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The top daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for DraftKings on August 8th, 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. With Gerrit Cole on the slate, we know where to go for SP1. It just becomes a little difficult after that. Don't fret, we'll find a few. As for the hitters, there are four or five pitchers on this slate worth picking. In fact two of the five worst pitchers when it comes to hard contact allowed are pitching. 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 9/8/19. 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. .
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.
DraftKings DFS Starting Pitchers
Gerrit Cole - HOU vs. SEA - $12,200
As the season has winded down, it sure seems like the best idea is to pay up at pitcher. We occasionally see a cheaper guy get some love, but overall, the top pitchers are the guys who are still performing at the top of their game. Gerrit Cole hasn't missed a beat. He's been the best pitcher in baseball this season and it will be an absolute shame if he doesn't win Cy Young. He's striking out 12+ batters per nine innings while sustaining a sub .290 wOBA vs both sides of the plate. The Mariners strikeout 26% of the time and are league average against righties. Cole is the easy SP1 in cash games and tournaments.
Jack Flaherty - STL @ PIT - $10,000
As someone who lives next to St. Louis Cardinals Spring Training facility, I like to go watch them practice quite a bit in March. One thing that stood out to me was Jack Flaherty and the look on his pitches. They were just different and at one point Adam Wainwright even took a few minutes at one point to watch a Flaherty bullpen. The point is that nobody in this organization is surprised by the breakout of Jack Flaherty. He's been over six innings in every game recently and he's upping his strikeout rate close to 10 per nine. The Pirates rank 24th against righties since the break and don't have much power after Bell. Flaherty isn't as safe as Gerrit Cole, but he's pretty damn safe and way cheaper.
DraftKings DFS Infielders
Jorge Alfaro - MIA vs. KC (Montgomery) - $3,900
I don’t hate the Marlins tonight. I know they’re one of the worst offenses in the past ten years, but Mike Montgomery is terrible and this lineup doe shit lefties better than righties. Jorge Alfaro, in particular, is only good vs lefties with a .356 wOBA against. Montgomery on the other hand, has allowed a .334 wOBA with nine homers in 50 innings to righties and his peripherals haven’t shown any sign of promise. Don’t be afraid to pay attention to a couple of these affordable Marlins tonight.
Anthony Rizzo - CHC @ MIL (Houser) - $4,800
The Cubs took a heartbreaking loss yesterday and the bats will look to pick things up after scoring just two runs in the game. Rizzo is the soul of this lineup, and it goes as he goes. He’s been over a .400 wOBA on the season vs righties, and this match-up with Adrian Houser is a good one. Not to overreact to a small sample size, but Houser has given up a huge .387 wOBA to opposing lefties with a 1.86 HR/9. These Cubs lefties are some of my favorite plays on the entire slate.
Whit Merrifield - KC @ MIA (Alcantara) - $4,700
The Marlins have a few guys who are in survival mode at pitcher, and Sandy Alcantara is one of them. He has potential, but he’s not ready for the majors and his .351 wOBA vs opposing hitters has shown a clear example of that. He was lucky for a few weeks, but anyone with a brain saw the 5.50+ xFIP covering up the sub three ERA. As for tonight, the Royals should put up five plus runs and won’t be a popular stack. Merrifield is just as good against both sides of the mound and has more stolen base upside vs righties. Alcantara gives it up to everyone and I don’t see a scenario where Merrifield doesn’t get involved in the scoring.
Renato Nunez - BAL vs. TEX (Minor) - $3,800
Renato Nunez is a guy I have exposure to anytime the Oriole safe facing a lefty. His splits haven’t been as extreme this season, but he’s still held onto a .344 wOBA against them and has hit half of his home runs. Think of a Eugenio Suarez who isn’t as dangerous. The Orioles are facing off with Mike Minor, who’s a strikeout lefty that gives up homers. It’ll likely be one of the two for Nunez, which is fine at his cheap price on DraftKings. He’s a better tournament play than cash, but I’ll have exposure in both as I love Nunez vs lefties.
Francisco Lindor - CLE @ MIN (Dobnak) - $5,300
The Twins have been smart with Randy Dobnak, removing him from every game so far before damage was done. He obviously can’t pitch very deep into the game, so we’ ll he looking at bullpen arms for the majority of the game. The Indians are loved by Vegas tonight, coming in with an implied run total over six. Francisco Lindor is a switch-hitter, but he’s posted a .397 wOBA to right-handers and has stolen base upside to go along with the home runs. Shortstop is always a position with s lot to love, but I think Lindor is under 10% owned here and has as much upside as anyone.
DraftKings DFS Outfielders
Kyle Schwarber - CHC @ MIL (Houser) - $5,300
As always, there are a ton of options to pay up for in the outfield. If Mike Trout plays, I love him in all formats in a hitter-friendly ballpark. However Kyle Schwarber is a guy I love to pair with Rizzo here. He has five home runs in his last 11 games and has upped his wOBA vs righties to .389 since the All-Star break. This is a completely different hitter than we saw in the first half. Adrian Houser is a train wreck vs left-handers and these Cubs Effie’s are some of my favorite bats on the entire slate.
Kole Calhoun - LAA @ CWS (Cease) - $4,300
We haven’t touched on the Angels up to this point, but they have to be a team you consider on the road against Dylan Cease. They’re used to playing in spacious Anaheim and this move to Chicago brings with it plenty of upside. Calhoun is pretty cheap on DraftKings for a guy who’s posted a .371 wOBA against righties with 25 home runs. Cease on the other hand, is just trying to hang on until season end with a .355 wOBA allowed. The Angels will put up four or five runs and Calhoun has a ton of home run upside for an affordable tag.
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.
