The evening slate features five games starting at 6:40 ET. Let’s find some values and upside so we can cash in before NFL this weekend!
Gilbert has the unenviable task of facing a tough Rangers lineup in the heat of a playoff race. That said, he has been fantastic this season, and our options on this short slate are limited. His last time out against this team went very, very well. He struck out 10 over 6.2 innings of work while allowing just 2 ER. That start was all the way back in May, but the upside is there.
Gilbert has asserted himself as a solid pitcher who doesn’t allow many baserunners. He has just a 1.08 WHIP on the season, and 182 punchouts in 179 innings of work.
The Mariners look ready to roll into the postseason, and Gilbert is a solid play tonight,
The Reds are limping toward a potential playoff spot, but Phillips is cheap and has some upside in this spot. His last start was fantastic, striking out 7 over 7 innings of work while allowing just 2 ER against the Twins. The Pirates offense has been hot, but is mostly devoid of top-tier talent.
There aren’t a lot of cheaper options that I feel decent about on this slate, but Phillips fits the bill against a Pirates lineup that is ultimately a below average one.
The Giants have seen their playoff hopes diminish to a dying heartbeat. They need a win in the worst way. Perennial Giants killer and future HOF pitcher Clayton Kershaw doesn’t give much confidence to their chances here. Kershaw has only pitched no more than 5 innings since his return, but there is plenty of time for him to return value here.
The Dodgers will likely keep his pitch count in check here, but this is a Giants team that strikes out at a high rate, and the Dodgers would love nothing more than to bury their nemesis on their way to the playoffs.
Kershaw isn’t a must play by any means, but our options are limited, so he is in play here.
The Padres are getting hot, but it is too little, too late. That doesn’t matter for MLB DFS, and we are rolling with the Padres to smash a bad pitcher here. Woodford owns a 5.31 ERA and 1.67 WHIP in a 42.1 inning sample this season.
Sign me up.
Give me Fernando Tatis Jr., Juan Soto, Xander Bogaerts, and Ha-Seong Kim here.
This team is going down swinging (finally), and I’m all aboard the Padres train, even though I don’t believe the leash for Woodford will be very long. The Cardinals’ bullpen hasn’t exactly been great either.
This one is obvious. The Astros are a top-tier offense facing one of the worst starters in MLB. Lyles has shown some signs of life, but overall his numbers are still pretty terrible. He sports a 6.43 ERA and 1.27 WHIP with 38 HR allowed on the season.
Bombs away.
You all know I love Yordan Alvarez, but Kyle Tucker, Alex Bregman, Jeremy Pena, the old man Jose Altuve, and even Jose Abreu are in play here.
Lyles loves to give up the longball at a historic pace, and the Astros will take advantage.
Call me a homer if you want, but the Reds are in a good spot here. Falter is a contact pitcher who has just 59 strikeouts in 78.2 innings of work this season with a 4.58 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP. The Reds are desperate for a win at this point, and their young lineup has plenty of upside here.
Spencer Steer, Elly De La Cruz, Joey Votto, TJ Friedl are my favorite targets here. The whole offense is in play here, as the ceiling is the limit here. Falter is an average pitcher at best, and the Reds are going to make some noise tonight.
Lots of bad pitching to take advantage of on Saturday night, let’s make some cash!
Find the team in the Win Daily Discord channel and let’s chat about some plays!
Good luck and hope to see you in the green.
Check me out on Twitter @BigItaly42 and let’s chat!
Are you looking for an article that can be used for Season Long, DFS, and Props? If so, the search is over. I introduce you to the Jigsaw Pieces, an article that is packed with insightful information, very opinionated takes, and multiple ways to make a profit. No matter what kind of contest you’re playing, there’s a piece of the puzzle for you!
Games to Watch
LAC vs. MIN — O/U 54 PTs and could be a Fantasy Dream
Props to Watch
ATL vs. Detroit — Sneaky Game of the Week
Props to Watch
Confident Studs (Pieces that will fit your frame)
Skeptical Stars (Pieces you force into slots that may not fit)
Diamond in the Rough (Pieces that could make the Mona Lisa of all puzzles)
Max Verstappen’s ($15,600) return to P1 for Sunday’s race was expected, but not to the tune of almost 1.5 seconds. Expect to hear the National Anthem of the Netherlands as it’s Max’s race to lose. Sergio Perez ($10,200) starts in P5 but looked well off in practice, take advantage of that through Red Bull Racing ($14,600) as they are the top option for the constructor position.
