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The top daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for FanDuel and DraftKings on August 20, 2022. Mike Marteny's MLB DFS analysis and sleepers for building optimal DFS rosters.
There's a little more of an even split in the FanDuel and DraftKings tournaments tonight compared to the last few Saturdays. There are six matinees, leaving a nine-game main slate. It takes some of the talent out of the pool, but there are still plenty of good spots tonight.
There are two pitchers costing more than five figures on DraftKings tonight and I honestly don't know if either one of them are worth paying for. Coors is on this slate, after all, not to mention the NL West heavy hitters in the Dodgers and Padres. This is going to be an interesting one trying to cram all of that talent in there.
As always, this article will provide my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for DraftKings and FanDuel. Saturday's main slate locks at 7:05 pm EST on 8/20/2022. 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
Joe Musgrove vs. WAS ($10,100 DK, $10,500 FD)
I'm not too crazy about the price, but the Nationals are a staggering 40 games under .500. This team has actually been better since their fire sale that sent Juan Soto and Josh Bell to...San Diego, where they are teammates of Musgrove. Of course, better is a relative term.
Musgrove hasn't been that great in August. The strikeouts are down, runs are up (he gave up six runs to the Rockies in San Diego!). There is potential for another blow-up here, but pitching is ghastly on this slate. Musgrove still has the best strikeout potential and one of the worst opponents. That makes Musgrove the only true cash game option on either site. For GPP, you can get a little more creative with this mess.
Logan Gilbert at OAK ($8,000 DK, $9,800 FD)
I'll make this quick: I'm not using Javier against the Braves no matter the price. Strider is slowing down and possibly even wearing out (not to mention a bad matchup). Dustin May is making his first start post-Tommy John surgery. Gray is facing the Pads. So that get us to Gilbert.
So why is Gilbert so cheap? It has been a really rough August for the youngster. He has allowed 16 runs in 15.1 innings this month, but that was against the Yankees twice and Texas. I'll gladly take the discount against an Oakland team that has cooled off again after showing signs of life in July. The A's are hitting just .216 this month and while the strikeouts are down, they are still hitting just .203 at home. Gilbert has a legit shot at being the highest-scoring pitcher of the night, at least on DraftKings.
Also consider: David Peterson, James Kaprielian, Dakota Hudson
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DraftKings, FanDuel Infielders - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
Paul Goldschmidt - 1B, STL at Madison Bumgarner ($6,000 DK, $4,800 FD)
Goldschmidt has been on a tear since the All-Star Break. He is hitting .355 with ten homers and 25 RBI in just 22 games since the break. On top of that, he is 25-for-73(.342) with four homers against MadBum in his career. Bumgarner hasn't been average for long. Some of those numbers came against him back when he was still good. I'm riding Goldy until he bucks me off.
Manny Machado - 3B, SD vs. Josiah Gray ($5,900 DK, $4,600 FD)
Machado is just locked in right now. He is hitting .442 with three homers, 16 RBI, and ten runs scored in the last ten days alone! Yes, he has been feasting on Nats, Fish, and Giants, but I don't care about that. This is still the main course with the Nats back on the table today. I went cheap on pitcher so I could get both Goldy and Machado in tonight's lineup as well. We'll skimp somewhere else.
Brandon Crawford - SF at Ryan Feltner ($2,300 DK, $2,900 FD)
Crawford has been a bit of a disappointment after last year, but he's starting to show signs of life lately. He is hitting a respectable .265 in August after an absolutely dreadful July, but still hasn't hit for much power. A trip to Coors should help that. Crawford has 14 career home runs in the rarified Denver air. For this price, I'll take a chance that he hits another against the Rockies' questionable pitching.
DraftKings, FanDuel Outfielders - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
Kyle Tucker - OF, HOU at Spencer Strider ($4,800 DK, $4,000 FD)
Strider has already allowed six runs in August after allowing only eight in the entire month of July. He's not pitching poorly per se, but he is slowing down a little and pitching less innings. Meanwhile, Tucker obliterates four-seamers and sliders. Those two pitches make up 94.7% of Strider's pitch selection. Tucker has a .479 SLG against four-seamers and a .556 SLG against sliders. I'm locking and loading Tucker tonight.
Randal Grichuk - OF, COL vs. Alex Cobb ($4,600 DK, $3,100 FD)
Cobb's metrics are still very good. His career numbers at Coors are not. For whatever reason, Grichuk has really struggled with the Rockies no matter where he faces them. Grichuk is no exception. He is 9-for-17 with a pair of homers in his career against Cobb. Grichuk is on a little heater of his own anyway. He's hitting .298 with three homers and seven RBI this month. This feels like a good place to use him.
Lamonte Wade - OF, SF at Ryan Feltner ($2,800 DK, $3,000 FD)
Five of Wade's eight home runs on the season have come in August. He is finally starting to hit. Not only that, he comes at a great discount in Coors Field. Unlike Crawford, Wade's star is on the way up. These two Giants punts allow us to put whatever else we want in our lineups. I don't think the Giants are good enough to stack outright, but I love the cheap lefties against Feltner.
DraftKings, FanDuel MLB DFS Stacks
Here are my top stacks for tonight (in the order in which I like them):
St. Louis Cardinals - Madison Bumgarner is barely a replacement player anymore. The Cardinals have a ton of right-handed power. MadBum still handles lefties, but Goldy and Nolan Arenado could have big games. If you need more salary relief. Lars Nootbar is the one that really stands out.
Colorado Rockies - I think most will be on the side of the Giants here, and I really can't fault that. However, no matter how Cobb has pitched anywhere else, his ERA is still over 7 at Coors Field and is well over 5 against the Rockies anywhere. C.J. Cron has hammered Cobb. So has Grichuk. Elehuris Montero is a great way to get exposure to Coors on the cheap.
Minnesota Twins - Glenn Otto has a severe problem with walks. He has walked 10 over his last two starts alone! The Twins aren't an overly patient team, but they sure can hit. Otto has somehow been worse at home. Minnesota tried Buxton at leadoff last night. That's a good place to start! Jorge Polanco, Jose Miranda, Nick Gordon, and Luis Arraez will fill out the rest of my stack. What about yours?
Honorable mention: New York Mets
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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