DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Saturday 8/21/21 - Afternoon and 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 Afternoon Max Scherzer FD 10500 DK 10900 Opponent - NYM (Rich Hill) Park - NYMFD - 41.25 DK - 23.19 In his three starts as a Dodger after coming over at the trade deadline, Scherzer has gone 16.1 innings with 23Ks and three walks while allowing a total of four earned runs. I would say this is what LA was hoping for with their new ace. On Saturday, he will face off against a stumbling Mets team that has been on a backslide of late. He is a massive -258 home favorite here and will likely be the cash game chalk on the afternoon slate of games. Consider Jake Odorizzi (FD $7800 DK $7000) as a SP2 on DK. Main Eduardo Rodriguez FD 9800 DK 9500 Opponent - TEX (Jordan Lyles) Park - TEXFD - 42.53 DK - 23 Eduardo Rodriguez rings in as a -325 home favorite against the lowly Orioles, some of the best money line win odds you will ever see for a starting pitcher. He’s had an excellent season from a peripheral's perspective with a 29% K% rate and 4:1 K:BB ratio, easily the best of his career. He’s been done in somewhat by a BABIP against 50 points higher than his career average and struggled some with men on base. That is why the 4.97 ERA is more than 1.5 runs higher than his 3.31 xFIP. I am trusting the latter number more for what E-Rod has done this season. Catcher/First Base Afternoon Buster Posey FD 3400 DK 4100 Opponent - OAK (Sean Manaea) Park - OAKFD - 10.71 DK - 8.25 Posey has really turned back the clock this season. After looking semi-cooked for a couple of seasons in a row, the 34-year-old has bounced back in a big way with a .951 OPS, thanks to 15 home runs and a career-best 13.6% walk rate. He is running hot on BABIP for sure, but the rest of the peripherals have been solid. It isn’t a great matchup against Manaea, but this is the better side of Poseys split. Main Christian Walker FD 3700 DK 2700 Opponent - COL (Kyle Freeland) Park - COLFD - 12.11 DK - 9.13 Walker has dropped down the D-Backs lineup some, now projected to slot into the sixth or seventh spot. That is because he has really struggled on the season with an OPS...

DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Thursday 8/19/21 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 Brandon Woodruff FD 10700 DK 9200 Opponent - STL (Jon Lester) Park - STL FD - 41.69 DK - 23.9 Woodruff was removed early in his last start but it was reported to not have been injury-related so we will move forward as such. That is great news as he has been one of the best pitchers in baseball this season trailing only Walker Buehler and teammate Corbin Burnes in ERA(2.18). The Brewers pitching has seemingly brought the Cardinals' hot streak to a halt and they have struck out 18 times(26%) in the first two games of this series and now face Woodruff and his 30% K rate. Fire up Woodruff in all formats tonight. Also Consider: Luis Castillo(CIN) while not the most consistent, has tallied 7+ strikeouts in five of his last six games and faces a Marlins team that has struck out 27% of the time over the last two weeks. I also love the price on Jameson Taillon(NYY) who has been rock solid for the Yankees with a 1.68 ERA over his last eight starts while going 4-0 Catcher/First Base Anthony Rizzo FD 3500 DK 3700 Opponent - MIN (John Gant) Park - MIN FD - 16.17 DK - 12.11 Rizzo returned from the COVID list on Wednesday and picked up a hit with two RBI giving him hits in seven of 10 games with three home runs since joining the Yankees at the deadline. He and the Yankees now get a matchup vs. the Cardinals bullpen but what really stands out here is the sub $4K price tag on DraftKings. That easily makes him the top play at first base on this small slate. Also Consider: Max Muncy(LAD) who provides huge upside and should be lower owned at his price on this smaller slate  Second Base Kolten Wong FD 3300 DK 4200 Opponent - STL (Jon Lester) Park - STL FD - 9.32 DK - 7.18 The Brewers are going to be popular on this small slate in a plus matchup vs. a very inconsistent Jon Lester(5.32 ERA/5.08 xFIP). This sends me directly to one of my favorite two-man stacks for cash games. Let's start with Wong who has been consistent lately with hits in six of his last seven games and before you shout lefty/lefty, he sits with a .369 wOBA and 130 wRC+ in the split this season. At these prices, he is a...

DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Wednesday, 8/18/21 It feels crazy to say, but we're getting close to the end of the season. There's only a month, and some change left, making things exciting from a DFS perspective. This is where the good teams separate themselves from the poor ones, leading to some lopsided results. The good news is that we've been on some of the right ends of those games, and we're going to look to do that again here. We need to start things off by talking about the arms, though, so let's go ahead and get into it! 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! Pitchers Charlie Morton FD - P 9200 DK - SP 9700 Opponent - MIA (Jesús Luzardo) Park - MIA FD - 34.68 DK - 19.09 Morton has been one of the most reliable pitchers in baseball over the last decade, and he's been feeling it recently. Over his last 11 starts, Morton has maintained a 2.51 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, and 10.6 K/9 rate. One of those came against this Marlins team, throwing seven scoreless en route to 52 FanDuel points. A gem like that is no surprise when you see his form, but it's even less surprising when you consider this matchup. Morton gets to face a Marlins team that ranks 26th in scoring, 27th in OPS, and dead-last in xwOBA. That's terrifying since they play in one of the most pitcher-friendly ballparks in baseball, making Morton all the more intriguing. Jack Flaherty FD - P 10100 DK - SP 9100 Opponent - MIL (Freddy Peralta) Park - STL FD - 34.01 DK - 18.4 It seems like people forget just how special this guy is. Flaherty will be a Cy Young candidate for the next decade, and he's only being priced like a front-end starter. We're talking about a pitcher with a 3.12 ERA and 1.04 WHIP since 2018, posting a 2.65 ERA and 0.97 WHIP this season. Some might worry that he's not in form after missing so much time, but six two-hit innings in his return is a sign that he's ready to go. Milwaukee might look tough when you look at the standings, but the offense is far from worrisome. In fact, the Brewers rank 28th in OPS and 27th in xBA. That certainly appeared to be the case when Flaherty threw six scoreless against them in their one meeting earlier this year. Catcher/First Base Max Muncy FD - 1B 3900 DK - 1B/2B 5700 Opponent -...

  DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Tuesday 8/17/21 - 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 clicking the button below. START YOUR FREE TRIAL NOW! Pitchers Corbin Burnes FD 11500 DK 10200 Opponent - STL (Adam Wainwright) Park - STLFD - 46.44 DK - 26.8 Corbin Burnes has been one of the best pitchers in the league this season and has been a serious Cy Young candidate. He is also coming off his best game of the season, which is really saying something when he struck out 15 batters over eight scoreless innings. That puts him at a 36% K% for the season and a ridiculous 8.2:1 K:BB ratio. These are simply some of the best numbers you will ever see from a starting pitcher. He faces off against the Cardinals on Tuesday, which isn’t the best matchup, but he is just so far and away the best arm that he is easily the top option on the slate. Alek Manoah FD 9900 DK 8600 Opponent - WSH (Erick Fedde) Park - WSHFD - 35.79 DK - 19.69 Manoah is an interesting case this season. On the one hand, he isn’t as good as the 2.59 xFIP would suggest with the ERA sitting almost 1.5 runs higher at 3.91. But on the other hand, this is a guy who is striking out almost 11 batters per nine. The K% is only 26% so he doesn’t just miss bats, but has K upside for sure. I like the matchup against Washington who is working with a much weaker team after the trade deadline. Catcher/First Base Max Muncy FD 3600 DK 5400 Opponent - PIT (Wil Crowe) Park - PITFD - 15.77 DK - 11.62 Things might get a bit tricky today with wanting to pay up for Burnes at pitcher, but with some expensive bats in good spots as well. The Dodgers are one such team, facing off against the righty Will Crowe on this slate. Muncy is one of the best bats in the league, sporting a .964 OPS on the season, striking out only 18% of the time, taking a ton of walks, and racking up 26 home runs. From a cash game perspective, this is nearly the perfect profile, only lacking speed but that would just be gilding the lily. He is a better deal on FanDuel for sure where it might not be a total stretch to fit him in. Yuli Gurriel FD 3100 DK 5100 Opponent - KC (Daniel Lynch) Park - KCFD - 14.51 DK - 11.13...

DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Monday 8/16/21 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 Gerrit Cole FD - P 11400 DK - SP 10900 Opponent - LAA (José Suarez) Park - NYY FD - 42.61 DK - 23.81 Cole hasn't pitched in two weeks and his last start was a bit of a disaster(7 ER to @TB) but he is easily the best pitcher on this slate that lacks a whole lot of depth. There has been no announcement of a pitch count at the time of writing this so I am going to assume there won't be one which puts him easily at the top of the projections. Even with multiple hiccups along the way, Cole comes into his 22nd start of the season with a 3.11 ERA, 2.87 xFIP, and 34% K rate. He now gets a plus matchup against the Angels who have been producing runs 28% below league average over the past 14 days. Fire up Cole in all formats. Wade Miley FD - P 8800 DK - SP 8200 Opponent - CHC (Justin Steele) Park - CIN FD - 35.59 DK - 19.21 If you are not planning on paying up for Cole and Gausmna together tonight, Wade Miley is a solid SP2 option on DraftKings in the mid-tier. While the strikeout upside is limited(18.5% K rate), Miley has been terrific for the Reds in 2021 as he enters tonight's start with a 3.00 ERA and has only allowed more than three earned runs in a start four times. What stands out the most is the matchup vs. the depleted Cubs lineup that has a 79 wRC+ and 32% K rate since the trade deadline. Catcher/First Base Yuli Gurriel FD 3100 DK 5000 Opponent - KC (Carlos Hernández) Park - KC FD - 13.6 DK - 10.43 Gurriel is back after missing two weeks with a neck strain and while he hasn't recorded a hit in two games, he has walked twice and only struck out once. As a whole, the veteran is having a career year hitting .321 with a .386 OBP and a huge contributor in that #1 offense on Houston. The matchup is average as Carlos Hernandez has been good, not great(3.33 ERA/4.34 xFIP) since joining the rotation so I will have much more exposure to Gurriel on FanDuel with the lower pricing(relative to salary cap). Jesús Aguilar FD 3000 DK 3300 Opponent - ATL (Touki Toussaint) Park - ATL FD - 9.39 DK - 7.06...