The McLarens line up right behind Max with Oscar Piastri ($7600) starting in P2 and Lando Norris ($9400) attacking from P3. The McLarens ($7900) perform very well on the hard compound tyre which is the preferred racing tyre at the Suzuka race track. If you had to pick one Lando is the expected favorite to maximize points in your draftkings lines, but as always this is racing and volatility is inherent. Have exposure in GPPS
After George Russell ($8800) threw it all away on the final lap and torpedoed 80% of the field last week it might be tough to go back to him this weekend. I ain’t doin it. George can get desperate for wins sometimes and he does things that make you regret rostering him. I like the Mercedes($9500) race chances this weekend however and will want to get some in my constructor position. I’m a Lewis Stan so I will always play him in GPPS. Mix and Match the aforementioned drivers in your GPPS.
Fernando Alonso ($6800) had pace in all three practice sessions over the weekend. His Aston should finish in the top 10 and a heavy chance of beating Lance Stroll ($6000).
Carlos Sainz ($8400) vs Chares Leclerc ($8200) has been fun this year at times, but some of the heaviest blows come by Sainz and last week’s performance at SIngapore was one for the books. He’s in good form and a good option, and I hope he’s popular as Ill try to go somewhere else with my salary as it feels like splitting hairs between the Ferrai ($8800) drivers this Japanese Grand Prix. Charles Leclerc is the preferred driver of the two making him a solid cash game play. We should expect top 10 finishes from the Ferrari but with limited DFS upside.
If the Alfa is inconsistent it should be assumed their drivers will be too. It did not work out well last race, but I like Bottas ($4400) over Zhou ($3200) the past 4 races, and that will continue here. Have a lil Zhou though, probably in the Captain spot if the race falls his way.
The Alpine qualified true to form in the front of the midfield. Definitely dont play both in the smae line up, and limited upside overall. They will be low owned though so Pierre Gasly ($5600) or Esteban Ocon ($5200) might be worthy of a large field GPP lineup. Dont go crazy
Albon ($4800) lurks right outside the top 10, and has proven that it doesnt take much for him to hit the top 10. Ill fit him in where I can as he has been priced correctly thgouhout the season. Albon casts a large shadow over the Williams garage and in the coldest part of the shade you will find Logan Sargent ($3000). Logan Sargent will be the featured player as hes the stone cold minimum and you can do whatever you want with him in your lineups.
Yuki Tsunoda ($4200) gave his Japanese countrymen a good reason to cheer as he put himself into Q3. A sprinkle cant hurt, but I would not be heavy on the play at all. That being said Liam Lawson ($4000) continues to impress and makes Max/Red Bull Racing lineups a little easier to put together. Liam will be popular.
If you find yourself in this price range in GPPs the best thing to do is to have a sprinkle of both Kevin magnussen ($3600) and Niko Hulkenberg ($3600), very limited, not in the same line up, as all youre trying to do is catch the 5 beat teammate and 1 finish point.
When building lineups Logan Sargent captain allows for viable Max/Red Bull Racing lineups. If going this way in GPPS, make sure to rotate through the close priced teammates and embrace the violitailty.
I like taking my more long shot style plays in the captain spot, so I will play around with that. Those would include either of the Haas drivers, Zhou, and Lawson. Yuki is the highest I will go when building like that. Those should not feature Max Verstappen either, so true GPP lineups.
As always if you have any questions get at me in discord @tcuz86
Each gameweek we will go position by position and rank our favorite plays. You will see our core plays, pivots, and value plays at each position in the rankings. After the rankings, a brief synopsis will help you build your lineups. Lastly, you will find Drago’s Best Bets for the top bets of the weekend. If you are new to soccer DFS, you need to know that lineups don’t come out until around 1 hour before 10 a.m. (Eastern) lock. Ensure you are around pre-lock in our discord for any lineup updates.
| Core | Pivots | Value |
| Bukayo Saka (ARS) – $10.2K | Mohammed Salah (LIV) – $10.5K | Adam Lallana (BHA) – $4.1K |
| James Maddison (TOT) – $9.3K | Leandro Trossard (ARS) – $7.7K | Papa Sarr (TOT) – $5K |
| Enxo Fernandez (CHE) – $6.1K | James Ward-Prowse (WHU) – $7.3K | Billy Gilmour (BHA) – $4.4K |
| Simon Adingra (BHA) – $5.1K | Dominik Szoboszlai (LIV) – $6.7K | |
| Dejan Kulusevski (TOT) – $5.5K | ||
| Danny Welbeck (BHA) – $6.4K | ||
| Core | Pivots | Value |
| Lucas Digne (AVL) – $5K | Pervis Estupinan (BHA) – $6K | Joe Gomez (LIV) – $3.7K |
| Andrew Robertson (LIV) – $7.2K | Malo Gusto (CHE) – $5.3K | Joel Veltman (BHA) – $3.3K |
| Core | Pivot | Value |
| Guglielmo Vicario (TOT) – $4.1K | David Raya (ARS) – $5.3K | Neto (Bou) – $3.8K |
| Emiliano Martinez (AVL) – $4.3K | ||
(Not all bets are for the above DFS slate)
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