto ($2,000): First Baseman, Kansas City Royals
Pratto’s first 33 major league games were largely ordinary. The next four were much more memorable for the Royals rookie.
In four games from August 26-30, Pratto totaled eight hits, four doubles, three home runs, and 10 RBI. He averaged over 20 DraftKings points a game in that stretch.
His salary has not yet moved from the league minimum. If those four games are the start of a late-season breakout, Pratto will be a great bargain option at the end of lineups.
MLB DFS FanDuel Bargain
Julio Rodriguez ($3,600): Outfielder, Seattle Mariners
Rodriguez may be one of the brightest young stars in the league after making the All-Star team this year in his rookie season.
He has trailed off a bit after the All-Star game, batting almost 40 points lower than before the break, but his pop at the plate has continued to provide solid fantasy numbers. Rodriguez has seven double-digit FanDuel results out of his last 14 games.
Some help from the rest of the Mariners lineup would provide more scoring potential. His last three home runs have all been single shots, and those are his only RBI over the last nine games. If Seattle can put some runners on base against Zach Plesac and the Guardians tonight, Rodriguez should have a good opportunity to outperform his salary.
MLB DFS Ceiling Projection Picks
Pitcher
Charlie Morton ($9,300 DraftKings, $9,800 FanDuel) vs. Miami Marlins
The Marlins have the lowest implied run total on the slate tonight against Morton and the Braves, despite Morton not having one of his banner seasons on the mound.
The veteran righty is 6-5 with a 4.10 ERA in his second season back with the Braves. In his last start on August 27, he gave up two long bombs, and four earned runs in five innings to post just 5.85 DraftKings points.
Expect better tonight. The Marlins are near the bottom in team batting average, and Morton has a +6.00 Plus/Minus rating in total over the last month.
Hitter
Bobby Witt Jr. ($5,200 DraftKings, $3,800 FanDuel) at Detroit Tigers
One of the most heralded rookies to hit the big leagues in recent years, Witt Jr. has had the normal ups and downs normally associated with a rookie campaign.
After batting .294 in July, his best month in the majors, Witt Jr. managed just a .238 average in August. As the calendar turns to a new month, he is among the highest ceiling projections on the slate tonight in Detroit.
Witt Jr. has succeeded best against right-handed pitching and faces righty Drew Hutchison on the mound. Hutchison has a undesirable 2-7 record on the year but has pitched better than that mark with a respectable 4.02 ERA, splitting time as a starter and reliever.
With a +2.94 Plus/Minus rating and three homers over his last 10 games, Witt Jr. is a solid mid-salary option tonight.
Top Stacking Pick from THE BAT X
One of the great features of being a FantasyLabs Pro member is the option to purchase additional items in the FantasyLabs Marketplace.
A new addition to our MLB projections is THE BAT from Derek Carty of RotoGrinders. With this purchase, you can use his projections alone or create aggregate projections within our Player Models.
The top five-man DraftKings stack from THE BAT using projected points in our stacking tool belongs to the Astros.
When you load them into our Lineup Builder, you’ll have the option to hand-build the rest of your team or optimize the rest of it.
The Astros head to Anaheim for a weekend series with the incredible Shohei Ohtani and the less incredible Angels. Lefty Reid Detmers takes the mound against Houston with a 5-4 record and 3.47 ERA.
A first-time All-Star, Yordan Alvarez leads the stack in salary tonight with 31 home runs and a .417 wOBA. Alvarez has a -1.83 Plus/Minus over his last 10 games. Maybe he’s due for a boom game?
Perennial All-Star Jose Altuve comes in just a few dollars behind but has two straight 20+ DraftKings point games. He hammers left-handed pitching with a .463 wOBA and .397 ISO, making an easy start decision tonight.
Alex Bregman has one of the best batting eyes in the game and is near the top of the league in walk percentage and near the bottom in strikeout percentage at the plate. His consistent contact has led to some big-time fantasy performances, including a 55-point extravaganza against the White Sox on August 18.
The stack rounds out with outfielder Kyle Tucker and shortstop Jeremy Pena. Tucker may be worst value of the stack when looking at his salary vs. production. The rookie Pena has shown flashes in his first major league season, and under $4,000 is probably still a value. Both have potential in this dangerous lineup to drive in runs.
The Astros have the hitting talent every night to explode for six-plus runs. Fire up this stack tonight with Ohtani not on the mound.
