MLB DFS Picks: DraftKings Early Slate | September 24, 2026
DraftKings MLB DFS picks for the September 24, 2026 four-game early slate with pitchers, stacks, one-offs, values and GPP strategy.
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The September 24, 2026 DraftKings MLB early slate is a four-game sprint beginning at 2:10 PM ET. Arizona-Colorado gives us the obvious hitting environment, but the small slate makes pitching and salary allocation just as important.
CTS Early Slate Board
Top pitcher: Matthew Boyd $8,000
Favorite GPP pitcher: Kumar Rocker $6,700
Value pitcher: Tyler Phillips $6,200
Favorite stack: Arizona
Favorite non-Coors stack: Kansas City
Favorite one-off: Bobby Witt Jr. $6,300
Favorite value bat: Salvador Perez $3,200
Pitchers
Matthew Boyd, Cubs, $8,000
Boyd is our preferred combination of price and matchup. Miami is not an offense we need to avoid, and $8,000 lets us retain access to the top Arizona bats.
Eduardo Rodriguez, Diamondbacks, $7,800
Coors adds obvious volatility, but Rodriguez brings the strongest run-prevention profile among the cheaper confirmed starters. He is more attractive as a tournament pivot than a default SP1.
Kumar Rocker, Rangers, $6,700
Rocker is our favorite GPP salary saver. His season has been uneven, but the strikeout path matters at this price and the savings create a completely different hitting build.
Value Pitcher: Tyler Phillips, Marlins, $6,200
Phillips is the true salary-release option. We are not asking him to match Boyd’s raw ceiling. We want him when the $1,800-plus saved at SP2 turns secondary bats into Carroll, Marte, Witt or Soto.
Favorite Stack: Arizona Diamondbacks at Colorado
Arizona is our first offense. Corbin Carroll $5,700 and Ketel Marte $5,400 are the premium anchors. Gabriel Moreno $5,100, Geraldo Perdomo $4,700 and Nolan Arenado $4,300 fill the middle, while Pavin Smith $3,000 is a useful salary bridge if he starts.
Other Stacks
Kansas City Royals vs. David Sandlin
Sandlin enters with a 6.29 ERA. We like Bobby Witt Jr. $6,300, Jac Caglianone $5,300, Maikel Garcia $4,500, Vinnie Pasquantino $4,300 and Salvador Perez $3,200.
Texas Rangers vs. Zac Thornton
Wyatt Langford $4,300, Corey Seager $3,700, Josh Jung $3,600 and Jake Burger $3,300 give us a lower-cost GPP stack that can be paired with almost any pitching combination.
Best One-Off Hitters
Bobby Witt Jr. $6,300: our favorite non-Coors ceiling play.
Juan Soto $6,000: expensive standalone power and on-base ceiling.
Wyatt Langford $4,300: power-speed upside at a friendly salary.
Salvador Perez $3,200: affordable home-run upside at catcher.
Value Bats
Pavin Smith $3,000 if starting, Matt Shaw $2,900, Kyle Isbel $2,500 if starting and Brett Baty $2,400 are our preferred salary-saving pieces.
GPP Construction
Arizona will naturally attract attention. We can still use the Diamondbacks while differentiating through pitcher pairing, the cheaper half of the stack, or a secondary Kansas City/Texas group. Rocker and Phillips matter only when the salary they save materially raises the ceiling of the hitters.
CTS Core
Matthew Boyd $8,000
Value SP: Tyler Phillips $6,200
Corbin Carroll $5,700
Ketel Marte $5,400
Salvador Perez $3,200