DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Wednesday 8/26/20

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Pitchers

Jacob deGrom FD - P 10700 DK - SP 11000
Opponent - MIA (Elieser Hernandez) Park - NYM
FD - 41.16 DK - 23.23
We get two elite ace pitchers to choose from tonight and deGrom is getting the nod as my #1. Both pitchers have been terrific to start the year and have very similar stats in all areas(ERA, xFIP, K rate, WHIP) so let's turn to the matchup as this is where the big difference is for me tonight. Kershaw faces a Giants team that has not only been red-hot lately(147 wR+ last 7 days) but have the 6th lowest team K rate(21.3%) on the season. On the flip side, deGrom faces a Marlins lineup that has struck out 24.8% of the time(7th most) to start the season and is below average in almost every offensive stat. With a price that has reached a season-low combined with an elite matchup, deGrom is easily my top pitcher in all formats tonight.

Dinelson Lamet FD - P 9300 DK - SP 8600
Opponent - SEA (Taijuan Walker) Park - SD
FD - 33.05 DK - 18.39

Lamet has been on our radar all season and has been one of the most consistent PTS/$ arms in all of fantasy baseball. He has gone at least five innings all six starts and has only allowed more than one earned run once(two last start) this season, good for an elite 1.89 ERA. I do not expect this level of production to continue as he is running a very unsustainable .203 BABIP and 3.74 xFIP but in no way am I expecting a huge falloff and especially not tonight vs. the Mariners who have struggled a ton over the last couple weeks posting a .290 wOBA, 85 wRC+, and 25% K rate. Lamet is my favorite SP2 on DraftKings and is in play in all formats over on FanDuel allowing you some upgraded bats.

Catcher/First Base

Anthony Rizzo FD - 1B 3100 DK - 1B 5300
Opponent - DET (Michael Fulmer) Park - DET
FD - 13.95 DK - 10.46

While the Cubs are right up there once again in terms of implied runs, they are very hard to trust in cash games as they have wildly inconsistent. With that said, I am going back to Rizzo on FanDuel where the price is much more reasonable in relation to his performance to start the season. He comes into tonight with a .213 average but I am not overly concerned........yet as he is running a BABIP(.224) that is 82 points lower than last season and 64 points lower than his career average. The good news is that he is still extremely patient at the player(14.5% BB rate & .368 OBP) and gets a plus matchup vs. Michael Fulmer. I would reserve for GPP only on DraftKings but on FanDuel, we can consider him in all formats.

Eric Hosmer FD - 1B 3500 DK - 1B 4200
Opponent - SEA (Taijuan Walker) Park - SD
FD - 10.84 DK - 8.28

With Rizzo being preferred on FanDuel, it is Hosmer who I am turning to on DraftKings. The Padres are huge -212 favorites and will face Taijuan Walker who enters the night with a 4.00 ERA that is a bit run-hot seeing as he is sitting with a .225 BABIP and 4.77 xFIP. For Hosmer, he hits cleanup in one of the most high-scoring offenses in baseball and is starting to heat up with hits in nine of his last 12 games with two doubles and five home runs. All things considered, Hosmer is my favorite play at the position tonight.

Second Base

Ketel Marte FD - 2B 3000 DK - 2B 4800
Opponent - COL (Jon Gray) Park - ARI
FD - 12.57 DK - 9.66

With not many options at the top of the salary at the position tonight, I was surprised to see Marte four most expensive on both sites. He is a switch hitter that is slightly better against lefties but overall is having a terrific start to the year hitting .322 with the only real concern coming in the run production category(110 wRC+) but that is much more of a team issue and just on Marte. The D-backs get a plus matchup tonight and sit top 5 in implied runs putting Marte as my top second basemen.

Jake Cronenworth FD - 2B 2800 DK - 2B/SS 3800
Opponent - SEA (Taijuan Walker) Park - SD
FD - 8.82 DK - 6.86

The Padres are one of four teams with 5+ implied runs tonight and have a ton of options at all price points making them a terrific target in all formats. For cash games, Machado and Tatis are nearly unstoppable but with it come very high price tags making it tough to fit them in cash, especially with multiple aces on the mound. That is where Cronenworth comes in as a top value coming in hot with hits in nine straight games pushing his slash line up to .347/.410/.627 on the season. Until the price adjusts, he is a top PTS/$ play for me in all formats.

