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It's another loaded Friday for fantasy baseball and we get a nice, big, fat 13-game main slate on both sites. There will be no shortage of options tonight for your lineups, but some picks will score better than others (no duh, Dan). And some chalk will bust, and some random guys will hit home runs or throw gems. It's what happens in baseball!
And while we can't predict it, we still are drawn back to it every day. It's like a never-ending Rubix cube and while I have never solved one (true story), I am determined to solve every MLB DFS slate with the same vigor. Watch out for the Baltimore-Pittsburgh game with the weather tonight, but otherwise, it looks pretty good for weather elsewhere.
As always, this article will provide my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for DraftKings and FanDuel. Friday's main slate locks at 7:05 EST on 8/5/2022. The lineup picks will range from some elite high-priced players to mid-priced options, and value plays. I'll give you a few of my top pitching options and then some infielders, outfielders, and teams to stack! You can also read more DFS advice and lineup picks for other sports here. It's also essential to monitor injury news and today's MLB starting lineups. Now that we got all of that out of the way, it's onto the picks!
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DraftKings, FanDuel Pitchers - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
If you like data, here are some projections for today's starting pitchers. Green is good for the pitcher, while red is bad!
(click to enlarge)
Dylan Cease vs. TEX ($10,400 DK, $10,900 FD)
It's pretty close between Cease and Valdez as the top arms on the slate, but we have to give Cease the nod here as he has the superior strikeout floor and ceiling. He's been as good as advertised all year long and should be able to do his thing yet again tonight against this Texas team. On a slate that lacks aces, I think it's wise to pay up for Cease as your SP1 on DK and there should be enough value to play him as your lone cash game pitcher on FanDuel, too.
Corey Kluber @ DET ($8,200 DK, $8,800 FD)
If you want to drop down to the mid-tier in pricing, then Kluber is probably your guy and he's likely my cash game SP2 on DraftKings. Kluber is in good form and facing a Detroit offense that continues to sputter, especially against RHP. Kluber found success against them earlier this June, striking out 8 Tigers over six frames and allowing only two runs. I expect a similar performance here tonight, though maybe not quite as many strikeouts. But you never know, the Tigers are very K-prone and lack much pop at the plate.
Eric Lauer vs. CIN ($8,000 DK, $9,700 FD)
Notice the big price difference here on DK compared to FD. You should get your exposure to Lauer on DK, obviously, at that discount. Lauer has been fairly average after his blazing start, but that doesn't mean he hasn't been usable either. He has an appealing match-up here for strikeouts as the Reds are striking out a ton lately against LHP, but it's also a bit risky, too, with his fly-ball tendency and a hitter friendly park. I like him as a pivot off Kluber for GPPs, pairing him with an ace like Cease or Valdez.
Also consider - Framber Valdez, Josiah Gray, Patrick Sandoval
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DraftKings, FanDuel Infielders - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
Brandon Lowe - 2B, TBR vs. Bryan Garcia ($4,600 DK, $3,000 FD)
Lowe's price on FanDuel continues to be stupid low, so I expect him to be chalky there. And his DK price went down from yesterday, despite his 3-5 day at the plate with another home run. Detroit's bullpen is stingy, but this Garcia dude is nothing special and had a big barrel rate in the minors. I don't like playing Tampa stacks often, but Lowe stands out as an easy play today as the best slugger on this team.
Anthony Rizzo - 1B, NYY vs. Dakota Hudson ($4,700 DK, $4,000 FD)
I am torn between Rizzo and Alonso for my favorite first basemen tonight, but I will take the discount on Rizzo here (and I already recommended Alonso in my betting article, so I don't want to be too redundant). Rizzo has some experience against Hudson from his time in Chicago, with one career homer and a .400 average. Hudson doesn't miss many bats and throws a sinker as his primary pitch. Rizzo is infamous for his huge launch angles and he could certainly get under one of those tonight for yet another dinger (he has four in his last five games).
Jose Iglesias - 2B/SS, COL vs. Madison Bumgarner ($3,800 DK, $2,700 FD)
Someone who could be flying under the radar tonight despite piling up an excellent month's worth of hitting recently is Iglesias. He will have the platoon advantage here against lefty Mad Bum and has been a hitting machine lately. You'd be hard-pressed to find another middle-infielder in this price range who has been as reliable as Jose at the dish.
DraftKings, FanDuel Outfielders - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
Brandon Marsh - OF, PHI vs. Josiah Gray ($3,000 DK, $2,400 FD)
Marsh had a hit in his Philly debut out the 9-hole last night. He's going to get all the opportunities that he can until Bryce Harper gets back. While I could say play Kyle Schwarber here against the HR-prone Gray (to be clear, you should do that), Marsh is going to provide a lot of value at this price tag if he makes some solid contact and drives a ball to the gap or out of the park. Heck, play Marsh and Schwarber together for a little 9-1 wraparound mini-stack, why not?
Mookie Betts - OF, LAD vs. Sean Manaea ($5,800 DK, $4,200 FD)
Mookie is simply raking against lefties this season and is now up to a .414 wOBA and .298 ISO against them in 116 plate appearances. He doesn't whiff much and walks often, something you want from your leadoff guy, but he also brings massive power to the plate, too, and because this LA lineup is so loaded he's often in a position to not only score runs but drive them in, too. Manaea is a decent pitcher, but he's far from unhittable and Mookie has solid career numbers off him, including two homers.
Taylor Ward - OF, LAA vs. Robbie Ray ($3,800 DK, $3,000 FD)
Let's get a little weird here, shall we? The Angels' anemic offense came to life yesterday (of course they did as I bet the under) and now they get a date with a struggling Robbie Ray. This is going to go one of two ways. Either Ray comes back and smashes against this team, or the Angels blast him and are a sneaky slate-winning stack, I don't forsee anything in between. Ward had a homer yesterday and now finds himself hitting in the middle of the lineup late in the year. He can handle the hard fastball/slider combo from Ray and perhaps he can snap back into his early season form when he was crushing everything.
DraftKings, FanDuel MLB DFS Stacks
Here are my top stacks for tonight (in the order in which I like them)
- Philadelphia Phillies (5.2 implied run total) vs. Josiah Gray (4.94 xFIP)
- Milwaukee Brewers (5.5 implied run total) vs. Robert Duggar (4.81 xFIP)
- L.A. Dodgers (4.8 implied run total) vs. Sean Manaea (4.59 xFIP)
The Dodgers are not listed here because you don't need to me tell you they are projected for over 7 runs and they're obviously in play tonight in Coors, right?
I hope I gave you a head start on your research today and I wish you the best of luck! If you ever have questions about DFS or fantasy baseball, my DMs are always open and I appreciate you taking the time to read my picks today.
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