RADIO
Euan Leith highlights the top FanDuel MLB DFS lineup picks for 8/10/20, and a couple of sleepers to consider while building daily rosters.
We kick start a new week with nine games on the main slate for FanDuel. That leaves us with a very high-salary pitcher (Patrick Corbin $10,800) and some middle-tier arms. It's always nice to have more high-upside options, but we can still grab Dustin May or Kyle Gibson to anchor our teams. I could go either way with the pitching, but there are also some hot-hitting bats to build around.
If I told you that there was a game today that involved a pitcher with a 9.45 ERA and a 1.97 WHIP playing in Coors Field, would you be interested in stacking against that player? Well, say hello to Robbie Ray. A lot of the time, I build lineups around a stud pitcher and fill in the gaps, but today I'll be building around a bad one. I want as many Colorado Rockies in my lineup as possible.
In this article, I'll be providing you with my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for the FanDuel main slate on 8/10/2020. Be sure to check out all the MLB player news including late scratches, and the projected and confirmed daily MLB lineups for each DFS slate. You can also read more DFS advice and lineup picks for sites like DraftKings, and other sports too.
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FanDuel DFS Pitchers
Patrick Corbin - WAS @ NYM ($10,800)
Corbin will be making his third start of the season on Monday and his second consecutive start versus the Mets. Last time out, Corbin took the win after pitching 5 2/3 innings and allowing three earned runs with one home run to Michael Conforto. The left-handed hurler struck out eight Mets in that one, and I expect him to do more of the same today. The Mets are striking out 23.6 percent of the time, and Corbin is in the 84th percentile for strikeout rate this season. The Nationals only healthy star-pitcher costs $2,100 more than any other pitcher on the slate, but his high upside makes it worth paying for on Monday in a contest void of aces.
Dustin May - SD @LAD ($7,500)
The slate may be low on proven aces, but early signs are that Dustin May is on his way to becoming one. The Dodgers kept the reigns on their top-pitching prospect in his first couple of starts and finally let him loose last time out. Coincidentally, it was against these same San Diego Padres he battles on Monday. May threw six innings of two-run baseball and allowed only two hits and one walk while striking out eight. It produced a 46-point performance for his FanDuel managers, and I think we will all take another outing like that today.
FanDuel DFS Infielders
Matt Olson - 1B, OAK @ LAA ($3,500)
Matt Olson kicked it into high gear last week. After hitting a home run on Opening Day, the left-handed hitter went on a 10-game stretch with a .403 OPS. That ended on Wednesday against the Rangers. In his last five games (two vs. TEX, three vs. HOU), Olson has cranked four home runs and seven RBI in the Coliseum. Olson is hitting fewer groundballs than ever this season, and yet his BABIP sits at a career-low.
The Angels have Julio Teheran on the mound tomorrow, and that only increases my love for Olson on Monday. Teheran allows 1.36 HR/9 to left-handed bats and stikes them out less than 18 percent of the time. I like Olson's hot bat to add to his home run total on Monday's slate.
Ryan McMahon - 2B, COL vs. ARI ($3,400)
"A lefty on lefty matchup with so many other options?!" I hear you cry. Those traditional thoughts do not apply to one Ryan McMahon. He has those funky reverse splits versus left-handed pitching and could be a contrarian play in today's contests. For his career, McMahon owns a .829 OPS versus left-handed pitchers, but a .717 OPS versus righties.
This season, McMahon has 16 plate appearances versus lefties and is slugging .643. A date with Robbie Ray will hopefully bring McMahon his second home run of the campaign. It would be great to see him bat higher in the lineup, but I think this game is going to produce some fireworks, and both teams should cycle through the order more than usual.
Marwin Gonzalez - 3B, MIN @ MIL ($2,600)
Josh Donaldson finally hit the 10-day IL on Friday. Marwin Gonzalez started at third base over the weekend, where he recorded two multi-hit games and a home run. The utility man is slashing .318/.400/.455 through 50 plate appearances and is averaging a line drive on a career-high 35.7 percent of his batted balls and a groundball on career-low 34.4 percent. Those are both significant indicators of things to come as Gonazalez, and the Twins face Milwaukee's Adrian Houser on Monday. Houser has been hot to start 2020 but has a 100% strand rate, and a .192 BABIP tells me that something has got to give.
Trevor Story - SS, COL vs. ARI ($4,200)
Trevor Story seems to improve every year he is in baseball, and 2020 is no exception. He is one of the higher-priced bats today, but he is the batter I have the most confidence in on Monday. In this shortened season, the shortstop has increased his walk rate, decreased his strikeout rate, and is in the top four percent of the league in xSLG (.647) and xwOBA (.424). The All-Star seems on the verge of a massive game and gets to face lefty Robbie Ray to kick off the week. Story hits southpaws to the tune of a .326/.387/.638 slash line since 2018, and those numbers should only be boosted after Monday's performance.
FanDuel DFS Outfielders
Joey Gallo - OF, TEX vs. SEA ($4,000)
If Trevor Story is the batter that I have the most confidence in to have a massive performance on Monday, then Joey Gallo is the one I trust the most to hit a home run. The matchup seems perfect—a left-handed slugger taking on Seattle's Justin Dunn. Gallo has already blasted four home runs with 10 RBI this season and was continuing his 2019 batting average trend by hitting .256 before an 0-for-4 performance yesterday.
Seattle's pitcher, Justin Dunn, has given up three home runs, five earned runs, and seven walks in seven innings this year. He owns a 6.43 ERA and a 1.571 WHIP. If Gallo gets the right pitch, he will take the young pitcher deep and reward his fantasy managers with a boatload of points.
Matt Kemp - OF, COL vs. ARI ($3,300)
It was challenging to resist posting the entire Rockies lineup versus Robbie Ray as recommendations, but I will settle for three players. Matt Kemp should get the starting nod as he has crushed southpaws throughout his career with a .911 OPS and .224 ISO. Robbie Ray opens the series for Arizona, and Kemp has had success against him in the past. He is 7-for-18 in his career with two home runs, five RBI, and a 1.202 OPS. Kemp has batted fifth in four of his six games against a lefty this season, and that position in the lineup versus Robbie Ray will give him a few RBI opportunities in a high-scoring game.
Kyle Tucker - OF, HOU vs. SF ($3,000)
Everyone remembers the scene in The Office where Dwight stages the fire drill, and Michael Scott yells, "Oh My God! Okay, it's happening! Everybody stay calm." That scene perfectly describes my emotions when I saw Kyle Tucker leading off the Astros lineup on Saturday after George Springer was declared out with a wrist injury.
If Springer is still on the bench for Monday's contest, I will be playing Tucker against San Francisco starter Logan Webb. Webb owns a 5.01 ERA on the road since 2018, and although he has started the 2020 season well (2.13 ERA), it seems like it's all waiting to collapse. Webb's expected ERA sits at 7.34, and he gives up a 42.1 percent Hard Hit Rate with a 7.9 percent barrel rate. Those are both worse than league average, and against a still-powerful Astros lineup (5.29 runs/game), Webb should get knocked around on Monday, and Tucker can be the one to benefit.
