In partnership with

Penned By: @Ryan_Humphries on Twitter/X and LineStar Chat.

• Rate LineStarApp on the App store and get a shoutout on Twitter from @LineStarApp official account!

• Have questions? Check out the LineStar Tutorial Wiki.

• LineStar’s 2025 MLB DFS Primer & Strategy Guide ⚾

The #1 AI Newsletter for Business Leaders

Join 400,000+ executives and professionals who trust The AI Report for daily, practical AI updates.

Built for business—not engineers—this newsletter delivers expert prompts, real-world use cases, and decision-ready insights.

No hype. No jargon. Just results.

Subscribe free—trusted by leaders

Top DFS Offers 9/4/25 💸

Our editors found the top deals in sports books so you don’t have to! Tapping the links below will help support LineStar through an affiliate referral.

Offers for new users only, additional terms and conditions may apply — see operator site for full details. Must be 18+ (some states may require 21+) and be present in an eligible state; if you or someone you know has a gambling problem, crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER.

LineStar MLB DFS & Prop Bet Shows 🎙️

Like, Subscribe, and Comment @ LineStar YouTube channel! You never know when we’ll shout you out or give you something cool. New episodes drop Mon-Fri feat. host Tyler Wiemann! Every episode is quick, informative, & easy to watch.

Main Slate Rundown 🏟

Most of the American sports world is abuzz in anticipation of the NFL regular season kicking off tonight with the primetime matchup between the Eagles and Cowboys. However, we’ve still got some baseball action to dive into! As Thursdays typically go, many teams have an off day, so there is only a small five-game main slate on tap, which will get underway at 6:40 ET. We are now full steam ahead into “content season,” and I will be putting together a showdown NFL newsletter for tonight’s game after I get this MLB newsletter together. So today's MLB newsletter will be on the shorter side with limited “fluff” and rambling. With that said, let’s dive in! Best of luck!

Main slate match-ups with implied run totals and moneyline odds:

💣9/4 Dinger Report💣

Today’s Top Dinger Odds (sorted by LineStar projected HR odds)

Main Slate Weather Outlook 💨🌦️☁️

Check LineStar's MLB Daily Dashboard to see an overview of the most up-to-date game forecasts.

• LAD at PIT (6:40 ET, 7.0 O/U): Some afternoon rain could still be in the process of clearing around the scheduled first pitch, so a late start may be needed. No issues expected after they get going.

• CLE at TB (7:35 ET, 8.5 O/U): A few scattered storms in the general area. At the time of this writing, it’s tough to say if one will make it over the ballpark, but we’ll go with a “low-to-moderate chance of a delay” here.

• CWS at MIN (7:40 ET, 8.5 O/U): Rain and storms look to move in around first pitch, so a late start looks like a real possibility here. Once those storms move out, the rest of the evening looks clear. Temps will be cool, in the upper-50s, with 10 mph winds IN from right. Though if that potential delay takes a while, winds do look to shift later in the evening to 10-15 mph blowing OUT to left/center.

Pitchers to Consider ⚾

Paul Skenes (RHP), PIT | DK: $10.5k, FD: $10.6k | vs. LAD

Reminder: Monitor weather. It should be fine here since a late start seems to be the most likely “bad outcome.”

We don’t typically get Skenes on many main slates, so, even in a matchup with the Dodgers, he’s tough to gloss over. Skenes is about as “matchup-proof” as it gets, and, for DFS purposes, I’d say he has only had four truly bad outings out of 28 starts this season. He also owns a minuscule 1.65 ERA and 0.84 WHIP at home this season and leads all SPs on the slate with a 28.6% kRate.

The Dodgers also have been fairly average against RHPs L2Weeks. In that span, they’re 14th in OPS (.743), 15th in wOBA (.323), 15th in wRC+ (107), and their 24.0% kRate is the 12th highest. Skenes also shut this lineup down when he faced the Dodgers way back in late April at Dodger Stadium. In that game, he threw 6.1 scoreless innings and allowed five hits, zero walks, and struck out nine. I’d have very little issue rolling him out today.

Ryan Pepiot (RHP), TB | DK: $8.2k, FD: $8.4k | vs. CLE

Reminder: Monitor weather.

Pepiot has been pretty sharp over his last five, hoisting up a respectable 3.25 ERA, an excellent 1.01 WHIP, and a solid, well-above-average 26.0% kRate. He’s been at his best at home this season (+24.3% more FPPG) and gets about as good a matchup as a pitcher could ask for right now.

The Guardians have been truly awful versus RHPs lately. Across 309 plate appearances against RHPs L2Weeks, they’ve managed to put up just a .194 AVG, .541 OPS, .238 wOBA, .106 ISO, 48 wRC+, and 27.5% kRate. The Guardians have been hard slumping for considerably longer than just that recent two-week sample size, so this isn’t just a recent bout of struggles. So we’ve gotta like Pepiot at these mid-range salaries today.

Other Pitchers to Consider

Blake Snell (LHP), LAD | DK: $9k, FD: $8.8k | at PIT (Monitor weather)

Taj Bradley (RHP), MIN | DK: $6.5k, FD: $7.2k | vs. CWS (Monitor weather)

Team Stacks to Target 🎯

Disclaimer: Stacking in MLB DFS is not a requirement but it is a very common strategy used to take down GPPs. This strategy is covered in more detail in the MLB DFS strategy guide linked in the header at the top of this newsletter. Check out the MLB StackFinder on LineStar.