Shortstop

Marcus Semien FD - SS 2800 DK - SS 5400
Opponent - TEX (Kolby Allard) Park - TEX
FD - 13.53 DK - 10.3

The A's currently lead all teams in implied runs on the main slate and are one of my top teams to target in all formats. They face a struggling lefty in Kolby Allard who has given up 10 earned runs in his last two starts pushing his ERA to 7.82 and there isn't a whole lot of light at the end of the tunnel with a 1.82 WHIP and 5.62 xFIP. While the price is a little steep for my liking on DraftKings, at least for cash games, Semien is the top PTS/$ shortstop on FanDuel and will likely pop in almost all optimized lineups.

Chris Taylor FD - SS 2600 DK - OF/SS 3600
Opponent - SF (Kevin Gausman) Park - SF
FD - 9.13 DK - 8.1

Vegas doesn't seem to care that Kevin Gausman sits with an xFIP(2.98) that is over a run and a half lower than his ERA(4.65) as the Dodgers are huge favorites(-250) and sit with the 2nd highest implied runline. Taylor hits near the bottom of the order and isn't one of the marquee guys but hits righties well(.375 wOBA, 140 wRC+) and is cheap allowing us to pay up for pitching and some big bats.

Third Base

Justin Turner FD - 3B 3000 DK - 3B 4700
Opponent - SF (Kevin Gausman) Park - SF
FD - 12.97 DK - 9.8

While the power has yet to turn on for Turner in 2020(2 HR) the consistency remains, especially lately as he enters tonight with hits in 15 of his last 17 games including a four-hit game last night. He is hitting .294 on the season with a 130 wRC+ and gets the pleasure of hitting in the middle of the most powerful offense in baseball. An argument could be made he is underpriced on both sites which puts him in play in all formats.

Matt Carpenter FD - 3B 2800 DK - 3B 3500
Opponent - KC (Jakob Junis) Park - STL
FD - 10.02 DK - 7.47

I won't spend time telling you Matt Carpenter is something more than what we have seen out of him the last two years, nothing more than a punt play. We do need a few of those tonight to be able to get up to the elite aces and some of the big bats so let's talk  Cards offense that has looked better recently scoring 19 runs over their last three games. They now face Jakob Junis who has already given up 11 hits in just nine innings so, at these prices, I am willing to punt Carpenter as a salary relief option in all formats.

Outfield

Mark Canha FD - OF 3200 DK - OF 5000
Opponent - TEX (Kolby Allard) Park - TEX
FD - 10.57 DK - 7.93
Stephen Piscotty FD - OF 2900 DK - OF 3600
Opponent - TEX (Kolby Allard) Park - TEX
FD - 10.55 DK - 8

Like I mentioned with Semien, the A's are in a great spot tonight and I especially love the outfield that gives us multiple options, all in different price tiers. Mark Canha has seen his price skyrocket throughout the season on DraftKings and for good reason as he has been very consistent, especially lately. He went into Tuesday's action with hits in 10 of his last 12 games with four multi-hit efforts and seven extra-base hits for a .382 wOBA and 149 wRC+. He has also crushed lefties putting him firmly in play in all formats.

Whenever facing a lefty, Stephen Piscotty always pops in my model as he has posted an elite .394 wOBA, 152 wRC+, and .236 ISO in the split since the start of the 2019 season. While he is only $300 cheaper on FanDuel, he comes at a huge discount on DraftKings and is one of the top PTS/$ play in all formats.

Trent Grisham FD - OF 3100 DK - OF 3900
Opponent - SEA (Taijuan Walker) Park - SD
FD - 11.85 DK - 8.98

The Padres offense has been red-hot, is Top 5 in the league, and now get another plus matchup against Taijaun Walker. I talked about Hosmer and Cronenworth being cash game options to get exposure to the very expensive Machado and Tatis and the same can be said for Grisham. The best part with Grisham is that he was recently moved up to the cleanup spot and has hits in six of nine games since(.293/.341/.537 slash). The price has yet to fully adjust making this a buy-ow spot with a high floor and tons of upside.

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