MLB DFS Picks & Stacks for Tuesday (9/1/26)
Tuesday gives us a nine-game MLB DFS main slate at DraftKings, and it is a fun one. There are a few more viable arms to turn to tonight than we had 24 hours ago, and we get games at Wrigley Field and Coors Field again.
Coors was a failure last night. The Orioles and Rockies combined for three runs in a 2-1 game, and I was further onto the Colorado side of that than I would have liked. Wrigley went the other way entirely: the Cubs used the wind to go ham for 17 runs on 20 hits and nine home runs against the Brewers. We did hit on the Angels as a GPP stack in their 10-1 win over the Yankees, and Jacob deGrom did not disappoint as our locked and loaded SP1, going seven innings on one hit with eight strikeouts and no walks for roughly 35 DraftKings points.
Wondering which MLB DFS stacks to roll with tonight and which arms to trust? I have you covered. Here are the best MLB DFS picks for Tuesday at DraftKings, with the salaries, the matchups and the market numbers that back them up.
Slate Breakdown
Coors Field is the preferred stacking spot tonight, and Wrigley is the close second. That is a flip from where I was 24 hours ago, and the reason is the wind: it is still blowing out at Wrigley, just not with last night’s authority. Both hitting environments are live, but only one of them is live for all nine innings.
Those are not the only two nice spots. There are attackable pitchers scattered through this board, it is brutally hot in Kansas City, and we get games at Target Field and Angel Stadium. The pitching is quite good up top and then thins out in a hurry, so the ancillary pieces are what will separate you from the pack.
The Wrigley Wind Fades, and Coors Does Not
The wind at Wrigley blows out tonight, but it is on a timer. The National Weather Service has 10 mph out of the west-southwest in the 6 PM CT hour, falling to 5 mph by 8 PM. Wrigley’s home plate sits at the southwest corner of the park with the outfield to the northeast, so a west-southwest wind pushes balls toward the bleachers. That is the right direction. It is simply half the wind by the middle innings, and last night’s Cubs barrage came with a steady 10 mph blowing out all night.
Denver, meanwhile, is finally clean. Coors sat under a 62 percent thunderstorm risk last night and the game got played anyway; tonight the forecast is 85 degrees, 6 mph and a 6 percent chance of rain at first pitch. Coors is the number one park in baseball on the 2026 Statcast runs index at 125, a 25-point edge over a league-average venue and 19 points clear of the next park on this slate. When the weather stops being a reason to fade it, it goes back to being the best hitting environment in the sport.
The Pitching Is Strong at the Top and Thin Right Behind It
Four arms on this board are worth real money, and the drop after them is a cliff. DraftKings’ own listed season averages have Jesus Luzardo at 21.8 fantasy points per game and Gerrit Cole at 19.1, then a gap, then a middle tier, then five starters averaging under 10. Here is the full board of listed starters with the implied run total the market has posted for the offense each of them faces.
| Listed Starter | Salary | Matchup | Opponent Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jesús Luzardo | $10,500 | PHI at ARI | 3.5 |
| Gerrit Cole | $9,500 | NYY at LAA | 2.5 |
| Troy Melton | $9,300 | DET at MIN | 4.5 |
| MacKenzie Gore | $8,800 | TEX vs. ATH | 2.5 |
| Sean Burke | $8,500 | CWS at HOU | 3.5 |
| Eduardo Rodríguez | $8,200 | ARI vs. PHI | 4.5 |
| Matthew Boyd | $7,600 | CHC vs. MIL | 4.5 |
| Kyle Bradish | $7,500 | BAL at COL | 4.5 |
| Robert Gasser | $7,300 | MIL at CHC | 4.5 |
| Randy Dobnak | $7,100 | KC vs. MIA | 4.5 |
| Grayson Rodríguez | $7,000 | LAA vs. NYY | 4.5 |
| Michael McGreevy | $6,500 | STL at LAD | 4.5 |
| Eric Lauer | $6,200 | LAD vs. STL | 3.5 |
| Ronel Blanco | $6,000 | HOU vs. CWS | 4.5 |
| Tyler Phillips | $5,800 | MIA at KC | 4.5 |
| Gabriel Hughes | $5,500 | COL vs. BAL | 5.5 |
| Brady Basso | $5,300 | ATH at TEX | 4.5 |
| Andrew Morris | $4,000 | MIN vs. DET | 4.5 |
Two things jump out of that table. Cole and Gore draw the only two offenses the market has posted below 3.5 runs, and they are the two arms I want. And the Twins are running Andrew Morris out at $4,000, which reads as a bullpen game, so treat the Detroit hitters as a real spot even though the Tigers do not appear anywhere else in this article.
