Daily Fantasy Baseball: DJ LeMahieu, Top DraftKings, FanDuel Plays for Sep. 16

When Gerrit Cole takes the hill, he is typically the first New York Yankees player added to daily fantasy lineups. 

The Yankees ace should not be the first member of his team rostered Wednesday with DJ LeMahieu in the middle of a terrific run at the dish. 

LeMahieu's four-hit performance Tuesday extended his hitting streak to eight games, and he faces another favorable matchup versus the Toronto Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium. 

Cole could be the next Yankees player added to your lineup, or you could look in another direction at pitcher with Jacob deGrom, Lucas Giolito and Dylan Bundy all scheduled to start.

Top Daily Fantasy Baseball Plays for September 16

DJ LeMahieu, 2B, New York Yankees

LeMahieu is coming off his best game of the 2020 season Tuesday. 

The Yankees leadoff man hit a home run, two doubles and drove in five teammates in the shellacking of the Toronto pitching staff. 

Since September 7, the second baseman owns 12 hits, 11 runs and seven RBI. Four of the eight games played in that span were against the Blue Jays.

LeMahieu and the Yankees face a favorable matchup Wednesday against Tanner Roark, who has not made it past the fifth inning in any of his eight starts. 

Roark has allowed 10 home runs, with seven of them occurring in his last four trips to the mound. 

On September 9, Roark conceded long balls to LeMahieu and Gleyber Torres in a four-inning outing in Buffalo. 

If the Yankees ride the momentum of scoring 20 runs Tuesday and benefit from their recent history against Roark, most key pieces of their lineup could be considered solid DFS plays, starting with the red-hot LeMahieu.

Jacob deGrom, SP, New York Mets

DeGrom carries the most consistent numbers of the four high-profile hurlers set to toe the rubber Wednesday. 

The New York Mets ace has conceded one or zero earned runs in each of his last five trips to the mound. 

In his last four starts, the right-handed hurler has struck out at least nine batters. He fanned 14 August 26 and punched out 12 September 6.

The latter of those double-digit strikeout outings occurred against Philadelphia, who he will face Wednesday. 

The Phillies are experiencing some struggles in the middle of their order. Rhys Hoskins is on the 10-day injured list and J.T. Realmuto is fighting a hip injury. 

Although it may be considered splitting hairs between DeGrom and the other aces, he gives you the best chance to earn the highest point total from the pitcher spot. 

Bundy has allowed two earned runs in three of his last four starts, Giolito let up three earned runs in back-to-back starts to begin September and Cole was tagged for four or more runs in three straight starts before he corrected that form in his last outing. 

If you select one of those hurlers over DeGrom, it will not be a terrible decision, but if you want the most points possible from a high-priced arm, the Mets ace has been the most reliable of the group.

Brady Singer, SP, Kansas City

There is a roster-building approach without one of the top arms that can put you in winning positions. That involves pairing a lesser-known pitcher with high-profile bats, 

Brady Singer will be a popular option of the lower-tier hurlers since he took a no-hitter into the eighth inning in his last start. 

In the one-hit appearance, Singer tied his season best in strikeouts with eight. He has 13 punchouts in his last two outings.

The 24-year-old was efficient in his only start versus Detroit July 30, when he gave up two earned runs while striking out three batters. 

If Singer keeps his strikeout rate high and limits the production of the Detroit lineup, he could be a solid supporting piece if you want to load your lineup with the best hitters available.

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90

Statistics obtained from MLB.com