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Greetings, RotoBallers, and thanks for checking out my MLB DFS picks for this fantastic Friday slate! I'm filling in for my good friend Juan Carlos Blanco who usually drops his FanDuel knowledge for us on Fridays and I will do my best to help you get those lineups started with some good plays.
With 14 games on the slate, there are plenty of options for our rosters. My biggest piece of advice on large slates is to trust your research and process. Don't be afraid to fade some chalky spots or cross off some games entirely if you're not interested in them. Even if you are playing 150 lineups, you can't get exposure to every pitcher with a favorable matchup or offense with a solid Vegas total. You have to pick your spots!
I'll be providing you with my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for the FanDuel main slate on 8/13/2021. Be sure to also 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.
FanDuel DFS Pitchers
Cash Game/GPP Anchor Play:
Charlie Morton @ WAS ($9,000)
Zack Wheeler and Robbie Ray are certainly fine plays tonight, but what if Morton can match their fantasy output for 2k less? Charlie has been one of the most consistent pitchers in the league for much of this season. He just continues to grind out six innings almost every time out for the Braves and has both a solid strikeout floor (5-8 strikeouts in 11 straight starts) and excellent run prevention.
I don't usually like using the same pitcher against the same team in back-to-back starts, but this is a great matchup for Charlie as the Nats offense was severely weakened at the deadline when they unloaded Gomes, Harrison, Turner, and Schwarber. Fire up Chuck (see what I did there?) with confidence today!
Potential Alternate Play
Cole Irvin @ TEX ($8,800)
Irvin is having a fantastic season for Oakland and has a key piece of their improved rotation this year. He will be facing Texas for the fourth time this year and he just beat them last week, firing seven strong innings with only two earned runs allowed with four strikeouts. He's not an overpowering pitcher, but he has excellent control and is able to induce weak contact and prevent big innings.
This might be an overreaction to yesterday's game, but a similar pitcher Marco Gonzales just threw a complete-game two-hitter against this Texas squad with nine strikeouts. I'm not saying we should expect that from Irvin, but it just goes to show that Texas is definitely a team we should continue to target with pitchers down the stretch as even average arms can dominate them.
Other guys that I really like: Tyler Mahle ($8,700) @ PHI, Shane McClanahan ($9,500) @ MIN
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FanDuel DFS Infielders
Aledmys Diaz - 2B vs. LAA ($2,800)
Diaz continues to rake for the Astros since returning to the lineup two weeks ago. He has three multi-hit games in his last four and usually moves up in the order against lefties. I respect Patrick Sandoval and the year he's having, but he's not good enough for me to avoid entirely, especially with a guy like Diaz who has made a career out of smashing lefties. His .366 wOBA and .219 ISO really stand to me at this price and he rarely strikes out (13%).
Patrick Wisdom – 3B vs. MIA ($2,900)
The Cubs traded away all their top hitters but Wisdom remains one of the bright spots in this lineup and is enjoying a career year with 18 homers this season. He's now hitting up in the two-hole for the Cubs and let's not write off this lineup today as they face a struggling Jesus Luzardo. Wisdom has power in his bat and has hit lefties hard this season (.351 wOBA, 43% hard contact). I love this spot for him and he's a nice value at this price.
Willy Adames – SS vs. PIT ($3,300)
Adames has really flourished in Milwaukee since coming over in a trade from Tampa earlier this year. As the everyday shortstop for the Brewers, he's now settled into the third spot in the lineup and has 20 homers this season. The Brewers' offense is rolling right now and just steamrolled the poor Cubs last series. I fear the same fate for my beloved Buccos tonight as they trot out the struggling young pitcher Mitch Keller. Adames is a great play in all formats and priced very fairly for a guy with his power and speed.
FanDuel DFS Outfielders
Bryce Harper - OF vs. CIN ($4,400)
I'm a Mahle truther, but he's always struggled with lefty power bats and Harper is the best left-handed power hitter in baseball (ducks and prepares for the Ohtani fan club hate mail). Seriously, though, Bryce has been doing it for years now and people forget just how awesome he is. He's hitting .296 with 21 homers and it's being viewed as a down year? He's hit five dingers over his last nine games and is an on-base machine who draws walks and can still steal a base, too.
Bryan Reynolds – OF vs. MIL ($3,300)
Do you know who has some Harper-like stats this season and most people don't know about him or don't care? Bryan Reynolds, that's who! He's the best switch-hitter in baseball (Jorge Polanco fan club hate emails incoming) and gets a matchup against one of the most hittable pitchers in baseball, Brett Anderson. Reynolds can rake against lefties and is always a threat to go deep or just pile up extra-base hits.
Anthony Santander – OF vs. BOS ($3,000)
From one elite switch-hitter toiling away in obscurity to another, let's talk bout Santander. Yesterday, Santander didn't hit a home run...but he had hit four of them over his last three games going into last night's game. He still got on base and then stole second, producing nine FanDuel points, and hasn't been shut out in the scoring column this month yet. He can smash hard-throwing righties and Pivetta is known to give up the long ball.
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