Where the Parks Help, and Where They Only Look Like They Do
Beyond Coors and Wrigley, the park math is more mixed than the eye test suggests. Target Field genuinely helps at 104 on the runs index, sixth of 29. Angel Stadium does not: it sits 20th at 98, and the case for Angels bats tonight is Gerrit Cole’s opponent rather than the building they are in. Kansas City is 9th on runs at 102, but 25th in home runs at 87, so a hot Kauffman night is a doubles-and-traffic night more than a barrage.
And that heat is real. The National Weather Service has Kauffman Stadium at 97 degrees in the 6 PM CT hour and 95 at 7 PM with a light south wind, which is the hottest first pitch on the slate by nine degrees. If you have been reading these all summer you know I lean on temperature more than most, and the stats that actually move a DFS slate are usually park, weather and opposing-pitcher handedness rather than anything on a season stat line.
Best MLB DFS Pitchers for 9/1
MacKenzie Gore at $8,800 is the best pitcher pick of the night. He is not the top arm on the board by DraftKings’ own listed average, but he has the best combination of park, matchup and price, and my projection has him within a fantasy point of Gerrit Cole at $700 less.
MacKenzie Gore ($8,800): The Park and the Opponent Do the Work
Gore is in a great spot. He is at home in Globe Life Field, which is 28th of 29 on the 2026 runs index at 86 and 22nd in home runs at 93, and he draws an Athletics team the market has posted at 2.5 implied runs, tied for the lowest total on the board.
The nominal knock is that Gore has power issues against right-handed hitting, and he will see a lot of it tonight. That is real: he has allowed a .174 ISO to righties across 477 batters faced, against .128 to lefties. Two things blunt it. The park curbs power, and Gore also destroys right-handed hitters, striking out 27.5 percent of them. I am very much Team Gore on this slate.
The genuinely underrated part is who he is facing. This is not the Athletics team that was on the schedule in June. Six position players are on the injured list, including Brent Rooker, Nick Kurtz, Tyler Soderstrom and Jacob Wilson, and the group actually available carries a plate-appearance-weighted .133 ISO. Their best remaining power bat is Zack Gelof at .190, and the A’s strike out 24.8 percent of the time against left-handed pitching. Gore is a lefty. Fair warning on the other side of the ledger: his 4.40 ERA is not a number that inspires anyone, so the case here is entirely park plus opponent rather than form.
Gerrit Cole ($9,500): The Pivot Who Might Be the Better Arm
Cole is a nice pivot in terms of price and projection. He actually grades out slightly ahead of Gore on my projection and on ceiling, and DraftKings lists him at 19.1 fantasy points per game against Gore’s 15.3. He is just in a far worse park and costs $700 more.
The Angels went off on the pinstripes last night for 10 runs, and I would still lean into Cole here. Most of Los Angeles’ power comes from the right side: Zach Neto (.196 ISO, 23 home runs), Mike Trout (.187, 20) and Jose Siri (.171) are all right-handed, and the best left-handed bat on the roster is Josh Lowe at .141. Cole is not walking anyone on that side of the plate, a 3.9 percent walk rate, and is not giving up much power either at a .124 ISO to righties. The Angels also strike out 25.1 percent of the time against right-handed pitching, the highest mark among the nine offenses here.
Eric Lauer ($6,200): A Price Play and Nothing More
If you want to save cash to load up on Wrigley or Coors bats, give Eric Lauer a spin. It feels gross, but he is cheap for a guy who is likely to get a win: his Dodgers are favored at home at -176, which is the second-shortest price on the slate.
