Daily Fantasy MLB Picks for FanDuel and DraftKings - 9/5/18 We have a couple of early games, but for the most part, we're taking a look at the main slate on FanDuel and DraftKings for Wednesday. It sure seems like we'll be spending down for pitching and up for bats. Let's take a look at some of the value plays at every position. Now’s your chance to get DFSR PRO, which will give you access to our MLB optimizer and our new player lab! Get started for free by clicking the button below. START YOUR FREE TRIAL NOW! First time with MLB? Be sure to read our free MLB Ebooks on building lineups, general strategy and more. We've got you completely covered. Pitcher Nick Pivetta FD 8200 DK 8200 Opponent - MIA (Sandy Alcantara) Park - MIA FD - 37 DK - 19.5 Pivetta has had some truly disastrous games this season and also a hell of a lot of run bad when it comes to his overall stats. His 3.32 xFIP is 1.3 runs lower than the 4.66 ERA thanks to a .337 BABIP and 70% LOB%. It’s a little concerning that we have about 270 major league innings of those *bad luck* numbers, but I do tend to think they will normalize at some point (he want to say convincingly). The peripherals are still excellent seeing as how he as a 28% K rate and 4:1 K:BB ratio this season. He has every opportunity for success on Wednesday against a Miami team ranked third-to-last in wOBA against righties this season and the park does Pivetta a lot of favors in suppressing power to all directions. Pivetta is a -157 road favorite with the Marlins coming in at only 3.3 implied runs (one of the lowest of the evening). Michael Kopech FD 8000 DK 9000 Opponent - DET (Jordan Zimmermann) Park - CHW FD - 35.61 DK - 18.31 It’s some kind of unlucky to have two of your first three starts in the majors get cut short because of rain delays early in the game. Such is the case with Kopech whose major league debut against the Twins went only two innings and his third game against the Red Sox only three. In between, he turned in a six-inning, four K, one ER start against these very Detroit Tigers. I’m fine firing him up again on Wednesday in a plus start against one of the very worst offenses in baseball. Depending on the day the Tigers rank either last or second-to-last in the league against righty pitching (they swap with the Padres all the time) and Kopech should be able to handle this offense. He’s a modest...

Daily Fantasy MLB Picks for FanDuel and DraftKings - 9/3/18 Happy Labor Day folks. While this day represents the end of summer for some people, it also means we get a full slate of Monday baseball action for both FanDuel and DraftKings. There's no better way to take away the sting of the summer having slipped behind us. Let's get into some of the plays and you can set aside the day to watch some games. Now’s your chance to get DFSR PRO, which will give you access to our MLB optimizer and our new player lab! Get started for free by clicking the button below. START YOUR FREE TRIAL NOW! First time with MLB? Be sure to read our free MLB Ebooks on building lineups, general strategy and more. We've got you completely covered. Pitcher Max Scherzer FD 11500 DK 12200 Opponent - STL (Jack Flaherty) Park - WSH FD - 46.16 DK - 25.98 The dude is just a machine and is far and away the best overall pitcher on Monday’s slate. Hell, might just be the best overall pitcher in baseball at this point. Scherzer’s 12 K/9 rate and 5.5:1 K:BB ratio are beyond elite and no other pitcher on the early slate is within 10 projected fantasy points. So we aren’t really debating that he’s the best arm, but rather if he makes for the best value considering the upper tier salaries. As a -172 home favorite against the Cardinals, I think we can go there on both sites and try to find some cheaper bats along the margins. There are enough weaker arms going elsewhere that finding a punt bat or two shouldn’t be a big deal. The Cardinals are actually below average against righties this season. They have one great bat in Carpenter at the top of the lineup, but not a ton else in the way lefty power. This isn’t a snap call on Scherzer as it usually is when he takes the mound, but considering the steep dropoff in talent after him, I think we pay up for cash games. Vince Velasquez FD 6600 DK 7400 Opponent - MIA (Jose Urena) Park - MIA FD - 36.38 DK - 19.18 After three rough starts in a row in which he totaled 10.2 innings, striking out seven and walking just as many, Velasquez bounced back (somewhat) against the Blue Jays a week ago. He went five innings, striking out six and allowed only two earned runs. Velasquez has a 26% strikeout rate, the second-best of his career, but the 10% walk rate is still an issue and is one of the reasons he’s averaging only a shade over five innings per start...

DFSR's Daily Fantasy MLB Podcast for FanDuel & DraftKings Friday 8/31/18 DFSR’s Doug Norrie and James Davis are back for the MLB podcast discussing a full Friday slate of action for FanDuel and DraftKings. They start off talking about some of the pitching options and specifically comparing Luis Severino and Corey Kluber on this slate. They are coming at different prices on both sites, making for an interesting price hedge option in cash games. Both are big money line favorites against struggling offenses. They also look at Zack Wheeler and Framber Valdez as possible SP2 options on DraftKings. Then, on the offensive side of things, they have a discussion about the lack of price adjustment in Texas even though the run lines have been consistently high throughout the season. The Twins and Rangers are both in great spots for Friday. They also look at the Cardinals, Reds, Yankees, Royals and Orioles. Be sure to subscribe...

