DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Wednesday, 8/24/22

Time is flying by right now! I can't believe it's August 24, but that means we're in crunch time of the MLB season. We have a little over a month remaining, and it'll be fun to watch these teams battle for the final 40-plus days. We have another full Wednesday card to discuss and almost every team in action, so let's go ahead and get started with the pitching!

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Pitchers

Shane McClanahan FD - P 11200 DK - SP 10900
Opponent - LAA (Mike Mayers) Park - TB
FD - 38.49 DK - 21.16

McClanahan is a top-notch play against anyone, but he's impossible to fade against the Angels. Let's start there, with Los Angeles owning the worst K rate in baseball. They're also bottom-10 in every offensive category outside of that, and they have the worst lineup outside of Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani. That's bad news against an ace like Mac, maintaining a 2.29 ERA, 0.86 WHIP, and 11.9 K/9 rate this season. That's led to him scoring at least 29 FanDuel points in all but two games, dropping 58 fantasy points on this atrocious offense earlier in the season. All of that has him entering this matchup as a -280 favorite in a game with a seven-run total.

George Kirby FD - P 9000 DK - SP 9000
Opponent - WSH (Aníbal Sánchez) Park - SEA
FD - 41.54 DK - 22.3

Kirby has been a revelation in Seattle, and he'd be known as one of the best pitchers if he didn't have one disastrous start against the Orioles. Outside of that seven-run drubbing, Kirby has compiled a 2.91 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, and 9.4 K/9 rate across his other 16 starts. That's all you can ask for from a $9K player, especially since he has a 2.63 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, and 10.5 K/9 rate across his last seven starts. Getting to face Washington is the best part of this, though, posting the worst lineup in baseball since trading Juan Soto and Josh Bell. That has Kirby entering this matchup as a -300 favorite, with the Nats projected for just three runs.

Cole Irvin (FD $8600/DK $7200) has a 3.33 ERA and 1.06 WHIP this year and faces one of the worst offenses in baseball without their best player. The Marlins are only projected for 3.5 runs in that game!

Catcher/First Base

C.J. Cron FD - 1B 3900 DK - 1B 5000
Opponent - TEX (Martín Pérez) Park - COL
FD - 13.66 DK - 10.27

Cron has quietly been a beast since putting on a Rockies uniform, and he's one of the journeymen who's thrived due to the conditions in Coors Field. Since 2020, Cron has collected a .307 AVG, .378 OBP, .608 SLG, and .985 OPS in the friendly confines of Colorado. That looks even better when you look at his splits, with C.J. tallying a .342 OBP, .501 SLG, and .843 OPS against left-handers since the start of last season. Both of those boxes are checked here, with the Rockies facing off with an overperforming Martin Perez. Vegas doesn't expect Perez to continue his surprising form, with Colorado projected for six runs in this game!

Darick Hall FD - 1B 2800 DK - 1B 2900
Opponent - CIN (T.J. Zeuch) Park - PHI
FD - 9.86 DK - 6.99

It's rare to find a player with this much power potential below $3,000 on both sites, and it makes him one of the best plays on the board. In his debut season, Hall has a .264 AVG, .550 SLG, and .846 OPS. That alone is absurd from a player this affordable, especially since he has a .593 SLG and .908 OPS against right-handers. That's the stud we saw at the minors, posting a .550 SLG and .847 OPS since 2019. That's eerily similar to his averages now, and we expect him to keep that going against an inexperienced TJ Zeuch, totaling a 13.50 ERA and 2.50 WHIP in limited time this season.

J.T. Realmuto (FD $3100 DK/$5600) is the best catcher in baseball at this point and benefits from the same matchup mentioned above.

Second Base

Max Muncy FD - 2B 3500 DK - 3B 4400
Opponent - MIL (Adrian Houser) Park - LAD
FD - 10.11 DK - 7.47

Muncy is having the worst season of his career, but he's finally starting to turn things around. The power-hitting utilityman enters this matchup with a 21-game on-base streak, generating a .311 AVG, .411 OBP, .676 SLG, and 1.085 OPS in that span. That's the horse we saw over the past few seasons, knocking at least 35 homers in three of the last four years. Most of his damage has come with the platoon advantage in his favor, with Max's OPS sitting 125 points higher against righties this year. Adrian Houser is not a bad matchup either, posting a 4.72 ERA and 1.48 WHIP.

Jonathan India FD - 2B 2700 DK - 2B 4600
Opponent - PHI (Cristopher Sánchez) Park - PHI
FD - 9.31 DK - 7.03

India and Muncy have had similar trajectories this season, with both of these guys turning their season around over the last month. The 2021 NL Rookie of the Year has a .277 AVG, .353 OBP, .504 SLG, and .858 OPS across his previous 33 games. That's the guy we saw throughout most of last season, and he should continue to do damage at the top of this lineup. Christopher Sanchez is a solid matchup, too, amassing a 4.21 ERA and 1.32 WHIP throughout his career. It also gives India the platoon advantage, and that's huge with this expected to be one of the highest-scoring games of the day.

