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The top daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for DraftKings on 8/17/20. Nicklaus Gaut's MLB DFS analysis and sleepers for building optimal DFS rosters.
It's another week down and we're looking to start the next one out on the good foot. It's an 11-game Main Slate on DraftKings tonight, filled to the brim with shaky pitching. A slate in which Matt Boyd and Chris Bassitt exist in the top-tier of pricing options. Sacré bleu!
Players should have plenty of cash to spend on their offense and consequentially batters feel really expensive today, with 23 players being priced over $5,000. So we'll look at some of the pricey options today but also put a focus on more of the value bats today. While your opponents blow out the wallet on the crème de la crème, you'll be able to fill your stacks out with lesser-owned options who could return similar production, given their particular circumstances.
In this article, I'll be providing you with my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for the DraftKings main slate on 8/17/2020. 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 as well.
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DraftKings DFS Starting Pitchers
Ross Stripling - P, LAD vs. SEA ($7,900)
With the most expensive options consisting of Hyun-Jin Ryu and Chris Bassitt, the pitching options are...light today. Stripling is in a great spot, however, facing a Seattle offense that has an 89 wRC+ versus right-handed pitching, with a 23.9% K-rate. The strikeout rate would be a lot higher if J.P Crawford and Kyle Seager weren't included; four other Mariners in the likely lineup have a 26% K-rate versus RHP and two have rates over 30%. The downside is, is that like most pitchers who face the Mariners, Stripling will be very popular.
Alex Cobb - P, BAL vs. TOR ($7,300)
My fingers resisted typing his name but Cobb has "the thing" working and is a solid option facing a Toronto offense that has buckets of strikeouts in it. The thing is Cobb's changeup-splitfinger hybrid that he originally rode to prominence five years ago with the Rays. And the thing is nasty. The home ballpark will obviously be an issue (as it has dimensions roughly the size of my son's tee-ball field) but he'll be facing Teoscar Hernandez and Travis Shaw, who both have 33% K% vs. RHP, as well as Cavan Biggio, Randal Grichuk, and Rowdy Tellez, who all have 27% K-rates. And the recently-hot Bo Bichette is now out of the lineup with a serious knee injury. He's always good to give up a jack but Cobb is in a pretty nice spot today.
DraftKings DFS Infielders
Wilmer Flores - 1B/2B, SF @ LAA ($3,800)
While he's flashed in a couple of solid performance over the last year, Griffin Canning just hasn't proven to be a very effective pitcher. Flores, on the other hand, just keeps on hitting, and hitting, and hitting. He doesn't walk and he doesn't strike out but he puts the bat on the ball at an absurdly high rate (88.5% contact-rate since the start of 2019) and has a .291 AVG in 2020, with four home runs and a 114 wRC+. Giants hitters continue to be a value and facing Canning should bring their owners a solid ROI tonight.
Mike Ford - 1B, NYY vs. BOS ($3,800)
Further hit by injury after DJ LeMahieu went down with a thumb sprain last night and already short Judge and Stanton, the Yankees will be running out a discount lineup tonight versus Martin Perez. He might not be surrounded by the All-Star crew but Ford will be batting fifth in one baseball's best hitting parks while facing Martin Perez, who has terrific 3.38 ERA but also a 5.33 xFIP that speaks of trouble coming down the line. It's only a 41 PA sample but Ford has absolutely crushed left-handers since the start of last season, with a .474 wOBA and .579 ISO.
Rowdy Tellez - 1B, TOR @ BAL ($3,400)
Tellez went 0-for-4 last night but had went boom in his previous two games, scoring a total of 49 points on two home runs and two doubles. He'll face the resurgent Alex Cobb but Camden Yards tends to reward those who hit a lot of fly balls and Tellez has a 55.6% FB% versus right-handed pitchers in 2020, with a .286 ISO.
Chris Taylor - SS/OF, LAD vs. SEA ($3,300)
Chris Taylor feels underpriced at only $3.3 K, even though he's batting in the bottom third of the Dodgers lineup. Taylor has dialed up the power versus right-handed pitching, posting a .438 wOBA against them in 2020, with a 41.9% hard-hit rate. He's also really crushed right-handed fastballs, with a .356 wOBA and .452 xwOBA this season. Opposing pitcher Justin Dunn throws his four-seamer to right-handed batters 49% of the time and is allowing a 94 mph average exit velocity. And if he makes the mistake of throwing Taylor a sinker (5% usage to RHB in 2019) then go ahead and collect your 14 points.
Travis d'Arnaud - C, ATL vs WAS ($2,500)
Let's make one thing clear; if opposing pitcher Anibal Sanchez has the splitty working then there's probably not much Atlanta hitters will be able to do. But the only decent catching options will cost you about double the price of d'Arnaud, and who wants to pay five grand for a catcher? Not me. Give me the dirt-cheap catcher who'll be hitting in a friendly park and who has .555 wOBA and .406 ISO versus right-handed pitchers this season. He'll also likely be occupying the number-two spot in the lineup with Ozzie Albies and Ronald Acuna Jr. both on the IL. There are few things I love more than a cheap and playable catcher.
DraftKings DFS Outfielders
Eddie Rosario - OF, MIN vs. KC ($4,200)
Rosario took the collar yesterday but had been heating up prior to the weekend, scoring 66 points in his previous four games. He doesn't have as much power facing fellow lefties but Rosario also doesn't strike out versus LHP (14.2% K%) and puts the ball in play a lot (80% contact-rate). He also happens to hit behind ageless wonder, Nelson Cruz, so expect men on base in front of him. As long as Cruz hasn't already hit another home run.
Nelson Cruz - OF, MIN vs. KC ($5,700)
Speaking of Nelson Cruz, you should probably roster him too. Breaking news, right? Cruz was held to just five points on Sunday but had scored 48 points in his previous three contests. Cruz now has six home runs on the year, with a .342 wOBA and 178 wRC+. He'll face rookie left-hander Kris Bubic on Monday night; Cruz has a .569 wOBA and .500 ISO versus LHP in 2020.
Brandon Nimmo - OF, NYM @ MIA ($3,800)
Opposing pitcher Jordan Yamamoto might be fairly popular tonight but I'd rather stack against him. The Mets lineup is stacked with lefties and it'll start with Nimmo at the top of the order. Nimmo has a .342 wOBA versus right-handers since the start of 2019, with an outlandish 21.2% walk-rate. And things should bode well for his scoring if he's getting on base in front of Jeff McNeil (.393 wOBA vs RHP) and Michael Conforto (.387 wOBA vs RHP).
Alex Dickerson - OF, SF @ LAA ($3,600)
Dickerson is priced pretty low considering he'll have the platoon advantage versus a substandard pitcher. Angels right-hander Griffin Canning has a 4.42 ERA with a 1.58 WHIP and is allowing a .348 wOBA and .348(!) ISO to LHB in 2020. Not to be outdone, Dickerson also has a .348 wOBA versus RHP since the start of 2019.
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