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The top daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for DraftKings on Aug. 13th, 2019. Joel Bartilotta's MLB DFS analysis and sleepers for building optimal DFS rosters.
After a small eight-game slate on Monday, we’re back to a full 15-game slate here. That makes things really interesting, especially when you have games in Coors Field, Citizens Bank Park, Yankee Stadium and Miller Park!
In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for DraftKings on 8/13/19. The lineup picks will range from some of the elite players to mid-priced options and value plays. You can also read more DFS advice and lineup picks for sites like FanDuel, and other sports too.
If you have any questions or comments, contact me on Twitter @Bartilottajoel
Today's Weather
After a postponement in Chicago on Monday, it's going to be key to check in on weather here. What's scary is that we have even more weather question marks on this slate. The games/cities we need to key in on are Washington, Philly, Atlanta, Colorado, New York, Cleveland and Chicago. That's about half of the slate, so check all of this before submitting lineups!
DraftKings DFS Starting Pitchers
Clayton Kershaw, LAD at MIA ($11,800)
We’re going to go with one cash game pitcher and one GPP punt play. As you probably know, Kershaw is undoubtedly the best cash game pitcher on the board. We’re talking about a guy who has gone at least six innings in all 20 of his starts this season en route to a 2.77 ERA and 1,04 WHIP. That has allowed him to score at least 13 DK points in 19 of his 20 starts this season while scoring at least 20 fantasy points in 12 of those. That absurd floor is especially intriguing in a matchup like this, with the Marlins ranked bottom-three in runs scored, OBP, OPS, wOBA, xwOBA, SLG and xSLG. That’s why the Dodgers enter this game as a -280 favorite, with the Marlins projected for only 3.5 runs.
Yusei Kikuchi , SEA at DET ($5,300)
Ok, this is a little crazy but bear with me here. It’s not every day that you see a pitcher this cheap facing the Tigers and that alone makes Kikuchi an interesting punt play. The reason for that is because the Motor City Kitties rank 28th in K rate, 29th in xwOBA, and dead-last in wOBA. In addition, they also sit last in OBP and runs scored. That’s why pitchers have been going off against this team all season long and we’ll take a risk on Kikuchi doing just that. While the ERA and WHIP are ugly from Kikuchi, we’re still talking about a guy who dropped 21 DK points in his last game and has scored at least 12 DK points in 12 of his 24 starts this season. It sounds bizarre but 12 DK points would be awesome at this price and that appears to be the floor in this matchup.
DraftKings DFS Infielders
Omar Narvaez – C, SEA at DET ($3,700)
Narvaez has quietly had a breakout season for the Mariners and we definitely need to get some Seattle bats in there against Drew VerHagen. Let’s start with this fantastic matchup, with VerHagen pitching to an 8.03 ERA and 2.03 WHIP. Those are simply some of the worst numbers in the league and it puts all of the Mariners bats in play. Narvaez is one of the biggest pieces to this stack, as he’s got a .297 AVG, .491 SLG and a .851 OPS against right-handers this season.
Rhys Hoskins – 1B, PHI vs. CHC ($4,100)
Hoskins has seen his price drop recently and we have to love him in a matchup like this. The main reason why is because Hoskins has killed left-handers this season, to the tune of a .462 OBP, .596 SLG and 1.058 OPS. That’s big against Jose Quintana, who’s having one of the worst years of his career, no thanks to a 4.23 ERA and 1.30 WHIP.
Brian Dozier – 2B, WSH vs. CIN ($3,400)
Dozier is quietly having a resurgent season and these DFS sites need to start taking notice. While he is hitless in his last 14 at-bats, Dozier posted a .391 OBP, .525 SLG and .915 OPS in his previous 50 games. That’s the Minnesota Dozier that used to flirt with 40-20 seasons and he’s absolutely abused left-handers this season. In fact, Dozier has a .394 OBP, .543 SLG and .937 OPS with the platoon advantage in his favor this year.
Kris Bryant – 3B, CHC at PHI ($4,800)
Using Bryant is always a good idea, especially in a matchup like this. Let’s start with the opposing pitcher, as he’ll be facing Jason Vargas and his xFIP north of 5.00. The real treat here is that he gets to face a left-hander, with Bryant generating a .341 AVG, .456 OBP, .706 SLG and 1.162 OPS against southpaws this year. That’s really not far off of his 1.069 OPS against lefties dating back to 2017.
Elvis Andrus – SS, TEX at TOR ($4,300)
It’s easy to use Alex Bregman today against a lefty but we’re going to try to offer someone a bit cheaper. Andrus is just that, as his .300 BA against left-handers definitely puts him in play in the heart of this order. The matchup is probably the best part about this play though, with Thomas Pannone pitching to an unsightly 6.83 ERA and 1.41 WHIP this season.
DraftKings DFS Outfielders
Charlie Blackmon, COL vs. ARI ($5,600)
This price is absolutely absurd but I’d argue that it should be even higher. Facing a righty is already a nice bonus but getting to hit at Coors Field is simply stupendous. So far this season, Blackmon is hitting .418 at home while providing a .470 OBP, .835 SLG and 1.305 OPS. No, those aren't from MLB the Show, those are his real numbers. He comes into this matchup scorching too, collecting four doubles and three homers over his last eight games en route to a 1.124 OPS.
Joc Pederson, LAD at MIA ($4,300)
It’s hard to recommend a guy struggling this badly but there’s a lot to like about Pederson. Most importantly, he’ll be in his typical leadoff spot against a right-hander. That’s always been a huge bonus for Pederson, with the lefty outfielder generating a .530 SLG and .869 OPS against righties this season. Jordan Yamamoto is a pitcher we can exploit too, as his 4.17 ERA is climbing much closer to his 4.82 xFIP.