Daily Fantasy MLB Picks for FanDuel and DraftKings - 8/31/18 Football might be right around the corner, but we've still got plenty of baseball action to wet our beaks on for Friday. The Yankees come in as huge home favorites, rookie pitchers take the mound and the Twins and Rangers could put up a lot of runs. Now’s your chance to get DFSR PRO, which will give you access to our MLB optimizer and our new player lab! Get started for free by clicking the button below. START YOUR FREE TRIAL NOW! First time with MLB? Be sure to read our free MLB Ebooks on building lineups, general strategy and more. We've got you completely covered. Pitcher Luis Severino FD 10600 DK 11300 Opponent - DET (Jordan Zimmermann) Park - NYY FD - 44.08 DK - 24.22 After hitting a six-game rough patch in late July/ early August, Severino bounced back in the last two games with 16 strikeouts in 10.6 innings and only four earned runs. The strikeouts were able to make up for the lack of innings. He didn’t reach six in either start even though the pitch count got into the triple digits. He’s still striking out more than 10 batters per nine (28.2%) and doesn’t allow much in the way of free passes (6% walk rate). BABIP was a big-time issue for the guy during the rough stretch and even two games ago against Toronto. I do think that if/ when that number regresses some in the short term we are still looking at one of the very best pitchers in the game. He has, by far, the best money line win expectation on Friday as a whopping -330 home favorite against the lowly Tigers. Detroit ranks as the worst team in the league against righty pitching this season and doesn’t have much in the way of a bright future there. I think we see Severino as the chalk play at pitcher for Monday. Zack Wheeler FD 10000 DK 10600 Opponent - SF (Andrew Suarez) Park - SF FD - 36.55 DK - 18.92 After Severino, things get a little bit weird on the mound. But I think we can track down some upper-middle tier value at pitcher. It’s a shame Wheeler plays for the Mets because on almost any other a team a guy with his numbers would be more than a -110 road favorite against the Giants. But here we are with the Amazins’. He strikes out almost a batter an inning and is averaging more than six innings per start this season thanks in large part to reducing his walk rate. The Giants are trash, ranked as the fourth-worst offense in baseball...

Daily Fantasy MLB Picks for FanDuel and DraftKings - 8/30/18 Let's get sorted out with some plays for Thursday's MLB action on FanDuel and DraftKings. There's plenty to like about this slate with the Yankees in a great spot against the Tigers, the Rockies heading into San Diego and the Red Sox facing Lucas Giolito. Now’s your chance to get DFSR PRO, which will give you access to our MLB optimizer and our new player lab! Get started for free by clicking the button below. START YOUR FREE TRIAL NOW! First time with MLB? Be sure to read our free MLB Ebooks on building lineups, general strategy and more. We've got you completely covered. Pitcher J.A. Happ FD 10100 DK 10000 Opponent - DET (Francisco Liriano) Park - NYY FD - 40.4 DK - 21.49 Happy enters Thursday as the biggest money line favorite of the day at -290 in a home game against one of the worst offenses in baseball, the Tigers. To be fair, Detroit is better against lefties this season, ranking in the middle of the pack in that split with a 21% strikeout rate. But they are without Miggy Cabrera for a while now and don’t have a ton of power in the middle of the lineup outside of Castellanos. Happ has been excellent since being traded to the Yankees, pitching 30 innings and only allowing eight earned runs in that span while striking out 32. In his last two games (Baltimore and Toronto) he ha 17 strikeouts in just a shade over 11 innings. The guy can dial up the K’s at times this season and is in a great spot for Thursday. He’s reasonably priced on both sites, making for an excellent cash game play on FanDuel and DraftKings. German Marquez FD 9000 DK 8500 Opponent - SD (Clayton Richard) Park - SD FD - 33.59 DK - 17.66 In case you weren’t aware, Marquez is putting together a hell of a season. His 3.54 xFIP is remarkable considering he pitches half his games in Coors and he’s seen quite the uptick in his peripherals. He’s a 3.2:1 K:BB ratio guy, striking out batters 25% of the time. There’s no early line on the game, but I suspect Marquez is a slight road favorite against the Padres. It’s nice that San Diego continues their yearly tradition of just sucking super hard. They rank dead last in the league against righties with a team .287 wOBA while striking out a league-high 26% of the time in that split. Marquez gets to pitch in Petco which really depresses power all around. He’s more of a groundball pitcher, but this park limits the mistakes on balls...