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The top daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for FanDuel and DraftKings on August 26th, 2022. Thunder Dan's MLB DFS analysis and sleepers for building optimal DFS rosters.
It's the final Friday night slate of the month of August as we have yet another 14-gamer 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.
There's no shortage of good plays on the mound today, but I'm going to try to give you some options at each price tier for pitchers. And with bats I'll try my best not to just give you the most obvious plays, but dig in a little deeper to find some sneakier pivots.
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 8/26/2022. 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!
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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)
Joe Musgrove vs. WAS ($9,300 DK, $10,800 FD)
I'm on the MUSGOAT here over Gerrit Cole as my SP1 in cash games. Nothing against Cole, but I just prefer Musgrove's match-up a little more and Cole's recent form has been a bit dicey. Like most of the pitchers on the board today, Musgrove is a bit overpriced on FD and underpriced on DK, so I will have most of my exposure over on DraftKings tonight.
Justin Steele vs. MIL ($7,600 DK, $9,800 FD)
Look at that price difference! The FD price is much more indicative of Steele's upside here against Milwaukee, a team he has faced twice over the last month and struck out 9 Brewers both times. He's in great form, going 6 innings in each of his last three starts and allowing only two earned runs over those 18 innings. Fire him up with confidence as your SP2 in cash games on DK.
Cade Cavalli vs. CIN ($5,000 DK, $7,200 FD)
The Washington Nationals don't have much to be excited about this year, but they are bringing up their best pitching prospect to face the Reds today at home, and at only 5k on DK, that is something to be excited about. Cavalli was pitching well at Triple-A with a 26% K rate and gets a match-up here with a pretty bad Reds offense. There is some risk here, but the salary savings is pretty sweet if you want to load up on bats.
Also consider - Spencer Strider (GPP pivot off Musgrove), Joe Ryan, Bailey Falter
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DraftKings, FanDuel Infielders - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
Joey Meneses - 1B/OF, WAS vs. Mike Minor ($4,100 DK, $2,700 FD)
The young prospect has been making a big impression so far as he now has six home runs in his first 74 MLB at-bats. His numbers (small sample size warning) against lefties have been impressive as he has a .499 wOBA and .370 ISO against southpaws so far.
Mike Minor is a guy I am always interested in targeting as he's allowing a .407 wOBA and .284 ISO to righties this season as well as a 10% barrel rate. Meneses is super cheap on FD and the added OF-eligibility on DK is really nice, allowing us to play two first basemen over there if we want to do so.
Austin Riley - 3B, ATL vs. Jose Quintana ($5,400 DK, $3,800 FD)
A recent cold spell and a perceived tougher matchup won't deter me from going back to my guy Riley against a lefty. His splits against lefties remain some of the best in baseball as he has a .481 wOBA and .407 ISO currently. Quintana throws a curveball as his main breaking pitch, too, which is a pitch that Riley crushes and I've had a lot of success using him against lefties who throw a curve.
Jonah Heim - C, TEX vs. Tyler Alexander ($4,100 DK, $2,700 FD)
I try not to include catchers that often because you don't HAVE to play one on FanDuel (though you often should as they are underpriced and always lower-owned). While paying down at catcher on DK is often a popular strategy, I think paying up a bit for Heim could pay off here. He's going to hit 4th or 5th in the lineup tonight against Tyler Alexander and his splits against lefties (.398 wOBA, .272 ISO) are impressive this year.
DraftKings, FanDuel Outfielders - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
Bryce Harper - OF, PHI vs. Bryse Wilson ($5,700 DK, $,4000 FD)
You could wait to target Bryce Harper until you see him play a game or two after returning from a lengthy injury, or you could jump on him immediately in a great spot and reap the rewards if he goes off tonight. He smashed the ball in his handful of rehab starts and should be the DH tonight, allowing him to focus on hitting without having to play the field.
Brandon Nimmo - OF, NYM vs. Chad Kuhl ($4,700 DK, $2,700 FD)
There are a lot of Mets' players who I could feature today, but I think Nimmo is a really intriguing play. He's badly underpriced on FanDuel and leading off for one of the top projected offenses on the board. He profiles well against the heavy sinker/slider usage of Kuhl and has some nice power for a leadoff hitter, too.
AJ Pollock - OF, CHW vs. Tommy Henry ($3,400 DK, $2,500 FD)
As much as I hate having to rely on the White Sox (like ever), it's hard to ignore this spot for them and I'm at least interested in their leadoff hitter Pollock. He's cheap on both sites and facing a young lefty, Henry, who has struggled to a 6.13 xFIP so far this year. Pollock, meanwhile, has a .351 wOBA and .279 ISO against lefties and has always had solid splits in his career. I think he's a great cash game play on either site.
DraftKings, FanDuel MLB DFS Stacks
Here are my top stacks for tonight (in the order in which I like them)
- Philadelphia Phillies (5.7 implied run total) vs. Bryse Wilson (5.07 xFIP)
- New York Mets (5.4 implied run total) vs. Chad Kuhl (5.77 xFIP)
- Atlanta Braves (4.2 implied run total) vs. Jose Quintana (4.36 xFIP)
Houston and San Diego have implied totals over five runs today, but I don't love those match-ups. I am including Atlanta instead despite a lower implied total and a less obvious match-up to target as Quintana has been decent this year.
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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