Shortstop

Corey Seager FD - SS 3900 DK - SS 5700
Opponent - COL (José Ureña) Park - COL
FD - 14.73 DK - 11.18

Seager has seen his average drop this season, but he's on pace for a career year in terms of power. The former Dodger has already tied a career-high with 26 dingers, and he's well on his way to a career-best in RBI as well. That's amazing when you look at his career averages, accruing a .290 AVG, .361 OBP, .497 SLG, and .858 OPS. All of that makes him a scary option in Coors Field, with the Rangers projected for six runs in this spot. We also don't mind that Seager gets to hit from the left side against Jose Urena, with the Rockies righty registering a 6.97 ERA and 1.58 WHIP across his last six starts.

Bo Bichette FD - SS 2900 DK - SS 4900
Opponent - BOS (Rich Hill) Park - BOS
FD - 10.19 DK - 7.84

Bo is having a rough season by his lofty standards, but this is still one of the best stat-stuffers at the shortstop position. Since the start of last season, Bo has collected 59 doubles, 46 homers, 32 steals, 186 runs, and 166 RBI. Not many players have stuffed those five categories like that, but it's no surprise since Bichette bats in the heart of one of the best lineups in baseball. Bo has also been bludgeoning lefties throughout his career, accumulating a .357 OBP, .482 SLG, and .839 OPS against them in that same span. Rich Hill taking the mound is excellent too, and we'll dive into that in the next section!

Third Base

Austin Riley FD - 3B 3700 DK - 3B 5400
Opponent - PIT (Mitch Keller) Park - PIT
FD - 14.24 DK - 10.78

Atlanta wasn't so sure who would fill the void left by Freddie Freeman, but Riley has turned into one of the best bats in our sport. The third baseman is leading the team with 31 homers and 80 RBI, totaling a .295 AVG, .360 OBP, .542 SLG, and .902 OPS since the start of last season. Those are ridiculous numbers from a player in this price range, and he should keep it rolling against a pitcher like Mitch Keller. The Pirates pitcher has a 5.41 ERA and 1.62 WHIP across 285 career innings and will have a hard time slowing down one of the hottest lineups in MLB. In his two starts against the Braves, Riley has allowed 21 baserunners and 11 runs across eight nightmarish innings.

Matt Chapman FD - 3B 2900 DK - 3B 4700
Opponent - BOS (Rich Hill) Park - BOS
FD - 9.18 DK - 6.82

We foreshadowed that we wanted to stack against Hill earlier, so let's get into that. The 42-year-old lefty is right on the cusp of retirement, producing a 4.68 ERA and 1.31 WHIP in what's likely to be his final season. That's terrifying against Toronto, with the Blue Jays dropping nine runs against this terrible staff on Tuesday. They're projected for 5.5 runs here, and we expect Chapman to do some of that damage with the way he's raking. Since July 4, Chapman has a .281 AVG, .367 OBP, .612 SLG, and .979 OPS. He's also been much better against lefties, providing a .506 SLG and .832 OPS against them this year.

Outfield

Ronald Acuña Jr. FD - OF 4000 DK - OF 5900
Opponent - PIT (Mitch Keller) Park - PIT
FD - 15.36 DK - 11.58

We just talked about how Keller has been one of the worst pitchers in baseball since his call-up, posting a 2.63 WHIP in his two starts against this offense. That's one of the worst WHIPs I've ever seen, and it's clear they have his number. If that's the case, we have to love Acuna atop this lineup. He's simply one of the best table setters around, ranked Top-5 in fantasy points since his call-up. We love that with his recent form, providing a .329 AVG, .400 OBP, and ..887 OPS across his last 20 games. That's on par with his career averages, and it doesn't even consider that he's one of the best base-stealers as well.

Luis Robert FD - OF 3100 DK - OF 5000
Opponent - BAL (Spenser Watkins) Park - BAL
FD - 11.93 DK - 9.13

I have been shocked to see the Six struggle so mightily this season because this is one of the most talented teams in MLB. Robert is one of many elite bats they possess, and it's difficult to understand what's going on. In any case, Robert is a ravishing choice in DFS, totaling a .319 AVG, .507 SLG, and .864 OPS since the start of last season. He also has 25 homers and 17 steals across those 154 games, presenting one of the best power-speed combos around. He's been playing some of his best ball recently, too, tallying a .339 AVG, .385 OBP, .560 SLG, and .944 OPS across his last 29 games. Spenser Watkins is a pitcher we can exploit, establishing a 5.70 ERA and 1.48 WHIP throughout his career.

Nick Castellanos FD - OF 2900 DK - OF 4400
Opponent - CIN (T.J. Zeuch) Park - PHI
FD - 12.82 DK - 9.74

We have a theme in this article: players bouncing back after rough seasons. Castellanos falls into that pool perfectly, playing his best baseball since the trade deadline. Not being moved lifted a ton off of this guy's shoulders, entering this matchup with a .343 AVG, .520 SLG, and .893 OPS across his last 26 games. That's the All-Star we've seen throughout his career, and we expect Castellanos to keep this going for the remainder of the season. We already discussed how disastrous Zeuch has been this season, allowing six runs in each of his first two starts.