DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Sunday 8/23/20

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It's hard to believe but we're approaching the halfway point in this truncated season. That seems absolutely crazy and it makes every game as critical as ever. That's why we're going to go with two high-end pitchers here and try to get value bats around them. With that in mind, let's kick things off with one of my favorite pitchers in baseball.

Pitchers

Yu Darvish FD - P 10200 DK - SP 11000
Opponent - CHW (Dylan Cease) Park - CHC
FD - 36.51 DK - 20.04

Watching Darvish pitch is a special experience, throwing variations of pitches that many Major Leaguers couldn't dream of doing. That has hitters looking confused every time they step into the box against him and why he's been one of the best pitchers since last year's All-Star break. In fact, Yu has a 1.90 ERA and 0.90 WHIP in five starts this season, after generating a 2.76 ERA and 0.86 WHIP over his final 13 starts last year. That doesn't even take into consideration his elite 12.5 K/9 rate in that span too. What we like about this matchup is that Chicago is full of righties and currently rank 23rd in K rate. That's why he enters this matchup as a -185 favorite.

Carlos Carrasco FD - P 9300 DK - SP 10500
Opponent - DET (Tarik Skubal) Park - CLE
FD - 39.04 DK - 21.37

It's amazing that this guy overcame leukemia and returned to being one of the best pitchers in baseball. Between 2014 and 2018, Carrasco had a 3.27 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 30 percent K rate. That obviously makes him one of the best pitchers in the game, generating a 3.71 ERA, 1.31 WHIP and 11.7 K/9 rate so far this season. That's not the guy we saw between 2014-18 but facing the Cubs, Twins and Reds surely played a factor in those subpar averages. Getting to face Detroit is a good way to get him back to normal, with the Motor City Kitties ranked dead-last in K rate this season and near the bottom in nearly every offensive statistic. That has Cookie and the Indians entering this matchup as a -240 favorite.

Catcher/First Base

Miguel Sanó FD - 1B 2900 DK - 1B 4800
Opponent - KC (Kris Bubic) Park - KC
FD - 10.83 DK - 8

Sano has found himself in these articles as much as anyone and it's more about the poor pricing by FanDuel than anything else. They continue to keep him below $3,000 and it honestly makes no sense. We're talking about a guy who has a .497 SLG, .352 wOBA and .254 ISO for his career. Those are some of the best power numbers around and we love that he gets to face a lefty here. In 121 at-bats against southpaws last season, Sano tallied a .651 SLG and 1.007 OPS. That's bad news for Bubic and we'll go over his numbers more later.

Ji-Man Choi FD - 1B 2500 DK - 1B 3500
Opponent - TOR (Undecided) Park - TB
FD - 9.72 DK - 7.3

This is dependent on whether Choi faces a righty or lefty but this price is ridiculous no matter what. He should be at least $500 more on each site and he's easily one of the best plays on the board if he gets to face a righty. Since 2018, Choi has a .368 OBP and .859 OPS with the platoon advantage in his favor. Those are averages you'd usually see from a $4,500 player on DK and he makes for a great roster fill-in when  you're paying up at pitcher for guys like Carrasco and Darvish.

If you're looking for a catcher, Joey Bart is one of the top prospects in baseball and remains way too cheap.

Second Base

Kolten Wong FD - 2B 2500 DK - 2B 3200
Opponent - CIN (Tyler Mahle) Park - STL
FD - 10.2 DK - 7.86

Picking second basemen on this slate is an absolute disaster and it has us going with punt plays. It's a little unfair to Wong to call him that though because he's been a solid fantasy asset. The thing that's made him valuable is the fact that he's batting atop this lineup. That's really all you can ask for from someone so cheap, especially with Wong averaging 13 FanDuel points per game across his last five fixtures. He's also traditionally better against right-handers, amassing a .772 OPS against them since 2018.

José Peraza FD - 2B 2200 DK - 2B 3100
Opponent - BAL (Wade LeBlanc) Park - BAL
FD - 9.06 DK - 7.13

We could almost have an identical write-up here for Peraza. The simple fact is, he'll likely be hitting leadoff for one of the highest projected lineups on the board. In fact, Boston is projected for 5.5 runs and we'll explain why in the next write-up. If you get the leadoff hitter for one of the best lineups on the slate at a near-minimum price tag, you can't overlook him. The reason they bat him leadoff in these circumstances is because he's hitting nearly .300 against lefties since 2018. If he gets five at-bats, he should get on base at least once or twice and is likely to score a run with the studs following him up.

