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The top daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for FanDuel and DraftKings on August 22nd, 2022. Euan Leith's MLB DFS analysis and sleepers for building optimal DFS rosters.
Happy Monday, Rotoballers! We kick off the last full week of August with an eight-game slate for the DraftKings and FanDuel featured contests. It's an East Coast-heavy evening with five of the eight games starting before 7:15 pm Eastern, and we've also got some weather to watch. Atlanta-Pittsburgh, Cincinnati-Philadelphia, and the Subway Series all have a 25 percent chance of precipitation.
Eight games provide 16 arms, but the pitching pool for my DFS lineups is much smaller than that. Max Scherzer is the leading man coming in as the most expensive option on both sites. However, my favorite range is $7,700-$8,500, where we've got Jeffrey Springs, Noah Syndergaard, Pablo Lopez, Jordan Montgomery, and Sonny Gray. Any of those pitchers are worthy of SP2 options, and I'm not opposed to grabbing two of the bunch and saving some salary to spend on the hitting side.
This article has daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for FanDuel and DraftKings on 8/22/2022, Main Slate at 7:05 pm Eastern Time. You can also read more DFS advice and lineup picks for other sports. Monitoring injury news and today's MLB starting lineups is also essential. If you have questions or comments, find me on Twitter @EuanOrYouOut and ask away!
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DraftKings, FanDuel Pitchers - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
Max Scherzer - P, NYM at NYY ($11,300 DraftKings; $11,500 FanDuel)
I'm slamming Scherzer into most of my lineups with the early-in-the-day hope he'll see a lower roster percentage because he's facing the big, bad Yankees. Well, since the All-Star break, the Yankees are only living up to one side of that description. They are 2-8 in their last 10, 5-15 in their previous 20, and now find themselves 3.5 games behind Houston in the race for the No. 1 seed in the American League playoffs.
It's a fantastic pitcher facing a struggling offense. For the year, Scherzer's rocking a 2.15 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, and a 31.4 percent strikeout rate. These surface numbers are backed up by a sparkling 2.42 FIP, 2.86 SIERA, and an elite 14.9 percent swinging strike rate. The three-time Cy Young winner saw the Yankees on July 27th and threw seven innings of shutout ball while striking out six pinstripes. I expect more of the same tonight against a team whiffing 24.7 percent of the time to RHPs since the break.
Sonny Gray - P, MIN vs. TEX ($8,500 DK; $9,500 FD)
We're always looking for those small edges in DFS to differentiate our lineups from the rest of the field. Well, playing Sonny Gray in a home game could be exactly what we're looking for on Monday. The 32-year old's made 10 starts at home compared to eight on the road, and here are his splits.
| 2022 Sonny Gray Splits | ||||
| Venue | Record | ERA | WHIP | K/9 |
| Home | 3-1 | 3.08 | 1.25 | 10.87 |
| Away | 4-2 | 3.15 | 0.98 | 6.53 |
From the table, it's easy to see that the Twins' righty prefers to keep it clean on the road but isn't afraid to go after hitters when pitching in Minnesota. In DFS circles, we always want to chase the strikeouts, and Gray is a perfect candidate for that against Texas. In the second half of the season, the Rangers strike out 23.5 percent while only mustering a .128 ISO and .298 wOBA against right-handed hurlers.
Also consider - Julio Urias, Jordan Montgomery, Noah Syndergaard, Jeffrey Springs,
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DraftKings, FanDuel Infielders - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
Paul Goldschmidt - 1B, STL at Drew Smyly ($6,200 DK; $4,700 FD)
In my oldest fantasy baseball league, we always throw out our predictions at the beginning of the year. And I picked Paul Goldschmidt to win NL MVP for four or five years in a row. It became a running joke, but I couldn't help myself because I've always believed in his talent. Well... who's laughing now, guys?! Goldy is on fire and enters the season's final six weeks as the betting favorite to take home some regular-season silverware.
For August, the Cards' first baseman slashes .406/.494/.828 with 18 runs, 22 RBI, and 13 extra-base hits (seven homers) in 18 games. In his last six games, he's collected four multi-hit efforts, three doubles, three home runs, and 11 RBI. He's a man on a mission to help St. Louis claim the NL Central crown, and you know I won't be betting against him on Monday night.
