How is it September already? That means we're in the final month of the regular season, and it always goes by much quicker than it feels. That's what's funny about the baseball season, because time is simply impossible to judge. I hit big in my last article when I recommended Kyle Schwarber on his four-dinger day, so we're looking to keep that momentum rolling here. With that in mind, we have a strange slate on a holiday, so let's take a look at the main card during the day.
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Pitching
Brayan Bello, BOS vs. CLE ($8,300)
Cleveland fans are disgusted with their team right now, and it's easy to understand why. This has been one of the worst offenses in baseball, ranked 29th or 30th in runs scored, OBP, OPS, wOBA and xwOBA. That's hard to do, and it doesn't bode well against a pitcher like Bello. The Red Sox righty has allowed three runs or fewer in 21 of 23 starts this season while providing a 2.99 ERA and 1.21 WHIP. Bello has also scored at least 11 DK points in 11 straight starts while dropping 21 and 27 DK points in his two most recent outings.
Bailey Ober, MIN vs. CWS ($7,300)
This salary looks strange next to Ober's name, but a nightmarish season has earned it. The reason we're willing to take a risk on him here is the home matchup with Chicago. The White Sox rank in the bottom five in OBP, OPS and xwOBA since the start of last season. That's a good opportunity for Ober to continue bouncing back after he posted a 4.09 ERA and 1.05 WHIP across his last four starts. That's more in line with the career 3.76 ERA and 1.07 WHIP the righty had coming into the season. Ober has also recorded three straight quality starts against the ChiSox, averaging over 22 DraftKings points per game in those outings.
Top Targets
Rafael Devers, SF (vs. Chase Dollander) $5,500
Everyone was talking about Devers' struggles after his trade to San Francisco, but the media is quiet now that the perennial All-Star is rolling. 'Rolling' might be an understatement, with Rafael registering a .411 OBP, .617 SLG and 1.028 OPS across his last 26 outings. That's not far off from his career norms of a .381 OBP and .920 OPS against righties. We also love that Devers has four doubles in his last two games in Coors Field, while the Giants have produced double-digit runs in three of their last five outings. They're our favorite stack of the day, and we'll dive into that more below.
Jackson Chourio, MIL (vs. Taijuan Walker) $4,500
It's shocking to see Chourio at just $4,500. The reasoning behind that salary is that he just came off the IL, I suppose, but talent-wise this is a $5,000 player. Chourio has 39 homers and 40 steals across 256 career games while flirting with an .800 OPS. It's why many people expect him to be a perennial All-Star over the next decade, and he's scored 17 and 20 DK points in his first two games off the IL. That's terrifying for a pitcher like Walker, who has amassed a 5.20 ERA and 1.51 WHIP since the start of last season. Milwaukee has been a top-five offense all year, and they're one of the best stacks against Walker. We'd use Christian Yelich ($4,900), William Contreras ($4,600), Brice Turang ($4,600) or Sal Frelick ($4,000) to pair with Chourio.
Bargain Bats
Christian Walker, HOU (vs. Yusei Kikuchi) $4,200
There's no doubt that Walker has been a slight disappointment, but that's overshadowing a superb second half. The slugger has a .274 AVG, .495 SLG and .831 OPS across his last 49 fixtures. He also has a .968 OPS over the last two weeks, which is more in line with the 30-homer hitter we're accustomed to. Walker has the platoon advantage against Kikuchi as well, with the lefty totaling a 5.50 ERA and 158 WHIP across his last seven starts. This Astros lineup is full of dangerous righties against Kikuchi, with Jeremy Pena ($5,100), Jose Altuve ($5,000), Carlos Correa ($4,300) and Yainer Diaz ($3,400) all in play.
Michael Harris, ATL (vs. Colin Rea) $3,600
It's hard to believe that Harris is still below $4,000. The fantasy stud has been one of the best hitters in baseball over the last month, tallying a .345 AVG, .642 SLG and 1.004 OPS across his last 36 outings. We're talking about a guy who had a career OPS above .800 coming into the year, and his salary reflects those poor opening months of 2025. Harris has also been much better against righties throughout his career, and now he's facing one with a 4.96 xERA. Given how hot Atlanta is right now, Ronald Acuna ($5,600), Matt Olson ($5,100) and Ozzie Albies ($4,100) are all great options next to Harris.
Stacks to Consider
San Francisco Giants at Colorado Rockies (Dollander): Devers ($5,500), Willy Adames ($4,900), Heliot Ramos ($4,800), Dominic Smith ($3,900)
We already mentioned a few stacks that we love, but this one takes the cake. Every possible factor is in the Giants' favor here, as they face a Rockies team that ranks dead last in ERA and WHIP. Those numbers are even worse in the best hitter's park in baseball, with Dollander accruing a 6.55 ERA and 1.60 WHIP this year. We didn't even mention San Francisco's recent form -- they've scored the most runs in baseball over the last week.
We have to kickstart our stack with Devers, but Adames is right there with him. The shortstop has a .413 OBP, .811 SLG and 1.224 OPS across his last 10 games. He also has a 1.430 OPS in seven games versus Colorado this year. As for Ramos, he has a .770 OPS over the last two years and an .835 OPS against the Rockies. Smith is the sneaky option, hitting cleanup against right-handers. He has a .289 AVG and .781 OPS across his last 50 fixtures while crushing righties throughout his career.
