August 17, 2016

Justin Klein highlights the top daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for 8/17/16. These are the top value and sleeper plays for your DraftKings MLB DFS lineups.

It's a full slate on DraftKings for Wednesday's contests, as all 15 games are eligible to be used. There are five afternoon games and ten evening games today, and they are all included in the all day contests.

In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy baseball MLB lineup picks for DraftKings on 8/15/16. The DFS lineup picks will range from high-priced to low-priced options and identify options who will out-perform their expectations, including sleepers and value plays on DraftKings. The following targets have been selected for all day contests on DraftKings.

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DFS Lineup Stacks to Target on DraftKings

Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Jonathan Niese (LHP)

The Diamondbacks should be in for a big day as they have the best OPS in all of baseball against left handed pitchers at .822 and Jonathan Niese happens to be a southpaw. It also bodes well for the Diamondbacks that Niese has been very bad this season as he's allowed a .299/.360/.522/.882 AVG/OBP/SLG/OPS. For Arizona everyone is in play and my favorite hitters are Paul Goldschmidt, Jean Segura and Tuffy Gosewich if he plays.

Cleveland Indians vs. Anthony Ranaudo (RHP)

The Indians have the fifth most runs scored (430), fifth most home runs (120) and the 5th highest OPS (.774) against right handed pitchers in all of major league baseball this season. Not only that, but the right handed pitcher that they're scheduled to face on Wednesday just so happens to be Anthony Ranaudo. In case you aren't aware Ranaudo isn't very good. Over his career he's allowed an ERA of 6.09 and a WHIP of 1.492 while posting a K:BB ratio of 31:36 across 65 innings pitched. Over those innings Ranaudo has allowed 61 hits and 44 earned runs including 15 HR. Basically everyone on the Indians is play on Wednesday with a slight emphasis on their right handed hitters and their SP. Wherever you have a hole in your lineup it's probably a good idea to plug in a member of the Tribe.

DFS Starting Pitchers to Consider on DraftKings

Yu Darvish, TEX vs OAK - $11,400

Yu Darvish is the most expensive starting pitcher on the Wednesday slate, but I believe that he's well worth paying up for because he's been red hot and this is a terrific match up. Darvish has been ridiculously good over the past four weeks as he's posted a 2.53 ERA, 0.938 WHIP and a 39:3 K:BB ratio across 5 starts and 32 innings pitched while allowing hitters a miniscule .223 AVG and .246 OBP. It also helps that the Athletics are the third worst team in the league when it comes to OBP and the sixth worst team in the league when it comes to runs scored and OPS against right handed pitchers this season. If you need any more convincing you should know that Yu Darvish turned 30 years old on Tuesday and baseball players always seem to play well on or around their birthdays.

Carlos Carrasco, CLE vs CHW - $8700

Carrasco faces off with Anthony Ranaudo on Wednesday at home in Cleveland, and as I detailed above in the lineups stacks to target portion of the article the Indians should be able to provide Carlos with plenty of run support. Not only should the Indians be one of the biggest favorites on the Wednesday slate, but Carrasco has been solid over the past few weeks and the White Sox have the 7th lowest OPS against right handed pitching in baseball. While the long ball has been Carlos' weakness this season it certainly helps that the White Sox are the twentieth ranked team in the league when it comes to HR against right handed pitchers. I wouldn't be surprised to see Carrasco give up a dinger or two and a few runs scored, but he should also be a great source of strikeouts and have a great chance at a win. If those things happen he should be a safe and solid investment.

DFS Infielders to Consider on DraftKings

Catcher (C)

Tuffy Gosewich, ARI vs NYM - $2800

This is a little bit of a wishful thinking on my part because he doesn't play very often, but if he is in the lineup on Wednesday Tuffy will be a great play and a superb value. As I mentioned above the Diamondbacks should be able to score runs in bunches off of Jonathan Niese whom Tuffy has faced off with four times and managed to notch two hits including a HR. This season against LHP Tuffy has impressed with a .462/.462/1.154 triple slash and 3 HR in 13 at bats. While it's a tiny sample size it also helps that Gosewich has been red hot as he's slugged .813 with 2 HR in the past week. At $2800 he's nice and cheap and would be a very strong value if he is indeed in the starting lineup.

