If you've never played daily fantasy baseball before, it's time to start. Unlike traditional leagues, you're able to select the players you want on that specific day only, giving you a different squad to root for each and every day.
And if you'd like, you can use our optimal lineups here at numberFire.com to crush the competition.
As for today's lineups -- those can be found here. The information below is to help you understand why particular players are being picked, because we don't want you going into the things completely blind. We want to help you. Keep in mind, however, that things often change up until the games start, so make sure you're refreshing the optimal lineups as close to the start of games as possible.
Top Pitchers
High-Cost Pitcher
Jake Arrieta -- As John Stolnis told us a few weeks back, Arrieta has been one of the most underrated pitchers in all of baseball this season. The Cubs' ace ranks inside the top five in the league in ERA (2.03), FIP (2.46) and xFIP (2.73) as well as ranking inside of the top ten in SIERA (2.88) and strikeout percentage (26.8%). Tonight, Arrieta gets the pleasure of facing off against a Phillies squad who ranks just 29th in the majors in both wOBA (.297) and wRC+ (85) against right-handed pitching on the year. The Cubs' star has pitched 17 innings with zero earned runs, four hits and a whopping 19 strikeouts over his last two outings and should be in store for another huge performance tonight against the lowly Phillies. He is our number one overall projected pitcher on tonights slate.
Alternative Options: Danny Salazar
Cost-Effective Pitcher
Bartolo Colon -- Colon has been red hot as of late, coming into tonight with a 25 inning scoreless streak. He boasts a respectable 3.86 xFIP and 3.90 SIERA on the season and draws an excellent matchup against the offensively-challenged Braves tonight. Atlanta actually ranks dead last in the majors in wOBA (.296) and wRC+ (84) on the season and, although they do not strike out at a particularly high rate, are an excellent team to target on any given night. Colon makes a spectacular value play in all formats at just $7,900 on DraftKings and $8,300 on FanDuel.
Alternative Options: A.J. Burnett
Top Hitters
High-Cost Hitters
Yoenis Cespedes -- Much like his teammate Colon, Cespedes has been scorching hot as of late. The Mets' slugger has posted a .415 wBOA, .343 ISO and .993 OPS since the All-Star break and has amassed an absurd .643 wOBA, .676 ISO and 1.555 OPS since the calendar flipped to September. Although a matchup with Braves' righty Shelby Miller seems like a terrible matchup on paper, Miller has not been great as of late -- he has earned a 4.21 xFIP since in the second half of the season -- not to mention the fact that Cespedes is actually a reverse-splits hitter. The Mets' star has posted a .395 wOBA, .268 ISO and .935 OPS against righties on the season and should stay hot tonight against Miller. He makes a strong play on all platforms tonight regardless of his price tag.
Dexter Fowler -- Yesterday, R.J. Walsh wrote about just how important Fowler has been to the Cubs in the second half of the season. R.J. tells us that over the last 49 games, the Cubs' outfielder owns a .297/.426/.560 slash line and leads the Cubs in WAR (2.6), wOBA (.420) and wRC+ (169) over that span. The switch-hitting Fowler has also been much better from the left side of the plate than the right this season, boasting a .370 wOBA, .153 ISO and .854 OPS against left-handed pitching on the season. Tonight, the budding Cubs' star gets a matchup against Phillies' rookie southpaw Adam Morgan and his 5.28 xFIP and 5.08 SIERA. Look for Fowler to stay hot tonight in what is expected to be a blowout win for the Cubs.
Alternative Options: Anthony Rizzo, Josh Donaldson
Cost-Effective Hitters
Chris Young -- Young is one of the best platoon specialists in all of baseball. While he struggles mightily when facing right-handed pitching, the Yankees' journeyman outfielder has absolutely destroyed left-handed pitching this season, amassing a .420 wOBA, .267 ISO and .994 OPS against southpaws on the season. Although a matchup against Blue Jays' ace David Price is far from ideal, Young can be had at such an inexpensive price across the industry -- he costs just $2,400 on DraftKings and $3,000 on FanDuel -- and has hit lefties so well that I'm still willing to plug him into my lineups in all formats despite the fact he's facing Price. Young could be a sneaky good play in a tough matchup tonight.
Neil Walker -- Brewers' starter Wily Peralta has struggled to get left-handed batters out all season long. He's earned a 5.04 FIP and 4.58 xFIP against lefties while allowing them to hit for a massive .372 wOBA so far this season. Contrarily, Walker has been excellent when facing right-handed pitching this season, posting a .332 wOBA and .174 ISO when facing righties this year. Walker is very much in play on DraftKings at $3,700, but is an absolute steal for just $2,300 on FanDuel.
Alternative Options: Abraham Almonte, Scooter Gennett