FanDuel MLB DFS Picks: Thursday 9/26/24

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Let's check out the top options on today's main slate.

Note: All MLB odds come from FanDuel Sportsbook. All stats come from FanGraphs and Baseball Savant unless noted otherwise.

MLB DFS Picks

Pitcher Breakdown

We've got just six starters to choose from on tonight's three-game main slate. Factoring in salary and matchup, David Festa ($8,100) is the pitcher I'm most into.

Festa is at home versus the Miami Marlins. Festa blowtorched Triple-A this year to the tune of a 34.9% strikeout rate across 60 1/3 frames, and he's brought the swing-and-miss stuff to the bigs, posting a 28.1% K rate and 12.1% swinging-strike rate through his first 60 MLB innings. He's -215 to record at least five strikeouts tonight, and on a small slate like this one, that should be enough strikeout upside.

An important thing to note with Festa: the Twins are in must-win mode as they sit two games out of the final playoff spot, so they won't have much patience with Festa, meaning a slow start could end his night very early. But I still like him tonight.

Elsewhere, we've got several big names going. Corbin Burnes ($10,600) and Gerrit Cole ($10,100) square off in one of the other games while Joe Musgrove ($9,800) and Walker Buehler ($8,000) take the mound in the slate's nightcap. Each of those big-name hurlers has a very tough matchup, though, and the one value of the four, Buehler, just hasn't been good in 2024. Their matchups combined with their salaries pushes me to Festa.

Stacks to Target

• Minnesota Twins (5.07 implied total)
  • The Twins will be the night's chalk stack. No other offense has an implied total above 4.37. With game theory in mind, you can absolutely make a case for fading Minnesota. This is a great spot for them, though, as they'll see Valente Bellozo, who has pitched to a 5.28 SIERA while allowing 1.98 homer per nine innings. The Twins have no batters salaried above $3,400, so they're an easy stack to get to, as well. Lefties Trevor Larnach ($3,000) and Edouard Julien ($2,700) are two of my favorite plays tonight.
• Los Angeles Dodgers (4.37)
  • Those who use Burnes or Cole at pitcher will have a tough time stacking the Dodgers or getting to Shohei Ohtani ($5,200), which is another feather in Festa's cap. Musgrove is a good pitcher, but the Dodgers' offense can light up anyone. If you roster Festa, you can stack all of Ohtani, Mookie Betts ($4,100), Freddie Freeman ($3,600) and Max Muncy ($3,600) and still have an average of $2,600 in salary for the remaining spots in your lineup.
• New York Yankees (4.23)
  • The Yanks fall into a similar bucket as the Dodgers in that they have a difficult matchup (Burnes) and some guys at very high salaries who will be tough to roster if you use Cole or Burnes at pitcher. I'm not sure I want to full-on stack New York, but I have a lot of interest in Aaron Judge ($5,000), Juan Soto ($4,500) and Jazz Chisholm ($3,600).

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.