Major League Baseball

FanDuel MLB: Picks and Pivots for Tuesday September 27

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 4:35 p.m. ET

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Sep 26, 2016; Miami, FL, USA; Members of the Miami Marlins gather around the mound to honor fallen teammate starting pitcher Jose Fernandez prior to the game against the New York Mets at Marlins Park. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

FanDuel MLB: Picks and Pivots for September 27

Welcome to the Tuesday edition of Picks & Pivots, a daily fantasy baseball column focused on providing analysis and insights into the top FanDuel MLB lineups. The purpose of this column is to first identify key building blocks that can be used for any roster construction and then identify pivot points to help differentiate your lineup in hopes of a big payday!

Tuesday’s MLB schedule kicks off at 7:05PM EST with a full 15 game Main Slate on FanDuel!

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I will continue to track winning Tournament lineups and compare trends over 5 day periods to help us understand what it takes to remain profitable. I HIGHLY recommend each of you do this each morning to look back on the previous night and understand how the winning lineups are constructed in the games you participate in.

The view below tracks GPP entries over various time periods, breaking out key metrics to understand the trends and compositions of GPP winning rosters:

Time Period	Score	Pitcher Salary	Pitcher %	Hitter %	Hitter $/Player	Value
Season	255.4	$ 8,664	25%	75%	$ 3,292	7.30
5 Day	241.5	$ 10,060	29%	71%	$ 3,118	6.90
Prev Day	258.1	$ 10,600	30%	70%	$ 3,050	7.37

Now on to the picks…For more DFS Strategy insights, check out my latest article to help take your game to the next level! I highly recommend gamers track their game performance across the various types of games they play – GPP’s, Cash, Multipliers etc – as this simple exercise will help teach you more about profitable roster construction than you can imagine.

Sep 22, 2016; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Justin Verlander (35) delivers a pitch in the first inning against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

Looking over the Tuesday Main Slate, there are multiple top end pitchers taking the mound but there are two pitchers in the midst of an October push that stand out as the top options.

Justin Verlander ($10,200): I am writing this article in the middle of the Monday night games and that matters as this pick is VERY much dependent on the outcome of the Monday night Indians-Tigers tilt. With an Indians victory, Cleveland would clinch the division and I would expect a tremendously watered down lineup on Tuesday.

The Tigers regardless of Monday night’s outcome are in the middle of a playoff push and if the Indians send their JV roster to the diamond we can expect Verlander to dominate.

Verlander has averaged 43.2 points per game over the last month, striking out at least seven batters in each of his last six starts including two double-digit punch out efforts.

If the Indians do not clinch Monday night, I would look to pivot to another pitcher in the midst of a must win week as Noah Syndergaard ($10,800) takes the mound in Miami against the Marlins.

The Mets are in must win mode and their lone remaining ace will need to continue his Cy Young caliber season to keep them in the hunt. Syndergaard has elite strikeout upside and put up 54 FanDuel points in his last start against the Marlins this season.

From a narrative perspective, the scene in Marlins park on Monday was incredible and I cannot imagine the emotional toll it took on that team as they honored Jose Fernandez. We may see a combination of sheer exhaustion from Miami on Tuesday and a Mets team in must win mode that leads to a dominant outing from Thor.

With so many top pitching options on the slate, I will absolutely be looking to spend up to lock in one of the high upside elite arms on Tuesday.

Sep 17, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Milwaukee Brewers left fielder Ryan Braun (8) celebrates his two RBI home run with second baseman Scooter Gennett (2) during the sixth inning against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports

Milwaukee and Texas: The highest total on the Tuesday slate comes from the game in Texas and based off the early totals there is no other contest that is all that close which makes this a clear top spot for offense.

A.J. Griffin takes the mound for Texas and we should look to aggressively target the left-handed bats of the Brewers when building our lineups.

Griffin has surrendered a 2.95 HR/9 and 45% hard contact rate to LHB and although the Brewers are primarily right-handed, you can get exposure to this favorable match up by rostering Scooter Gennett ($3,500) & Jonathan Villar ($3,900).

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On the other side of this match up, Jimmy Nelson and his 36.7% hard contact rate to left-handed bats can and should be exploited by a loaded Rangers lineup. Carlos Beltran ($3,900) makes for one of the top targets on this slate and is worth paying up for as part of a larger stack or a one-off play.

Jun 17, 2016; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez (13) and right fielder Jarrod Dyson (1) celebrate after a win over the Detroit Tigers at Kauffman Stadium. The Royals won 10-3. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

Below you will find my initial lineup for Tuesday’s Main FanDuel MLB slate including notes/comments on my roster construction.

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Best of luck tonight gamers!

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