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Kevin Luchansky highlights the top FanDuel MLB DFS lineup picks for 8/8/18, and a couple of sleepers to consider while building daily rosters.
Good afternoon, my fellow Rotoballers. We've got a nine game Main slate to breakdown on this hot-as-hell Wednesday that features a pitching group without much flair, but with plenty of offenses to target.
As of early afternoon, there are five offenses with impressive (see also: attractive for stacking purposes) implied run totals and a few notable moneyline favorites, too. The offenses we'll want to get some exposure to are from the following: Cubs (5.5), Yankees (5.4), Indians (5.3), Red Sox (5.3) and the Brewers (5). The biggest moneyline favorites of the evening games are the Yankees (-263), Cubs (-219), Indians (-190) and the Brewers at -190, as well.
In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for FanDuel on 8/8/18. The lineup picks will range from some of the elite players to mid-priced options and value plays. You can also read more DFS lineup picks for DraftKings and other sports too. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to contact me up on Twitter @kpLuch.
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FanDuel DFS Pitchers
Clayton Kershaw - SP, vs OAK ($11,000)
Kershaw has really started to look like his old self over his past five starts, a run in which he's produced a 25% K rate, a 3.25 SIERA, and a 1.95 ERA. Looking at his batted ball data, those numbers also appear to show Kershaw rounding back into form. In his last three starts, his groundball rate is over 50% and his fly ball rate is under 20%. Oakland is a good offensive opponent, but this is a great environment for pitchers and I think Kershaw holds the advantage here from a few perspectives - especially as many of these hitters have so few at-bats against him. The Athletics have one of the lowest implied run totals of the night at 3.4 and the strikeout upside is solid as their hitters have struck out at a 23.5% clip against southpaws in the 2018 season.
Luis Severino - SP, at OAK ($9,400)
I realize Severino has been pretty atrocious over his last few starts, but for a few reasons, I have serious interest in rostering him in tournaments tonight. For one, the opponent and change of scenery (a park upgrade for pitchers compared to throwing at Yankee Stadium) could benefit him here, as does the high strikeout rate the White Sox lineup has against righties this season (26%). Severino's price is incredibly cheap (relative to where he's usually priced), the ownership could be low thanks to recency bias, and the White Sox have an implied run total of just 3.2 (with NYY the biggest moneyline favorites of the night at -263.
FanDuel DFS Infielders
Anthony Rizzo - 1B, at KCR ($4,200)
Anyone in for a little birthday narrative play? I'm kidding, as I would never suggest a play solely on a narrative, but it does happen to be Rizzo's birthday and he has been warming up his bat of late. His hard hit rate, batted ball distance and fly ball rate are all up over the past two weeks and he does draw a fantastic matchup. This season, he's posted strong splits against right-handed pitching as well, highlighted by a .393 wOBA and a .223 ISO.
Devon Travis - 2B, vs BOS ($2,400)
Travis is a player who has been absolutely smoking the ball and because of his improved play (and a depleted Toronto lineup) he finds himself in the two-hole often, which is extremely good value at this price point. He also happens to be very powerful against left-handed pitching, and Brian Johnson certainly isn't a lefty to fear. This season, Travis has posted a .357 wOBA and a .238 ISO against southpaws.
David Bote - 3B, at KCR ($2,600)
On a night like tonight where the "safer" pitching options are few and far between and happen to be expensive, we're going to want to target value-tier guys in offenses with high projected run totals - like David Bote, for instance. He draws a good matchup, the Cubs have the highest implied run total, and Bote has been pretty damn good against right-handed pitching at the major league level this season, posting a .378 wOBA split.
Francisco Lindor - SS, vs MIN ($4,700)
The Indians have one of the top projected offenses tonight as well, and who better to grab than their leadoff hitter whose posted fantastic splits from the left side of the plate this year? In 2018, he's posted a .387 wOBA and a .288 ISO split and in the past two weeks, he's been smashing the ball - 41% hard hit rate, 40% line drive rate and an average batted ball distance of 233 feet.
FanDuel DFS Outfielders
Christian Yelich - OF, vs SDP ($4,400)
Yelich grades out as my top outfielder this evening, and he conveniently fits with my rule of grabbing high-end and value plays from any of the offenses projected for 5+ runs tonight. He has a really strong .381 wOBA split against righties, good lineup order and context value, and has a 41% hard hit rate in his past 13 starts.
Michael Brantley - OF, vs MIN ($3,700)
I was pretty shocked to see Brantley under 4k considering the game context and the matchup, but don't mistake this for a complaint. On a night where we need exposure to elite offense that doesn't break the bank, Brantley is a god-send. He's been hitting the ball hard (39% hard hit rate, past two weeks) and really squaring it up, too (25% line drive rate). For the season, he has a strong .361 wOBA split, too.
