MLB

MLB Daily Fantasy Helper: Monday 9/21/15

With the Pirates taking a trip to Coors Field, it's time to fire up Andrew McCutchen.

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

Dallas Keuchel -- Keuchel has put together a masterful season, posting a 17-8 record with a 2.73 xFIP and 2.83 SIERA. The American League Cy Young award front-runner has also struck out 8.39 batters per nine innings with a massive 23.7% strikeout percentage. Tonight, Keuchel draws a matchup against an Angels squad who has struggled against left-handed pitching all season long, ranking 27th in the majors in wOBA (.291) and 24th in wRC+ (87) when facing southpaws on the year. With Houston in the middle of a pennant race, look for their ace to come through in the clutch with another impressive performance tonight. Keuchel is our number one overall projected pitcher on the board tonight.

Alternative Options: David Price

Cost-Effective Pitcher

Jason Hammel -- Hammel has quietly had a very impressive season for the Cubs. He has earned a 3.52 xFIP and 3.47 SIERA while striking out a whopping 9.13 batters per nine innings through his first 28 starts of the season. The Cubs' veteran gets a plus matchup against a Brewers' lineup who ranks just 18th in wOBA (.312) and 26th in wRC+ (91) when facing right-handed pitching this season and strikes out at the 10th highest rate in the league (20.7%). Given the fact that most of the higher-priced pitching options such as Chris Archer, Gio Gonzalez and the aforementioned Price all have tough matchups tonight, Hammel makes a very viable number two pitching option on two pitcher sites as well as a solid GPP play on all platforms. 

Alternative Options: Jonathon Niese, Brett Anderson

Top Hitters

High-Cost Hitters

Andrew McCutchen -- The Pirates are visiting the Rockies at Coors Field tonight, which means pretty much every Pittsburgh bat is in play. With that said, if I had to chose just one Pirate to play tonight it would be McCutchen. Although I generally prefer to play him against left-handed pitching, Cutch has been great against righties this season as well. The Pirates' star has amassed a .376 wOBA, .206 ISO and .887 OPS against right-handed pitching on the year and should have little trouble taking advantage of Rockies' starter Jon Gray who has allowed righties to knock him around for a .352 wOBA this season. Cutch makes an excellent play in all formats tonight at the friendly confines of Coors Field.

Bryce Harper -- Harper has been the best hitter in all of baseball this season. Period. He leads all of baseball in wOBA (.474), wRC+ (205), ISO (.331) and OPS (1.143) and has absolutely destroyed right-handed pitching all season long. The young Nationals' star has annihilated righties to the tune of a .498 wOBA, .375 ISO and 1.214 OPS and gets the pleasure of facing off against Orioles' right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez and his 4.26 FIP against left-handed batters tonight. Harper makes a spectacular play any time he takes the field and tonight is no exception.

Alternative Options: Anthony Rizzo, Manny Machado

Cost-Effective Hitters

Chris Young -- Although New York gets a very difficult matchup against Price tonight, Young is still one of my favorite value plays on the board. The Yankees' platoon specialist has crushed left-handed pitching this season, boasting a .409 wOBA, .257 ISO and .970 OPS when facing southpaws on the year. With those numbers and a price tag of just $2,500 on DraftKings and $2,700 on FanDuel, I find it hard to fade Young despite the fact that he is matchup up with Price. Do not hesitate to plug the Yankees' outfielder into your lineup in all formats tonight.

Logan Forsythe -- Speaking of batters who have had their way with left-handed pitching this season, Forsythe has amassed a .410 wOBA, .316 ISO and .983 OPS against southpaws so far this season. Tonight, the Rays travel to Boston to take on Red Sox' rookie lefty Eduardo Rodriguez and his 4.01 xFIP against righties on the year. At just $3,900 on DraftKings and $3,300 on FanDuel, Forsythe is dollar for dollar one of my favorite players to target on tonight's slate.

Alternative Options: Dexter FowlerBrandon Guyer