Shortstop

Xander Bogaerts FD - SS 3600 DK - SS 5200
Opponent - BAL (Wade LeBlanc) Park - BAL
FD - 14.22 DK - 10.76

Bogaerts happens to be one of those studs and we absolutely love this Red Sox stack today. What makes them so enticing is the fact that they're facing Wade LeBlanc. The left-hander has a 7.89 ERA and 1.59 WHIP so far this season which is sadly not much better than his terrible numbers from last year. That puts all of the Sox in play, particularly a stud like Bogey. Since the beginning of last season, Bogaerts has a .366 OBP and .947 OPS with the platoon advantage in his favor.

Tommy Edman FD - SS 2700 DK - 3B/SS 4200
Opponent - CIN (Tyler Mahle) Park - STL
FD - 10.14 DK - 7.92

Edman has gotten off to a slow start this season but it's lowered his price tag to a number that we can't overlook. This was one of the best shortstops in fantasy last season, hitting .304 while providing a .500 SLG and .850 OPS. He did that with 15 steals as well and it's just a matter of time before he gets going. We're not too concerned about him facing a guy like Tyler Mahle either, with the right-hander owning a 4.81 ERA and 1.43 WHIP for his career.

Third Base

Eduardo Escobar FD - 3B 2900 DK - 3B 3700
Opponent - SF (Trevor Cahill) Park - SF
FD - 11.72 DK - 8.91

I really didn't like any of the options up top but Escobar looks like a solid value. Since 2018, the third baseman has a .488 SLG and .812 OPS. Those averages are too high from someone priced so affordably and he comes into this matchup seeing the ball extremely well. In fact, EE has a .393 OBP, .609 SLG and 1.002 OPS over his last seven games played. A hot hitter who's this cheap looks even better when you consider his opposition, with Cahill owning a 5.75 ERA and 1.47 WHIP since the beginning of last year.

Marwin Gonzalez FD - 3B 2600 DK - 3B 4100
Opponent - KC (Kris Bubic) Park - KC
FD - 8.88 DK - 6.77

Here we are with another player in a great lineup spot. Gonzalez actually found himself in the clean-up spot on Saturday and that alone makes him a great value in one of the best lineups in baseball. In fact, the Twins six projected runs are one of the highest totals on the slate. Getting the clean-up hitter for the best lineup is obviously a profitable endeavor, particularly when they're so cheap. Marwin has been better against left-handers recently too, hitting .288 against them since 2018 en route to an OPS just shy of .800. We're certainly not worried about them facing Bubic, who's pitching to an ERA north of 5.00 and never pitched above Single-A before this season.

Outfield

J.D. Martinez FD - OF 3600 DK - OF 5800
Opponent - BAL (Wade LeBlanc) Park - BAL
FD - 16.05 DK - 12.06

If you've been playing DFS for the last few years, you probably could have seen this coming. We love all of the Boston righties and that means we have to use Martinez. This dude has absolutely obliterated left-handed pitching throughout his career, owning a .363 BA, .438 OBP, .719 SLG and 1.157 OPS against them since 2018. Not many guys have averages like those and obviously, we love that he gets to face LeBlanc and his crappy numbers.

Joc Pederson FD - OF 2700 DK - OF 4200
Opponent - COL (Antonio Senzatela) Park - LAD
FD - 12.55 DK - 9.34

Pederson is always a great option whenever the Dodgers face a righty because they typically bat him leadoff in these situations. The reason for that is because Joc has a .339 OBP, .550 SLG and .889 OPS against right-handers since 2018. There are some people out there who think Senzatela is having a breakout year but it's just a matter of time before he starts regressing. We're talking about a guy who had a 6.71 ERA and 1.75 WHIP last season and allowed 16 runs in his four starts against LA.

Jordan Luplow FD - OF 2300 DK - OF 3400
Opponent - DET (Tarik Skubal) Park - CLE
FD - 12.32 DK - 9.26

Luplow was in this article on Saturday and if he's going to remain this cheap against left-handers, we have to keep him in consideration. Against southpaws last year, Luplow finished with a .439 OBP, .742 SLG and 1.181 OPS. Those awesome splits make him one of the best value plays on the board and it's hard to understand why these sites are keeping him so cheap in such a great situation. Skubal has only pitched once in his career too, allowing seven hits and four runs across just two innings of action.

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