Covering The Bases: MLB DFS Picks for Sunday, September 1st
Long-time grinder, stlcardinals84, is here to cover the bases for the upcoming MLB DFS slate. Whether you are looking for the top pitchers or the best stacks, Cards has you covered with an extensive deep dive into his favorite MLB DFS picks.
Happy Sunday, everyone! We have what looks to be a fun Sunday slate on tap, with nine games available on DraftKings and ten available on FanDuel for the main slate (FD has added the Coors Field game). It looks like we may have some weather issues to monitor in New York for STL/NYY and Washington for CHC/WAS. While neither looks to be in imminent danger of a postponement, you can keep an eye on our MLB Weather page for updates from Kevin Roth leading up to lock.
I am going to write the article assuming every game plays. Let’s dig in to see what this Sunday has in store for MLB DFS picks!
Editor’s Note: Looking for more places to play? Check out our PrizePicks promo code and Sleeper promo code, two of the best DFS apps available today.
Sunday Pitching: MLB DFS Picks on FanDuel & DraftKings
TOP TIER PITCHING
Dylan Cease vs. Rays
Sean Manaea vs. White Sox
Ronel Blanco vs. Royals
This is an underwhelming slate for pitching, and my approach is going to be the exact opposite of how I handled yesterday. I’ll dig more into that in a moment. First, let’s take a look at the 2024 data for these top three pitchers:
Cease – 3.57 ERA, 3.30 xFIP, 31% K, 9% BB
Manaea – 3.51 ERA, 4.08 xFIP, 25% K, 9% BB
Blanco – 3.14 ERA, 4.15 xFIP, 24% K, 10% BB
Now, let me go back to my point I was starting to make before I posted the stats. Yesterday, my goal was to save as much money as possible at pitcher because there was a wide range of options with similar projections, and I wanted to spend up for bats. Today, I like saving money with the bats, as there are plenty of value choices for offense, while there aren’t a lot of strong pitchers.
Given the above context, I want to prioritize spending up for my pitchers on this slate.
Dylan Cease is the clear top arm this afternoon. While he has struggled a little bit lately, the overall profile is still rock solid with a 3.57 ERA, 3.30 xFIP, and elite strikeouts. The Padres are still very much in the thick of the playoff race, and I love the way Cease matches up with the currently depleted state of the Rays lineup. He’s my SP1 on this slate. Sean Manaea isn’t that far behind him, though. Manaea has shown a lot more strikeout upside in recent weeks, and he has 20 strikeouts in his last two starts. That upside should continue to show in a matchup against the ridiculously feeble White Sox, who rank near the bottom of the league in basically every offensive category. I am close to considering Cease and Manaea as “1A” and “1B” options here, and I like pairing them together in DK builds.
I have significantly less interest in Ronel Blanco, who continues to skate by via good fortune. His 4.15 xFIP is the worst of this group, as is his 24% strikeout rate. He also has the toughest matchup of the three against the Royals. I have virtually zero interest in him today.
SECONDARY PITCHING OPTIONS
Want to read more? Sign up for Premium!
