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The top daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for DraftKings on August 14th, 2019. Austyn Varney's MLB DFS analysis and sleepers for building optimal DFS rosters.
Welcome to Wednesday baseball on DraftKings. With the rest of the world fully engaged in preseason football, there is still plenty of money to be won with MLB DFS. It's a scattered day of games and both major sites have things a bit differently. On DraftKings, there main slate consists of nine games starting at 12:37 PM. There's another slate at 7:05.
At pitcher, Stephen Strasburg is the safest. The Reds aren't a very good hitting team and Strasburg has been one of the more consistent pitchers in all of baseball this season. As for hitting, there are four or five pitchers that you can stack against comfortably. Let's dive in and find a top play at each position!
In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for DraftKings on 8/14/19. The lineup picks will range from some of the elite players to mid-priced options and value plays. Be sure to also check out all the Vegas Odds for today's slate. 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, feel free to hit me up on Twitter @VarneyDFS.
DraftKings DFS Starting Pitchers
Stephen Strasburg - WAS vs. CIN - $10,600
For a guy that was once known as being one of the most inconsistent arms in baseball, things have completely flipped. I would consider Strasbourg reliable and elite at this point, with an xFIP of 3.28 and a K/9 of 10.69. He gives up just one home run per nine innings and has held both lefties and righties to a combined .273 wOBA. The Reds are one of the worst teams on tonight’s slate, ranking 23rd against righties with a .306 team wOBA and 25% strikeout rate. Strasbourg will have another great start and isn’t too expensive on DraftKings.
Homer Bailey - OAK @ SF - $6,800
Let’s get one thing out of the way. Homer Bailey is not a good pitcher and I would actually consider him in the bottom 10% of all players in baseball. He’s truly not good and living off of good luck. With all of that being said, he’s found a way to survive and now gets an extremely friendly match-up. Not only do the Giants rank 29th in baseball against right-handed pitching, but they play in the leagues worst hitting ballpark. Her Bailey is known to use that warning track as his friend and this ballpark will give him that luxury. He’s not fun to roster, but he’s cheap on DK and will let you pay up elsewhere.
DraftKings DFS Infielders
C - James McCann - CWS vs. HOU (Miley) - $3,500
Wade Miley is one of the luckiest pitchers in all of baseball. With an ERA of 2.99 and a xFIP of 4.41, things are going to start regressing for Miley very soon. He's living off of a .239 BABIP, which is the lowest number of his entire career. It's far from sustainable, and I'm fine with targeting righties against him until regressions sets in. The White Sox are better than advertised against lefties, and James McCann is a big reason why. His wOBA is up to .347 wOBA against southpaws and he's hit half of his home runs against them. Catcher is always a bit weak and McCann is affordable on DraftKings.
1B - Carlos Santana - CLE vs. BOS (Eovaldi) - $5,000
Nathan Eovaldi used to be a solid pitcher, but that time has come and gone. He hasn't been any good since 2016 and while the sample size hasn't been big this season, he's been absolutely terrible and hasn't shown any signs of promise. Against lefties, Eovaldi has allowed a .384 wOBA and 54% hard contact rate. He faces off with a tough Indians team tonight and Carlos Santana has been great vs righties. He's posted a .389 wOBA and is still getting unlucky with a .272 BABIP. Santana is a great play tonight and he won't be very popular with so many other options on the board.
2B - Jose Altuve - HOU @ CWS (Detwiler) - $5,200
The Astros are going to be one of the more popular options on the entire slate and rightfully so. Ross Detwiler is absolutely pitiful against righties and that doesn't work out very well against the Astros. They have held a .336 team wOBA against lefties and strikeout just 19% of the time. As for Altuve, he's been one of the best hitters in all of baseball against lefties with a .539 wOBA. He's hit just nine home runs and six doubles in just 72 at-bats. The Astros are on fire of late and the only thing standing between you and a stack is the insane pricing on DraftKings.
3B - Manny Machado - SD vs. TB (Beeks) - $4,000
Manny Machado has been a top three hitter in baseball vs left-handed pitching. In just 89 at-bats vs southpaws, Machado has belted 10 home runs behind a .475 wOBA and .382 ISO. He's having his best season of his career vs lefties and his peripherals line up perfectly. He's priced down on DraftKings and there's no way I can avoid him in cash games. Jalen Beeks is a decent young pitcher, but he's got a lot to learn, allowing a 4.73 xFIP to righties while walking over three batters per nine. The Padres are a dangerous team vs lefties and Machado is the biggest reason why.
SS - Josh Rojas - ARI @ COL (Freeland) - $3,600
Rojas is only $3,600 and playing in Coors Field. He's also facing off with Kyle Freeland, who's been one of the Rockies' worst pitchers in 2019. Roas has played two games so far and has already been on base four times. He's hit 20+ homers in AA and AAA this season and has looked like a good pure hitter (sub 20%K, 10% BB). Kyle Freeland on the other hand, is as bad as it gets. He's given up a .381 wOBA to righties in Coors Field this season and has rarely gotten out of the fifth innings. Rojas is too cheap and gives you solid exposure to an offense that's going to put up a bunch of runs.
DraftKings DFS Outfielders
George Springer - HOU @ CWS (Detwiler) - $5,100
We’ve already touched on Jose Altuve and the Astros, who feel almost cheap to right up. They’re in such a good spot that I wouldn’t be surprised to see double digit runs once again. Ross Detwiler struggles mightily with righties and that’s all this lineup is. Springer has boasted a .400+ wOBA vs lefties and has a ton more power vs them. If I’m paying up for one outfielder, it’s George Springer against a bottom-five pitcher in baseball.
Teoscar Hernandez - TOR vs. TEX (Allard) - $3,700
Teoscar Hernandez continues dominating and nobody seems to notice. Against lefties, he’s held a .337 wOBA and has hit six homers in under 100 at-bats. This Blue Jays lineup is better than ever and it’s forced Hernandez to come up with RBI opportunities. They face off with Kolby Allard tonight, who’s had trouble with righties (.352 wOBA). Hernandez is too cheap on DK and makes for a great play in both cash games and tournaments.
