DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Wednesday, 8/3/22

How wild was that trade deadline? The Padres went full-on beast mode and added across the board, making them one of the most dangerous teams in baseball. That will have San Diego and Los Angeles battling all season, leaving the rest of the NL West in shambles. In any case, it's still anyone's ring to take down, and it'll be fun to watch these final 2-3 months play out. With that said, there were a ton of moves yesterday, and it's unclear who will be ready to suit up here. Keep an eye on lineups and only play if you can be face-first on your computer screen up until first pitch!

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Pitchers

Shohei Ohtani FD - P 11300 DK - SP 10000
Opponent - OAK (James Kaprielian) Park - LAA
FD - 38.35 DK - 21.15

Many people were speculating that Shohei would be on the move at the trade deadline, but any reasonable person knows LA couldn't trade the most valuable player in baseball. We'll use Ohtani on the mound today because he's been one of the best pitchers in the sport. Shohei has a 1.73 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, and 13.8 K/9 rate over his last eight starts. Those are averages you'd usually see from an elite reliever, making him tough to fade behind that ridiculous K rate. Facing Oakland is outstanding, too, with the A's ranked 29th or 30th in runs scored, OBP, OPS, wOBA, and xwOBA. Look for him to be a -200 favorite in this spot, with the A's projected for a minuscule run total.

Blake Snell FD - P 9100 DK - SP 7900
Opponent - COL (Chad Kuhl) Park - SD
FD - 34.55 DK - 18.87

Snell was horrible through his first 10 starts, but the former Cy Young winner has been hitting his stride for a month now. Over his last five starts, Snell has a 2.81 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, and 14.0 K/9 rate. That WHIP isn't great, but it doesn't matter when you're striking out three batters every two innings. That should be even easier to do against the Rockies, with Colorado owning the worst road offense in baseball last season. They've been better this year, but it's scary with Snell posting a 2.94 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, and 12.6 K/9 rate at home since 2020. The oddsmakers certainly love Snell, projecting San Diego as a -300 favorite in this spot, with Colorado projected for just 3.5 runs.

Lance Lynn (FD $7400/DK $7300) has a 3.65 xFIP this season and could see some positive regression start here against a 25th-ranked Royals offense.

Catcher/First Base

Josh Bell FD - 1B 3200 DK - 1B 4800
Opponent - COL (Chad Kuhl) Park - SD
FD - 10.13 DK - 7.63

The Juan Soto acquisition is what everyone is looking at in this trade, but getting Bell should not be overlooked. This has been one of the best first basemen in the NL this season, tallying a .301 AVG, .384 OBP, .493 SLG, and .877 OPS. That alone would make him a great option at this price, but he's also got a .399 OBP and .890 OPS against right-handers this year. That's great news since he'll be in an RBI spot in this revamped Padres lineup, and they'll undoubtedly do damage against a gas can like Chad Kuhl. The Rockies righty has an 8.17 ERA and 2.18 WHIP across his last five starts and will surely struggle to navigate through this landmine lineup.

Yandy Díaz FD - 1B 2900 DK - 3B 4000
Opponent - TOR (Yusei Kikuchi) Park - TB
FD - 9.81 DK - 7.48

Diaz doesn't have much power, but this guy continues to damage atop this Rays lineup. The corner infielder has a ridiculous .397 OBP this season, totaling a .349 AVG, .433 OBP, .532 SLG, and .965 OPS over his last 29 games. That's a month of dominance, and it's hard to understand why these DFS sites keep him so cheap. Getting to face a subpar southpaw is sensational, too, with Yandy generating a .321 AVG, .400 OBP, .524 SLG, and .924 OPS with the platoon advantage in his favor this season. Kikuchi is far from a concerning matchup, compiling a 4.89 ERA and 1.50 WHIP.

Alejandro Kirk (FD $3200/DK $3900) is the best catching option in the sport and gets the platoon advantage against one of Tampa's worst starters.

Second Base

Jose Altuve FD - 2B 3900 DK - 2B 5800
Opponent - BOS (Brayan Bello) Park - HOU
FD - 11.25 DK - 8.58

Altuve gets a lot of crap for the Houston scandal from year's past, but this guy continues to post monster numbers year after year. The little second baseman has a .272 AVG, .359 OBP, .501 SLG, and .860 OPS in another typical season. His recent form is what makes him most intriguing here, with Altuve amassing a .371 OBP, .537 SLG, and .908 OPS since the start of May. That's terrible news for a pitcher like Brayan Bello, with the Boston righty registering an 8.82 ERA and 2.27 WHIP in what's becoming a disastrous rookie season. That's one of the worst WHIPs in baseball, and it'll keep the Stros streaming in later in this article.

Marcus Semien FD - 2B 3500 DK - 2B/SS 4700
Opponent - BAL (Kyle Bradish) Park - TEX
FD - 12.68 DK - 9.59

I've been riding Semien for two months now, and it's silly not to with how he's swinging the bat. The 2021 All-Star has a .280 AVG, .506 SLG, and .843 OPS over his last 62 games. More importantly, he's got 14 homers and 16 steals, which is more indicative of the 45-homer, 15-steal stud we saw last season. A matchup with Kyle Bradish is beautiful, too, with the Baltimore arm accruing a 7.01 ERA and 1.69 WHIP this year. We believe Bradish will be a good pitcher at some point but facing this improved offense on the road is a recipe for disaster.

