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Kevin Luchansky highlights the top FanDuel MLB DFS lineup picks for 8/1/18, and a couple of sleepers to consider while building daily rosters.
The dust has finally settled on a pretty crazy Trade Deadline day. New faces in new places! Anywho, we've got a classic split-slate Wednesday on our hands with five afternoon games and six being played under the lights. Due to the more lucrative options being in the Main slate tonight, I'm going to concentrate this post on that set of games.
Let's take a gander at a few interesting and notable Vegas lines as of Wednesday morning. Despite the pitching options being a little shaky, just two of the 12 teams in action under the lights have implied run totals of five or more - the Braves (5.2) and the White Sox (5.1). There hasn't been much movement in that arena either, as the biggest drop or addition in implied run totals this morning is just .1. As for the moneyline, the Braves are the biggest favorites at -169, followed by the Dodgers (-155) and the Cardinals (-131).
In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for FanDuel on 8/1/18. The lineup picks will range from some of the elite players to mid-priced options and value plays. You can also read more DFS lineup picks for DraftKings and other sports too. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to contact me up on Twitter @kpLuch.
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FanDuel DFS Pitchers
Rich Hill - SP, vs MIL ($10,000)
The price may feel a little steep for Hill, but he's been pitching really well this season and has paid off his price tag in spades in in his last two starts - each one eclipsing 50 FanDuel points. One of said starts came against this Brewers squad and the other was against a pretty damn strong Atlanta offense. He's been tested and proven his worth. With a 10k tag, his implied total is just 33 and he's in a good spot tonight in pitcher friendly Dodger stadium against an offense that has been struggling to produce lately. For the season, Hill has a strong 3.85 SIERA and a 26.2% K rate. Seeing as the Brewers have a lowly implied run total of 3.6 and a 25% K rate against southpaws this season, he has run prevention and strikeout upside. The Dodgers are also the second highest moneyline favorites of the night, and Hill can be deployed in all formats.
Anibal Sanchez - SP, vs MIA ($8,500)
Anibal's overall numbers this year are pretty good this year - a 3.98 SIERA, a 23.4% K rate, a 10% SwStr rate and a 25% soft contact rate - but the last five starts have really been a mixed bag. Despite Atlanta being the biggest favorites of the day and Miami sporting a 3.9 implied run total, using Anibal in cash makes me a little queasy - but I am interested in tournament formats. He offers a little savings compared to Hill, and he faces a Marlins team with a putrid offense. Their projected lineup tonight has a 26.9% K rate and a .292 wOBA split against right-handed pitching this year, so the strikeout upside is definitely there for Sanchez.
FanDuel DFS Infielders
Salvador Perez - C, at CWS ($3,200)
While his splits leave something to be desired, Perez does draw a good matchup today and gets an offensive park upgrade in Chicago. He has been hitting the absolute piss out of the ball, posting a 62% hard hit rate in the last 10 games. He's also posted 9.5+ FanDuel points in four of his last five starts and has good lineup order value.
Lucas Duda - 1B, at CWS ($2,600)
Duda is a super value play tonight with good upside to boot. He's gone deep twice in his last three starts and the big lefty has pretty good splits against right-handed pitching this season, too. A .220 ISO split is desireable in general, but especially for a player in this price tier. He and Perez make for a nice mini stack in the early-middle of the Kansas City order.
Yoan Moncada - 2B, vs KCR ($3,500)
If you've played any Moncada shares over the past week, he's left you high and dry, but I think he rights the ship in a good matchup against Junis this evening. His batted ball profile is still solid during this mini slump, and his BABIP in that stretch indicates he's been unlucky, too. In 2018, he's handled right-handed pitching well, posting a .336 wOBA and a .204 ISO split.
Yolmer Sanchez - 3B, vs KCR ($2,500)
Speaking of mini-stacks, I like the idea of running Moncada and Yolmer Sanchez in your lineup tonight. Sanchez has a chance to return great return on investment at this price tag, hitting in the two-hole for the team with the second highest implied run total of the night. Not only is Sanchez' price and matchup attractive, but the switch-hitter has big split differentials and does more of his damage in the lefty batter's box, where he'll dig in tonight. In 2018, he has a .319 wOBA and a .170 ISO against righties.
Chris Taylor - SS, vs MIL ($3,000)
The Dodgers made a number of infield acquisitions in July, including Manny Machado just after the All-Star break and then grabbing Brian Dozier at the deadline yesterday, but the versatile Taylor is making his case to stay in this potent lineup - in his last 10 games, he has a 47% hard hit rate and a 26% line drive rate. He's squaring the ball up, does well in righty-righty matchups and faces a pitcher in Chase Anderson who has has allowed a .451 slugging percentage to righties this season - 110 points higher than what he's allowed to lefty hitters.
FanDuel DFS Outfielders
Ronald Acuna - OF, vs MIA ($3,800)
Acuna is one of my favorite spend up plays tonight. He offers great value in the leadoff role and has performed really well against right-handed pitchers this season, posting a .371 wOBA and a .250 ISO split. He also has very favorable batted ball data in the past two weeks, highlighted by a 46% hard hit rate and a 25% line drive rate.
Daniel Palka -OF, vs KCR ($2,900)
The value on these White Sox hitters' prices is pretty astonishing. As I mentioned, they have a plus-matchup and have the second highest implied run total of the night. Palka is in a spot to do some damage, as he's been strong this season against righties in the power deparment (.274 ISO) and has also posted a 43% hard hit and a 63% fly ball rate in the past two weeks.
Matt Kemp - OF, vs MIL ($3,100)
Hard to resist loading up on more right-handed Dodgers' bats when the prices are this attractive. Kemp owns a .332 wOBA split against righties this season to go with a .184 ISO. He'll have good lineup context and the batted ball profile of late is above average, too.