New York Yankees vs. Cristian Javier (RHP), HOU

Javier only has four MLB starts under his belt this season, and he is coming off of what was easily his best outing thus far versus the Angels last Friday (6.0 IP, 0 H, 3 BB, 0 ER, 6 K). However, his 3.38 ERA is backed up by a much worse 5.30 xFIP, he’s still walking too many hitters (13.4% BB%), and he’s allowing a high flyball rate (58.5%). That could be bad news against a Yankees lineup that is slugging it well against RHPs L2Weeks: .879 OPS, .373 wOBA, .282 ISO, and 141 wRC+. The Yankees also have a huge 21.8% HR/FB Rate in that span, so over a fifth of the flyballs they’ve hit recently have cleared fences.

Favorite NYY Bats: Jazz Chisholm Jr., Aaron Judge, Trent Grisham

Bargain Bats: Austin Wells, Ryan McMahon

Kansas City Royals vs. Kyle Hendricks (RHP), LAA

Since July 4th (10 GS, 49.1 IP), Kyle Hendricks has pitched to a 5.29 ERA, 5.09 xFIP, .271 opp AVG, and 13.9% kRate. A 5+ ERA matching up with a 5+ xFIP over a long period of time never bodes well for a starting pitcher. The Royals have not been consistently strong at the plate over the last week or two, but they do remain among the top 10 offenses in AVG, OPS, wOBA, and wRC+ against RHPs over the last month, while posting the lowest kRate (16.9%) in baseball. Hendricks doesn’t miss many bats to begin with, and that definitely won’t change tonight. With a little luck from the BABIP gods, Kansas City should do some damage against Hendricks this evening.

Favorite KC Bats: Bobby Witt Jr., Vinnie Pasquantino, Maikel Garcia

Bargain Bats: Mike Yastrzemski, Jac Caglianone

Low-Owned Stack That Just Might Work Out 🤔

Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Paul Skenes (RHP), PIT

Every hitter in the projected Dodgers lineup has a ≤ 11% pOwn%. This is purely a small slate leverage play as Paul Skenes should command 30+% ownership even in a tougher matchup. We discussed above in Skenes’ write-up that the Dodgers haven’t been a top offense against RHPs lately, but you could still roll out a small two or three-man LAD stack for some leverage in hopes that Skenes is just a little “off” today. And, of course, there’s always a chance that the Dodgers mount a late surge against the Pirates’ bullpen. Nothing too analytical here.

Favorite LAD Bats: Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman

Bargain Bat: Andy Pages

One-Off Bats ☝️

A maximum of one hitter per team will be listed below. Feel free to use these players as one-off options, one-half of a two-man mini-stack, or a core piece to a full team stack.

1B/OF Shohei Ohtani, LAD vs. Paul Skenes (RHP), PIT

SS Bobby Witt Jr., KC vs. Kyle Hendricks (RHP), LAA

OF Byron Buxton, MIN vs. Fraser Ellard (LHP), CWS

2B Jazz Chisholm Jr., NYY vs. Cristian Javier (RHP), HOU

3B Jose Ramirez, CLE vs. Ryan Pepiot (RHP), TB

1B Yandy Diaz, TB vs. Logan Allen (LHP), TB

SS Jeremy Pena, HOU vs. Carlos Rodon (LHP), NYY

SS Zach Neto, LAA vs. Noah Cameron (LHP), KC

OF Bryan Reynolds, PIT vs. Blake Snell (LHP), LAD

SS Colson Montgomery, CWS vs. Taj Bradley (RHP), MIN

Bargain Bats 💸

Note: Additional hitting value may open up once all official starting lineups are released. For now, here are some cheap hitters who are already confirmed or currently expected to be on the field tonight and find themselves in a good spot to pay off their modest DFS salaries.

C Kyle Teel, CWS vs. Taj Bradley (RHP), MIN

OF Jake Mangum, TB vs. Logan Allen (LHP), CLE

OF Jo Adell, LAA vs. Noah Cameron (LHP), KC

OF Mike Yastrzemski, KC vs. Kyle Hendricks (RHP), LAA

C Austin Wells, NYY vs. Cristian Javier (RHP), HOU

3B Ryan McMahon, NYY vs. Cristian Javier (RHP), HOU

3B Royce Lewis, MIN vs. Fraser Ellard (LHP), CWS

C Edgar Quero, CWS vs. Taj Bradley (RHP), MIN

OF Jac Caglianone, KC vs. Kyle Hendricks (RHP), LAA

2B/OF Michael Massey, KC vs. Kyle Hendricks (RHP), LAA

Home Run Calls of the Day 💣

Make sure you’re following @LineStarApp on Twitter/X. Retweet the Home Run Calls of the Day tweet for your chance to win prizes!

🔥 Props AI 🔥

In LineStar’s ongoing mission to improve, innovate, and help you reel in some cash, we are introducing Props AI for MLB! This tool can help you find value and mispriced odds on player props from sportsbooks and, more specifically, for PrizePicks and UnderDog Fantasy!

Speaking of props, put the Props AI tool to use by signing-up for UnderDog Fantasy for a month of LineStar Premium (Promo code: LINESTAR). Plus deposit match for new customers.

Best of luck out there today, everyone!