Shortstop

Corey Seager FD - SS 3500 DK - SS 5100
Opponent - BAL (Kyle Bradish) Park - TEX
FD - 11.38 DK - 8.64

Let's cap off our Texas two-step with Seager. These two middle infielders were the big signings for the Rangers in the offseason, and they've proven to be a formidable two-man stack in the heart of this lineup. Corey's power stroke has been the most impressive aspect of his game, homering in nine of his last 21 outings. That has him on pace to obliterate his career-high, with Seager flirting with a 40-homer pace. Most of that damage has come at home, with Corey collecting a .284 AVG, .361 OBP, .601 SLG, and .962 OPS at Globe Life this season. We already talked about how bad Bradish has been, giving Seager the platoon advantage from the left side!

Carlos Correa FD - SS 3000 DK - SS 4500
Opponent - DET (Tyler Alexander) Park - MIN
FD - 11.93 DK - 9.03

Correa hasn't quite lived up to his contract in Minnesota, but this former All-Star is starting to find it. Since coming off the IL on June 7, Carlos has a .344 OBP, .470 SLG, and .813 OPS. That's the guy we've seen throughout most of his career, and he should continue to do damage batting third in this talented lineup. The reason we want to use him here is that he gets to face a crappy lefty, with Correa batting from the right side. His splits are relatively even, but it makes him enticing since Tyler Alexander has a 4.12 ERA and 1.31 WHIP throughout his career.

Third Base

Matt Chapman FD - 3B 3500 DK - 3B 4700
Opponent - TB (Jalen Beeks) Park - TB
FD - 8.67 DK - 6.45

Chapman really struggled in his first three months with Toronto, but this has been an All-Star player for the last month. The perennial Gold Glove candidate has a .370 AVG, .459 OBP, .795 SLG, and 1.253 OPS over his last 21 games. That's an MVP-type stretch, and it's no surprise he's doing so much damage in one of the best lineups in baseball. His numbers against left-handers are impressive, too, with Matt maintaining a .320 OBP, .522 SLG, and .842 OPS against them this year. Jalen Beeks is not necessarily worrisome, accumulating a 4.12 ERA and 1.40 WHIP across 216 career innings.

Alex Bregman FD - 3B 3000 DK - 3B 4700
Opponent - BOS (Brayan Bello) Park - HOU
FD - 0.12 DK - 0.09

Bregman has been cheap all season, and it makes no sense why. Like many prior recommendations, Bregman has been raking for a month now. In fact, the former All-Star has a .287 AVG, .383 OBP, .510 SLG, and .894 OPS over his last 40 games played. That's a large sample size of dominance, and it's difficult to understand why these DFS sites keep him so affordable. What makes it even more bizarre is the fact that he's facing a pitcher with a 2.27 WHIP. That has Houston projected for five runs, and Bregman is the best cheap option of that Stros stack.

Outfield

Yordan Alvarez FD - OF 4500 DK - OF 6200
Opponent - BOS (Brayan Bello) Park - HOU
FD - 11.68 DK - 8.75

Let's finish off our Astros stack with their best hitter. That's definitely Yordan, who's established himself as one of the best bats in baseball. The big outfielder has a .307 AVG, .413 OBP, .663 SLG, and 1.076 OPS for the year. That's ridiculous to maintain averages like those for the whole year, but this guy has a .382 OBP and .982 OPS for his career. His recent form is even more ridiculous, registering a .362 AVG, .467 OBP, .781 SLG, and 1.248 OPS over his last 47 games. That makes him impossible to fade against a righty, with Alvarez accruing a .427 OBP and 1.147 OPS against right-handers this year.

Byron Buxton FD - OF 4100 DK - OF 5600
Opponent - DET (Tyler Alexander) Park - MIN
FD - 14.86 DK - 11.3

Buxton can be hard to trust with his injury-prone nature, but this dude is a stud whenever he's in the lineup. The former top prospect in baseball has a career-high 26 bombs. leading to a .550 SLG and .840 OPS. He's been playing at this level for years, generating a .590 SLG and .892 OPS since 2020. That doesn't even consider his elite speed, swiping 72 bags since his rookie season. That power-speed combo makes Buxton one of the best fantasy assets out there, particularly with Bux belting a .663 SLG and .984 OPS against lefties this year.

Jurickson Profar FD - OF 3200 DK - OF 4300
Opponent - COL (Chad Kuhl) Park - SD
FD - 9.74 DK - 7.44

It's unclear how this Padres lineup will play out, but it appears Jurickson will be the leadoff hitter. That's been the case for most of the season, and he's one of the only players that fit that bill. Hitting ahead of Manny Machado and Juan Soto should open up plenty of opportunities for the 2022 breakout, with Profar providing a .261 AVG, .357 OBP, and .792 OPS this season. His recent form is the best part of this, producing a .472 AVG, .525 OBP, .889 SLG, and 1.414 OPS over the last nine games. He should keep that form against a struggling Chad Kuhl, especially since Profar posts much better splits against right-handers.