Jeff McNeil - 2B, NYM at Domingo German ($4,400 DK; $2,700 FD)
I prefer McNeil on FanDuel because paying $4,400 for someone in the six-hole is a little rich for me on DraftKings. Still, the Mets' second baseman is one of the best hitters at his position right now and deserves a look everywhere if you have the cash to splash. In August, the left-handed hitter leads the class with a .458 wOBA. Plus, over the weekend, McNeil showed out with eight hits, three doubles, and 13.2 FD PPG as the Mets took three of four from the Phillies.
Jose Miranda - 1B/3B, MIN vs. Cole Ragans ($3,900 DK; $3,600 FD)
If DraftKings is going to disrespect Jose Miranda like this continuously, I have no choice but to punish them and get him in my DFS lineup. After spending most of the year in the bottom half of the lineup, one of Minnesota's brightest prospects is now sitting as the cleanup hitter. While I wouldn't mind a tad more power from the infielder, I'm not going to complain about getting a month-long .837 OPS bat in my lineup for less than $4,000 on DK.
Kevin Newman - 2B/SS, PIT vs. Jake Odorizzi ($3,200 DK; $3,000 FD)
Considering Newman has literally zero home runs on the year, this is not a typical home-run-chasing value pick. However, the Pirates' middle infielder has collected at least a hit in six of his previous seven games, and three of those are of the multi-hit variety. In addition, he's batting second for a team facing Jake Odorizzi and his 5.93 ERA through three starts with Atlanta. Another thing in Newman's favor: his home OPS (.840) is over 200 points more than his road OPS (.607).
DraftKings, FanDuel Outfielders - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
Harold Ramirez - 1B/OF, TB vs. Tucker Davidson ($3,400 DK; $2,700 FD)
In four of his last five starts, Harold Ramirez slotted in as the third or fourth hitter for the Rays. He'll have the platoon advantage tonight versus Tucker Davidson, and it should only spell good things for the 27-year-old. For the season, he's sporting a .377/.442/.506 slash line versus southpaws and his OPS jumps from a season-long .948 to 1.112 when facing a LHP at home. Also, he's red hot at the plate, collecting seven hits, a double, and two RBI in this past weekend's series against the Royals.
Jake Fraley - OF, CIN at Noah Syndergaard ($2,500 DK; $2,600 FD)
Take advantage of this $2,500 gift on DK while you still can, as Jake Fraley's leading off for the Reds these days. He's been good since returning from the IL on July 30th but is on a torrid tear over the last eight games. Since Aug. 13th, the left-handed outfielder has been batting .355 with a 1.266 OPS accompanying 12 runs, two doubles, four long balls, and eight RBI. You're not going to find a better bang-for-your-buck bat (say that quickly three times) than Fraley on this eight-game schedule, so take the value and run.
JJ Bleday - OF, MIA at Adam Oller ($2,000 DK; $2,400 FD)
My favorite stack of the day is the Cardinals against Drew Smyly. Unfortunately, a lot of their top talent is expensive. Therefore, we must dig deep to find some values, and that's where JJ Bleday steps in. He's the walking embodiment of the phrase "all or nothing." Over his last 10 games, he's got three hits, but all three have gone for extra bases (two of them homers). Bleday could pay off handsomely, especially against Adam Oller's 14.3 percent HR/FB ratio and 11.4 percent barrels allowed rate.
DraftKings, FanDuel MLB DFS Stacks
Philadelphia Phillies vs. Cincinnati Reds (Luis Cessa, RHP)
- Kyle Schwarber, OF ($5,800; $3,200)
- Nick Castellanos, OF ($4,400; $3,000)
- Bryson Stott, SS ($3,900; $2,600)
St. Louis Cardinals at Chicago Cubs (Drew Smyly, LHP)
- Paul Goldschmidt, 1B ($6,200; $4,700)
- Tyler O'Neill, OF ($4,800; $3,000)
- Dylan Carlson, OF ($3,900; $3,000)
New York Mets at New York Yankees (Domingo German, RHP)
- Pete Alonso, 1B ($5,400; $4,000)
- Jeff McNeil, 2B ($4,400; $2,700)
- Daniel Vogelbach, 1B ($3,800; $2,600)
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