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We have all but one of today's game on tonight's slate, giving us a robust player pool with plenty of intriguing plays all across the salary spectrum.
The pitcher pool is particularly impressive Friday, with multiple options for paying up if one wishes to go that route. I see that approach as prudent, as my two pitching recommendations will illustrate. Then, there's a fairly steep drop-off in quality at a certain point, with a number of vulnerable lefties in particular on the ledger. As such, identifying some viable bats is a fairly straightforward process also.
I'll be providing you with my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for the FanDuel main slate on 8/20/2021. Be sure to also check out all the MLB player news, including late scratches, and the projected and confirmed daily MLB lineups for each DFS slate. You can also read more DFS advice and lineup picks for sites like DraftKings, and other sports.
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FanDuel DFS Pitchers
Cash Game/GPP Anchor Play:
Walker Buehler – vs. NYM ($11,600)
Buehler is the top-shelf choice in that impressive upper tier of arms Friday, as the Dodgers right-hander checks in with a 12-2 mark, 2.09 ERA and 0.94 WHIP, and a 9.7 K/9 at home. Buehler is averaging a whopping 41.6 FD points per start as well, and his 0.8 HR/9 for the season underscores how good a job he's done limiting serious damage. Buehler is also coming off having faced the same Mets squad he'll see Friday, as he stymied New York for one earned run on four hits over seven innings while recording 10 strikeouts at Citi Field on Saturday. New York has some passable numbers against righties on the road in the second half (.326 wOBA, 5.0 wRAA), but current Mets bats own a collective .184/.238/.316 slash line against Buehler in 61 career encounters.
Potential Alternate Play
Chris Sale – vs. TEX ($10,700)
Sale appeared to be building up nicely during his run of five rehab starts, and he demonstrated the swing-and-miss stuff he was impressively flashing in those outings was no fluke when he mowed down eight Orioles over five innings in his 2021 debut Saturday. The big left-hander now gets an even softer matchup for his second turn, as the post-trade-deadline Rangers are sporting one of the more inept offenses in all of baseball. Texas has struggled against southpaws all season as well, and the Rangers sport an MLB-worst .142/.200/.224 slash line, .192 wOBA and -25.2 wRAA against lefties on the road in the second half of the season. Sale posted a mammoth 14.7 K/9 at Fenway Park during his last full-season sample there in 2019, and given the matchup Friday, he could be set to miss a bunch of bats again.
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FanDuel DFS Infielders
Yuli Gurriel- 1B, vs. SEA ($3,000)
Gurriel makes for a particularly intriguing tournament play Friday, considering he brings an interesting combination of a deep slump and season-long proficiency versus southpaws. The veteran is hitting .043 (1-for-23) over his first six games since returning from a stint on the injured list due to a neck strain, but he's also battered southpaws for a .308 average, .926 OPS and .387 wOBA on the season. Mariners starter Yusei Kikuchi is certainly no pushover, but he has given up a .343 wOBA and 19 homers to right-handed hitters. What's more, Kikuchi has been struggling in the second half, posting a 4.88 ERA, .287 BAA and .379 wOBA in 31.1 innings since the All-Star break.
Ozzie Albies – 2B, at BAL ($4,400)
A player who's been even more of a terror against lefties than Gurriel is Albies, who's posted a .325/.360/.611 slash line, .405 wOBA and 152 wRC+ against southpaws overall. Albies has been a much better home hitter, but he's still pounded lefties for a .395 wOBA on the road and gets a premium matchup Friday against Keegan Akin, who's surrendered a .331 average and .391 wOBA to right-handed hitters, and a .393 BAA and .440 wOBA since the All-Star break.
Eduardo Escobar – 3B, vs. WAS ($3,600)
The switch-hitting Escobar is a good way to get some right-handed exposure to Patrick Corbin, who's allowed a .299 average, .941 OPS and .396 wOBA to righty bats on the road, along with a massive 2.9 HR/9. Meanwhile, the veteran Escobar already has one career homer in just five encounters with Corbin, and he's been much better hitting from the right side with a .278 average, .830 OPS, .351 wOBA and .226 ISO against in that split over the course of the season.
David Fletcher – SS, at CLE ($2,700)
Fletcher is another player with a shot at a vulnerable southpaw Friday, as Indians starter Sam Hentges has been blasted for a .366 average and .430 wOBA by right-handed hitters thus far in his young career. Fletcher doesn't offer much in the way of power, but he's an excellent contact hitter who also offers stolen-base upside and is about as bad a matchup on paper for Hentges as there is. Fletcher has terrorized lefties for a .364/.401/.490 slash and .386 wOBA on the season while striking out at a minuscule 6.5 percent clip against that handedness.
ALSO CONSIDER: Freddie Freeman ($4,200)
FanDuel DFS Outfielders
Nelson Cruz- vs. CWS ($3,700)
Cruz is notorious for his work against left-handers, but his career body of work against White Sox starter Lucas Giolito includes a .400 average with a double and four homers over 25 plate appearances. The slugger has belted 18 of his 26 homers off right-handed pitchers, and he owns a .343 wOBA and .253 ISO against that handedness. Meanwhile, Giolito has yielded 17 of his 24 homers to right-handed bats, and he's given up a 5.06 ERA, .262 average and .347 wOBA across his first three starts of August.
Eloy Jimenez– at TB ($3,800)
Jimenez is very much in play on the other side of the White Sox-Rays matchup, considering the recent struggles of Tampa starter Michael Wacha and Jimenez's work in same-handed matchups. Wacha has given up a .308 average and .379 wOBA to right-handed hitters while also allowing 12 homers to that handedness. He's also pitched to an 11.57 ERA, .435 BAA and .498 wOBA in August, while Jimenez has battered righties for a .367 average (.444 on the road) and .467 wOBA following his late start to the season.
Lars Nootbaar – vs. PIT ($2,100)
Nootbaar has made a good impression in his first taste of big-league action this season, slugging three homers over his first 56 plate appearances and striking out at a modest 14.3 percent clip. The lefty-swinging rookie has unsurprisingly done almost all his damage in opposite-handed matchups, posting a .263 average, .901 OPS and .381 wOBA in that split despite an atypically low .226 BABIP. Pirates starter Mitch Keller has had a difficult time against left-handed hitters, allowing a .341 average and .404 wOBA to that handedness, along with a 5.88 xFIP. When Keller exits, the matchup will still be a favorable one for Nootbaar, considering the Pirates' bullpen's MLB-high 14 homers and .378 wOBA allowed to lefty bats in the second half of the season.
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