DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Friday 8/27/21 Now’s your chance to get DFSR PRO, which will give you access to our MLB, NBA, PGA, NHL, and NFL optimizers and our new player lab! Get started for free by clicking the button below. START YOUR FREE TRIAL NOW! Pitchers Interesting slate tonight in that we have two top pitchers, both in plus matchups followed by a sea of pitchers who are either struggling, not consistent, have ugly matchups. I don't think we can pay up for both top pitchers on DraftKings tonight but I am going to make a case for both anyway. Gerrit Cole FD 11200 DK 10500 Opponent - OAK (James Kaprielian) Park - OAK FD - 38.33 DK - 21.4 After Getting popped by Tampa in July, Cole has bounced back in a big way giving up just seven hits and one earned run over his last two starts(11.2 IP) while striking out 15 and walking just two. While the matchup doesn't jump off the page, he does get the A's at a good time as they went to Thursday night's game losers of four straight and eight of their last 10 while scoring just 2.7 runs per game. It is close but coming slightly cheaper than McClanahan on DraftKings, Cole is my top pitcher but by the smallest of margins. Shane McClanahan FD 10500 DK 10700 Opponent - BAL (Matt Harvey) Park - BAL FD - 35.49 DK - 19.33 While it may seem crazy that McClanahan is the most expensive pitcher on DraftKings and more than Cole there is an argument for it. First of all, he is having a tremendous rookie season with a 3.63 ERA and even better 3.20 xFIP while also adding a 28.5% K rate. He also gets a terrific matchup against an Orioles team he has faced three times in the second half, holding them to 14 hits and five earned runs across 17 innings while striking out 7+ in each start. I will have exposure in all formats. Catcher/First Base Yuli Gurriel FD 3400 DK 5000 Opponent - TEX (Glenn Otto) Park - TEX FD - 12.79 DK - 9.81 I have always found it very interesting being a baseball writer and getting the same teams/players daily but having different player pools. A lot of that has to do with matchups for sure but this season pricing has dictated so much of my player pool. A great example is Paul Goldschmidt being $4800 on DK last night and now in a similar matchup is $6K tonight. If you have the money, there are a ton of options to pay up for here but for me, I am going...

DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Thursday 8/26/21 Now’s your chance to get DFSR PRO, which will give you access to our MLB, NBA, PGA, NHL, and NFL optimizers and our new player lab! Get started for free by clicking the button below. START YOUR FREE TRIAL NOW! Pitchers Chris Sale FD 10700 DK 10200 Opponent - MIN (John Gant) Park - MIN FD - 37.88 DK - 21.39 It feels like Chris Sale's return is going a bit under the radar which seems crazy considering he has put up 21+ DK/36+ FD points in each of his first two starts back after missing nearly two years. Even more impressive is that he has put up those numbers while being limited to 89 and 71 pitches, getting through five innings in both starts and picking up the win. The price continues to rise but so should the pitch count and the Red Sox are huge -300 favorites giving him excellent win equity once again. Sale is my top pitcher in all formats on Thursday. Alex Wood FD 8200 DK 8700 Opponent - NYM (Carlos Carrasco) Park - NYM FD - 31.23 DK - 16.85 This is a situation where the price and performance are going in the opposite direction leading to a buy-low situation. After nearly hitting $10K on DraftKings two weeks ago, his price starting falling after a couple of bad performances. The good news is that he has bounced back nicely posting 21+ DK/36+ FD points in two straight starts and now faces a Mets team that has dropped 10 of 12 while scoring just 3.2 runs per game and striking out 27% of the time. I will have exposure in all formats. Miles Mikolas FD 7500 DK 7100 Opponent - PIT (Mitch Keller) Park - PIT FD - 30.03 DK - 15.38 If you are looking to load up on bats, we get another buy-low with Mile Mikolas is only one start removed from missing nearly three months with a forearm injury. While limited to 84 pitches in his return, he looked good allowing just two hits with two runs(both unearned) while striking out five. He will be facing the same Pirates team in a plus matchup as they rank 2nd to last in both wOBA and wRC+ since the All-Star Break. With a pitch count that is likely to rise plus the low price, Mikolas is my favorite PTS/$ SP2 on this slate. Catcher/First Base Paul Goldschmidt FD 3800 DK 4800 Opponent - PIT (Mitch Keller) Park - PIT FD - 11.76 DK - 8.85 Targeting bad pitchers is the name of the game and that puts the Cardinals right near the top of the...

DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Wednesday, 8/25/21 Now’s your chance to get DFSR PRO, which will give you access to our MLB and NBA optimizers and our new player lab! Get started for free by clicking the button below. START YOUR FREE TRIAL NOW! Yours truly was very tilted yesterday. I had a gem of a lineup going, but then German Marquez picked up a big fat 0 in my lineup because of a postponement. That was definitely an amateur move on my part, but it happens to all of us at some point. It's just a good reminder that we always need to check weather before submitting lineups. Playing on the safe side is obviously the best way to go, but we luckily don't have many weather issues here. That has me excited to have a big day, so let's get into it! Pitchers Walker Buehler FD - P 11300 DK - SP 9700 Opponent - SD (Blake Snell) Park - SD FD - 36.47 DK - 19.93 If you want a guaranteed quality start, Buehler is your guy. We say that because he has thrown at least five innings in all 25 starts he's made, reaching six innings in 24 of those. That absurd consistency has allowed Buehler to score at least 28 FanDuel points in all 24 of those starts, leading to a 2.11 ERA and 0.93 WHIP. All of that has him as the clubhouse leader for NL Cy Young, and it makes him one of the best options in DFS. It's not like the Padres lineup is scary right now either, losing 10 of their last 12 games while scoring fewer than three runs a night in those losses. Walker has been amazing in his two starts against them, too, posting a 2.77 ERA and 0.92 WHIP. Shohei Ohtani FD - P 11600 DK - SP 8700 Opponent - BAL (Undecided) Park - BAL FD - 36.8 DK - 19.62 This guy might be the best hitter in baseball right now, and we have him in here for his pitching. If that's not a good indicator of how special this dude is, then some of these numbers should sway you. Since struggling on the final day of June, Shohei has slung a 1.57 ERA, 0.75 WHIP, and 8.3 K/9 rate. It's certainly no flukey stretch either, with Ohtani obtaining a 2.58 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, and 12.4 K/9 rate before that Yankees The NY start is the outlier here, with Ohtani scoring at least 23 FD points in every other start this year. That should be easy to duplicate against Baltimore, with the Orioles ranked 27th in runs scored and 29th in OBP. If...

  DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Tuesday 8/24/21 - Main slate Now’s your chance to get DFSR PRO, which will give you access to our MLB, NBA, PGA, NHL, and NFL optimizers and our new player lab! Get started for free by clickiang the button below. START YOUR FREE TRIAL NOW! Pitchers Corbin Burnes FD 11500 DK 10600 Opponent - CIN (Tyler Mahle) Park - CINFD - 48.12 DK - 27.9 Burnes doesn’t draw the best matchup here against the Reds, but he is the best overall pitcher on this slate, and really just one of the best ones in baseball. On the season he has struck out close to 12.5 batters per nine and has a ridiculous 7.6:1 K:BB ratio. The 2.33 xFIP is elite and just a little behind the 2.13 ERA. He is almost matchup-independent at this point considering just how dominant he is on the mound. He is a -191 home favorite against Cincinnati and has the highest K upside on the slate. Jack Flaherty FD 10300 DK 9600 Opponent - DET (Casey Mize) Park - DETFD - 39.95 DK - 22 Flaherty has better win odds than Burnes on this slate as a -225 home favorite against the Tigers. He isn’t as good an arm as Burnes, but the matchup against Detroit is better considering the latter strikes out 26% of the time and is a bottom-third offense on the season. Flaherty has a 2.68 ERA but the 3.80 xFIP is trailing by more than a run. I still think the matchup is good enough to consider him over Burnes, but the latter is a much, much better arm. Strongly consider Luis Garcia (FD $8300 DK $9700) on FanDuel. Catcher/First Base Anthony Rizzo FD 3600 DK 3400 Opponent - ATL (Charlie Morton) Park - ATLFD - 11.21 DK - 8.39 Rizzo is coming too cheap on DraftKings even in a tougher matchup against Charlie Morton. Rizzo should be hitting second in the Yankees’ lineup and remains a very dangerous bat. Though the OPS is sitting around .800, he is still making contact around 75% of the time, is very tough to strike out, and has actually run a little bad on BABIP this season. Again, the DK price at $3400 is simply too cheap even for a tougher matchup. Jared Walsh FD 3000 DK 4600 Opponent - BAL (Spenser Watkins) Park - BALFD - 12.79 DK - 9.59 The Angels’ lineup, outside of Ohtani, isn’t all that imposing, but Walsh is actually a solid bat that should be hitting cleanup in this matchup against Watkins. The former has a .814 OPS on the season with 22 home runs. Walsh strikes out at an...

DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Monday 8/23/21 Now’s your chance to get DFSR PRO, which will give you access to our MLB, NBA, PGA, NHL, and NFL optimizers and our new player lab! Get started for free by clicking the button below. START YOUR FREE TRIAL NOW! Pitchers Lance Lynn FD - P 10100 DK - SP 9900 Opponent - TOR (Alek Manoah) Park - TOR FD - 33.99 DK - 19.25 Let me preface by saying I don't like anything about this slate in terms of pitching. With that said, there is really no other place to start than lance Lynn who is the odds-on favorite to win the American League CY Young award and while he faces a stacked Jays offense, he at least gives us a consistent floor with the strikeouts to counter those starts he gives up two to four earned runs. He is also facing the Jays at a good time as they have dropped seven of their last nine games scoring three or less six times. By default, Lynn is my top pitcher on this slate. Zack Greinke FD - P 9200 DK - SP 8900 Opponent - KC (Daniel Lynch) Park - HOU FD - 32.21 DK - 16.85 Greinke has the best shot at a win and quality start(FanDuel) tonight as the Astros are the biggest favorites(-228) on the slate and he averages just shy of six innings pitcher per start. The issue here is that he is coming off a start where he struck out no batters across six innings and faces a hot Royals team that has won six of their last seven and have struck out a league-low 17% of the time over the last two weeks. Considering the lack of options and win equity here, Greinke is my top SP2 tonight. Catcher/First Base Yuli Gurriel FD - 1B 3100 DK - 1B 5100 Opponent - KC (Daniel Lynch) Park - HOU FD - 14.2 DK - 10.89 It took some time since returning from injury but Gurriel appears to be heating up and is fully on my radar Monday night. He enters the night with hits in three straight and four of his last five games and has crushed lefties to the tune of a .395 wOBA and 158 wRC+ on the season. He is my top play at first base in all formats, especially on FanDuel where he is still in the low $3K range. Ty France FD - 1B 3300 DK - 1B 3700 Opponent - OAK (Paul Blackburn) Park - OAK FD - 9.49 DK - 7.24 If you want to go the value route on DraftKings, France is a player who seems...