Be honest with yourself about what you are buying. Lauer carries a 4.78 ERA with a 15.6 percent strikeout rate and 24 home runs allowed in 105.1 innings, and tonight he throws in the best home-run park in baseball, with Dodger Stadium sitting first of 29 at a 124 index. The Cardinals also profile better than their 3.5 implied total suggests, because they strike out just 18.8 percent of the time against left-handed pitching, the lowest rate on this slate, and Lauer strikes out only 13.5 percent of the righties he faces. This is a salary decision, not a pitching decision.
Jesús Luzardo ($10,500): The Tournament Swing
Luzardo is a GPP player’s dream. He is the highest-projecting arm on DraftKings’ own listed averages at 21.8 per game, and my number has him close to the top without being there. What makes him risky is the combination of the projection, the salary and a date with the Diamondbacks at Chase Field.
The profile is very good. Luzardo has a 3.09 ERA and a 30.3 percent strikeout rate over 27 starts, and he keeps the power in check with 14 home runs allowed in 163 innings and a .150 ISO to right-handed hitters. The park helps in that specific way too: Chase Field is 23rd of 29 in home run factor at 92, even though it is 3rd in runs at 106.
The issue is that Arizona will not necessarily oblige. Against left-handed pitching the Diamondbacks carry a .165 ISO and strike out just 17.7 percent of the time, and Nolan Arenado (.191 ISO), Gabriel Moreno (.165) and Tim Tawa (.159) give them right-handed bats who do not have to chase. At $10,500 you need the strikeouts to show up.
Top MLB DFS Hitters for Tuesday
The three bats below are the ones I keep coming back to at three very different price points, and each is priced off a matchup rather than off a name.
Pete Alonso ($6,700): Expensive, and Worth It in Coors
Alonso is very expensive, but he gets a big park upgrade going from Camden Yards to Coors Field, and his power should play well against Gabriel Hughes. The Rockies right-hander has surrendered a .197 ISO to fellow righties this year, and Alonso hits right-handed pitching for a .251 ISO with 24 of his 32 home runs coming off it.
One caution worth stating plainly, because it cuts against the play: Hughes has faced only 75 right-handed hitters this season, and his overall hard-hit rate of 28.9 percent is one of the lowest on the slate. The park is doing more of the work here than the pitcher is.
Tyrone Taylor ($3,200): The Cheapest Way Into Wrigley
For value, we can take a stab at Tyrone Taylor. He was one of many Cubs to launch a ball into the stands last night, one of the nine Chicago hit, and he may very well do it again tonight. Taylor carries a .233 ISO with 11 home runs across 209 plate appearances, which is legitimate pop for $3,200, and he draws Robert Gasser with the wind blowing out.
Gasser is the matchup. The Milwaukee lefty has allowed a .195 ISO and 11 home runs to right-handed hitters across 242 batters faced, against a .148 ISO to lefties, and Taylor bats right-handed. I do want to flag one number I have used before: Taylor’s split against left-handed pitching sits on only 23 plate appearances this season, so lean on the full-season power rather than the platoon line.
Munetaka Murakami ($5,300): The Low-Owned Swing
I always like to give Murakami a spin in tourneys when his ownership is low, and I am into him again tonight because I do not expect anybody to roster him. He is not cheap, and he is not in either of the two best hitting environments on the slate.
His spot is better than that framing makes it sound. Murakami has a nasty .315 ISO against right-handed pitching over 307 plate appearances, and Ronel Blanco is a righty who has been lit up by left-handed bats: a 17.9 percent strikeout rate, a 16.4 percent walk rate and a .303 ISO allowed to that side in 2026. Daikin Park also grades 5th of 29 in home run factor at 113, which is a detail the field tends to skip because the roof makes it feel neutral.
Tuesday’s Best MLB DFS Stacks
Baltimore is the only offense the market separates from the field, and after that the board is a traffic jam. The implied totals below are the posted DraftKings team totals. My own numbers run four to six tenths of a run hotter across the board, but the order they produce is nearly identical to the market’s, which is the part that matters for stacking.
