DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Tuesday 8/31/21 - Main slate

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Pitchers

Lucas Giolito FD 10200 DK 8800
Opponent - PIT (Bryse Wilson) Park - PIT
FD - 41.46 DK - 22.44

Giolito is a big-time, -285 favorite against the lowly Pirates on Tuesday. He hasn’t been as good this season as the last two, but the identical 3.68 ERA and xFIP play well enough and he is still striking out more than 10 batters per nine. The Pirates rank dead last in team wOBA this season and strike out around 22% of the time. They are such a light-hitting bunch with barely any pop in the lineup, giving Giolito a very high floor in this matchup.

Lance McCullers Jr. FD 9200 DK 10100
Opponent - SEA (Yusei Kikuchi) Park - SEA
FD - 39.31 DK - 22

McCullers isn’t an overwhelming favorite in this game, ringing in at -157 on the road against the Mariners with an 8 over/under. The Mariners rank 27th in team wOBA this season, striking out well over a league-average rate at 26%. For McCullers, walks are still a slight issue with the 11% BB% the second-highest number of his career. But his 27.8% K% is his best mark in four seasons, giving him big time upside on that number in the game against Seattle. I like the FanDuel price better than the DraftKings one here and think the bit of savings will help you roster a bigger bat or two.

Consider Brandon Woodruff (FD $10600 DK $9400) on DraftKings where he is a bit cheaper than McCullers and can dial up the Ks as well. The matchup against the Giants is much worse though.

Catcher/First Base

José Abreu FD 3900 DK 5000
Opponent - PIT (Bryse Wilson) Park - PIT
FD - 14.73 DK - 11.14

Yasmani Grandal FD 3200 DK 5300
Opponent - PIT (Bryse Wilson) Park - PIT
FD - 12.79 DK - 9.47

The White Sox are in one of the best spots on the slate facing off against the righty Bryse Wilson. The team implied run line is right around six runs and they are all coming moderately priced. Abreu has put up some power numbers this season with 27 home runs and an OPS sitting in the mid-800s. He should be able to make a lot of contact here considering Wilson has shown almost no swing-and-miss stuff at the major league level.

Meanwhile, Grandal has dealt with some injury issues this season, but when he’s been in the lineup the results have been excellent. He has an .880 OPS and .384 wOBA. The crazy 24% BB% compared to the 25% K% is something you don’t see every day and he has 17 home runs in just 260 plate appearances. I love the FanDuel price.

Second Base

Luis Arraez FD 2300 DK 3000
Opponent - CHC (Zach Davies) Park - CHC
FD - 11.48 DK - 9.02

Arraez should be in the leadoff slot for the Twins on Tuesday against the righty Davies. The former is one of the better contact hitters in the game, putting the ball in play more than 80% of the time on the season. It’s helped him work to a .368 OBP though you aren’t going to get a ton of power out of the bat. You need him to get on base and score runs, but that is built into his price considering he is coming very cheap on both sites.

DJ LeMahieu FD 3300 DK 3900
Opponent - LAA (Jaime Barria) Park - LAA
FD - 12.25 DK - 9.46

LeMahieu has struggled this season for sure with an OPS barely scraping over .700. It has been a real struggle but there is good news here. For starters, the DraftKings price is really low, sitting at sub-$4K which is great considering he is still hitting at the top of the Yankees’ lineup. That is is front of monsters like Rizzo, Judge, Stanton, Gallo meaning that getting on base means there is a decent chance he is coming around to score. The power might not be coming back into the bat but there is still chance to have a solid fantasy floor considering his situation.

Shortstop

Fernando Tatis Jr. FD 4300 DK 6200
Opponent - ARI (Zac Gallen) Park - ARI
FD - 16.35 DK - 12.37

Even on a day when we will be probably paying up for pitching we can consider Tatis at peak prices. That is because he is one of the very best fantasy producers we have ever seen. A true generation talent, Tatis is having a magical season in his age-22 (!) year. He has a 1.024 OPS with 36 home runs and 24 stolen bases. Sure, he strikes out 28% of the time, but who cares because just about every time he’s not doing that, he’s doing something else awesome. Gallen is a decent arm who can dial up the K’s, but this is Tatis we are talking about.

Bo Bichette FD 3800 DK 5300
Opponent - BAL (Keegan Akin) Park - BAL
FD - 14.24 DK - 10.93

Speaking of high-priced shortstops, this is often a position we want to spend up on a bit. There are so many elite options these days with young superstars populating the position. Bichette isn’t on Tatis’s level but he hits in an elite Blue Jays’ offense and does put the ball in play a decent amount. He already has a 20/20 season on his hands and should be in the cleanup spot now that George Springer is back in the mix.

Third Base

Josh Donaldson FD 3200 DK 3900
Opponent - CHC (Zach Davies) Park - CHC
FD - 12.76 DK - 9.45

We typically want to grab Donaldson when he is facing lefties, but we can make the exception against Davies in this matchup. The latter strikes out batters at just a 17.6% rate this season, and has an ERA and xFIP that are both around 5.00. This is well below average and one of the reasons the Twins have such a high implied run line coming into the game. Donaldson has worked the OPS into the mid-800s on the season and is tougher to put down on strikes. He still has some power too with 21 home runs through his 414 plate appearances.

Yoán Moncada FD 3500 DK 4200
Opponent - PIT (Bryse Wilson) Park - PIT
FD - 13.03 DK - 9.87

Moncada has dropped down the order some to the fifth slot with Luis Robert taking up the two-hole for the White Sox. But I like the price on the former in this matchup against Wilson. Chicago is just a good stack in general with Moncada having an okay floor. He walks 14% of the time and does have 11 home runs on the season. We aren’t likely to return to the massive power numbers we saw in 2019, but that is okay at these prices.

Outfield

George Springer FD 3800 DK 4800
Opponent - BAL (Keegan Akin) Park - BAL
FD - 15.79 DK - 11.87

Springer has returned to the top of the Blue Jays’ lineup and, when healthy, has been one of the hitters in the game this season. He has a .978 OPS with 16 home runs in his 215 plate appearances. It has been the health that is a concern for him, struggling to stay on the diamond for long stretches. Facing the lefty Akin is a good spot for Springer who has been better in this platoon throughout his career. He has a 149 wRC+ and .386 wOBA in that split.

Luis Robert FD 4000 DK 4200
Opponent - PIT (Bryse Wilson) Park - PIT
FD - 15.27 DK - 11.66

The 24-year-old Robert is having a breakout campaign this season with a .938 OPS so far through 176 plate appearances. The six home runs and five stolen bases play well enough though I would caution that some of his gains are thanks to a rather unsustainable .427 BABIP. That is likely to regress as the season comes to a close, but for now I think we can still roster him on both sites in cash. The DraftKings price is looking particularly advantageous.

Victor Robles FD 2600 DK 2600
Opponent - PHI (Matt Moore) Park - PHI
FD - 11.7 DK - 8.97

Robles should be at the top of the order for the Nationals when they face the lefty Matt Moore on this slate. Robles is better in this split for his career with an OPS 40 points higher than what he’s done against righties. The speedy Robles is in play because of the plate appearance expectation at the top of the order and his ability to swipe some bags.