FanDuel Daily Fantasy Baseball Helper: Tuesday 9/26/23

We expand out to 10 games on Tuesday's main slate, yet we have fewer high-end pitching options compared to yesterday. The flip side is that it will be far easier to find appealing offenses to stack.

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.

Pitching Breakdown

Kevin Gausman ($11,100) has been more inconsistent than we would like lately, but he's also logged double-digit punchouts in two of his last three outings, so the upside hasn't gone away. One of those performances came his last time out against the New York Yankees, which just so happens to be the team he faces again tonight.

While the repeat matchup ought to help the Yankees, these aren't the Bronx Bombers of years past. This season, New York's active roster carries a 95 wRC+ and 24.5% strikeout rate versus right-handed pitching.

Gausman's wrapping up an excellent 2023 campaign, entering the night with a 3.31 SIERA, 31.4% strikeout rate, and 7.2% walk rate. The Yankees aren't getting the benefit of the doubt against him, either, as they have a slate-low 3.14 implied team total.

If you can't make Gausman's lofty salary work, though, Braxton Garrett ($9,400) is a possibility versus the New York Mets. The Mets are below average facing southpaws, with the bottom of the order being particularly weak.

Garrett has put together a rock-solid campaign, recording a 24.0% strikeout rate, 4.2% walk rate, and 49.7% ground-ball rate. While he doesn't get the highest pitch counts -- he's thrown exactly 91 pitches in three straight starts -- he's still produced quality starts in five of his last six appearances.

Bailey Ober ($9,000) is a potential alternative against the lowly Oakland Athletics, as well. The A's have the second-worst implied team total (3.30).

Admittedly, Ober's play in the latter stages of the season hasn't been incredibly worthwhile in DFS; he last went six innings way back on July 23rd. Home runs have also been an issue due to a sky-high 50.1% fly-ball rate.

However, between the weaker opponent, cool temperatures, and the wind blowing in, those fly balls could turn into easy outs tonight. Ober also brings a respectable 23.9% strikeout rate and 5.4% walk rate to the table, and despite the lack of innings lately, he went 97 pitches in his last start, so his workload shouldn't be an issue if he's dealing.

Former reliever Michael King ($8,600) has been quite the revelation since joining the Yankees' rotation, most recently racking up a season-high 13 strikeouts and 61 FanDuel points against the Toronto Blue Jays. It was the first time he cracked 100 pitches, too, after being held to modest pitch counts in the starts prior to that.

King has now put up an elite 2.27 xFIP, 37.2% strikeout rate, and 3.3% walk rate over seven starts. He's facing these same Blue Jays in what's a neutral matchup at best -- but those numbers speak for themselves.

Hitting Breakdown

The Arizona Diamondbacks are facing perhaps the worst pitcher on the slate in Jose Urena.

Urena has produced a couple of decent starts for the Chicago White Sox this month, but he also got shelled by the Minnesota Twins, so this sure looks like the same old Urena. Overall, he's put up an ugly 5.49 SIERA, 15.1% strikeout rate, and 10.1% walk rate across eight starts.

The one possible snag could be some rain in the forecast. But if this one plays, Corbin Carroll ($4,100), Ketel Marte ($3,700), and Christian Walker ($3,300) will be among the top plays.

The Texas Rangers are a strong stack again tonight, this time sporting a 4.94 implied team total against left-hander Reid Detmers.

Detmers has some odd splits, as he's actually been worse in same-handed matchups, showing a 5.26 xFIP and 16.4% strikeout rate. This should immediately get us excited about rostering Corey Seager ($4,400) in spite of the lefty-lefty matchups.

But the vast majority of Rangers hitters will be batting right-handed, and that's where we have a mixed bag. Against righties, Detmers' strikeout rate jumps to a scary 28.7%, but he also allows a 42.3% fly-ball rate and 36.4% FanGraphs hard-contact rate, so there's some potential for home runs.

Marcus Semien ($3,600) and his 14.3% strikeout rate is particularly appealing in this spot, and Jonah Heim ($3,000) could have added value, as well (19.3% strikeout rate).

Bryce Elder struggles against lefties and is just okay against righties, putting the Chicago Cubs in play. When facing left-handed batters, Elder's put up a 5.11 xFIP and 14.9% strikeout rate. Cody Bellinger ($3,900) and Ian Happ ($3,300) should be priorities, and Mike Tauchman ($2,800) has some value out of the leadoff spot.

There's nothing great about the Atlanta Braves' matchup against left-hander Justin Steele in this same game, but this is the Braves we're talking about.

Despite the tough spot, Atlanta's 5.05 implied team total is among the best. Steele's actually allowed 1.62 home runs per nine innings to lefties, and his strikeout rate is a pretty ordinary 23.1% versus righties. Steele has been rocked in back-to-back outings, too.

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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.