I do not think many of these teams need much of a sales pitch, but a little context cannot hurt. I actually liked Baltimore’s matchup better last night, and they are still in Coors, and Gabriel Hughes is not missing lefty bats with a 14.0 percent strikeout rate to that side while giving up too much power to righties at .197. He may not be a gas can, but the O’s obviously still look good.
The downside with Baltimore is exactly what we saw last night. Sometimes they are not good, and if they are going to be pricey and super popular, we can just do something else. The Cubs were that something else last night when they scored 17, and they could do something similar against a worse pitcher this time around: Robert Gasser has allowed a .195 ISO to right-handed hitters, and Chicago carries a .197 ISO against left-handed pitching, the best mark on this slate.
Colorado is my favorite stack when I weigh park, ownership and upside together, and it holds up on the market number too: devigging the posted team totals across seven books puts the Rockies third behind Baltimore and the Cubs. They get Kyle Bradish, who has trouble with lefties, a 10.5 percent walk rate and a .165 ISO allowed to that side, and Colorado has a ton of solid left-handed bats to throw his way. Mickey Moniak ($5,200, .253 ISO), Brett Sullivan ($3,600, .188) and Jake McCarthy ($5,500, .184) all bat left, and switch-hitters Cole Carrigg and Willi Castro can take that side too. Note the shape of that: Hunter Goodman is the biggest bat on the roster at a .288 ISO, but he is right-handed and Bradish holds righties to .133, so the stack is the lefties.
The Dodgers might go completely overlooked. I said the Rockies rank first for me, and Los Angeles is a close second. They are at home in the best home-run park in baseball and they get Michael McGreevy. The Cardinals righty is not missing lefties, a 14.9 percent strikeout rate to that side, and his other numbers are not encouraging either: a .176 ISO allowed to left-handed hitters, a 10.0 percent barrel rate and a 42.3 percent hard-hit rate overall. L.A. looks like a majestic stack here. Shohei Ohtani ($6,400) leads the way, and the Dodgers have six left-handed bats available in Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, Kyle Tucker, Max Muncy, Hunter Feduccia and Alek Thomas, plus switch-hitter Tommy Edman.
The Brew Crew did not take advantage of the winds last night, and maybe they rectify that tonight. Matthew Boyd can be annoying, but his power issues could get him into trouble here, since right-handed hitters have taken him for a .196 ISO and 14 home runs. Milwaukee is not the team you think about for mashing southpaws, and the numbers agree: their .132 ISO against left-handed pitching is the weakest on this slate. Jackson Chourio (.198 ISO vs. lefties), Andrew Vaughn (.213) and Gary Sánchez (.220) are the three who get the party started, and this is a stack you build from the top of the order rather than one you roll out five deep.
Where I Go to Get Different
The A’s and the Halos are the obvious leverage stacks, both sitting at a 2.5 implied total. I do not really want to go that far. There is no harm in attacking whichever of Gore or Cole you are not rostering, but I do not see a lot of upside in doing it, and the Athletics in particular are missing half their lineup.
Miami and Kansas City is where we can gain serious leverage. Both offenses are in a park that plays well for offense, Kauffman is 9th of 29 on runs, and it is 97 degrees with two pedestrian arms taking the ball. The Royals have the higher implied number of the two on price, with DraftKings posting their over at -130 against Miami’s -125 on the same 4.5 line, and their matchup looks better on paper.
Kansas City carries a .157 ISO against right-handed pitching and draws Tyler Phillips, who is not missing bats at an elite rate, 19.0 percent against lefties, and walks too many of them at 11.5 percent. Both sides are viable, but I would start with the Royals. Bobby Witt Jr. ($6,100) and Jac Caglianone ($5,100) are the anchors, and Carter Jensen ($4,000) and Salvador Perez ($3,600) let you build the stack without gutting the rest of the roster. If you want the fuller argument for why a spot like this beats the popular one, our guide to the most common MLB DFS stacking mistakes covers it.
Building Winning MLB DFS Lineups on 9/1
My builds start with Gore. He is going to mow down this rendition of the Athletics, he will be popular, that is for good reason, and I do not see much upside in going against him on this slate.