First Base (1B)

Paul Goldschmidt, ARI vs NYM - $5,500

Goldy has been red hot over the past week or six games played as he triple slashed .381/.500/.619 with eight hits including three doubles, a triple and three SB. While his HR power has been down this season he's running more than ever and those are worth points too. Also of note is that Paul has been among the best hitters in baseball against LHP this season as he's triple slashed an amazing .341/.483/.582 against southpaws. To top it off Goldy has been much better at home in the HR department as he has twice the dongs at home despite having only 6 more plate appearances.

Second Base (2B)

Jean Segura, ARI vs NYM - $5,200

I wasn't kidding when I recommended a Diamondbacks stack and I absolutely love Segura today as a part of one. Jean has been hot all season, a little hotter over the past month and even hotter over the past week. In his last six game Segura had eight hits, five of which went for extra bases. He also had a .407 OBP and swiped three bags. While Jean has been good against both handed pitchers it's important to note that he's been at his best at home in AZ and that he's flashed much more power since the All Star break as he's slugged .519 or 77 points higher than he did before the break.

Shortstop (SS)

Orlando Arcia, MIL at CHC - $2,600

You may have noticed that I've spent a lot of money thus far and Arcia is the first non Tuffy recommendation that is also a value play. When you pay up for expensive arms and big bats you've got to save money somewhere and Arcia is a good place to look on Wednesday. This is because the young SS has managed three hits (including a triple) and three walks in the 11 plate appearances where he's faced LHP this season. More importantly he was one for one in SB against southpaws. This bodes well for his match up with LHP Jon Lester on Wednesday as he allows by far the biggest leads off of first base among all SP in baseball and the fifth most SB in the league this season. I expect that number to rise as the Brewers love taking advantage of Lester and his inability to throw over to first base.

Third Base (3B)

Evan Longoria, TB vs SD - $5,000

Longo has been solid this season as he's managed 8.5 FPPG at Draft Kings this season. On Wednesday he'll face off with LHP Christian Fredrich and the Padres and that is a good thing because Longoria is good against LHP and he's been blazing hot over the past week. In his past five games Longo has 8 hits including two doubles and a HR while he's posted an OPS of 1.160. I also like Longoria because he should be a fairly contrarian play despite the solid match up and helps to construct a unique GPP tournement lineup.

DFS Outfielders to Consider on DraftKings

Keon Broxton MIL at CHI - $3,200

Broxton is not just another attempt to attack Jon Lester on the base paths at Wrigley Field on Wednesday. While that's certainly part of it, it's important to note just how well that Keon has been playing of late. In his past nine games or seven games started Keon has notched 12 hits including three doubles and a HR while stealing six bases over 33 plate appearances. This makes Broxton a solid play and a great value on Wednesday as could easily swipe multiple bags against Lester and company.

Aaron Judge, NYY vs TOR - $3,100 

Judge has been a huge power force since his call up last weekend as he's already smacked five hits including a double and two HR across his 12 plate appearances. Aaron has even managed to strike out as many times as he's walked (twice). While JA Happ has been solid this season he's also been very lucky in the batted ball department and maybe Judge helps with the regression correction on Wednesday at Yankee Stadium. Happ will be the first lefty that the hulking Judge faces in the major leagues and it will be interesting to see how he fares. At just $3,100 Judge is a cheap power bat that is worth using in the hopes of another long ball.

Andrew Benintendi, BOS vs BAL - $2,500

Benintendi is dirt cheap at just $2,500 on Wednesday and because of it he is an interesting value play. Thus far in his short career Andrew has managed to slash a solid .345/.406/.448 with ten hits including three doubles and a SB across 32 plate appearances against RHP. While Chris Tillman has been very good this season he's struggled against lefties in the past and the strong Red Sox lineup around Benintendi should help his counting numbers. It might be more of a punt play than a value play, but if you need to save some money on Wednesday this is a decent spot for a coffin corner punt play that could also net some points.

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