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The top daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for DraftKings on August 6th, 2019. Austyn Varney's MLB DFS analysis and sleepers for building optimal DFS rosters.
Welcome to Friday baseball! With the NFL season officially kicking off, a lot of attention is set on football around the DFS world. We will hopefully see some dead lineups in lower-dollar contests and we will look to take advantage. It may be football season, but DraftKings is keeping it up with the huge MLB contests. Let's not get left behind and keep the money flowing as the season winds down.
This slate is extremely interesting. Clayton Kershaw may be the clear number one, but we have to figure out where to go after him. As for the hitters, there isn't one team that stands above the rest. There are a few offenses I like, and we'll have to decipher who will let us down and who will come through. Let's dive in!
In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for DraftKings on 9/6/19. 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
Clayton Kershaw - LAD vs. SF - $11,900
You have to love Clayton Kershaw in this spot. As things turn up and we head towards the playoffs, I expect Kershaw to start fine tuning things. He’s given up some runs in his last few starts, and I think that changes tonight. The Giants rank 27th in baseball against lefties and strikeout 23% of the time. The ballpark is stellar and I see no reason to not lock in Kershaw as your SP1 in cash games.
Homer Bailey - OAK vs. DET - $8,500
I do not like Homer Bailey nor do I think he's a good pitcher. This is simply a circumstance of the Detroit Tigers in a huge ballpark and Bailey being decent at run prevention. Since the All-Star break and the Tigers departing with Castellanos, they've been just as bad as the Marlins against righties with a .279 combined wOBA. They strikeout 26% of the time and while Bailey doesn't have much K upside, he could get up to five or six in this one. He's a cheap SP2 and I think it's fair to say he's pretty safe. Vegas only has the Tigers slated to score 3.33 runs, which is the second lowest implied total on the entire slate. It's not fun to roster Homer Bailey, but this is the one match-up I would be willing to do so.
DraftKings DFS Infielders
Tom Murphy - SEA @ HOU (Valdez) - $4,000
Catcher is always one of the weaker positions on the board and tonight is no different. Fortunately, the Mariners get to face off with another lefty. We saw the do damage against Wide Miley just last night and Valdez is nowhere near as good. On the season, Tom Murphy is one of the best hitters in the league against lefties and one of the absolute worst against righties. It's just crazy to see a .457 wOBA against lefties and a .272 vs righties. Valdez has struggled with his command, and it's led to a ton of home run issues. Tom Murphy isn't too expensive and I love him tonight in all formats.
Anthony Rizzo - CHC @ MIL (Davies) - $5,400
I was all over the Cubbies last night and Rizzo played his part with three RBI and a double. He’ll get an even friendlier match-up tonight with Zach Davies, who’s given up a .343 wOBA and 12 home runs in under 70 innings of work vs lefties. The Cubs are in playoff mode at this point and are swinging the bats like it. Rizzo is one of the more expensive options on the slate, but that’s why you play Homer Bailey at SP2.
Ozzie Albies - ATL vs. WAS (Corbin) - $4,100
Ozzie Albies against lefties is a tried and true method. Unless it's one of the few elite southpaws in baseball, I'll take Albies all day. On the season, he's posted a .435 wOBA against lefties and has hit nine home runs in just 130 plate appearances. Patrick Corbin is a better than average pitcher, but he's allowed a 3.77 xFIP to righties and has always had issues with home runs. The Braves are expected to score 4.50 runs tonight and Albies will be in the two-hole for at least four at-bats. Albies should be relatively ignored and has as much upside as anyone at the position.
Anthony Rendon - WAS @ ATL (Keuchel) - $5,600
I know I said Ozzie Albies is great against lefties, but Anthony Rendon is even better. He's posted a .441 wOBA against lefties and a .421 vs righties, so it doesn't even matter when the bullpen comes in. Dallas Keuchel is a pretty terrible pitcher at this point, allowing a .342 wOBA to righties and 10 home runs in 69 innings. I like the Nationals to win this game and don't mind stacking the righties. Rendon is pricey, but right up there with Rizzo as one of my favorite bats on the slate. This is why I have to play Homer Bailey.
DraftKings DFS Outfielders
Austin Meadows - TB vs. TOR (Buchholz) - $4,800
Austin Meadows was another guy I was all over last night and he laid off in a huge way at just around 10% owned. I was shocked at the ownership, but it makes sense as that team just don’t have reliable DFS weapons surrounding him. Still, he holds value by himself and sees another solid match-up with a porous righty. Clay Buchholz is downright terrible at this point and has given up a .362 wOBA to opposing lefties. Meadows is my favorite way to pay up in the outfield and I suspect I’ll once again be surprised by his ownership, or lack thereof.
Nick Martini - SD vs. COL (Melville) - $3,300
If you need a super cheap outfielder on DK, Nick Martini is expected to be hitting second and the Padres should put up a few runs tonight. Tim Melville was drafted 11 years ago and has pitched sixteen innings in the majors with a .440+ wOBA against both sides of the plate. That should tell you enough. Nick Martini isn’t the greatest hitter, but he platoons against righties and does have some power for his price. I don’t hate the play if you need value and want exposure against this pitcher.
Things change quickly as lineups come out. If you have any questions, hit me up on Twitter @VarneyDFS and I'd be more than happy to help.