Who I want to stack then dictates what I do at SP2. Pairing Gore with Cole is not impossible, but it does stretch you thin at $18,300 for two arms. It depends on which stack you prioritize, and it gets easier to stomach with certain offenses than others.
Luzardo is out of play for me, because I am casting a fairly shallow net with my stacks. I do not feel compelled to zero in on the Orioles or the Cubs, but I still want a good situation like the Dodgers or the Rockies, and those do not come cheap. Lauer at $6,200 is the release valve if the bats I want add up to more than I can afford.
We will have to see where ownership falls, too, because the Royals also look fantastic and I am not sure how chalky they will be with two enormous hitting environments on the same slate. Price could see them gain steam anyway. Treat any ownership number you read today, mine included, as a projection rather than a fact.
Build the Core in the Optimizer
Want to build around these plays? The optimizer below opens with tonight’s DraftKings pool loaded and my core already locked in: Gore on the mound with Alonso, Taylor and Murakami in the lineup. Cole, Lauer and Luzardo are alternatives to Gore rather than additions, so unlock whichever arm you want to swap. Every projection is yours to edit, and the lineup rebuilds around whatever you change.
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Frequently Asked Questions
A few things readers ask me most weeks, plus three that are specific to this slate.
Which pitcher should I build around on Tuesday’s DraftKings main slate?
MacKenzie Gore at 8,800 dollars is the arm I want. He is at home in Globe Life Field, which ranks 28th of 29 on the 2026 Statcast runs index, and the Athletics carry a 2.5 implied team total, tied for the lowest on the board. Six Athletics position players are on the injured list, and the group actually available carries a .133 ISO between them while striking out 24.8 percent of the time against left-handed pitching. The catch is his season line: a 4.40 ERA and 18 home runs allowed means the case is park and opponent, not form. Gerrit Cole at 9,500 dollars is the pivot if you would rather pay up.
Is the wind still blowing out at Wrigley Field tonight?
Yes, but it fades. The National Weather Service has a 10 mph west-southwest wind in the 6 PM CT hour dropping to 5 mph by 8 PM. Wrigley’s home plate sits at the southwest corner with the outfield to the northeast, so that direction pushes balls toward the bleachers, which is why the Cubs hit nine home runs there last night on a steadier 10 mph breeze. Tonight is effectively a first-half wind, so the Cubs and Brewers are still live but the environment is weaker than last night’s. There is also a 20 percent shower chance at first pitch easing to 15 percent.
Why stack the Rockies over the Orioles when Baltimore has the higher total?
Ownership, mostly. Baltimore sits alone at a 5.5 implied team total and everybody can see it, while Colorado is one of twelve teams bunched at 4.5. Both are in Coors Field, which is first of 29 on the runs index at 125, so the park edge is identical. The Rockies get Kyle Bradish, who walks 10.5 percent of the left-handed hitters he faces and allows a .165 ISO to that side, and Colorado has five left-handed bats plus two switch-hitters to point at him. Note that Hunter Goodman is the exception: he is the team’s best power bat but hits right-handed, and Bradish holds righties to a .133 ISO.
Does the heat in Kansas City actually matter for DFS?
It helps, but not in the way people usually assume. The National Weather Service has Kauffman Stadium at 97 degrees at 6 PM CT and 95 at 7 PM, easily the hottest first pitch on the slate, and hot air is less dense so balls carry further. The thing to know is that Kauffman is 9th of 29 in park runs but only 25th in home runs, so this is a doubles, gaps and traffic environment rather than a home-run barrage. Build the Royals stack for total bases and RBI chances rather than expecting three homers.
How much should I trust a platoon split when picking a DFS value play?
Only as far as the sample takes you. Tyrone Taylor at 3,200 dollars is a good example: his season line of a .233 ISO with 11 home runs across 209 plate appearances is a real signal, while his split against left-handed pitching sits on 23 plate appearances and tells you very little. As a rough working rule, a hitter’s platoon split starts becoming useful somewhere north of 100 plate appearances on that side, and below that you are better off using the full-season number plus the opposing pitcher’s split, which is usually built on a much larger sample.
