DraftKings Daily Fantasy Baseball Picks (8/8/20) - MLB DFS Lineups

I'll be going through some of the best plays at each position on DraftKings with a GPP/tournament lineup build in mind. That's not to say that these players won't work in cash-game lineups, but we're looking to provide high-upside plays for the most part (it's more fun that way, anyway). As a reminder, it is best practice to stack 3-5 hitters from the same team for DFS purposes, so try to envision how the games will play out and build your lineups from there. Utilizing unique lineup combinations (i.e the nine, one, two, and three hitters) is another great way to differentiate.

DraftKings DFS Starting Pitchers

Clayton Kershaw - P, LAD vs SF ($10,500)

As the only true ace-type pitcher on the slate, the veteran Kershaw has to be strongly considered. He only has one start to his name this season but he was solid as he went 5 and 2/3 innings, allowing just three hits and striking out six in the win over the Diamondbacks. He was pulled after just 81 coming off the injured list, so the thought is that he'll have a longer leash on Saturday against the Giants. He registered an eye-popping 16.1% SwStr% in the game as his arsenal of pitches were on point. We know what Kershaw is at this point and facing off with a team that he has absolutely embarrassed in his career, the Giants, seems like a recipe for success.

Chris Paddack - P, SDP vs ARI ($7,900)

Paddack's pricing here doesn't make any sense. Though he hasn't racked up the strikeouts like he did last year (23.4% K% in 2020, 26.9% in 2019), he has picked up 22.5, 15.7, and 18.5 DK points in three starts this season. In fact, he went six innings and allowed four hits while striking out four in a win over these same DBacks in his first start of the season. Arizona ranks 23rd in the MLB with a .644 OPS against RHP, and they've hit a total of six homers against them. This game will be played at the pitcher-friendly Petco Park where Paddack held a 3.06 ERA and a 9.9 K/9 rate in 2019. What makes him even more appealing, though, is that Vegas agrees. The Padres are -160 favorites in a game with the lowest projected total at 7.5 runs. Paddack induces a lot of soft contact (22.9%) and shouldn't have trouble navigating this lineup at a cheap salary.

Other options: Anthony DeSclafani (CIN vs MIL) $8,400, Patrick Sandoval (LAA vs TEX) $6,900, Jake Odorizzi (MIN vs KC) $10,100

DraftKings DFS Infielders

Cavan Biggio - 2B/OF, TOR vs BOS ($4,700)

Biggio went yard last night (his third of the year) and his price stayed the same on DraftKings - you could do worse than getting to him in the favorable matchup against Zack Godley on Saturday. 16 of his 19 career homers have come off of RHP and Godley got blown up for five earned runs and two homers in his last start against the Yankees. He cruised through four innings with seven strikeouts against the Mets in his first appearance, but the long-term form for the pitcher is not rosy and it seems like a good bet to project Biggio and the Blue Jays to get to him tonight.

Matt Davidson - 1B/3B, CIN vs MIL ($2,400)

Davidson went 2-for-5 with a three-RBI homer off Eric Lauer in last night's win over the Brewers. He should bat in the five-slot again and against Brett Anderson, that's not the worst spot to be. He's made one decent start this season but was very hittable last year, rocking a 4.57 FIP, 7.7% SwStr%, 12.1% K%, 9.26 H/9, and a 40.2% hard-hit rate in 2019. Davidson didn't play in 2019 but seems to have a platoon role as a lefty-masher in Cincy - his OPS is .218 higher batting vs LHP since the start of 2018. He has the power and the lineup spot to far exceed his DraftKings price tag.

Xander Bogaerts - SS, BOS vs TOR ($4,000)

It's getting kinda ridiculous with Bogaerts' pricing as he now costs the same as J.P. Crawford and less than Elvis Andrus. This is despite Xander getting hot recently as he had a two-homer, 40-DK point game on 8/2 and has had two double-digit DK point games since then. Chase Anderson is starting for Toronto but will be on a pitch count, though Xander and the Red Sox probably hope he stays in for a while. He had a 4.19 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, 4.76 FIP, and 1.4 HR/9 in 2019 and is making his first start of the year after dealing with an oblique injury in camp. Expect Bogaerts to stay hot in this spot.

Other options: Eugenio Suarez (CIN vs MIL) $4,200, Travis Shaw (TOR vs BOS) $3,500, Max Muncy (LAD vs SF) $5,400

DraftKings DFS Outfielders

Nick Castellanos - OF, CIN vs MIL ($4,500)

Castellanos has been absolutely rolling and that doesn't seem very likely to stop tonight, which gives us value due to his unbelievably-low price tag. He has six games with at least 14 DK points in his last 10 games played, and he had over 20 DK points in four of those games. He's tied for the MLB lead with seven homers and leads everyone with 11 extra-base hits. He holds a .500 ISO and a .515 wOBA, both leading the league by decent margins. As for the matchup, well, check Matt Davidson's blurb above. Anderson is #notgood and the new star of the Reds should have an absolute field day on Saturday night.

Nelson Cruz - OF, MIN vs KC ($5,100)

The Twins have cooled off recently from an offensive standpoint and Danny Duffy has proven to be an above-average starting pitcher in his young career. This season he holds a 4.11 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, and a 25.4% K% over three starts. However, much like Jake Odorizzi on the other side of the matchup, Duffy is much more of a flyball-inducing pitcher as he holds a high 40% FB% to start the year. Enter Nelson Cruz, who has had success against Duffy in his career at .333/.391/.762 with three home runs and eight RBI over 21 at-bats. Cruz has "just" three homers in 2020 but he ranks top-5 with a .421 wOBA and he's still crushing the cover off the ball in his sixteenth season in the MLB.

Phillip Ervin - OF, CIN vs MIL ($3,200)

We're going to keep picking on Brett Anderson here as Ervin is just too cheap for being the leadoff hitter in a game where runs should be put up in bunches. Ervin has been absolutely brutal to begin the year, slashing .056/.227/.056 with a steal and three runs scored in 2020. He has just one hit. However, there is reason for optimism here because he has hit significantly better against LHP in his short career and his hard-hit rate stands at an above-average 40%. His .077 BABIP is definitely due for positive regression and at the very least, he should get on base and provide value at this bargain-bin pricing.

Other options: Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (TOR vs BOS) $4,200, Teoscar Hernandez (TOR vs BOS) $4,200, Jesse Winker (CIN vs MIL) $3,600