DraftKings Daily Fantasy Baseball Picks (8/12/20) - MLB DFS Lineups

I'll be going through some of the best plays at each position on DraftKings with a GPP/tournament lineup build in mind. That's not to say that these players won't work in cash-game lineups, but we're looking to provide high-upside plays for the most part (it's more fun that way, anyway). As a reminder, it is best practice to stack 3-5 hitters from the same team for DFS purposes, so try to envision how the games will play out and build your lineups from there. Utilizing unique lineup combinations (i.e the nine, one, two, and three hitters) is another great way to differentiate.

DraftKings DFS Starting Pitchers

Zack Greinke - P, HOU vs SF ($10,300)

He's the only ace on this slate, but he hasn't quite pitched like it so far in 2020. Greinke is 0-0 despite making three starts, and he holds a surprisingly-low 18.6% K% and 10.2% SwStr%. His ERA sits at 3.00 but his xFIP is at 4.46, while he is giving up more hard contact than usual at 36.4%. His fastball velocity has dropped by about three full mph compared against 2019. However, he's still Zack Greinke and this is still the San Francisco Giants we're talking about here. They have the 12th-most strikeouts and the 11th-worst OPS against RHP. Their .308 wOBA ranks as the 10th-worst in the league. So while they haven't been a bottom-feeding team offensively, their not mashing the ball and can be taken advantage of against RHP. Greinke went six scoreless innings with five strikeouts against Oakland in his last start and I'd expect an even better performance on Wednesday night.

Kenta Maeda - P, MIN vs MIL ($9,100)

Excluding Zach Eflin (4 IP), Masahiro Tanaka (7 and 2/3 IP), and Blake Snell (8 IP), Maeda leads the Wednesday slate in a number of categories including WHIP (0.65), xFIP (3.41), SIERA (3.41), SwStr% (14.2%), K% (25.8%), H/9 (4.2), GB% (48.8%), AVG (.140), Soft% (20.9%), and Hard% (27.9%). Maeda has hovered around a 25%-28% K% his whole career and he's off to an impressive start in 2020, specifically with the whiff rate on his changeup (35.7%) and slider (26.7%). The Brew Crew hit four homers last night in what was a bullpen game for Minnesota, but Maeda shouldn't have trouble navigating them as they currently sport the fifth-worst OPS (.645) against RHP and have the fourth-lowest ISO (.133) and seventh-worst wOBA (.293) in the league. They also strike out at the ninth-highest rate in the league vs RHP. Maeda is also at a high enough price point where ownership shouldn't be too heavy on him, and the Twins are favorites in the slate's lowest projected total game (8.5 runs). Odds are that they'll get to Eric Lauer early and often, which gives Maeda great win-equity as well. Load up on Kenta in this spot with trustworthy options at a premium on this slate.

Other options: Zach Eflin (PHI vs BAL) $6,400, Jordan Lyles (TEX vs SEA) $7,300, Tony Gonsolin (LAD vs SD) $8,300

DraftKings DFS Infielders

Jeff McNeil - 3B/OF, NYM vs WAs (4,600)

Getting to some Mets against Anibal Sanchez looks like a prudent move on Wednesday. Sanchez, through two starts, holds a 7.84 ERA, 13.9 H/9, 3.5 HR/9, 27.8% LD%, .340 batting average against, and a 44.4% Hard%. He has been solid the last few years and we're working with small sample sizes, but we want to attack Sanchez with the way he has pitched up to this point (ZiPS projects him for a 5.28 ERA and 1.99 HR/9 in 2020). McNeil is off to a nice start as he's slashing .321/.387/.396 with a .347 wOBA, but he's still looking for his first bomb and his ISO is at just .075. He hit 23 homers last year and crushed RHP's to the tune of a .564 SLG and .951 OPS in 2019, so we know the power is there. He just isn't barreling balls up yet (3.4% barrels/PA), but thankfully Sanchez currently ranks in the bottom-18th percentile in barrel %.

Miguel Sano - 1B, MIN vs MIL ($4,700)

Load up on the Twins bats against Eric Lauer. He has made one start this year and it was disastrous as he allowed six earned and struck out just two Reds over five innings in a loss. He has had two full seasons of starts with the San Diego Padres and didn't show a ton, compiling ERA's of 4.34 and 4.45 while hovering around a 20% K% and 1.2 HR/9. The Twins can throw a bunch of powerful RHB's against him, and that includes Sano (hopefully in the middle of the order). Sano holds a .229 ISO and 54.5% hard-hit rate, though he's hitting for a poor .125 average and owns an egregious 49% K%. There are certainly worse spots to target a homer and Sano should be strongly considered in any Twins stacks.

Brandon Lowe - 2B/OF, TB vs BOS ($4,400)

At first blush, this seems like too high of a price to pay for Brandon Lowe. However, he has put up an impressive 8.4 FPPG so far and gets the platoon-advantage against gas-can Zack Godley on Wednesday. He's coming into this game on a nice roll, racking up two doubles and a home run in his last three contests. He has a a superb .310 ISO, .402 wOBA, and 46.3% hard-hit rate in the early going. Additionally, Lowe clearly prefers hitting righty's as he had an .889 OPS against RHP in 2019. There are other, cheaper Rays options to use against Godley, but Lowe is well-worth the price and actually comes in at eighth in terms of DK second baseman salary.

Other options: Gleyber Torres (NYY vs ATL) $3,900, Yoshitomo Tsutsugo (TB vs BOS) $2,900, Marwin Gonzalez (MIN vs MIL) $3,600

DraftKings DFS Outfielders

Bryce Harper - OF, PHI vs BAL ($5,300)

Wade LeBlanc is another pitcher that's worth targeting on Wednesday. He has a 6.91 ERA, 6.17 FIP, and a really low 13.1% K%. Harper has hit homers in two straight games and has mashed four in his last 10 games, showing off that delicious power we know he possesses. Harper is slashing .324/.479/.676 with a .491 wOBA and 57.1% hard-hit rate. He also crushes LHP, hitting for a 1.588 OPS over 17 PA's so far in 2020. His OPS was actually .100 higher against LHP in 2019 as he is a rare reverse-splits hitter. He'll be hitting third in what is, statistically, one of the best offenses in baseball, against Wade LeBlanc. With the highest projected total on the slate. You shouldn't need much more convincing here.

Michael Conforto - OF, NYM vs WAS ($3,800)

See McNeil, Jeff above. Sanchez is off to a rough start and the Mets should be able to pounce on him. Conforto is a righty-masher as he hit for a .926 OPS with 27 of his 33 homers against RHP in 2019. He's off to a great start this year, slashing .308/.400/.492 with three homers, nine RBI, and a .403 wOBA. He generally hits cleanup against RHP, which seems likely to add value if the Mets are going to get to Anibal. Conforto is an amazing value at this price on DraftKings.

Nelson Cruz - OF, MIN vs MIL ($5,400)

Cruz absolutely demolishes LHP and he'll get Eric Lauer on Wednesday, a pitcher who has not only struggled (see Sano, Miguel above) but who also holds a slate-high 66.7% FB% (and slate-low 8.3% GB%). Cruz hit .322/.424/.783 against LHP in 2019 and has a .606 SLG against fastballs this season. Lauer throws his four-seamer 50% of the time and the pitch has a .417 xSLG and a low 18.2% Whiff% in 2020. Expect Cruz and the Twins to put a big number up on the board against him on Wednesday.

Other options: Kevin Kiermaier (TB vs BOS) $2,800, Joey Gallo (TEX vs SEA) $4,700, Cody Bellinger (LAD vs SD) $4,900