DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Saturday 8/22/20

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It's becoming evident just how many studs pitchers are injured right now. It feels like we're picking between a bunch of questionable guys every day and that's where we are again here. With that in mind, let's kick things off with a former top prospect who's shown flashes this season.

Pitchers

Justus Sheffield FD - P 7500 DK - RP 6500
Opponent - TEX (Jordan Lyles) Park - SEA
FD - 33.62 DK - 17.02

Sheffield was a top prospect in the Yankees system a few years back and he's showing why with his early-season form. After allowing four runs in each of his first two starts, Sheffield has now gone at least six innings in back-to-back games while allowing just one total run and striking out 11 batters. That's the guy that we saw in the minors, generating a 2.89 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 25 percent K rate between 2016 and 2018. What we really like is this matchup though, with Texas ranked 27th in runs scored and 28th in both BA and OPS. They are even worse against lefties, and playing in Seattle's great pitcher's park certainly sweetens the deal. All this makes Sheffield one of the best cheap options out there.

Josh Lindblom FD - P 7100 DK - RP 6600
Opponent - PIT (Derek Holland) Park - PIT
FD - 28.07 DK - 14.6

Anytime I write an article, I'm going to look for whoever's pitching against the Pirates first. This offense is easily the worst in baseball right now, owning a .210 AVG, .269 OBP and .595 OPS. Those are downright laughable numbers and it's very likely that you could replace them with a Korean lineup and they'd post better averages. I say that because Linblom was the MVP in the KBO last season, generating a 2.50 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 25 percent K rate. He's yet to duplicate that at this level but facing the White Sox, Twins and Cubs in his last three starts will do that to anyone. Just bank on the price and matchup in your pitcher two slot on DraftKings.

Zac Gallen is expensive but he's definitely in play against a poor San Fran offense the way he's throwing the ball right now. I also like Dustin May against the Rockies, who just got tortured by Walker Buehler last night.

Catcher/First Base

Rhys Hoskins FD - 1B 3100 DK - 1B 4200
Opponent - ATL (Robbie Erlin) Park - ATL
FD - 12.13 DK - 8.96

It's tough to look at Hoskins .203 AVG and .313 SLG and get excited but there are things that are encouraging. The biggest is his OBP, generating a .414 OBP this season. That means his vision is still there and it's just a matter of time before the power comes around. This is a dude who had a career SLG just shy of .500 before this season while providing an ISO above .200. All of this makes him even more attractive against a lefty, posting an OBP just shy of .500 against left-handers since the beginning of last season.

Ryan Braun FD - 1B 2600 DK - OF 4000
Opponent - PIT (Derek Holland) Park - PIT
FD - 14.12 DK - 10.73

Braun has made a career in beating up left-handed pitching. Over the last three years, he's got a .346 OBP, .547 SLG and .893 OPS with the platoon advantage in his favor. Those numbers are actually below his career averages and it's why the Brewers have been hitting him leadoff recently. We can't overlook the fact that Derek Holland has been horrendous recently too, pitching to a 5.13 ERA and 1.47 WHIP since 2017.

J.T. Realmuto gets that stellar matchup against Erlin too and is definitely the best catcher on the board.

Second Base

Keston Hiura FD - 2B 3300 DK - 2B 4900
Opponent - PIT (Derek Holland) Park - PIT
FD - 13.58 DK - 10.33

The ugly Holland numbers from the Braun write-up definitely carry over here, making the Brewers one of the best stacks on the board. Hiura is probably the biggest piece of this stack, owning a .291 AVG, .547 SLG and .902 OPS for his career. He's actually been better against right-handers but it's just a matter of time before those splits turn around. He's shown that early on this season, amassing a .412 OBP., 577 SLG and .991 OPS against left-handers.

Ketel Marte FD - 2B 3300 DK - 2B 4500
Opponent - SF (Tyler Anderson) Park - SF
FD - 12.53 DK - 9.63

Marte found his way into our article yesterday and we want to keep going back to the well as long as he remains this cheap. We're talking about a guy who should be $500 more on each site, totaling a .331 AVG, .385 OBP, .569 SLG and .954 OPS since the beginning of last season. That makes him hard to fade with some speed potential too and we absolutely love that he faces Tyler Anderson. In that same span, Anderson owns an 8.16 ERA and 1.84 WHIP. Not to mention, Marte has a .974 OPS against southpaws since 2018, and is now too cheap as a result of a small sample size of games to start the season.

