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Juan Carlos Blanco highlights the top FanDuel MLB DFS lineup picks for 8/27/21, and a couple of sleepers to consider while building daily rosters.
We have a full Friday night slate on tap, as the complete absence of day games gives us the entire MLB player pool to work with.
Reliable pitching is in fairly good supply, and interestingly, there are a number of hitters who find themselves in particularly attractive matchups on the road.
I'll be providing you with my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for the FanDuel main slate on 8/27/2021. 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:
Gerrit Cole – at OAK ($11,200)
Cole is clearly the pitcher with the highest pedigree on Friday's slate, even as he has looked human quite a bit as the season has gone on. Nevertheless, the Cy Young candidate has over 45 FD points in each of his last two starts and has tallies of 58 and 73 FD points over his last six starts as well. Cole has been more effective at home but still carries a 6-4 record and 11.8 K/9 on the road. The A's have been fairly solid against visiting right-handers over the second half of the season, but current Oakland bats only have a collective .144/.187/.273 slash line over 117 career encounters versus Cole.
Potential Alternate Play
Joe Musgrove – at LAA ($9,200)
Musgrove racked up 46 FD points in his most recent start against the Phillies, and he's allowed two earned runs or less in five of his last six trips to the mound overall. The veteran right-hander did get blasted by the D-Backs two starts ago for six earned runs on 10 hits, but that's essentially an outlier in a season where Musgrove has a solid 3.04 ERA and 1.02 WHIP. The Angels have been very poor against right-handers at home of late as well, posting a 24.9 percent strikeout rate, .220 average, .296 OBP and .279 wOBA in that split during August.
ALSO CONSIDER: Shane McClanahan ($10,500)
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FanDuel DFS Infielders
Paul Goldschmidt- 1B, at PIT ($4,000)
Goldschmidt's extended tear at the plate includes a .322 average, .933 OPS and .391 wOBA over the second half of the season. The veteran slugger just belted a pair of homers two games ago and owns an impressive .341 wOBA on the road overall, including a .336 figure against lefties when traveling. Friday, he gets a crack at Pirates southpaw Dillon Peters, who's been very good over his first two starts of the season, but who's also pitched to a .288 BAA and .372 wOBA versus right-handed hitters during his career while allowing a 2.0 HR/9 to that handedness as well.
Ty France – 2B, vs. KC ($3,400)
France is another player who's been wielding an especially hot bat of late, as he boasts a .342 average, .946 OPS, .403 wOBA and 11.9 wRAA during the second half. France also has a .303 average and .366 wOBA in his home field of T-Mobile Park, and he's blasted southpaws for a .329 average, .388 wOBA and .200 ISO there. Royals lefty Kris Bubic makes for an interesting target Friday, considering he's given up 12 homers and a .372 wOBA to right-handed hitters on the road, as well as a 6.38 ERA and .394 wOBA over 18.1 August frames.
Jonathan India – 3B, at MIA ($3,600)
India's spectacular rookie season includes a .275 average, .852 OPS, 41 extra-base hits and 59 RBI across 118 games. The 24-year-old has been more successful versus left-handers overall, but he owns a solid .264 average, .878 OPS, .382 wOBA and .223 ISO against right-handed pitching on the road. Marlins starter Zach Thompson has been very effective at home, but the combination of his mediocre 20.3 percent strikeout rate, atypically low .178 BABIP, elevated 4.26 xFIP and poor 63.5 percent LOB rate against righties there hints at some good fortune. Then, consider the Marlins bullpen has been one of baseball's worst throughout August, posting a 5.62 ERA, .288 BAA and .353 wOBA during the month.
Xander Bogaerts – SS, at CLE ($4,100)
Bogaerts is always worthy of a look in a matchup against a southpaw, especially one as targetable as the Indians' Logan Allen. Allen has pitched to a .271 BAA and massive .424 wOBA when facing right-handers at home, with nine of the 16 hits he's given up in that 70-batter sample going for extra bases. Meanwhile, Bogaerts has an .887 OPS and .380 wOBA versus lefties overall, and a very modest 17.0 percent strikeout rate and outstanding .375 OBP against that handedness on the road.
ALSO CONSIDER: Kike Hernandez ($3,600)
FanDuel DFS Outfielders
Nelson Cruz- at BAL ($3,800)
Cruz has been excellent against left-handers this season as usual, but his work against righties on the road isn't too shabby, either. The veteran slugger boasts a .279 average, .952 OPS and .391 wOBA in that split, complementing those impressive figures with a 152 wRC+ and 34.3 percent HR/FB rate. Orioles starter Matt Harvey has started to falter some in his last couple of starts (8.10 ERA, 3.6 HR/9) and has allowed a .344 average, .417 wOBA, 25.0 percent HR/FB rate and 38.8 hard-contact rate to right-handed hitters at home on the season.
Teoscar Hernandez– at DET ($3,800)
Hernandez has been running very cold at the plate over his last seven games, hitting just .107 with 11 strikeouts over that span. On a large slate like Friday's, that may make him a bit less rostered than usual, teeing him up as an excellent tournament play in particular against Tigers starter Matt Manning. The young righty has surrendered a .317 average, .355 wOBA and 4.90 xFIP to right-handed hitters, and he's carrying a bloated 6.75 ERA, .359 BAA and .392 wOBA over 14.2 August innings. Hernandez has curiously been at his best on the road, where he's blasted right-handed pitching for a .356 wOBA and .220 ISO, along with an excellent 27.8 percent line-drive rate, 24.3 percent HR/FB rate and 45.2 percent hard-contact rate.
Amed Rosario – vs. BOS ($3,300)
Rosario has been hard on visiting southpaws all season, punishing lefties for a .305 average, .816 OPS and .352 wOBA at Progressive Field. Rosario is also in the midst of his best stretch of the season at the plate, as he sports a .372 average, .966 OPS and .407 wOBA across 102 plate appearances in August, complementing those numbers with a tiny 15.7 percent strikeout rate. Meanwhile, Red Sox starter Eduardo Rodriguez has had an uneven season that's seen him yield a .288 average, .336 wOBA and elevated 24.5 percent line-drive rate in opposite-handed matchups on the road.
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