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Kyle Ringstad highlights the top FanDuel MLB DFS lineup picks for 8/21/21, and a couple of sleepers to consider while building daily rosters.
We're treated with a very manageable six-game slate over on FanDuel tonight, and there are a lot of ways you can go with how pitching and potential stacks line up. The highest-priced arm on the slate is Eduardo Rodriguez - nothing against E-Rod, but that tells you a lot of what you need to know about the way this slate sets up. There just aren't any dominant pitchers on this slate at all, meaning we'll have plenty of opportunities on the offensive side of things. Oh, and we also have two mediocre pitchers toeing the rubber in Coors Field. This should be fun.
I'll be providing you with my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for the FanDuel main slate on 8/21/2021. You can see our DraftKings and FanDuel DFS lineup pick for the early slate here as well.
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 check out today's DraftKings MLB DFS lineup picks, and read more DFS advice and lineup picks for other sports too. Let's get to it!
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FanDuel DFS Pitchers
Cash Game / GPP Anchor Play:
Wade Miley - CIN vs. MIA ($8,800)
I realize this isn't ideal, but Miley has been pitching well all season as he holds a low 2.84 ERA and limits hard contact with a top-five percentile Average Exit Velocity allowed. His 3.93 xERA, 18.7% K%, and low 89.7 MPH velocity on his fastball aren't quite as pretty, but he's getting the job done more often than not. His style can work for DFS when the matchup is right, and oh boy is it "right" tonight. The Marlins are literally the worst offense in baseball against LHP, sporting a dismal 28.3% K%, .234/.297/.376 slash line, .143 ISO, .293 wOBA, and 86 wRC+. Most of those metrics rank last or bottom-three in the league. Miley racked up seven punchouts and 52 FD points in his last start against the Cubs and he should post another high total against an ever weaker lineup tonight.
Alternate Play(s)
Eduardo Rodriguez - BOS vs. TEX ($9,800)
A little bit of sticker shock on this price point for E-Rod, who has never been a pitcher who should be approaching the $10k range in DFS. However, this slate is lacking pitching options, the Rangers represent arguably the best matchup on the board, and E-Rod has honestly been good enough recently to warrant the price jump. He holds a 1.10 ERA with 24 strikeouts over 16 and 1/3 innings pitched in August, and his 29.1% K%, 3.34 FIP, and 3.31 xFIP lead the slate. He has averaged eight strikeouts per start over his last four outings and has put up over 45 FD points in two of his last three. The Rangers are abysmal as a whole but especially against LHP, coming in second-to-last in OPS (.649), ISO (.132), and wRC+ (79) against southpaws this season. They're about middle-of-the-pack in strikeouts, but E-Rod's recent form should help mitigate that.
Others: Joe Musgrove (vs. PHI), Drew Smyly (vs. BAL)
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FanDuel DFS Infielders
Rafael Devers - 3B, BOS vs. TEX ($4,200)
I shouldn't need to go too deep into analysis to highlight why you should want Red Sox bats against Jordan Lyles. Lyles is holding a 5.55 ERA, 5.74 xERA, 5.84 FIP, 5.00 xFIP, and 4.89 SIERA - all of these are either the worst or second-worst marks on the slate. He's also allowing 2.23 HR/9 (worst on the slate), 44.7% Hard Hit % (worst on the slate), and a 10.2% Barrel %. Devers is highly likely to be able to take advantage as he holds a robust .959 OPS with 23 of his 29 homers against RHP this season.
Ryan McMahon - 2B/3B, COL vs. ARI ($3,800)
We're paying a premium for a guy who isn't worth the price on the surface, but the Coors Field effect is in play here and everybody is priced up. McMahon is one of the few Rockies with a good chance at hitting a bomb as he has put up a solid .217 ISO, 46.9% Hard Hit %, and 18 homers over 402 at-bats this season. Zac Gallen is a fine pitcher who can rack up strikeouts, but he holds a high ERA (5.03), walk rate (10.4%), and Hard Hit % (41.5%). Of course, C.J. Cron and Trevor Story also profile nicely in this matchup.
Mike Moustakas, 2B/3B, CIN vs. MIA ($2,300)
Moose has simply not been hitting well in his return from injury, hence the extremely low salary for a normally above-average hitter. He ripped three doubles in his first game back on 8/6, but he's hitting just .111/.238/.194 in August. This is the time to get it right, though, and he should be highly considered as a value play tonight. Thompson is a fine pitcher, but he can give up walks and his underlying metrics (3.90 xERA, 4.46 xFIP, 4.52 SIERA) suggest he's due for a little regression. The Reds have a 5.4-run implied total and Moose could easily contribute to that total at a dirt-cheap salary.
Others: Freddie Freeman (vs. BAL), Trey Mancini (vs. ATL), Ketel Marte (vs. COL)
FanDuel DFS Outfielders
Kyle Schwarber - OF, BOS vs. TEX ($3,700)
Schwarber makes sense for the same reason listed in the Dever write-up - Lyles is well below-average and prone to getting hit hard for power. Schwarber is happy to oblige as he crushes RHP to the tune of a .976 OPS, 23 homers, and an insane .390 ISO (.366 xISO). Get him in lineups as a one-off or as a big part of a Red Sox stack.
Alex Verdugo - OF, BOS vs. TEX ($3,000)
OK. Last Red Sox bat, I promise. Verdugo should be in consideration against Lyles as well because he is a righty-crushing specialist, swatting a .324 AVG, .927 OPS, .394 wOBA, and .202 ISO vs. RHP this season. He's hitting .347 with a .921 OPS in August and he should hit in a prime spot in the order on a team projected to score 6.3 runs tonight.
Tyler O'Neill - OF, STL vs. PIT ($3,200)
O'Neill is hitting the cover off the ball with a .963 OPS and four homers in August, to go along with some season-long metrics that are absolutely in the "elite" category. Just check out the Statcast chart below. Dillon Peters holds a 5.70 ERA and 1.62 WHIP over 25 starts at the MLB level and he's making just his second start of this season. O'Neill is swinging the bat too well to fade him at a still-reasonable price point.
Others: Jurickson Profar (vs. PHI), Harrison Bader (vs. PIT), Guillermo Heredia (vs. BAL), Joc Pederson (vs. BAL)
FanDuel DFS Stacks
- BOS vs. Lyles
- ATL vs. Harvey
- STL vs. Peters
- ARI/COL game stack
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