Shortstop

Jorge Polanco FD - SS 2800 DK - SS 4500
Opponent - KC (Brady Singer) Park - KC
FD - 11.99 DK - 9.18

Stacking the Twins with the Brewers is a great strategy here, with both offenses projected to combine for nearly 12 runs. Polanco is actually one of the only cheap guys you can use on Minny which is strange since he's in the heart of their order. We're talking about a guy who's hitting .294 since the beginning of last season en route to a .822 OPS. That's not the best numbers in this lineup but it makes him hard to overlook when he's hitting second or third. He also happens to get the platoon advantage against Singer, accruing a .375 OBP and .857 OPS against righties since 2018.

Chris Taylor FD - SS 2200 DK - OF/SS 3500
Opponent - COL (Kyle Freeland) Park - LAD
FD - 11.46 DK - 8.72

Kyle Freeland has looked like a different pitcher this season but it's just a matter of time before regression is headed his way. This is a lefty who posted a 6.73 ERA and 1.58 WHIP last year and should creep closer to that as the season progresses. He also faced the Dodgers twice, allowing eight runs across 5.2 innings. That makes all of these Dodgers righties attractive options, with Taylor being one of the few cheap bats. Against southpaws last year, Taylor provided a .518 SLG and .859 OPS. That is why he usually bats sixth in these circumstances and it makes him a great option at a near-minimum price tag.

Also considered: Francisco Lindor if you can afford him.

Third Base

Justin Turner FD - 3B 3100 DK - 3B 5000
Opponent - COL (Kyle Freeland) Park - LAD
FD - 13.98 DK - 10.57

If you're stacking Dodgers, Turner is definitely one of the guys you want to use. He always bats third or fourth against left-handers and it's easy to understand why when you see his splits. Since 2018, JT has a .399 OBP, .558 SLG and .957 OPS with the platoon advantage in his favor. As a Rockies fan, I can tell you that JT has absolutely owned our franchise through the years too. In fact, Turner is hitting .346 against my Rockies while providing a .421 OBP, .523 SLG and .944 OPS in nearly 400 at-bats.

Jedd Gyorko FD - 3B 2300 DK - 1B/3B 3700
Opponent - PIT (Derek Holland) Park - PIT
FD - 12.05 DK - 9.09

It's crazy just how cheap you can stack these Brewers. This is an offense that has plenty of potential and all of these talented righties should abuse a weak arm like Derek Holland. What we like about Gyorko is that he's been batting clean-up for the Brewers in some of their matchups against left-handers. That alone makes him attractive at such a low price tag and it's really no surprise when you see that he has a .791 OPS against southpaws since 2018. If you stack Braun, Gyorko and Hiura, you can pretty much do whatever you want with the rest of your lineup.

Outfield

Franmil Reyes FD - OF 3300 DK - OF 4500
Opponent - DET (Matthew Boyd) Park - CLE
FD - 13.56 DK - 10.16

Jordan Luplow FD - OF 2300 DK - OF 3100
Opponent - DET (Matthew Boyd) Park - CLE
FD - 12.39 DK - 9.31

Let's kick things off with a couple of righty bats for the Indians. We'll start with The Franimal, who's arguably the hottest hitter in baseball right now. Over his last 14 games played, Reyes is generating a .385 BA, .450 OBP, .712 SLG and 1.162 OPS. That's truly absurd and it makes it hard to believe that he remains in this price range. We also love that he gets to face a lefty, amassing a .911 OPS against them since 2018.

Those are very similar numbers to Luplow, who's established himself as one of the best platoon hitters in baseball. Despite hitting just .071 this season, Luplow still has a .390 OBP, .629 SLG and 1.020 OPS against left-handers since 2018. There aren't many players with those sorts of splits and it always puts him in a prominent spot of this talented lineup. Matthew Boyd is generally someone we're worried about but his 9.64 ERA and 1.89 WHIP this season makes him someone we can exploit.

Phillip Ervin FD - OF 2200 DK - OF 3000
Opponent - STL (Kwang Hyun Kim) Park - STL
FD - 10.1 DK - 7.71

Speaking of splits, this dude absolutely rakes when he faces a lefty. In nearly 100 at-bats against southpaws last season, Ervin provided a .349 AVG, .411 OBP, .628 SLG and 1.038 OPS. Those are the numbers of a $4,000 player on FD and a $5,000 player on DK, making him one of the best value plays out there. We're not too concerned about using him against an unproven Kim either, who has a WHIP north of 1.70 in his short career.

Some other good options in the outfield include Maxi Kleber, Starling Marte and Andrew McCutchen. With your leftover money, you can also definitely run Cody Bellinger out there.

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