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DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Friday 8/5/22
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Pitchers
Dylan Cease FD - P 10900 DK - SP 10400
Opponent - TEX (Glenn Otto) Park - TEX
FD - 41.93 DK - 23.47
Cease comes in as a -178 road favorite against the Rangers on this slate and makes for the top overall raw points pitcher going. He’s having a Cy Young-worthy season with a 2.01 ERA (3.02 xFIP) while striking out batters at a better than 33% clip. The Rangers are a below-average offense on the season and strike out, as a team, more than 23% of the time. This is lining up for another big outing by Cease.
Robbie Ray FD 9400 DK 8900
Opponent - LAA (Patrick Sandoval) Park - LAA
FD - 38.99 DK - 21.09
Though the ERA is sitting at 4.11, the xFIP is more than half a run lower and he draws one of the better matchups of the day against the Trout-less Angels on this slate. Ray comes in as a -211 home favorite against an offense ranked 26th in the league despite having Trout and Ohtani at the top of the lineup. Ray has been inconsistent this season which is a bit worrisome but the matchup is just too good here to pass up.
Catcher/First Base
Yuli Gurriel FD 2400 DK 3300
Opponent - CLE (Hunter Gaddis) Park - CLE
FD - 10.93 DK - 8.44
Gurriel isn’t having an amazing season, but there are some things going for him here. He’s coming cheap on both sites and should be hitting cleanup for the Astros. He’s facing off against Hunter Gaddis who is making his major league debut in this game as well. Gaddis has flashed strikeout stuff in the minors, but control has been an issue. And Gurriel makes a lot of contact, putting the ball in play about 82% of the time. Plus, he’s shown some speed on the base paths with eight stolen bases this season.
Ji-Man Choi FD 2800 DK 3600
Opponent - DET (Bryan Garcia) Park - DET
FD - 11.39 DK - 8.49
Choi should also be in the cleanup spot for the Rays and like Gurriel, is coming on the cheaper side on both FanDuel and DraftKings. He strikes out a lot more, but the .769 OPS plays and he does walk about 14% of the time. Bryan Garcia has struggled in the majors, striking out fewer than seven batters per nine while walking 5.3 per nine. That latter number is pretty bad and plays into who Choi does well.
Second Base
Jose Altuve FD 3900 DK 5400
Opponent - CLE (Hunter Gaddis) Park - CLE
FD - 13.45 DK - 10.25
I like the spot the Astros are in for this game against Gaddis and don’t mind stacking some of the top of their order. Altuve remains one of the most patient hitters in the game, striking out just 14% of the time while walking more than 10%. His .881 OPS is about as good as you’ll find at the position and his 19 home runs and nine stolen bases play really well from a fantasy perspective.
Brandon Lowe FD 3000 DK 4600
Opponent - DET (Bryan Garcia) Park - DET
FD - 13.07 DK - 9.76
We wrote Lowe up yesterday saying there could be some positive power regression and he paid us off by going yard. One home run does not a play make, but it has felt like we are getting him still at a bargain on FanDuel especially. That is very much still the case and the Rays are in a good spot against Garcia. I like going right back to the well with Lowe who is coming cheaper than Altuve on both sites.
Shortstop
Willy Adames FD 3700 DK 5400
Opponent - CIN (Robert Dugger) Park - MIL
FD - 12.8 DK - 9.7
The Brewers have one of the highest team run lines on the day facing off against Robert Dugger. Adames should be hitting in the second slot in the lineup behind Yelich and has some real power upside. He’s on pace for the most home runs in his career, having already hit 21 on the season. Dugger has struck out a lot of batters in his 12 innings this season, but that hasn’t really been the case for him over the course of his career and I don’t really see it keeping up.
I think I’m pretty much running Adames across the board here unless something major changes. And I really don’t expect that to be the case short of him sitting.
Third Base
Eugenio Suárez FD 2800 DK 3900
Opponent - LAA (Patrick Sandoval) Park - LAA
FD - 12.46 DK - 9.27
After a very slow start, Suarez has picked it up of late having hit in the last five games and homered in his last two. He’s got the OPS in the mid-700s and despite striking out 31% of the time, has 18 home runs on the season. Facing off against Sandoval is a good thing too seeing as how Suarez is much better for his career against lefty pitching. He has a 124 wRC+ and .846 OPS in that split. I like the price on both sites, but especially FanDuel coming at under $3K.
Luis Urías FD 2800 DK 4100
Opponent - CIN (Robert Dugger) Park - MIL
FD - 11.04 DK - 8.36
I like Suarez more than the rest of the field at third base on this Friday slate, but if you are looking for a pivot then Urias isn’t a terrible option. Though he’s hitting lower in the order, his team has the highest run line of the day and there’s something to be said for that. He does have 12 home runs on the season and walks more than 10% of the time.
Outfield
Christian Yelich FD 3700 DK 4800
Opponent - CIN (Robert Dugger) Park - MIL
FD - 13.26 DK - 10.02
Though Yelich doesn’t look like he’s ever returning to the huge power numbers of a few years ago, there is still reason to play him in fantasy. For starters, he’s set to hit leadoff for a team with one of the best implied run lines on the day. And despite not getting the ball over the fence much anymore, he’s still walking 13% of the time and has stolen 15 bases this season. If we are comparing him to the Yelich of old, then there will be disappointment. But this new iteration can still score points.
Kyle Schwarber FD 3500 DK 5400
Opponent - WSH (Josiah Gray) Park - WSH
FD - 13.34 DK - 9.88
Nick Castellanos FD 2500 DK 3400
Opponent - WSH (Josiah Gray) Park - WSH
FD - 11.61 DK - 8.82
He’s coming expensive on both sites, but it’s for good reason. The dude already has 33 home runs on the season and is on pace for the most long balls of his career. Sure, he strikes out a lot which is something of a concern against Josiah Gray, but the latter walks a lot of batters as well and Schwarber will take a free pass. He should hit leadoff for the Phillies here and makes for a strong cash game option.
Meanwhile, Castellanos has struggled this season but is still slated to hit fifth for the Phillies who have a 5.4 implied run line on Friday. That’s among the highest of the evening and I think we can play him considering the price is so far down on both sites, but especially on FanDuel.
