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The top daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for DraftKings and FanDuel on August 17, 2023. Mike's MLB DFS analysis and sleepers for building optimal DFS rosters.
We have a light Thursday to begin with, then it's chopped aside from that. The two early games are fairly boring for DFS purposes, but I know you'll still play just like I will. The early is fairly simple. Stack Boston and Seattle, run Kirby and Sale. You can get creative and try to run Corbin, but he's risky. Pablo Reyes might be my favorite play on the entire slate.
Now that is out of the way, let's turn the focus to the evening. This article contains my picks for the four-game main slate on Thursday, August 17, 2023, for both DraftKings and FanDuel, which locks at 7:15 PM ET. There is a chance of rain in Cleveland, so keep watch there. The other three games look good to go.
The lineup picks will range from some elite high-priced players to mid-priced options and value plays. I'll give you a few of my top pitching options and then some infielders, outfielders, and teams to stack. You can also read more DFS advice and lineup picks for other sports here. It's also essential to monitor injury news and today's MLB starting lineups.
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DraftKings, FanDuel Pitchers - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
Tarik Skubal, DET at CLE ($7,200 DK, $8,900 FD)
Look...I want all the bats tonight and I think $11,000 a Gallen is too much to pay for a pitcher that only has three quality starts in a row. In cash games, it's hard to get away from Gallen on a slate this small, but in GPPs, it's worth a try.
It's not that Skubal is without risk. He has not pitched well on the road at all this year. However, Cleveland is hitting just .223 in August and only has five homers in 13 games. For this price, it's worth the risk considering the bats we can use with him.
Xzavion Curry, CLE vs. DET ($5,300 DK, $6,900 FD)
Curry lacks strikeout upside (he only has 46 punchouts in 69 innings) so I likely won't go this low on FD. However, Curry is a decent SP2 on DK if you decide to pay up at one spot. Curry got knocked around by the Rays his last time out, but the overall numbers are still good and he has a 2.65 ERA in 34 innings at home. He's not going to break a slate, but he shouldn't ruin our lineups either. Considering the volatile state of pitching in August, something can be said for that.
Others to consider: Lance Lynn ($9,400 DK, $9,400 FD) vs. MIL
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DraftKings, FanDuel Infielders - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
Paul Goldschmidt - 1B, STL vs. NYM ($5,800 DK, $3,600 FD)
There are tomato cans all over this slate, so we could have a hard time packing in all of the BvP stars on this slate. Goldy should be the top priority though. He has destroyed Jose Quintana throughout his career. Goldy is 11-for-17 (.647) with three doubles and three homers off of the soft-tossing lefty all-time. Goldschmidt also has a modest four-game hitting streak going in which he has seven hits, four walks, two doubles, a homer, three RBI, and three runs scored. He even added a stolen base for good measure.
Jeff McNeil - 2B, NYM at STL ($3,700 DK, $2,700 FD)
I usually have Mookie Betts at 2B every chance I can get, but I might make an exception here. McNeil is starting to show signs of life with a .316 average over his last 10 games with three walks, seven runs, a homer, and four RBI. Hey...it's the Mets. Four RBI in 10 games is strong numbers on that team. At any rate, Adam Wainwright is making Patrick Corbin's 2021 season look like Pedro Martinez in 1999. The Mutts are my friend for one night.
Nolan Arenado - 3B, STL vs. NYM ($5,500 DK, $3,500 FD)
My Cardinals exposure will likely end with the infield. Jose Quintana has revitalized his career by being a world-class troll when DFS players stack against him. Quintana's numbers over the last two years are strong, but it's a strong bet that Goldy or Arenado will hit a home run off of him. The current Cardinals roster has five career homers against Quintana in just 58 at-bats. Goldy and Arenado have all of them.
DraftKings, FanDuel Outfielders - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
Christian Yelich - OF, MIL at LAD ($5,300 DK, $3,800 FD)
Yelich is only 3-for-15 in his career against Lance Lynn, but two of those hits have left the yard. Yelich saw his seven-game hit streak come to an end last night, but it was against Clayton Kershaw. Give him a break. I have no issues running him against Lynn tonight, but Yelich might be my only exposure to the Brewers. Lynn has a 2.00 ERA in three starts with the Dodgers after a disastrous first four months on the South Side.
Kerry Carpenter - OF, DET at CLE ($3,900 DK, $3,000 FD)
Carpenter homered against last night, which was his fourth in the last five games. Overall, Carpenter has a 12-game hitting streak with five homers, seven RBI, and 12 runs in that span. There are few hotter hitters in the league right now and Carpenter is value priced on both sites. Get different elsewhere. I'm riding Carpenter until he bucks me off.
Jason Heyward - OF, LAD vs. MIL ($2,700 DK, $2,500 FD)
I'm not lining up to run Dodgers at Corbin Burnes, but their lefties are too cheap to just ignore completely...especially on a slate where we need value. Heyward is the only current member of the Dodgers with a homer against Burnes in 66 at-bats. That's a pretty healthy sample size and a good reason to take one shot at Burnesie.
DraftKings, FanDuel MLB DFS Stacks
New York Mets vs. Adam Wainwright
Wainwright's 8.78 ERA would be the worst in major-league history by nearly a run if the season ended today. He somehow managed to worsen his ERA last week in the I-70 series when the Royals tagged him for eight runs in just one inning at The K on Friday. On the bright side, he should be well rested...
Favorite pieces: Pete Alonso, McNeil, Francisco Lindor, Brandon Nimmo, DJ Stewart
Also consider: Detroit Tigers vs. Xzavion Curry
If you aren't running Curry as your value pitcher, it makes sense to go after him since many will use him for value. The Tigers aren't nearly as bad as they were even a month ago. There's (DFS) gold in that there lineup!
Favorite pieces: Carpenter, Riley Greene, Zach McKinstry, Spencer Torkelson
Sneaky Stack: Cleveland Guardians vs. Tarik Skubal
Skubal might have the highest ownership of the night, so it makes sense to go after him in a large-field GPP. He's far from invincible and I mentioned his road woes earlier in the piece. I wouldn't full-stack Cleveland, but one or two of the right pieces could put your lineup over the top.
Favorite pieces: Jose Ramirez, Gabriel Arias, Myles Straw
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