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The top early-slate daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for DraftKings and FanDuel on August 5, 2023. Mike's MLB DFS analysis and sleepers for building optimal DFS rosters.
The slates are chopped up a little as per usual on Saturday, but at least we have six early games to keep us occupied. We'll concentrate on the six-gamer on DraftKings for now. FanDuel took it a step further and left the first three games standing in the very early tournament. The other three games are the early slate. Confused yet? Thanks a lot, guys.
This article contains my picks for the early slate on August 5, 2023, for DraftKings and FanDuel slates, which lock at 1:05 PM ET. Weather shouldn't be a concern today, so all games look good to go!
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.
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DraftKings, FanDuel Pitchers - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
Justin Verlander, HOU at NYY ($9,400 DK, $10,200 FD very early)
Verlander's former team did him a solid and rescued him from the abyss that is the New York Mets. His first start with Houston is back in the Big Apple, where Verlander has dominated the Yankees not once, but twice so far this season. The Yankees have only mustered one run on Verlander in 12 innings this season while striking out 12 times. Verlander doesn't rack up the strikeouts like he used to, but he hasn't been getting knocked around either. Verlander hasn't allowed more than three runs in a start since June 20. He shouldn't against the Yankees today either.
Aaron Civale, TB at DET ($8,500 DK, $9,900 FD very early)
We have another familiar face in a new place here, though Civale is no stranger to Comerica Park. He is 4-0 with a 3.38 ERA there in five career starts. Like Verlander, Civale isn't going to give you a ton of strikeouts, but he is very safe. He hasn't given up more than four runs in a start this year and has only allowed more than two twice in his 13 trips to the mound this season. The ceiling may not be super high, but the floor sure is.
Others to consider: Tarik Skubal ($7,700 DK, $8,200 FD very early) vs. TB
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DraftKings, FanDuel Infielders - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
Matt Olson - 1B, ATL at CHC ($6,200 DK, $4,500 FD early)
Olson has four homers in the last five games and three multi-hit games in the last week. Javier Assad has had success as a long reliever for the Cubs this year, but this Braves offense is an entirely different animal. I'll ride the hot hand with Olson here. We can find some values to help us afford pitchers at other positions. Olson feels like a priority here.
Jeimer Candelario - 1B/3B, CHC vs. ATL ($4,300 DK, $3,200 FD early)
Max Fried finally kept Candelario off the bases as a Cub, but the chances of that happening again aren't great. Candelario is hitting .424 with a homer, a steal, four RBI, six walks, and 10 runs scored in the last 10 games with the Nats and Cubs. His hot streak has spanned teams and this is when Wrigley starts becoming an offensive park. He feels cheap compared to other options on this slate and is out-hitting nearly all of them right now.
Josh Smith - SS/OF, TEX vs. MIA ($2,300 DK, $2,400 FD early)
The struggles of Ezequiel Duran have led to Smith starting four of the last six games despite the return of Corey Seager. It looks like Texas would like to keep Seager at DH as much as possible, so Smith should still see semi-regular playing time. Smith is hitting .400 with a homer, two RBI, and two runs scored in those four games. If he cracks the starting lineup again, I'm locking him in at this price.
DraftKings, FanDuel Outfielders - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
Chas McCormick - OF, HOU at NYY ($4,300 DK, $3,400 FD very early)
McCormick is hitting .306 with two doubles, a triple, three homers, six walks, 12 RBI, and eight runs in the last 10 games. He even stole a base! McCormick is smacking lefties this year, hitting .343 with a 1.053 OPS in 78 at-bats. He has turned in five homers and 13 RBI in that small-ish sample. Nestor Cortes hasn't pitched since the end of May and his 2022 magic was nowhere to be found early this season. McCormick is my favorite play on the slate when you factor in price.
Jarren Duran - OF, BOS vs. TOR ($4,100 DK, $3,300 FD early)
Duran has homered in back-to-back games and has a seven-game hitting streak going. Five of those eight hits have gone for extra bases, and he has even stolen a couple of bases in that span. Duran is particularly fond of Jose Berrios. He is 4-for-8 against Berrios with a double and a pair of homers so far in his career. He is one of my favorite plays on the entire slate.
Jesus Sanchez - OF, MIA at TEX ($2,800 DK, $2,700 FD early)
Sanchez is starting almost exclusively against righties at this point, but he gets a good one here. Jon Gray has allowed four runs or more in four of his last five and five of his last seven starts. Sanchez is 5-for-12 with a pair of doubles and a pair of RBI so far in August. I'll run him against a struggling Gray at this price so I can afford some pitching.
DraftKings, FanDuel MLB DFS Stacks
Cincinnati Reds vs. Trevor Williams
The surface numbers on Williams are bad enough, but the advanced metrics are even worse. Williams is allowing a career-worst 38.2% sweet spot and 39.3% hard-hit percentage. His 5.20 expected ERA is a good half-run higher than his actual mark. The strikeout percentage is the lowest of his career and he has to face off against a team that has 70 homers in 54 home games in the most hitter-friendly park east of Denver. Ouch.
Also consider: Houston Astros vs. Nestor Cortes
The Astros have smashed lefties all season. Their left-handed power (Yordan Álvarez and Kyle Tucker) hits lefties almost as well as righties. Jose Altuve and Alex Bregman have always hit lefties well. I mentioned McCormick as my favorite play earlier, so he is a definite. A Houston stack is expensive, but if you can stomach using Nick Pivetta against an always-dangerous Toronto lineup, it could pay off handsomely.
Sneaky stack: Boston Red Sox vs. Jose Berrios
Berrios has only allowed six runs over his last five starts combined, but Boston has smacked him twice this year. They have touched up Jose for nine runs, including five homers, in just 11 1/3 innings over two starts. I may not full-stack this, but I will have a Red Sox mini-stack of Duran, Rafael Devers, and Triston Casas against Berrios today.
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