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The top daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for FanDuel and DraftKings on August 19, 2022. Thunder Dan's MLB DFS analysis and sleepers for building optimal DFS rosters.
It's another massive Friday night slate with 14 games on the main slate on both FanDuel and DraftKings! That's a lot of players to sort through, but don't worry because I got your back and I am going to give you some of the best spots to further examine before making your lineup decisions tonight.
Always pay attention to the weather, but the early look suggests that it shouldn't be too impactful tonight in terms of cancellations or delays with the game in Minnesota being the only one that really warrants monitoring. We do have a Coors Field game on the slate, which always makes things interesting, as well as some good match-ups for pitchers and a few aces on the bump.
As always, this article will provide my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for DraftKings and FanDuel. Friday's main slate locks at 7:05 EST on 8/19/2022. 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. Now that we got all of that out of the way, it's onto the picks!
DraftKings, FanDuel Pitchers - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
If you like data, here are some projections for today's starting pitchers. Green is good for the pitcher, while red is bad!
(click to enlarge)
Blake Snell vs. WAS ($9,300 DK, $10,500 FD)
Snell is an easy cash game play for me on either site, especially when you consider that Nola has a tough matchup, McCullers and Wright are facing each other in tough spots, and Shane McClanahan has fallen off the Earth recently. Snell is a massive (-350) home favorite and he is fresh off a dominant 10-strikeout performance against these Nats. He's in top form and has been now for over a month, so it's hard to imagine that he doesn't keep it going tonight. His DK price is just stupid, meaning he will be chalk, but probably GOOD chalk.
Tyler Anderson vs. MIA ($7,900 DK, $9,600 FD)
I'm an Anderson fan, and I know that a lot of folks have a hard time trusting him. But you should absolutely be considering him tonight, especially on DK where he's under 8k despite being a -250 home favorite and having a strikeout projection up over six. Miami has been disgusting on offense this year, especially against LHP and their K% continues to climb.
Brady Singer @ TBR ($8,300 DK, $8,600 FD)
Singer was recommended by yours truly right here in this article nearly a month ago when he whiffed 12 Rays in a dominant outing. Since then he's also struck out 10 Yankees and 7 Dodgers in impressive outings. He's priced very fairly here for a guy who has really improved his strikeouts this year and the Rays are not an offense that should scare us much. I think he's probably my SP2 on DK in cash with Anderson being my GPP play.
Also consider - Aaron Nola, Jesus Luzardo, Matt Manning
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DraftKings, FanDuel Infielders - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
Paul Goldschmidt - 1B, STL vs. Tommy Henry ($5,800 DK, $4,800 FD)
There's simply no way to ignore Goldy today in this match-up. What he's done this year has been incredible and he's inching closer to clinching the NL MVP every day. He's mashing everyone this season, but his work against lefties has been otherwordly as he's now up to a .405 ISO and .550 wOBA. Those numbers are insane. Henry is a decent young prospect but has struggled so far at the big league level. Goldy is an absolute lock in cash games and his total base prop for you bettors has been free money almost every night.
Manny Machado - 3B, SDP vs. Paolo Espino ($5,900 DK, $4,600 FD)
Don't roll your eyes if I recommend another big bat here that should be a fairly popular play. Machado, like Goldy, has been a lefty-masher all season (and in his career), but he's facing a reverse-split RHP tonight in Paolo Espino. Against righties, Machado's numbers drop to a .390 wOBA and .218 ISO. Those are still pretty good and are second on the team behind Juan Soto. Machado's consistency has been key and he homered again last night, providing the only run for this Padres' offense. He's not as big of a priority as Goldy, but if you can somehow squeeze them both in then I think you should.
Kevin Newman - 2B/SS, PIT vs. Graham Ashcraft ($3,100 DK, $2,600 FD)
I know you want some value picks, especially after a few really pricey recommendations. Kevin Newman has been hitting up near the top of the lineup for the Pirates and had a three-hit game last night. He's facing a reverse-splits pitcher in Ashcraft today and a stinky Reds' bullpen behind him. I love his price and recent production here, he has solid on-base skills and I think he's a solid punt play here.
DraftKings, FanDuel Outfielders - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
LaMonte Wade Jr. - OF, SFG vs. Jose Urena ($2,400 DK, $3,000 FD)
Sometimes you have to start with the obvious, and maybe it's not always obvious to everyone. But Wade is likely to lead off for the Giants, who are in Coors with the highest implied total on the slate. He's hit three home runs in his last five games and in doing so has pushed his ISO against RHP on the season up to .323. Now he hasn't been a full-time player this year, but we've seen him do this before when he gets hot and the Giants have no choice but to get him in the lineup and let him take his hacks. Against Urena, a pitcher with only an 11% strikeout rate, there is a good chance that Wade made makes some good contact tonight. He's just entirely too cheap for this spot, period.
Kyle Tucker - OF, HOU vs. Kyle Wright ($4,600 DK, $3,900 FD)
I've been driving the Tucker bandwagon now for a while, and he continues to be underpriced on DK for his upside. I will say it again, why pay 6k for Yordan Alvarez when you can pay $1500 less for a hitter with just about as much upside? Tucker has been trending up for weeks now and he looks good here against Wright, who is throwing his curveball a lot as his main offspeed pitch against lefties.
Alex Verdugo - OF, BOS vs. Bryse Wilson ($3,100 DK, $3,200 FD)
Verdugo is super cheap for a cleanup hitter and has been productive lately in that role. He didn't do much last night against Brubaker, but the Boston lefties definitely look good again tonight against Bryse Wilson who has been a subpar pitcher pretty much all season. Verdugo's power has dissipated a bit this year, but he's still a good contact hitter who has some gap-to-gap power and speed. I like this price for cash games, you're very likely to get something out of Verdugo in this spot tonight.
DraftKings, FanDuel MLB DFS Stacks
Here are my top stacks for tonight (in the order in which I like them)
- San Francisco Giants (6.7 implied run total) vs. Jose Urena (5.31 xFIP)
- San Diego Padres (5.1 implied run total) vs. Paolo Espino (4.99 xFIP)
- St. Louis Cardinals (5.0 implied run total) vs. Tommy Henry (7.04 xFIP)
The Giants are OBVIOUS chalk in the Coors game, but I don't think I can fade them entirely in this spot. I like some guys on the Colorado side, too, but not sure I will full stack them against Wood. The Cardinals are probably my favorite non-Coors team (I know I listed them after the Padres) as they smash lefties. I think the Houston-Atlanta game could go overlooked and that both those offenses should be strongly considered, too!
I hope I gave you a head start on your research today and I wish you the best of luck! If you ever have questions about DFS or fantasy baseball, my DMs are always open and I appreciate you taking the time to read my picks today.
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