FanDuel Daily Fantasy Baseball Helper: Saturday 9/23/23

Our daily fantasy helper is available every day to analyze FanDuel's main slate and help give you a starting point when you're building lineups.

Be sure to also incorporate numberFire's great tools into your research process, including daily projections, the latest starting lineups and weather, and batting and pitching heat maps to find the best matchups.

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

Pitchers

Logan Gilbert ($9,700)

After a 4.9% decrease to his lowest salary in September, Gilbert will have his second opportunity this season to challenge a Texas Rangers' lineup with a .325 weighted on-base average (wOBA) and a 24.8% K-rate.

Since August 2nd in his last nine starts, Seattle's right-hander has performed at a level similar to his yearly metrics (3.71 xFIP, 25.2% K-rate), accounting for a 3.64 expected Fielding Independent Pitching rating (xFIP), a 3.53 Skill Interactive Earned Run Average, and six or more strikeouts in 55% of his appearances.

While some may be concerned about Gilbert's matchup versus MLB's third ranked offense in runs, there are many reasons to believe the 26-year old has an underrated spot for a ceiling performance when observing his spot against six Texas hitters with K-rates ranging from 22.9% to 33.4% and today's second highest projection including a 29.4 fantasy expectation with 5.45 strikeouts.

Jordan Montgomery ($9,400)

Despite producing 46.0 FanDuel points in his last start, Montgomery's salary has moved down to his lowest point during his time with the Rangers in a divisional matchup against a Seattle Mariners' offense with an intimidating .345 wOBA and a 18.6% K-rate in their last 425 plate appearances versus left-handers.

Through nine starts since his trade to Texas, the Rangers' southpaw has been in solid form with his new team, recording an above average 3.80 xFIP, a 13.4% swinging strike percentage, and a quality start in six of his appearances.

When considering his recent decline in salary and solid expected form, Montgomery deserves to be ranked among today's top pitching options despite facing seven hitters with weighted on-base averages over .334.

J.P. France ($8,700)

At his second lowest salary this month, France rates as a viable value option in a matchup versus a Kansas City Royals' squad with a .335 wOBA and a 24.8% K-rate.

Despite glaring regression concerns with expected metrics one run higher than his 3.84 Earned Run Average, France still ranks fifth among his position with a 27.1 FanDuel point projection and a 3.11 value rating.

Stacks

Houston Astros

In their second opportunity against Jordan Lyles, the Astros stand as today's top offense with a 5.5 expected run total versus a veteran right-hander accounting for horrid metrics including an ugly 5.38 xFIP and a troubling 10.1% opposing barrel rate.

Ideal Houston combinations can load up on their top power hitters from either side of the plate to best capture Lyles' glaring trouble with the long ball (2.05 home runs per nine innings / 14.5% home run to fly ball ratio) including Yordan Alvarez (17.5% barrel rate, .615 expected slugging), Kyle Tucker (10.6% barrel rate, .531 expected slugging), Chas McCormick (11.2% barrel rate, .469 expected slugging), Jose Altuve (8.7% barrel rate, .431 expected slugging), and Alex Bregman (.420 expected slugging).

Cincinnati Reds

After scoring five runs in the first game of their series, Cincinnati's offense has another spot to succeed against Pittsburgh's left-hander Bailey Falter and his below average pitching profile including a 4.62 xFIP and a 16.9% K-rate as a starter this season.

To best combat Falter's main weakness versus the opposing side of the plate (4.42 xFIP), optimal Reds' stacks can feature their top right-handed bats including Christian Encarnacion-Strand (9.7% barrel rate, .348 expected wOBA), Jonathan India (.330 expected wOBA, 7.5% barrel rate), Spencer Steer (.332 expected wOBA, 6.5% barrel rate), and Tyler Stephenson (7.6% barrel rate).

San Diego Padres

Ranking fourth among today's offenses with a 4.71 expected run total, the Padres could be a sneaky option against Jake Woodford and his 4.85 career xFIP in a starting role.

Ideal San Diego stacks should prioritize their top left-handed hitters to focus on Woodford's 4.92 xFIP in their split with a main focus on Juan Soto (.403 expected wOBA, 12.8% barrel rate), Ji-Man Choi (.352 expected wOBA, 21.3% barrel rate), and Trent Grisham (12.4% barrel rate) while Fernando Tatis Jr. (.376 expected wOBA, 11.5% barrel rate), Manny Machado (.335 expected wOBA, 10.5% barrel rate), Luis Campusano (.344 expected wOBA, 7.5% barrel rate), and Xander Bogaerts (.320 expected wOBA, 6.3% barrel rate) rate as secondary options.

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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.